Page 58 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“About ten minutes.”

“And do you have a key to the staff entrance?”

“Yes, right here,” she says, reaching beneath her desk.

“And I’m assuming this access point is equally as dark so as not to disturb the experience of others in the room?”

“That’s correct. There’s an anteroom on the other side. Once they pass through that, it is well lit.”

“Good. You will give me the key and tell no one about this conversation.”

She nods, dropping the key into my hand.

“Thank you. Now you’re going to show me directly to the anteroom. Then you will return to your station. When I pass back through this way, you will acknowledge me, but not question me, and then you will forget we have ever met. Understand?”

She nods. “Of course. Please, follow me.”

Stepping out from behind her desk, the receptionist motions for me to follow her. She guides me through a series of corridors until she pushes open a door that leads into the anteroom. “Here we are.”

“Thank you. Please ensure no one comes here until I leave.”

She nods once, then leaves, returning the way she came.

The door clicks shut, plunging me into darkness. Not that it bothers me. One of the advantages of being a vampire is my keen eyesight. Much like infrared binoculars, my eyes detect the heat signature of humans. It’s not something I’ve had to rely on since the early days when streetlamps weren’t in existence, but the reminder of the hunt sends a wicked thrill through me. Leaning my back against the wall, I cross my arms and wait.

Eventually, laughter trickles through the door, but I let a couple of minutes pass before unlocking the door and slipping inside. Instantly, ten glowing figures bloom before me, their warmth painting the darkness in shimmering red, orange and white. I keep to the wall, scanning the room, until a familiar laugh rises above the rest and pulls my focus to Henrietta.

“This is terrifying,” she mutters.

“You’re fine,” Edie whispers, though I hear a tremor in her voice. She’s scared, and given I’m in this room stalking her, she probably should be.

A body bumps into Henrietta, drawing a startled squeal that melts into laughter as a man apologises. Edie, lost in the confusion, veers away from them and collides with another stranger. Her muttered curse drifts to me as she calls for Henrietta, unknowingly moving further away from her.

Before Henrietta can fumble her way back to Edie, I intercept, my hand closing around her arm. I lean in, lips brushing her ear, letting my compulsion unfurl and coil around her mind. She surrenders at once, just as the receptionist did.

“You’re having fun. You’re not going to worry about Edie. When you leave this room, you’re going to wait for Edie at the main bar. You won’t question what happened to her in this room.”

“Yes,” she replies, then steps away from me, and I give her a gentle shove towards the man she was talking to, her giggle making him laugh.

Seizing the moment, I glide across the room to Edie and place my hand on her back. She jolts in surprise. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there,” she stammers.

Laughter swells around us, the room buzzing as conversations spark to life.

“That’s because this is a blackout room,” I reply, my hand hooking over her hip.

“Dorian?” she whispers. “What are you doing here?”

“I think that’s a question I should be asking you, no?” I ask, pulling her against my chest.

“Well, I⁠—”

I guide her back until she meets the wall, my body pressing close. “I went to your place tonight, hoping to take you out to dinner, only to watch you slip into a cab.”

“So you followed me?” she retorts.

“Yes.”

“That’s not creepy.”