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Joey deserved it. It was his life or mine. I was relievedwhen Samuel broke through the door and tore into his throat… but it was still hard to see the life ebb away from his eyes. Not so much out of guilt or because I felt any sort of familiarity with my ex-customer, but because I know my life could be snuffed out just as easily.
And I don’t want that to happen. It’s the reason I took Samuel seriously when he told me I had to leave with him. It’s the reason I’m inside this bathroom while a vampire sits in the other room. Death is real. I’ve seen it firsthand, tasted it in the air.
Before now, the premise of death was a lifetime away, so distant I could push it away from my mind.
Not anymore.
After washing my hands and turning off the sink, I leave the bathroom. Samuel has reclined onto his back, taking up the entire length of my bed as he gazes at the ceiling above.
He turns his head, eyes following me as I slink around the room. Our eyes remain fixed on each other as I sit by his side, my back flush against the headboard.
Samuel’s lips lift, lazily spreading to reveal his dazzling teeth. “Feel better now?”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
It’s impossible to pretend I’m not drawn to Samuel. His physical beauty is captivating, but it’s more than that. When I look into his eyes, I feel like I’m attaching to something deeper, something unspoken. He looks at me as if he’s trying to express his vulnerability without actually speaking about it.
“Do you need anything?” he asks, voice low.
I shake my head.
We stare at each other for a moment longer. So long that his dark irises start to dilate, reminding me of the science documentaries I watched about black holes.
“What’s your full name, Jane?”
“Jane Ava Johnson.”
His eyes narrow slightly. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Why’d you leave North Carolina?”
I close my parted lips, feeling my jaw clench. “I thought we already discussed this.”
His lip twitches. “I don’t think we discussed it thoroughly. Real life is more messy than a simple trope, remember?”
The past isn’t an easy topic to talk about. It’s not that my childhood was a horror story, or that I left behind a toxic relationship. The truth is mundane, and a little shameful. My mom, my dad, they were decent people. Sure, they were extremely religious and over the top with their judgmental attitudes, but was that enough to sanction my decision to leave them?
I was a nineteen-year-old dreamer back then. And now I’m on the run with a dangerous, legendary monster, and he’s staring at me, waiting for an honest answer.
I exhale, blowing away my anxiety with the gesture. Samuel should know who I am, and who he’s stuck protecting. “I left because I wanted to experience something different. Another reality, one where I wasn’t confined to working at the general store while my daddy shot-gunned away every boy I brought home.” My shoulders droop. “I just wasn’t into the small-town lifestyle. Or, at least, I didn’t think I was.”
Samuel strokes his chin, and I realize both of his gloves are off. His hands are slender, with veins protruding up to his fingers. I wonder if they’re soft, despite their supposed cold-ness.
“And what do you think now? Was living in the city the answer to your problems?”
I grimace. “No, not really.”
“What about…” his voice trails off, and his face blanks. “Boys? Were you seeing anyone before this happened?”
Dumbfounded, I raise my brows. “You think I’d have let you whisk me away if I had a lover who’d miss me?” I shake my head. “No, I wasn’t seeing anyone.”Other than the occasional run in with cute boy next door.
I remember the humiliating fact that he could hear me through the walls, and my face pales. Silently, I pray my vibrator was on its lowest setting each of those days.Please, dear God.
Samuel leans toward me, and soon his face is only an inch from mine. I hug the blankets close to my chest, unable to breathe or even think.
“One more question before you go back to sleep, Jane.” His nostrils flare, and I notice the slight flutter of his eyelashes. “If I hadn’t…” His jaw clenches. “Revealed myself,would you have accepted an invitation to have wine with me?”
