Page 9 of Hungry for the Vampire

"Yeah," I said, and I hung up, watching him walk toward the building. I got my ass in gear and scrambled down the steps to go let him in, pulling open the door and seeing his huge form block out the sun.

"Are you okay?" I looked at him, all the way up and down. Not a mark on him except for the nick on his palm.

"Of course," Roman said. "I am sorry they bothered you, Jared."

"Sorry...?" I gaped, then watched a droplet of blood curl down his wrist. "Fuck. Come upstairs, I can get you a bandage."

I turned and led him up the stairs and back to my apartment, pushing open the door that I'd forgotten to lock anyway.

"Did that one bite you?" I asked him. "Shit, Roman, it could have rabies."

"They did not hurt me." Roman sounded like the very idea was an insult. "I showed them my blood to mark my...hm. My seriousness here. My intention. To let them know a real fight would not end well for them."

I gaped. "Let's...let's get you cleaned up."

I led him over to the bathroom, which just straight up did not have enough room for both of us. But I didn't want Roman to have to fumble around in there looking for bandages, so I squeezed in alongside him and crouched to open up the cabinet under the sink where I kept my really basic first aid stuff.

I glanced over at him while I was down there, his powerful legs under the denim of his jeans, his T-shirt riding up slightly and showing a sliver of skin at his waist. The bulge in the front of his pants, which I couldn't help but notice.

When I came up with the bandage, my cheeks were a little pink.

"You can rinse off in the sink," I said, and he did, the water turning pink for a bit as the red washed away. I could see the cut on his palm, very small, straight across. He must have done it with his fingernail.

"Here, hold out your hand. It's gonna be tricky for you to put this on your own palm." I peeled the wrappings off the bandage. "So this...is this how you handled the wolves last night, too? I don't remember you bleeding."

"No. They did not require such a threat. But now..." His voice hardened, and he made a fist.

"Uh. I need your hand open."

"Right." He opened his palm again. "Now they have intruded on your home. So things have...escalated."

"Huh." I got the wrappings off and pressed the bandage onto his palm, feeling his cool skin. "So what, they got my scent or something, right? I just can't believe they followed me all the way here."

Roman raised his hand, flexing his fingers before looking at me. "This is my fault, Jared. It is nothing you did wrong. The...wolves would not have been there if it wasn't for me, and you are...how do you say it..."

"Caught in the crossfire?" I offered, though I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Yes. Caught in the fire. And I feel bad about this. You should not be put in danger, you should be protected." Roman snapped his mouth shut at the last bit, like he hadn't meant to say it out loud. His eyes moved away from mine.

"Thank you," I said to him. "For protecting me."

Our eyes met again. There was about four inches between us in the tight space of the bathroom, and I was frozen where I stood. I was scared to move, scared to touch him accidentally. But mostly I was scared about what I was feeling—how I wanted to touch him. How I wanted to hear him say my name again. How impressed I was with him, how strong he was, how he had saved my ass not once but twice, and the way he looked when his dark eyes stared into mine and I could tell there was a whole world in there that I was dying to know more about.

But I was scared. This didn't make sense to me. I'd never...felt like this with a guy, and I didn't know what to do about it. So, like I was coming across wolves in the woods, I just decided to run.

"It's kinda snug in here," I said, clearing my throat and stepping sideways out of the bathroom. Now I felt like I could breathe, yet at the same time I just wanted to be in that tiny room with Roman again. Fuck, man, what was going on with me?

"The bandage is good," Roman said, stepping out with me. "I would hate to bleed on your things."

"Heh. Yeah."

Shit. Even out of the crammed bathroom, the tension was still there. It was thick enough to make my breath short. I needed...I needed to get away from Roman if I was going to sort this stuff out in my head. Having him there, huge, powerful, looking at me with no way to know what he was thinking—it was driving me nuts.

"So—" I started, but Roman cut me off.

"Jared." He licked his lips, and again, his eyes darted away from mine. Nervous? Was Roman capable of being nervous? "I must ask you...no. I have to insist."

My mouth felt suddenly dry. "What?"