He chuckled. “Likewise.”
Man, his chuckle was cute. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No. I want to ask you if…” He licked his lips, clearly nervous.
The vampire king was nervous around me? After everything that’d gone down between us? Wow.
You’re just the same!
“If you want to sleep with me again,” he said quickly, his voice cracking slightly at the end.
I swallowed a laugh while my own nervousness stirred and my cheeks flushed.
Please don’t turn cherry red!“S-sure.” I answered a bit too quickly. “Erm, I mean. It really helped last night. Last…day? Whatever.”
He nodded. “Regardless of where we are at sunrise.”
I nodded back, scratching my neck.
“We can take the master suite if it’s free,” he added, removing his shades.
Damn. Damn. Damn. My brain lurched, my insides a tangle of anticipation. This bewilderment didn’t suck, setting free a flood of endorphins.
“Come,” he said, leading the way down the concrete corridor of high ceilings and bare walls.
Didn’t Vaughn believe in any sort of decoration? Pfft. And I thought I was an elf with basic tastes. At least mine had some color to them.
With knots in my belly, I followed him to a door at the end of the hall, three steps leading up to it. Counted to three, then entered.
A huge bed sat in the center of the white-and-gray room, its sheets crisp and black. Behind it was a panoramic window with a sliding door overlooking a garden filled with a rainbow of flowers, moonlight spilling in from an aperture above.
“That’s where you were hiding,” I spoke, giving them a little wave.
Their colors brightened, and so did my energy.
I went to the window, looking up at the sky. “I guess this is the same special glass?”
“Yes. And this bed lowers into a pit,” the king answered. “There’s a bathroom here.”
I faced him as he pointed at a closed door.
There was also a sofa in the room, a TV, and a white coffee table. Nothing else.
I put my bag down beside the bed. “Are you sure you want to sleep together?”
He didn’t answer, coming closer. “How are you feeling?” He placed his hand on my right shoulder.
“Rattled, but sweetcream.”
His brows knit together. “That bastard. I can’t believe he had the audacity to touch you again.”
Man, he really was upping this protective vibe, huh? “I think I’ll live. And it’s not the first time, is it?”
His right hand perched on my other shoulder. “He is pure filth.”
Kiss me.“Yeah. And then some.”
His right hand slid up my neck, his fingers splayed. So strong yet soft, and so warm.
