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Stop it. Just stop it right there.
Before leaving, I hadn’t seen Talon every night either. Why expect things to be different now because I was blood-bonded to him? Bottom line, I was still a thrall.
But the gold cuff on my wrist felt as cold and heavy as the boulder that had taken up residence my chest.
Who was he with? Pinky? Hanna? Lesa?
Or maybe one of the other thralls.
Yeah, back in New York, Talon had semi-promised not to fuck another thrall if I accepted his blood bond. But he hadn’t actually promised, had he? He’d been too smart to do that.
And he was a vampire, his drive for blood and sex intertwined—that’s why they kept thralls.
My eyes stung. I put my mug on the bench and swiped at them.
“Stupid hormones,” I muttered, pretending to myself that’s all it was. That I wasn’t lonely and feeling fat and unattractive and…
A sob broke from me. Then another. And then I was ugly-crying, tears streaming down my face, my whole body shuddering.
I cried because it was Friday night and I was all alone. I cried because I was ashamed of what I’d done. I cried because I missed my family. But most of all I cried to relieve the grinding hurt of loving a man who didn’t love me back.
Gradually, my sobs stopped. A flurry of icy snowflakes pelted me, and I was startled to see I was covered in snow, my chocolate was cold. I released a breath, emptied out but calmer.
With that calmness came clarity. This was my life now. Time to woman-up and accept it. Maybe Talon didn’t love me, but that didn’t mean I had to mope around like a lovesick fourteen-year-old, waiting for him to pay me some attention.
I brushed off the snow, finished the chocolate and strode back inside. I blew my nose and washed my face, then went to the walk-in closet to work on my current project, a pair of tiny overalls with matching booties that I was making from an old pair of jeans. Rio had gotten a sewing machine from Kerry and we’d set it up in a corner of the closet. I’d never sewed something so small and complicated before, and since I was working without a pattern, I made mistakes. When I did, I ripped out the stitches and started over.
The hours flew by. When the overalls were finished except for hemming the legs, I shut off the sewing machine and arched my back, yawning, hands massaging my sacrum. Then I folded the overalls and put them on a shelf along with my sewing box.
This was my dream—to give used clothes a second life. It was why I’d become a thrall in the first place, to get enough the cash to open my own vintage clothing business. When Brooklyn Vintage Exchange had hired me, I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d worked hard, volunteered for whatever was needed and asked questions. Not sure if or when I’d be able to open my own store, but wanting to be ready if the chance ever came.
I grabbed a sleepshirt and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. While I was washing up, I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror.
Who said I had to give up that dream? After things settled down, I could open a shop on the island, couldn’t I? Or sell clothes online?
I’d have to clear it with Talon, of course—which chafed a little—but why would he care? He didn’t require me more than an hour or two a night anyway.
I finished in the bathroom and kicked back on the living room couch to watch Demon Slayer. I was in the mood for a tough-ass female demon.
Then I remembered I hadn’t brushed my teeth. I heaved myself back to my feet and padded back into the bathroom.
When I came back out, Talon stood in the bedroom doorway, his hands resting above his head on the door jamb, his hard body clad in dark wash jeans and a blue rayon shirt. He’d fed—and recently. I don’t know how I knew except he appeared…satisfied. Satisfied and energized, his mouth a little redder than usual, his dark eyes outlined in vampire-blue.
My heart leaped inside my ribcage like an unruly puppy. Because if Talon had come to me so soon after feeding, then that meant he hadn’t fucked the thrall he’d drunk from.
His gaze tracked lazily down my body, lingering on my bare legs. “You’re awake.”
I lifted my chin, because even though my heart was still leaping around inside my chest, I’d waited for this man. Cried when he hadn’t shown up.
“Yeah, but I was just going to bed,” I lied.
He lifted a skeptical brow. “No, you weren’t.”
“Well, as soon as I watched an episode of Demon Slayer.”
“C’mere.” He indicated the spot in front of him with his chin.
I crossed to him, and he released the doorjamb, pulling me into his arms. His mouth covered mine, his tongue sliding hotly over my mouth. When I stiffened and pressed my lips together, he slapped my butt.
