AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I have been very pleased with your … services,” he said, his eyes sweeping down meaningfully. “I’m thinking I’m going to have to expand my contract. I’m going to need more of your attention.”
I had a can of silver spray in my pocket. As creepy as he was, Mr. Dodd hadn’t done anything to deserve a face full of corrosive chemicals. So far, he was just displaying the oily, overaggressive charm that came as second nature to vampires who’d had one too many human groupies tell them how mysterious and powerful and seductive they were. They got used to playing women a certain way and couldn’t seem to break out of that role in everyday interactions.
He was like a vampire peacock. A lot of show but basically harmless.
Mr. Dodd leaned closer, his hand braced against the lip of a drawer left slightly ajar. I straightened, my arms at my sides, and hip-checked the drawer closed, snapping it on his digits. He hissed out an annoyed breath, and I sidestepped while he was distracted.
“We have several expanded-service packages,” I told him, stepping around the decorative, but unnecessary, kitchen island. “Just check the contracts and decide what you’re comfortable with.”
“If I wanted to contact you directly, how would I do that?” he asked, looping around the island and following me to the door. I snagged my purse from the foyer table. I kept my hand in my pocket, fingers wrapped around the spray canister, because Mr. Dodd’s predatory pacing was starting to make me nervous.
“Just call my cell phone and leave a message. Or you can e-mail the address on the card.”
He’d sped around me by the time I reached the front door, stepping in front of me as I wrapped my free hand around the doorknob. He smirked, his voice low and deliberately sultry. “And if I wanted something special? Something more personal?”
“Call my cell phone and leave a message or send me an e-mail,” I repeated.
He leaned his weight against the door, leaving me to tug futilely at the handle. “But what if I want to see you in person?”
“I don’t do that.” I grunted, pulling harder on the door.
Because clearly, this whole door situation had nothing to do with his vampire strength. I just needed to pull harder.
“But you’re doing that right now, aren’t you?” he said, leering down at me.
“I don’t normally.”
“I’m the first vampire client you’ve met?” he asked, eyeing me carefully.
“You’re the first vampire I’ve seen in months,” I lied, smiling pleasantly. “I tend to keep daytime hours. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve finished here. It’s time for me to leave.”
He ignored me, moving closer and closer with every passing second. The doorknob pressed into my back as I strained away as far as possible. “You smell just mouthwatering. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”
A frisson of fear bubbled up in my throat. As a matter of fact, someone had told me that, at Cal’s house, just before he sank his fangs into my neck.
I cleared my throat, breathing carefully out of my nose. “No, actually, no one has ever told me that.”
“Do you have any plans later?” he asked.
Yes, I planned to introduce him to the joys of a colloidal silver facial in about four seconds. Four seconds counted as later, right?
“I’m leaving. Now.”
He chuckled. “You think so?”
Dodd slithered into the space between me and the door. He smirked down at me, his face alarmingly close to mine. His lips parted, and he leaned down, either to kiss me or to sink his teeth into me.
Stepping to the side, I jerked the door open and let the weak morning sunlight flood the little entryway. Stumbling back into the shaded living room, he seemed amused by my antics. His lips curled back in a leer as he dragged his gaze up and down my form. “Oh, you are an interesting little thing, aren’t you? I’ll be in … touch, soon.”
Just before slamming the door, I shot back, “Consider our contract canceled.”
I ran to my car, hands shaking as I tried to stick the key into the ignition. I leaned my head against the steering wheel and took a few deep breaths. What was wrong with me? Why hadn’t I just shot that moron in the face with silver spray and run out of there? Was I so afraid of losing business that I was willing to put myself in danger to keep some psycho happy? It was time to reevaluate my business model.
What exactly was the protocol here? Should I call Ophelia to complain about Dodd’s inappropriate behavior? Should I mention that based on the “mouthwatering” comments, it was possible that Dodd had attacked me at Cal’s house? Then again, how exactly would I do that without explaining what I was doing at Cal’s house after the Council closed it up?
I missed my old life. I remembered fondly when my biggest worries were Gigi getting a bad grade on her Spanish midterm or the looming demise of our water heater. I’d carefully constructed a quiet little life for myself, and it had taken just a few minutes in Cal’s kitchen for it to derail. Now I was wrestling vampires in blandly decorated foyers and having angry sex against walls with an ancient Greek boarder.
To whom I was not currently speaking.
