Page 69 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

Minutes crawl past, and just as I’m about to grab my keys with every intention of driving to her home, her reply finally arrives.

How will you prove it to me?

My eyes flick to the wall of monitors, lingering on suite twenty, empty and waiting. Before doubt can stop me, I respond.

Video call me. I need to see your face.

Moments later, my phone beeps with an incoming call. I lean back in my chair, some of my restlessness easing as Edie fills the screen. Her hair is twisted into a messy bun, her beautiful face bare. I can’t help but stare, mesmerised by the sweep of skin where her jumper slips from her shoulder, her jugular vein throbbing beneath its surface.

“I thought I told you to delete my number?” she says, her voice clipped, guarded.

“If you didn’t want to speak with me, why did you do as I asked?”

“Just get to the point, Dorian.”

“I’m sending a car to pick you up,” I say.

She folds her arms across her chest. “And where, exactly, is it that you think I’m going?”

“To my club.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Absolutely not.”

“And here I was thinking you wanted to explore your desires. Were you lying to me, Edie?”

“After what happened at the hotel, I very much thought this was over.”

My fingers curl around the phone so tightly that the case cracks. “It’s over when I say it’s over.”

“You’re not making the rules here,” she bites out, her eyes glinting with anger. “You don’t own me, remember?”

I relax my grip. “You’re right, I just want to see you, Edie. I’ve missed you.”

She frowns, her eyes darting away. She’s fighting to keep her thoughts tucked behind a careful mask, but I see through it. She misses me, too. It’s written in the softness of her gaze when she finally meets my eyes again.

“It’s been three weeks, Dorian.”

“You ran. I was giving you space. Should I have chased you?”

Her cheeks flood with heat. “I don’t know.”

“Edie, listen. All I care about is making you feel good.” Edie starts to protest, but I cut her off. “I want to worship you. Please, come.” My lips curl around the word in such a way that I hope she understands my intentions clearly.

“And what makes you think I have any intention of seeing you again?”

“Edie, you can’t fool me. You want what I want.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“To give each other pleasure. Nothing more.”

“That’s not what it felt like at the hotel,” she accuses. “The way you looked at me. It was intense. Overwhelming, Dorian. It was as though you wanted more from me, more than just sex.”

“You misinterpreted what was happening,” I lie.

“I know what I felt,” she argues, drilling me with her gaze, anger sparking in her eyes once again.

“If I overstepped the boundaries you placed between us, then I apologise. It won’t happen again,” I say forcefully, intent on regaining her trust. “We will keep this strictly about sex. I want you.”