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“Right here,” Rose instructed. Her fingers weren’t so frail now that they were wrapped around my knuckles. I could feel the blood leaving the digits, but I didn’t care about that. “And then left. And into this parking lot. We can go through the rear entrance.”
“You know your way around.”
She shrugged while I hit the brakes. And although we had reached our destination, our hands didn’t part. Which of us was going to act first? It seemed silly, yet it also seemed like something else was supposed to happen. I just didn’t know what.
I frowned at the voice in my mind that told me to release her.
And I obeyed it.
“We’ll be safe here,” she assured while unbuckling her seat belt. “For a little while, anyway. I can give you a room.”
Steel walls rose around me, secure as ever. “We’ll never be safe from those bloodsuckers.”
Never in my life had anyone coaxed the vulnerability out of me. But with Rose, it was easy to forget those bad things that had happened in my life. Too easy.
I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“You will here,” she assured, her tone full of promise. It irritated me as much as it soothed me—and I wasn’t sure which emotion was going to win. “It’s written by the Council.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Council?”
“You really don’t get out much, do you?”
“How could you tell?”
She squinted at me, though I got the impression she wasn’t annoyed. More amused. And intrigued, too.
That last part made me bristle with annoyance.
She waved for me to follow her. “Come on. Get inside. Quickly.”
Her eyes swept over the parking lot. Alert, alarmed, yet alive all the same. And gorgeous beyond reason. They were the kind of pools that swept over me on a warm spring day. Pollen that could come alive, that could make me laugh, that could make me forget the horrors of my past.
I frowned.Nothing could possibly make me forget.
She grabbed my hand and tugged me inside. Tendrils of comfort laced with bubbles raced up my arm. Sweet gods, even her touch infected me with desire. It didn’t make sense and I didn’t want it toevermake sense.
I just needed it to end at some point.
When I snatched my hand away, she showed no sign of offense. She paused in the private lobby, fixed her hair, and straightened her back, perking up like she was waiting for my arrival all along.
“Welcome to Sunrise Mill Inn, Mr. Matéo. What kind of room would you like?” She swept her arm wide, gesturing to the decadent rose gold and shimmering pink hues surrounding us. “We have many options to choose from that will offer you the richest experience of our cozy inn.”
I cocked my eyebrow at her. “Does this work on everyone?”
“Only the ones who aren’t getting chased by vampires.”
“So, I’m an exception.”
She winked. “To the rules that don’t even exist.”
“But you don’t seem bothered that I’ve been chased by vampires. Why?”
A memory washed over her face and then receded so fast that I wasn’t sure I saw her recall anything at all.
She grinned bashfully. “It’s not the first time it’s happened here.”
“In Rochdale?” I lowered my voice while studying our surroundings. “Or at Sunrise Mill?”
