What if Audrey gets aroused while reading? What if she needs someone to sate her needs? Someone who can prove that you don’t need wings or a tail to bring her immense pleasure?
“Now this is a sight I never thought I’d see.” The deep rumbling of Bodin’s voice is filled with mirth, and I will my cheeks not to heat as I turn toward him.
Folding my arms over my chest, and pretending I wasn’t having the most impure thoughts about a member of his family, I lift my chin toward Bodin. “Pray tell, how does an orc sneak up on a vampire?”
“I’m not sure. If I didn’t see this with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. I just came back from my workshop and now I find a vampire hiding in my wife’s bush.”
“Your wife’s… No! It’s not— I mean… I just—”
“I’m kidding. Sorry, it’s a bit of an inside joke between Tilly and me.” Bodin’s eyes flick toward the open windows of his home and his brows draw together. “Do you need to talk to Tilly? I mean, medically speaking?”
I shake my head vigorously. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. I shouldn’t be here.”
Before I can take another step, Bodin lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. “As someone who has found myself behind this exact bush not too long ago, but possibly for different reasons, you have me curious. Now, I respect your privacy, but I also know you don’t easily seek out company and wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a reason. How can I help you?”
Thankfully, my brain chooses that moment to present me with a semi-believable excuse for being here. “Uhm, you mentioned a caulk gun before? I was wondering if I could borrow yours? I want to do some renovations around the castle.”
Bodin’s tusks gleam in the moonlight as his smile widens. “You want to caulk up your home?”
“I— For fuck’s sake, you’re being difficult on purpose.”
Bodin chuckles. “I sure am. And would you believe, I have my caulk gun right here in the cottage. I finally finished up the twins’ room and was planning to return all my tools to my workshop tomorrow so Tilly can get to decorating. Do you want to come inside to get it, or wait out here? As you can hear from probably the northern side of the island, Tilly has a couple of friends over to welcome Audrey for her extended stay.”
My eyes widen at the terrifying thought of walking into the midst of a room full of females and all of them staring at me, possibly asking questions similar to Bodin’s too. “Oh, uhm, I’ll wait here.”
There’s a resounding sound of cheers as Bodin enters his home, the lively voices of the females carrying through the crispnight air. He mutters something to Tilly and then I hear him shuffling into the new extension he built for the twins.
I surreptitiously peer around the hydrangeas only to find Audrey leaning back in her seat, our eyes meeting through the open door.
She really is beautiful, dangerously so. The sharpness in her eyes both terrifies me and exhilarates me.
Maybe I should rethink offering her a place in my home. Or maybe I could—for once, and only temporarily—allow myself the prospect of a little companionship, of… fun, if she were to agree to it.
I incline my head respectfully and Audrey’s mouth curls up as she shoots me a wink.
The effect goes straight to my cock.
It takes immeasurable self-control to remain in place while I wait for Bodin to return. Equal parts of me want to retreat, head back to my castle and shut out the rest of the world, while an ancient, much-neglected part of me wants to stare Audrey down, flash my fangs at her and see if she would balk at the monster I really am, or be brave enough to play with me.
Chapter 4
Audrey
“Good morning, dear cousin,” Tilly says brightly as I stumble into the kitchen. “Sleep well?”
“Coffee,” I croak out through barely opened lids. Anita hasn’t even deigned it an appropriate hour to crawl out from under the pile of blankets on the couch. I concur wholeheartedly as the earliest traces of dawn are but a smidge through the window, but I’m making my best attempt at being a good guest.
Tilly pours me a cup and slides it toward me. “Sorry, all we have is decaf right now.”
I grumble a couple of expletives under my breath then plaster on a smile. “Guess I’m heading to The Flowering Teapot for the good stuff before I head to The Horned Pearl. Going toneed some proper caffeine if I’m required to be a functioning conversation partner while Calixta does my nails.”
“Sorry. If we had more of a heads-up I would’ve gotten you the decent stuff.”
“No worries,” I breathe out after a tepid sip. “While I’m in town later, I’m going to ask around about housing and if anyone knows of anything available. I love you, but I don’t love waking before the sun, nor do I love your couch.”
“Wait until you hear what we’ve done on that couch,” Tilly says, grinning over the lip of her cup.
A shudder works its way down my spine. “Don’t tell me you let me marinate in your sex juices all night. Ew.”
