Page 94 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

“Laurie,” she mimicked him.

His head snapped up, eyes narrowing. “Don’t you dare,” he growled.

Something danced in her expression. A playfulness he’d never seen, not toward him. And…he fucking loved it.

“What’s the matter?” she cooed. “The big bad Laurent doesn’t like nicknames?”

“The last person to give me a nickname met an unfortunate end.”

“Oh, I’m sure. I like Laurie. It’s cute.”

“Cute?!” The word eked out of him.

Her lips twitched. “Sorry, I mean, it’s very manly and fearsome.”

“You are unbelievable.” His chest expanded, filling and warming. He held her gaze, hoping she would gather the additional meaning behind his words. Hoping she might see what he saw. That she might understand how much had changed between them. But ultimately, that he truly was sorry for hurting her.

And maybe she did, because at last, she offered him a soft smile. A smile that stabbed straight through his heart. But he’d always liked pain, and this, perhaps, was the best kind of all.

24

Igazed at Laurent sitting so at ease on the sofa with his muscled thighs spread wide, his body slightly curved into the cushions, and an arm carelessly braced along the back. Weeks ago, I couldn’t look at him without wanting to vomit. Now…I wanted to keep looking at him. What was happening to me?

Was it his blood?

I’d had a handful of boyfriends in the past, despite my challenging time constraints. I’d lost my virginity shortly after transferring to the university. I wasn’t completely inexperienced. But none of my boyfriends had made me feel anything beyond mild attraction.

Laurent was so far beyond anything imaginable. He wasn’t something I could dream up in my fantasies. Yet, he existed, right here in front of me.

We conversed as if we’d done it a thousand times. He was making it easy. Making me want to.

My skin heated at the things he’d said earlier, about all the reasons he wanted to be around me. My stomach still fluttered over those words. I wanted to disregard them. To pretend they weren’t sincere. But the earnestness in his expression, even his slight nervousness, told me enough. He’d meant every word.

“So, tell me, Laurie⁠—“

His phone rang. A flash of irritation crossed his features, followed by a growl as he fished it from his pocket. That expression only deepened. “Marco. What?”

I huffed, quietly at the abrupt way he answered.

“You’re sure?” He flew off the couch and halfway across the room before I could finish my blink. “No. Gather the others—meet me downstairs. This has gone far enough.”

He pocketed his phone and strode toward the door, hesitating before he turned. “I am sorry, little flower, I must go.”

Cinnamon roused herself and stood, looking like she might need to potty. I snatched her up and said, “Is everything all right?”

Just when I thought he would not answer, he said, “Zola is missing.”

“What?” My stomach dropped.

“I need to take care of this.” He opened the door and slipped through, gone before I had the chance to call after him.

I followed him out but the hallway was empty. Zola had been gone a lot lately. She hadn’t explained much, just that she was doing a lot of work for Laurent, something to do with their ongoing investigation into the missing vampires.

I sprinted through the manor, Cinnamon bobbing in my arms. She squirmed against me, trying to get free. I took her downstairs and out the back door to do her business. The second she finished, I sprinted back upstairs and placed her in her crate. “Stay here, little cutie. I’ll be back.”

By the time I reached the landing, a group of nearly twenty vampires had assembled near the front door. I recognized a few. They stiffened, turning at my approach, their hungry eyes locked on me.

I ignored their reactions. If Zola was in trouble, I wanted to know what kind. I raced down the steps.