Page 21 of Bound By Blood

She strode to him and took the glass, the island separating the two of them. “Do you always drink in the morning?”

“I do what I want, sweetheart.” He finally lifted his eyes to her with a penetrating stare. “Besides, I’m clearly going to need it.”

She looked back up at the second floor. “Do you live here by yourself?” She didn’t smell anyone other than him.”

“Yes.” He took a sip of the whiskey.

“So where does your father live?”

He pointed toward the windows across the massive space. “A large estate on the outskirts of town.”

“Why?”

“He needs the room and privacy.” She briefly wondered how his father hunted if he was secluded on private property but didn’t ask. For some reason, it felt too personal of a question.

Carly snorted. “I’m guessing his security is high. What about you? I didn’t see any security on our way in. Aren’t you important enough to have any?”

“I am.” His tone had a hint of a growl in it. Clearly, he didn’t like the question, and she got some satisfaction out of rattling his hard exterior. “But I prefer my solitude. And, like you, I know how to take care of myself.”

She turned away from his cold stare and leaned a hip against the counter, looking over the space once more. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. “So, what exactly do you do for your father that earns you a place like this?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the whiskey swirl in his cup as he rotated his wrist. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to tell her. He sighed eventually, though. “As I said, I take care of some of the messier things for him, things you wouldn’t like to hear about.” She didn’t bother telling him that whatever he was into wouldn’t scare her. “Think of me as . . . an enforcer of sorts.”

She nodded a little. “Do you have children? Like vampire children?”

He chuckled softly and shook his head. She peeked over at him from over her shoulder, noting that he was relaxing a little. She was not sure why he was tense, to begin with, but she was glad to see his shoulders drooped a fraction in her presence. “No. There are no vampire children.” He propped his elbows on the counter and leaned in her direction. “Is that your roundabout way of asking if I’m seeing anyone?”

She pursed her lips, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. One minute, he was cold with her. The next, he was flirting. It was giving her a mental whiplash, but at least he was not looking at her like he was going to eat her anymore. Progress. “Perhaps.”

“And here I thought you’d have the balls enough to ask me exactly what you want to ask me instead of beating around the bush. Guess I was wrong.” He smirked as he took a sip.

She lifted her top lip in a snarl. She knew he was trying to rattle her as much as she was rattling him, but she couldn’t help herself. “Are you always such an asshole?”

“Yes,” he said simply as if he got asked the question every day. “I am. I have no reason to be otherwise. And yet, I think you kind of like me this way.”

He wasn’t wrong, but she kept the snarl on her face anyway. The truth was she found it attractive that he was meeting her head-on instead of shying away from her attitude like most people did. “Are you going to answer my question?”

“I believe I already did.” He picked up the bottle and poured himself two more fingers' worth. “I already told you there are no vampire children.” The look on his face told her he knew exactly what question she was referring to, but he was just purposefully ignoring her.

“So, no vampire wifey then. Do you date?”

“Depends on what you mean by date. If you mean fuck, then yes. If you mean an actual relationship . . . then no. Not for a while.”

“Why not?” She took a sip of her whiskey and grimaced as it burned down her throat.

“Why would I want a relationship only to watch her grow old and die?” he asked pointedly. “Besides, no one can handle my . . . being an asshole, as you put it.”

“You could change her to be like you right?” She turned to face him once more. He was answering her questions without hesitation, a fact she hadn’t counted on. “You can change someone? That’s what I read. It has to be true.”

His mouth pressed into a thin line. She could tell he didn’t like where this conversation was going. “It’s possible, yes. But I have never changed someone into what I am.”

“Why?” She cocked her head to the side, and stray hair brushed against her eyebrow.

“I won’t condemn them to this life of violence,” he growled. Clearly, he had some strong feelings about what he was. Did he not like his life? Did being a vampire mean something else to him than it did Carly? He continued, “I wasn’t given the choice in the matter when it came to my own change. I won’t take away the choice from someone else. Especially when they have no idea what they’re in for.”

He may have strong feelings on the matter, but Carly didn’t. In fact, turning into a vampire hadn’t occurred to her until now. She couldn’t help but find it appealing, to live forever and do whatever the fuck she wanted without consequences. So, even though she knew the answer, she asked, “So you wouldn’t change me if I asked?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but she held her ground. “Not a chance in hell. Nor should you want to be changed.”