Page 20 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“What?” I bite out, angling my body towards his.

“So you wouldn’t mind some company then?” he says. “I’m sure Edie will enjoy my attention, too.”

Before he’s able to blink, let alone take another breath, I have my hand wrapped around his throat and my teeth bared. “Stay the fuck away from her,” I hiss, my whole body taut with rage.

Logan grins, a rare sight even for my eyes. I release him with a shove, and like the arsehole he is, says, “Thought as much.”

“Fuck you, Logan. I’ve got this handled.”

“You’d better, because if you can’t get over this infatuation, you know what you’ll have to do.”

I nod, then stride towards the stairs, his warning ringing in my ears.

Standing on Edie’s doorstep less than half an hour later, my finger hovers over the doorbell. Inside, I can hear her moving about her home, light spilling out onto the pavement from behind the partially closed curtains of her sitting room. It’s late, almost midnight, and a part of me had hoped she would be sleeping, and I’d have an excuse to get the fuck out of here.

But when I hear laughter coming from inside, something inside of me snaps and jealousy expands in my chest. Why the fuck am I jealous? More to the point, who the fuck is making her so happy? Jabbing the bell with my finger, I wait impatiently for her to open the door.

A moment later I hear the sound of an internal chain being undone, and the lock unclicking. We’re going to have to have a conversation about her safety. She should not be opening the door to anyone at this time of night. There are way too many predators who could do her harm.

The door swings open and I’m immediately struck by Edie’s natural scent. This time it’s not hidden beneath the artificial scent of perfume like it was when I met her. She smells of long summer days and the salty air from a churning ocean. It’s been a long time since I’ve stood on the shores of my home, but that’s what she smells like, home. Like everything about Edie, it’s fucking unsettling.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asks, her smile dropping.

I can’t help but notice how her cheeks are flushed pink, and how her eyes sparkle with indignation as she glares at me.

“Why did you open your door?” I throw back. “I could’ve been anyone.”

“Are you seriously going to lecture me after you’ve turned up at my house uninvited at this time of night?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest, which only seems to push her breasts together beneath her t-shirt. The very same t-shirt she wore the evening I came so hard I thought I’d finally found my way into heaven.

My gaze drops to her legs wrapped in skinny jeans that hug every curve, then lower to her bare feet, her nails painted a pale blue. I grind my teeth together to stop myself from reaching out and pulling her into my arms, knowing to do so would cause me intense pain given she hasn’t invited me inside.

Fuck, I am so out of my depth here.

“I wanted to see you,” I reply, forcing a calmness into my voice that I don’t feel.

“Well, congratulations, now you have,” she retorts, slamming the door in my face.

I’m about to pummel my fist against the door and demand she let me in, when it suddenly swings back open, and she steps across the threshold shoving her hands against my chest.

“I have company,” she hisses, looking over her shoulder briefly before returning her attention to me.

“Who is he?” I demand, the jealousy I felt earlier building into something dangerous as I peer over her head searching for the bastard who’s dared to make Edie laugh so freely.

“It’s none of your damn business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I grind out. “Who you spend time with is very much my business.”

“You’re actually delusional. Just because we’ve kissed⁠—”

“We’ve done more than kiss,” I remind her, arching a brow as her cheeks redden further.

“So, because we’ve had a mutual masturbation session,” she replies, lowering her voice as she peers around me, presumably to check we’re not being overheard by a random passerby on the street, “You think you have the right to demand to know who I’m spending time with. You don’t own me.”

A slow smile pulls up my lips as I step closer and finger that pretty streak of white hair that frames her face so perfectly. “What if I said I wanted to?” I ask.

“What, own me?” She scoffs, shaking her head. “No, that’s never going to happen. I’m not some simpering woman who’ll do anything for the sexy gangster, including giving up her self-respect.”

I cock my head to the side and grin. “You think I’m sexy then?”