“You’re a vampire now,” I continued. “You belong in this world whether you like it or not. So what now?”
Her lips parted, that earlier fire dimmed into uncertainty.
“I…” Her throat bobbed with a swallow. “I think I need to get these…” Her breath slipped out unevenly. “Urges under control first.” Her tongue slowly dragged across her lower lip.
My brain immediately stopped functioning.
“Yes,” I answered automatically, my voice roughening again. “You do. Which means you’re staying here.”
Silence. My own words hit me a second later.What the fuck did I just say?
I almost rubbed a hand down my face, wanting to groan out loud at making a stupid offer that would only make my life exponentially harder. Instead, I stood there like I meant every word.
“I agree with Calix.”
Rack’s voice cut through the room as he walked back in, both of us looking at him.
His gaze flicked between us once, instantly reading the tension like the calculating bastard he always was.
“She can stay in the third-floor suite.”
My eyes narrowed immediately. What game was he playing?
I’d expected him to drag her straight into his room the second he realized she was his Flame, but he was giving her space. Distance. Control.
Olivia’s attention snapped toward him, then back to me.
“I mean…” She stumbled over the words while twisting her fingers together nervously. “If that’s okay?”
Her eyes bounced between us again, uncertainty and hunger mixing together in a way that nearly unraveled me.
“One second, I feel normal,” she admitted quietly, “and then the next…”
Her gaze lingered too long. On me, on Rack, then finally to the floor, but I saw it. Need flashed openly across her face before she quickly looked away again.
She needed blood. Sex. Maybe both. Her body called for the blood to restore and the sex to soothe, and judging by the way my body reacted, I wanted to give her everything she craved.
This was going to be a fucking disaster.
Because standing there, watching her look between us with those hungry crimson eyes, one thought became painfully clear, I needed to get out of this room before I did something unforgivable.
“Rack,” I barked without looking back, already halfway down the hall. “Take the day off. Get Olivia whatever she needs for her room. I’m locking myself in the lab, so don’t bother me unless the house is on fire.”
I vanished downstairs as fast as my legs could take me before either of them could say another word.
The second the lab door slammed shut behind me, I dropped my forehead against it and exhaled hard.
My gaze drifted downward. The front of my pants strained painfully against the fabric.
“Are you serious?” I hissed at myself.
Storming toward my desk, I yanked open the top drawer and froze the second my fingers brushed lace.
Her panties. Still crumpled where I’d hidden them after last night.
The scent hit me instantly. Rose petals. Warm skin. Sex. My eyes shut before I could stop them.
“Fuck,” I groaned under my breath.
