Page 35 of Just the Pool Boy at Vampire Mansion

Next to my bed.

Bentley.

The vampire dickface who had already threatened me. Twice.

Also, I was mostly naked under the sheet. Just had my underwear on.

“Hey,” I croaked, keeping it casual, while sirens screeched inside my head. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to wake up.”

He wore the same clothes from last night, when he’d tried to push me through a glass wall. The shirt was creased now, and his hair had escaped its styling in places, giving him the impression of coming slightly undone. Considering how he always seemed to be so well put together, the rumpled clothes were another warning sign my brain was waving in front of me.

I had my phone in my hand. I could dial Theo’s number, but he wouldn’t be able to get here in under twenty minutes, and then what would happen?

What were you supposed to do when encountering predators in the wild? Poke them in the eye? It seemed like that approach with Bentley might end badly for me.

He sighed, as though I was taking up his precious time. “If I’d wanted you dead, I’d have suffocated you with that pillow by now.”

That was oddly specific. I looked at the pillow next to my head. He’d marked the pillow as a potential murder weapon while I’d slept.

“Your apartment is a disgusting pit, by the way. I’ve been in better designed sex dungeons. Your place is dark, beige, and boring. How do you live in it?”

I sat up, dragging the sheet with me to cover my modesty. “Don’t I have to invite you in or something?” I’d meant it as a joke, to lighten the tension, but his face turned to thunder.

He glared. “That is highly racist.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Every damn time I opened my mouth, I stuck my foot in it. “I’m uh . . . just woke up,” I croaked. “Thanks to you.”

“You really don’t like vampires, do you?”

“What? No. I do, I just . . . I’m kinda reeling here. I didn’t expect company.”

“I am not your company. I have standards. And you . . .” He circled a finger at my chest. “Are far below me. You are so far below me, I can’t even see you. I am top tier, you are bottom rung. I am the apex⁠—”

“Then why are you here?”

He glowered, with Siamese cat villain energy.

“If you’re trying to cozy up to Theo thinking he’ll give you his fortune, he won’t and he can’t. So stop thinking it.”

I frowned, and folded my arms over my chest, pinning the sheet under them. “I don’t know who or what you think I am, but I am literally just the pool guy. I don’t want anyone’s fortune. I just want to do my job and be left alone while doing it.”

He let my words settle in the room, then took a breath. “I’ve met you twice, Owen. The first time, you claimed my brother was out cold in a bush, right before a body shows up in our pool, and the second, you’re sneaking his unconscious body into the pool house. Since you showed up, our lives have gotten a lot more interesting, in an unfun way. Also, mother is more moody than usual, and it’s tiring. All of this happens the second you appear. I’m not as dumb as I look . . .” He paused, listening to his own words back in his head. “What would you think if you were me?”

“Look man, I just answered the ad your dad posted and⁠—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. I froze at the contact. His skin was cool, not warm like Theo’s, and his face was all icy blue eyes and intense scowls. “Let me be clear, and then we’re done. I hate Theo, everyone knows it, but there is no line I will not cross to protect the Witherborne name. I can kill him, and I will, when it suits me, because I am the best chance this family has of surviving. But I am the only one who touches Theo. You can’t kill him. Nobody else is going to kill him. He is my brother. Nobody threatens him. Understand?”

He removed his finger, allowing me to speak.

“I don’t want to kill anyone,” I said meekly. “I want to know why Jay died, so I can maybe keep my job without wondering if I’m going to be next. That’s it. I swear I’m harmless.”

“Hm.” Bentley leaned back and raked his gaze down me. “Not only are you capable, but it’s highly likely you’ve killed before. So don’t lie to me. I can see your corruption.”

My thoughts went very, very quiet. Did he know I’d been in jail? Did he know there was one person on this planet I really did want to kill? Did he know people had died because of the things I’d done?

“Good talk.” He stood and glided toward the door. “Oh, and when I came up here, some guy was lurking outside. He got into a gray pickup in your lot. You might want to keep an eye on that one. Smells like fresh blood and sweat. Sleep well, pool boy.”