Page 26 of The Bleeding Hearts Club

I stare at the door Mina had just slammed behind her, a smile playing at the edges of my darkened lips. My tongue lashes out to run against the sharpened point of my fangs. The sound of her heartbeat pulsing beneath her skin, flooding the room with the sweet smell of her cherry scented blood had my mouth watering for a taste. A taste of all of her. The rush of adrenaline coming from her was intoxicating. It was fear, shock, and something else.

Great, Mina. Now he’s not only a fucking character from a romance books, he’s one from your darkest fantasy.

That one caught me off guard, and my startled laughing echoes through the now empty room. I shake my head in disbelief.

This fucking woman.

Asshole.

I smirk to myself as I turn toward the closet in the corner of the room. The extremely fluffy towel I have wrapped around my waist drops with a heavy thud, and my body begins the speedy process of shifting. In seconds, I’m back to my normal self, tugging on a pair of dark gray boxer briefs.

Listen, dudes that wear boxers are a different breed. Like at that point I think you should just go commando. Freeballing with an extra layer of clothes on is just impractical.

Turning back to the mirror, I tilt my head side to side, popping it. With a few full circles of my arms to loosen my shoulders up, I start adding some leave-in conditioner to my hair.

Saltwater can be brutal on your ends, kids. Take care of the hair. And stretch. For the love of all things, stretch out of the shower, especially if you have a massive fucking wingspan trying to cram into a little ass shower stall. You will thank me later.

Back to the more pressing matter at hand though. Mina, magnificent, gorgeous, stubborn ass Mina, was, of course, more appalled to see me out here doing my skin care routine, than the fact that I was doing the step specifically for wing maintenance. How she just completely overlooked the eight foot bat creature standing in front of her is pretty impressive. If the roles were reversed my ass would have been out the damn window.

The woman continues to surprise me. Just when I think I have her figured out, she goes and pulls something like this. I didn’t think—well, I hoped, that her reaction to finding out about my vampirism would go well. Like, sure, she would have some kind of reaction, and I figured it would have been well into the future before she found out. Preferably after she was way more comfortable around me, but I’ll fucking take it. A win is a win, and this is like the fucking Super Bowl.

Maybe there is some merit to those monster porn books she’s been reading this week.

I chuckle putting on some khaki shorts and a short sleeved, dark blue bottom up.

I’ll definitely still need to talk to her. I’m sure she’s probably got a gazillion questions running through her head. And I won’t lie, I’m excited to see what kind of weird ass things she has come up with.

After I put on some shoes, I’m just about to walk out of my room when my phone begins to ring.

Incoming Call…

Man’s Best Friend

I hit decline with an evil grin.

Sorry, Emmett. Ya boy is going to work his magic.

Moving across the hallway, my footsteps are muffled by the carpeted floors. Three swift taps to her door, I stand waiting. Inside I can hear her shuffling around, the rustle of blankets and a deeply seated sigh.

Damn it. That better be fucking Theodore. I swear. The housekeepers come at the worst times. Jesus.

Oh, Mina. I snicker.

“Yes?” She answers the door, face flushed, a few tendrils of her dark hair stuck to her forehead.

My face drops, concerned. “You okay?”

Mina’s eyes widen a fraction before she masks it with a slight shrug. “Hangover. Eventful morning. What can you do?”

Her chest is heaving with deep breaths and she can’t meet my gaze head on.

“Uh…Okay, then. Can I come in? I think we should talk and then we get lunch.” My hands fidget by my sides.

I don’t know why I’m so nervous. She already knows, so what’s the worst that can even happen here? She didn’t run screaming before, and I see no pitchforks behind her in the parts of the room I can see from her doorway.

Mina just rolls her eyes, opening the door wider, taking a step back to let me in. I step in, the small space she left for me putting my body right against hers. As the door clicks closed behind me, that’s when it hits. The fucking smell.

Fuck me sideways with a pineapple.