Just the one bed?I wanted to ask. “Awesome,” I replied instead.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
He got to work on the open fire, the mantelpiece green with golden floral details. Three golden vases sat on the mantel, each one filled with lilies.
I watched him crouch by the logs, turning a small valve on the floor. The flames caught straight away, getting to crackling. No flint or matches required here.
Nice.
“This fireplace heats the entire house,” he explained, still crouched. “There are devices within the walls which circulate the heat into every corner, which also heats the water tank.” He stood up. “It’s a clever house with an endless supply of water, designed to withstand all weather.”
“So, it’s cool in the summer?” I asked.
He nodded. “By always lighting the fire, cold or not. Strange, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I guess.” I’d lived through stranger things.
“I won’t bore you with the details, but the ocean water is sucked into the system and repurposed for drinking, bathing, and everything else.”
Vampires didn’t need to drink water, but they did bathe. “Sounds impressive. Kind of like a super complicated central heating system.”
He faced me. “I didn’t build it.”
“Okay.” I brushed the front of my T-shirt.
“But it is a feat of vampire engineering and mage magic,” he added. “All I have to do is make sure the fire is lit every month, according to the manual.”
“There’s a manual?”
“Yes. I found it under the bed.”
The fire grew in size, warmth filling the room quickly.
“But this décor is all you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Awesome.” Man, he looked so good standing there, framed by the mantel and the chimney stack behind him, electric light sparkling on his exposed skin.
My dick twinged, hungry for him.
Shit. “I love your taste in flowers,” I said tightly, pointing around the room.
“Thank you.” He gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat. Relax. I brought you here to escape for a while.” His eyes moved to one of the windows. “I’ll take you back before sunrise. Unless you want to stay a while.”
I sat on the right end of the sofa, my arse enjoying the soft hug the cushions provided.
“We can’t hide from our problems,” he said, taking a pew on the left side, “but we can have a…what is that saying?”
I turned to face him. “A time out?”
“That’s it.” He stared ahead, eyes on the flames. “I come here to think, to clear my head.”
“Good place for it.”
With this house being on top of a hill, it provided amazing views of the ocean. Clean air, open spaces, height, they were good for brushing away the mental cobwebs.
I could quite happily hide away from my problems here.
