Page 104 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“No,” I snap. “This happened. I threw up in the toilet once I remembered,” I add quickly. “Then I showered and dressed, but as I was doing so, I heard him.”

“Dorian?”

“Yes, he sounded in pain. He called for me. He was in my wardrobe, Henrietta. He was naked, curled up into a ball in the corner. I saw his foot…”

“His foot?”

“I saw his foot burn. It slipped into a pool of sunlight, and it burned. His flesh literally turned black right in front of me. When he pulled his foot back into the shade, it healed. It burnt, then healed, Henrietta.”

“Jesus Christ,” she mutters, and I’m not sure if she’s swearing because she believes me or if she thinks I’m having some mental break, the latter probably.

“He looked so weak. He was trembling. He said he wouldn’t hurt me, but he did. He already did.”

“Then what happened?” she asks, her concern making me twitchy because I know she doesn’t believe me. That she won’t believe what I’m about to say next, either.

“I asked him what he was, and he told me… Jesus, even I’m having trouble believing this despite what I witnessed.”

“What did he tell you?”

I breathe in deeply, then blow out a long, slow breath. “He told me he’s a vampire.”

“A vampire?” Henrietta’s mouth pops open, and for a moment she just stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Edie…”

“I know it sounds unbelievable, and that you don’t believe me,” I say quickly. “But I swear to you that’s what he said, and I know what I saw.”

My voice cracks, and she reaches for me, her hand clasping mine. “Then let’s go and deal with this vampire.”

“I’m not sure that this is a good idea,” I mumble, opening the door to my house and stepping into the hallway. Henrietta follows me in, but doesn’t shut the door behind her. It’s mid-afternoon now, and whilst there’s still plenty of daylight left, I am not at all comfortable being back in my house with a bloodsucking vampire, no matter how beautiful he is, or how talented in bed.

“We’ll leave the door open just in case we need to make a quick exit,” she says, her hand curling around a wooden spatula. The handle is sharpened into a point after she meticulously whittled it down in her kitchen an hour ago.

“I honestly don’t know if that will work,” I say, my nose wrinkling at the scent of garlic oozing from her pores, from mine. She’d forced me to eat some too, and it’s only adding to the nausea I still feel.

“A wooden stake to the heart should do it, and if not, the garlic should put him off.”

“Says who?”

“All the movies about vampires. It’s always a stake to the heart. Garlic makes our blood taste like shit, or something like that, and if you’d stopped at the church like I asked you to, I would’ve got some holy water.”

“We have no idea if any of that works,” I whisper-hiss, my eyes flicking nervously to the stairs.

“Wait a minute, how could he just break into your home? I thought vampires had to be invited inside.”

I wince, remembering the exact moment I’d done exactly that. “The night he made me come in his car, I practically begged him to come inside.”

“That was when he fingered you, and you were on your period? It all makes sense now. He was an arsehole that night because he didn’t want to take a bite out of you. He warned you he’s dangerous, not just because he murdered those men, but because of what he is. Now, I’m certain that the stake will work. One jab to the heart, and poof, he’ll be nothing more than ash.”

“I think I preferred it when you didn’t believe me. I’m not sure I recognise you right now.”

“It’s not that I didn’t believe you, it’s just⁠—”

“Unbelievable?” I finish for her. “I get it. But I still don’t think it’s wise to be here. I’ve no idea what else he’s capable of, and again, we have no idea if this will even work.”

“You said he was weak. That he burned in the sunlight. Now is the only time we can do this.”

“Do what exactly, stake him in the heart? I’m not sure I want him dead.”

“He drank your blood, Edie.”