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"Before you feast..." His voice was a low timbre that shot straight down to the center of her belly. "You should know that he may have eaten something... not so agreeable... to your kind.”
Adeline stopped at the man's back and turned. The vein in his neck pulsed, but his heart rate didn't increase. This man was much more wicked than she thought. She crossed her arms, glaring at the back of his head. "Oh?"
He faced the fire, still whittling away at the spear. The ends of his black hair curled around his ears. Underneath his bushy beard was a jawline that made his profile look far more severe. "Yes, he may have eaten some garlic greens."
Garlic greens. She chuckled. "That old wives tale? You think—"
"No, I didn't feed it to him. He got into my stash for the winter before I could put him in the cage. He is dizzy and weak and close to death, hence why he is in the cage waiting for you to help him on his way.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she looked at the cage again. She could feel her teeth elongating with the promise of blood. This time, she listened more intently with her immortal ears. There. The heartbeat was getting fainter. Soon, the creature would pass, and though the blood would still satiate her, it would not give her the strength she needed to feel completely revived.
With a sigh, she stalked over to the cage. Reaching her hand into the metal contraption, she grabbed the poor creature around the scruff of its neck and pulled it from its enclosure.
ChapterFour
His eyes followed her finger to the sink."Do you mind?" The vampire asked, holding the weakened rabbit in the air.
"By all means, I hate cleaning blood off my floors." Rolf turned to the fire, giving her his back even though he could feel her glacial blue eyes driving into him each time his back was exposed. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and it took every ounce of willpower to keep his heart steady.
Rolf shaped the end of the stick into a needle-thin point. He turned it in his hands, finally satisfied that it was as sharp as he could get it, and set it on the floor next to his chair. The fire cracked once more, and, to save himself the agony of hearing his guest bite into the poor dying creature, he grabbed a few logs and threw them into the flames. They cracked, sizzled, and popped - sparks flying every which way as the green wood fought against the flame. Smoke filled part of the cabin, so he stalked to the nearest window and cracked it.
He stood there momentarily, breathing deeply as the scent of iron and the tang of blood filled the room. The woman could barely contain her noises as she ate, and it took all he had not to react to the abrasiveness of the sound.If he had hackles, they’d be raised. It was the most unforgiving sound he had heard in a while.
Rolf stared outside, watching the snow pile higher and higher against the side of his home.
Where did all of this snow come from, anyway? It was at least a month early, and with the volume at which it was falling, it would be Spring before it melted again. He was thankful that he at least had the wherewithal to replenish his woodpile the other week. But food? Rations? He hadn't had a chance to harvest the rest of his garden. The root vegetables and squashes were now buried underneath at least two feet of snow.And if he were to have an unwanted guest for a few more days, how on earth would he be able to keep her from his neck?
The thought caused him to shudder.
“I’m finished,” she said. “You can turn now. Don’t worry, I am a clean eater.”
He closed the window as slowly and casually as he could manage. Pivoting, he focused his attention on her face, noting that she managed to keep everything clean. Not even the stain of fresh blood marred her perfect skin—
Her vampiric skin, he silently corrected himself.
Rolf watched as her fingers lingered on the corner of her rose-colored mouth. And though he had initially tried his best not to look the night prior as he undressed her from her wet clothing, now in the light of the cabin and the roaring fire, he had to peel his eyes from her curves. A delicate creature, the curves of her skin begged to be free of the countless layers of cotton undergarments.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, centering himself again.
His eyes snapped open, and her icy eyes met him with a question.
“How did you know?” She asked.
Her hands moved deftly in her hair, taking out countless pins and shaking out her tresses. Her scent filled the room, and images of cobblestones wet with rain mingled with amber and vanilla. As she smoothed her hair and twisted it into a knot at the top of her head, her fingers wove the pins back in. They disappeared seamlessly into the dark depths of her curls, and he wondered why she didn’t leave her hair down.
“You have a slow heartbeat,” he retorted. Rolf leaned back against the windowsill. “And with how cold and wet you were, you should have been dead hours ago. And yet…”
He gestured to her clothing and then, finally, to her.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “And yet, here I stand.”
“And here you stand.” Rolf squinted and pulled his top lip between his teeth.
Her eyes fluttered down and then back up, quickly looking away.
“So, Vampire.” He almost growled the words. He couldn’t help it. Not only did he hate her kind, but he practically drove them single-handedly out of his woods over the years. He loathed them with every fiber of his being. It wasn’t something he ever set out to do. It was just in his nature. “Tell me, why are you here? In my woods? Armed to the teeth? What had you ‘walking for hours’?”
“Adeline,” she snapped back. “The name is Adeline. I might be a vampire, but I do have a name. I’d prefer you to use it.”
