I’ll blame it on work if he asks, though the reality is that I assume alcohol won’t help with the shifting situation I’m struggling with.
He simply nods, and my shoulders relax a fraction as we fall into a semi-easy silence, until he breaks it a couple minutes later.
“I was serious about what I said earlier.” He glancessideways at me, blue eyes surrounded by dark lashes, while twirling the glass in slow circles on the bar. “About helping you.”
I try not to scoff, remembering he had said something about controlling his urges.
“What did you mean, when you said you had to learn to control your urges?” It’s not what I intended to say, but as usual, my curiosity gets the better of me.
“Well…” he trails off, giving me another sideways look, so I school my face into a neutral expression and raise my eyebrows for him to continue. He rubs his thumb and forefinger over his brow, kneading at his temples for a moment.
“Being a full-blooded vampire from a strong, ancient line can be challenging.”
This time the scoff comes out in a full blown snort, becauseright.Being from one of the wealthiest, most influential families in the world must be such a hardship.
“Never mind," he says, shaking his head and turning slightly away from me.
A punch of guilt hits my chest and I frown, both at his reaction and mine. I don’t treat anyone else this way, but he brings out my defensiveness like no one else has. Before I can think better of it, I’m encouraging him to continue.
“I’m sorry, that was insensitive. Please, explain.”
His chest expands with a deep breath, then he slowly turns back toward me on the exhale, and his stormy blue eyes meet mine. They’re piercing and soul searching, and I don’t think I could move a single muscle if I wanted to, which I don’t.
Slowly, he nods at whatever he finds within me, then begins to explain.
“When I said I was from a strong bloodline, what I meant is that it makes our impulses stronger. Our vampiric instincts can become overwhelming and hard to control, which my parents only encouraged, but learning to listen to my body, to be more in tune with myself and those instincts has allowedme to take charge. Even when my inner vampire would rather rip into someone’s neck.”
His eyes flick to the pulse now hammering in my own neck, and I shudder at the cold reminder and the mental image it brings of a bloody, horror-filled life. I take a sip of my drink to give myself a moment to take in his vicious words.
“What do you mean that your parents encouraged it?”
His eyes leave mine at this question, and I tilt my head at him as he takes another deep breath, then runs his fingers through dark, messy hair that looks like he’s already done so fifty times today.
“Let’s just say we don’t agree on what it means to be a vampire.”
I don’t know what to say to that, because I’m pretty sure being a vampire means drinking blood. The concept seems clear cut to me, but he doesn’t look inclined to expand on it.
“Okay,” I say, “but don’t you drink from humans anyway?”
He looks back at me with a smirk that I feel low in my belly, and leans teasingly into my space.
“Only if they want me to," he whispers, breath ghosting across my ear, and my nose is filled with the smoky scent of him as he pulls away.
“Why would they want that?” I match his whisper, my eyes bouncing between his, which are glimmering in the low bar lighting.
“Maybe someday you’ll find out.” He throws the last of his drink back as he stands. “I’d be happy to oblige, all you have to do is ask.”
With that, he flashes his fangs at me as one side of his mouth tips up in a crooked smile that has no business being as sexy as it is. I shiver as his gaze dips down my body before he strides out, vehemently denying to myself that any part of me likes the look of those pointy teeth.
I need some space.After gulping down the rest of my drink, I think about taking a walk, but don’t want to deal with the oppressive heat wave happening right now. I see a sign for the pool and realize a relaxing swim sounds perfect for clearing my head; all I have to worry about is running into Asher in our room.
I press my ear to our door to see if he’s inside before entering. A sigh leaves my body when I find it empty, although again, I’m confused by the conflicting feelings of relief and disappointment that waft through me.
A quick bathroom change into my bikini and a hotel-provided robe has me skipping for the pool in no time. Somehow, there’s no one else here when I arrive, and I assume all the TwitchCon people must be too drained to do anything other than crash in their rooms.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I pile my towel and robe on a chair before jumping right in. I swim a couple laps back and forth, then dive to the bottom and tip my head back, looking at the water rippling above me. When I come up for air, I float on my back with my eyes closed and ears barely under the surface, relaxing with the gurgling filter and dull hum from the heaters in my ears.
I ease my eyes open with a soft, contented smile on my face, then let out an unholy screech, splashing and flailing when I accidentally inhale some water in my shock at seeing someone looming above me on the edge of the pool. Spluttering and coughing, I manage to half-swim to the shallow area and put my feet down, then round on Asher with fire in my eyes.
