Page 15 of Whispers From The Dark

Dmitri shouts in the hallway, probably having discovered the water, but I’ve already begun climbing through the window when a key turns in the lock. Still, I don’t relinquish control despite how much Petra shouts at me in her mind. Slinging the body over my shoulder, I take off toward a nearby park and toss Joe onto a bench.

“You’re just gonna leave him here?” Petra’s voice is nearly a screech inside my skull.

“He’ll die within the hour and the autopsy will show highly progressed brain cancer. I have no need for him now.”

“What about his family?”

“If he cared about that, he wouldn’t have taken my offer, now would he?”

Petra slams against the wall I’ve created inside her consciousness. I’m impressed when she shakes its foundation.

“You fucking dick,” she murmurs, and for a moment, I think about how she took back control of her hand when I’d almost strangled the new vampire. The confidence and willpower she’d exhibited to fight, nearly pushing me out, was tantalizing in a way I haven’t seen in a long time.

If I had a dick right now, it would be hard as fuck over how she curses and rails against my control, making it almost difficult to possess her. Instead, she grows wet because of my own thoughts.

When a little breathy sound fights to escape her lips, I let it.

Petra is a stubborn faker and an insolent bitch, and I plan on keeping her.

“You made a fucking deal,” she screams, and I decide I’m tired of hearing it. Relinquishing my grasp on her, I let go as she’s walking up the front steps of her building. The sudden motion jars her, and she lurches forward, nearly face-planting on the concrete step.

“Oh, fuck you,” she says, but then a moment later, “Oh, fuck me.”

An image of a black duffel bag in a locker appears in her mind, and a lanyard hangs from the hook at the back. Her keys.

“We have to go back.”

“You need me again.”

“Fuck no.”

“Fine, go back. I’m sure the vampires left and aren’t furious.”

“I already have one broken window—I don’t need another,” she whines, head pressed against the glass beside the door to her building. Suddenly, a sharp pinch erupts near her abdomen, and she sucks in a breath. Just as abruptly as the ache came, it goes.

“Did I injure your body?”

“No. I mean, well, maybe? Were you the one who gave Eve the apple?”

“First of all, it wasn’t an apple.”

Petra swivels in place, head resting against the glass, and laughs—almost maniacally. “You know what I mean. Is it your fault that women get periods?”

“Your menses? I wish we could lay claim to that. It was quite a choice to bind women to the moon, wasn’t it?”

“Then no, Az. This one isn’t your fault.”

Before I can mention that she isn’t bleeding, she thinks, I’m only so horny for a demon because I’m ovulating. Or maybe it’s because of all the monster romances I read. Either way⁠—

She cuts herself off when she remembers I can hear those thoughts.

“Are you going to unlock the door or not?” she snaps. She’s embarrassed, and I’m amused. “They drank a good amount of blood, and I need a snack.”

“Not with that attitude. Tell me about your favorite monster romance. Are the demons accurate?”

“Oh my God, shut up.”

“Are they?”