AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Heh,” I chuckle nervously at his words that cause my heart to pitter-patter against my ribcage. “Is that what you tell all the girls?”
“Would it make you jealous if I did?” he teases, winking at me and my face heats up right there and then.
Would it make me jealous knowing he was saying these romantic things to other women? Does the burning in my chest and the bile rising in my throat mean I’m jealous? I’ve never felt the emotion because of another man before, so I’m not certain.
I stare at my hands in my lap and wonder where I’ll go from here. Valentine asked me if I wanted my husband ‘taken care of’ but I could never live with that on my conscience.
Even though he’s hurt me many times, I don’t think I can freely say that I want the guy dead. I’m not the type of woman to get revenge on anyone or whatever, I’d just rather move on with my life, and that’s that.
I’m so deep in thought that I didn’t even realize that the car had stopped. Valentine gives me an odd look before getting out of the car and walking to my side to open the door for me. He holds out his hand and I take it, then he leads me inside a massive mansion.
This is where the Vampire King, Gabriel Priest, lives. I’ve seen this mansion many times on tv but never would have thought I’d be walking the hallways. It’s eerily quiet, and a shiver shoots up my spine when the thought occurs to me that they’re probably all out feeding.
“Relax, no one here will hurt you unless they have a death wish. Gabe is out with some of the guys at his newly opened club, so you don’t have to worry about running into him either,” Valentine assures me as he leads me up the stairs.
I don’t say anything to this, because at the moment I feel too dumb to speak. There’s a handsome vampire leading me to a bedroom to rest and promises to take care of me.
He also admitted to not being able to stay away from me, so that must mean that he’s thought about me too, right?
Does he feel attracted to me too? I don’t know how he can, it’s not like I’m pretty or anything. Argh, I need to stop overthinking and just breathe!
“Here we are,” he says after opening a door and pulling me inside.
They decorated the room with things that probably cost me a year's worth of salaries without tax, but it’s beautiful, nonetheless. Ah, another reason for me to feel out of place.
“Are you okay, angel?” Valentine’s voice brings me back to the present and that adorable endearment isn’t lost on me. “You seem a few hundred miles away.”
I shake my head. “I just have… a lot of things to consider right now and don’t know where to start or what to make of it,” I admit, wrapping my arms around my body. “My mind is scattered right now.”
He nods, then pulls me into his arms and rests his chin right on top of my head. I blink at the proximity, my heart beating right in my throat, but I decide to just exhale and wrap my arms around his waist.
His body feels hard and firm against me as if he hits the gym on a regular basis.
My arms barely reach around him, that’s how broad he is and when I breathe in, his expensive sandalwood cologne is drowning out my problems.
“Hmm, I love the smell of your cologne,” I say with closed eyes, then feeling mortified at what I’ve just said. “Uhm—”
“I don’t wear cologne,” he chuckles, rubbing my back in circles. “I find it burns my nose, no matter how expensive or light it is. However, your perfume I could drown in all day.”
“I don’t wear perfume either. It must be my shampoo,” I chuckle, then sigh in his embrace again. This feels nice… it feels so nice that I could just fall asleep in his arms while standing up like this. But then he pulls away from me.
“Why don’t you get in the shower, hmm? I’m sure Gabe still has some of Kat’s pj’s that I could bring for you once you get cleaned up,” he says, then walks out of the room without another word.
I look at him leaving and frown, but he’s back a few minutes later with a pair of silk shorts and a tank top. “There you go,” he says with a smile as he hands the clothes over to me.
Once again, I feel out of place when he hands it to me, then he points behind me and tells me that the bathroom is through there. For the next few minutes, I stand under a hot spray, not knowing what the heck to expect and feeling on edge.
Valentine has been nothing but cordial, a proper gentleman, but I can’t help being apprehensive about the entire thing.
No one’s ever given things to me without expecting something in return, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do.
Ugh! I need to stop overthinking!
I take a deep breath and turn off the shower, my mind a blank canvas. When I’m dressed, I walk back inside the bedroom and see Valentine sitting on the bed with a bag of takeout in his hands.
He’s removed his leather jacket and is only wearing a t-shirt and pair of jeans; his muscles looking mighty fine under that shirt.
“Thought you might need it,” he says with a smile, holds up the bag, and pats the empty spot next to him. “Come, make yourself at home.”
