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The carved wood back door opened onto a tiled hall. To the right was a small, enclosed kitchen, so Holly only had a glimpse as she passed by. Everything looked old-fashioned.
A room to the left held a twin bed. Rez had lived here as a child once, but there’d been no other children.
The front part of the house opened to a decent-sized living area with quaint dormered windows overlooking the Boylbury Main Street. Inside shutters would have protected the vampire family from the day’s sunlight.
He offered her a beer.
She saw the decanters on a shelf to the right of the fireplace and asked for a scotch.
He responded with a wry smile. “Good choice after this night’s revelations.” He headed to the compact set-up. A wood bookcase with three shelves had been set into the wall next to the table.
She moved close feeling like she kept getting knocked out of stride. She supposed it was one thing to have opinions about a man based on the kind of bar he frequented. But it was quite another to have them suddenly shift about wildly when she entered the home he grew up in. His grandfather’s smithy had been remodeled by Rez’s father as horses gave way to the automobile. Rez’s birth family was now gone. He’d married and raised his own family, but they were gone as well, save a missing, presumed-wraith-bonded, teenage daughter.
Sweet Goddess her heart hurt.
He poured her a scotch. “This is from Walvashorr Realm. Not a blend. Elves make it. The name eludes me, though. Something about a wolf.”
She smiled. She thought she knew. “Houndstreath?”
“That’s it.” He poured two glasses.
“Terrible name.”
He chuckled. “Not exactly memorable.”
“I believe it’s an ancient family recipe. My father loves it as well, the only thing he’ll drink.”
“So, the professor’s a scotch drinker?”
She nodded as she took the glass he handed her then sipped. Once. Twice. Then to hell with it, she took a long, burning guzzle. She might have regretted it halfway down, but the flaming sensation would pass soon enough and she could always add a healing flourish.
She closed her eyes and waited.
There it was, the soothing sensation as though all the muscles in her body relaxed at exactly the same moment.
“Better?”
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Damn. She forgot how handsome he was. “You could have been a model, you know.”
He looked taken aback. “That was the last thing I expected you to say.”
She rocked her glass. “Whisky works fast on me.” She released a sigh.
He took a swig of his own then set his glass back on the small silver tray. His lips parted and a faint frown pinched his brow. He looked as though he wanted to say something, then sighed. “I’ll be back in a few. Make yourself at home. Look around. There’s a hearty bean soup in the fridge and some excellent bread if you want a quick meal. My neighbors take care of me.”
“Thanks. I’ll fix some for us both, if it suits you.”
He dipped his chin. “More than you know.”
He gestured past her to what was the westerly side of the house. “There’s another bathroom there, if you want it.” He then nodded to her, turned on his heel and headed the opposite direction.
Her gaze followed and new cravings beat at her. The vampire was bare from the waist up. The man was Guardsman-sized and his shoulders went on and on. She’d gripped them in both hands while pressed against the oak. She remembered how incredible it had felt to hold onto so much muscle.
She only realized her lips were rimming the edge of the glass when he disappeared from sight. She’d just had sex with Rez, but one view of him from behind and she was tingling all over.
She rolled her eyes and decided she’d take him up on his offer and make use of his other bathroom. She finished her whisky then headed into the small, retro space that had a shower curtain around a claw-foot tub.
She turned the water on then stripped out of her jeans and shirt. A minute later, she stood with her hair wrapped up in a towel and her neck bent beneath a pleasant stream of warm water. It felt so good, so relieving. Combined with the whisky, a lot of her tension eased away.
