“Where have you been the last century?” asks the buff blonde. Up close, I can see how unbelievably handsome our host is.
Like a Roman God or something, I think, appraising their long golden curls, square jaw, and regal nose. Dimples grace their cheeks as they beam at Gray.
“Desiccating in a church tower.”
A look of pure horror crosses Tannis’s face. “A church? You must be joking. Of all the places, I never thought to look inside a church. How did you escape?”
Gray turns to me and holds out a hand. “Millie saved me.”
“I mostly just tripped over him,” I say, only a little nervous.
Tannis shifts their gaze to me and I suddenly feel the full weight of their attention.
“Millie.” Without warning, Tannis pulls me up from the couch with a delighted look on their face and says, “So she’s the little minx you were fingering on my dancefloor!”
Icould bury myself in the backyard over my embarrassment.
In the heat of the moment, I really wasn’t thinking about how many eyes were watching. It was like I was under the same spell as everyone else, oblivious to the fact that we were putting on a show. The music had a hold on me reminiscent of the club, the difference being that I’m only stripping when I’m dancing, not having an orgasm. Now that the feeling has faded, I can’t help but feel a little awkward.
“My, aren’t you a sumptuous little thing.” Tannis pulls me toward the center of the room, spinning me around for a better look. When they stop, I force my feet into place to keep myself steady.
“Uh, thank you.”
“I’m sorry, precious. Did I embarrass you?” Tannis frowns.
Gray coughs, and we both look over. He’s sitting again, one leg crossed over the other, and he’s wearing the most smug expression I’ve ever seen. Damn him, too, because it suits him.
“Maybe,” he starts, “we refrain from announcing to the world where my hands were on her body.”
Tannis places both hands on their hips and curls their upper lip. They look ruefully at their cousin. “Then maybe you shouldn’t grope beautiful young women in a crowd full of horny vampires. That does draw attention, you know.”
“Sound advice, cousin.” Gray shrugs. “Next time, I’ll find a darker corner.”
“See that you do,” Tannis hums this agreement, and all the while I’m melting over the insinuation. It doesn’t help my case that he spares a subtle wink in my direction.
Next time? A dark corner? The fact that there will even be a next time is thrilling enough that my stomach is swimming with butterflies fluttering in violent anticipation. I so badly wanted to feel him earlier, too. Any moment later, and our chivalrous guide would have been witness to something much more intimate than what he encountered. I would take any dark corner of this house to have his cock trapped between my thighs again.
“Now”—Tannis claps their hands together—“I have questions, and since you pulled me away from a saucy little Spaniard I have waiting in my chambers, you’ll answer them.”
“Can they be quick?” Gray says with growing seriousness. “We’re here for a reason.”
Tannis levels their gaze. “You mean this wasn’t a wellness check?”
“No,” he says flatly, then with a more serious tone, “Dante ishere.”
Beside me, the other vampire freezes, and their expression changes with their features. The soft, human facade they both wear so well starts to slip, and in the cracks I can see them for what they are. Beneath that otherworldly beauty, there is a predator lying in wait. I’ve noticed that vampires let the mask slip a little when they’re angry or hungry, and I’ve seen that on Gray. Even in a certain light, I swear I can sometimes see pastthe impossible beauty and glimpse the creature hiding beneath. I’ve gotten pretty decent at reading the room and the people in it.
Everyone wears a mask, whether they know it or not.
“Dante is here,” Gray repeats himself, but then adds, “He found Millie the other night and fed on her. I have no doubt he was issuing some kind of warning.”
Tannis glazes over their previous anger with an air of nonchalance, as if this is nothing more than a minor annoyance. “I swear, your spurned exes of lovers past will be the true death of me.”
The look on Gray’s face tells me that he’s heard this before.
Tannis abandons me for a chaise and spreads out. I take that as my cue to sit, too, and return to the couch where Gray is waiting. When he offers his hand, I take it. He pulls me down gently to the soft cushion, encasing me close to his side with one hand planted firmly on my hip.
“Gone a hundred years, and here you are, dragging me back into your messy relations.” Tannis sounds exasperated.
