Page 18 of Bleed

I cut him a glare, but he just goes on, completely unbothered.

“I assume you’re aware that all vampires have supernatural gifts,” he continues, his long fingers idly caressing Taylor’s thigh. “Speed, strength, enhanced senses…”

“Yeah,” I interrupt. “I’m familiar.”

He tilts his head, those steely blue eyes sharpening. “But did you know that beyond the norm, a rare few possess additional gifts?”

My brows lift in surprise despite myself. “Like what?”

He takes a slow sip of his drink, seemingly drawing this out just to annoy me. “Some have telepathic traits,” he finally murmurs. “Others, psychic abilities, or enhanced cognition…”

“Like Dr. Faulkner,” Taylor chimes in, darting me a glance. “You met him at the last donor gala, remember? He’s basically a genius.”

“Oh, I remember,” I muse, a picture easily forming in my mind since the guy’s famous. Thick chestnut hair, intense dark eyes, and a jawline cut from marble. Sexy as fuck, if hot brainiacs with slutty glasses do it for you.

Before I met Elliott Faulkner, I’d seen his face splashed across tabloids, accompanied by headlines touting his various scientific discoveries as modern miracles. He invented Rapi-Gen cream. He cured cancer, for fuck’s sake. The man’s social skills leave a lot to be desired– when we met, he just stared like a creep and barely said a word– but there’s no denying his brilliance.

James nods once, then moves right along. “I’ve crossed paths on occasion with vampires who possess the gift of persuasion. They can get inside the human mind, talk them into spilling their darkest secrets.”

I raise my glass to my lips, chugging down the rest of my whiskey while my brain works overtime to process this new information. Then I lower it, shaking my head slowly. “That is… deeply horrifying,” I mutter.

Taylor winces, flicking James a side-eyed glance.

I follow her gaze, squinting at him. “Wait, do you have a vampy superpower?” I ask, suddenly on edge.

If this dude’s been reading my mind, I swear I’ll stake his ass.

He dips his chin in a nod, and I sit up straighter.

“What is it?”

“Superior strength.”

I snort, faking a yawn as relief crashes through me. “Boring.”

His mouth twitches faintly. “Among my kind, the strongest hold the most power. Persuasion has little value against someone who can tear your head from your shoulders without effort.”

Well. At least he’s honest.

“So that’s how you became a king?” I question, blowing right past the casual threat of violence.

He nods again.

I set my empty glass aside, still struggling to process everything. The more I learn about vamps, the more insane their world sounds. Royalty, blood bonds, secret powers…

Taylor catches me staring and offers a sympathetic little smile, like she knows exactly what I’m thinking. I’ve got a bone to pick with her for not divulging all of this sooner, but something tells me that was James’ influence, not her own choice to keep me in the dark.

“So if you’re crazy strong, can’t you just, like, hulk smash this guy and be done with it?” I muse, narrowing my eyes on James.

He exhales through his nose, rubbing two fingers against his temple as though I’m giving him a migraine. “If only it were that simple. The problem isn’t this one singular vampire, it’s that questions are being asked at all.”

Ozzy suddenly perks up, swatting at James’ hair. He reaches over his shoulder with a grunt and catches the kitten one-handed, depositing him on Taylor’s lap, who giggles in response. James watches her for a moment, his expression softening in a way I’m still not used to seeing on him. Then he looks back at me, the warmth vanishing completely.

“I need you to understand the gravity of this situation,” he says, leveling me with the kind of stare that’d make a lesser woman squirm. “Secrets are a valuable commodity amongst my kind, and some go to extreme measures to guard them. You’re aware that my butler is mute, yes?”

I jerk a nod, though I’m not entirely convinced ol’ Huxley isn’t just holding out on me.

“His former employer removed his tongue after a security breach,” James supplies.