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“What did he look like?”
“His hair was graying, and he appeared old. But when he stood up, he was tall and not frail. He was a witch, but there was something creepy about him.”
Tripp frowned. “How did you know he was a witch?”
“Purple around him,” she said. “Like you, but more”—she grimaced—“yucky.”
The corner of his lip lifted at the childish word, but Tripp looked thoughtful.
“Someone from your past?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Tripp didn’t much like to talk about his personal history. He’d done some things he wasn’t proud of, but hell, live long enough and all of us had done bad stuff. Roman and I . . . well, I didn’t like to talk about it either.
“Maybe.” Tripp shrugged, then he turned and headed down to the main floor again.
Delphine watched him with narrowed eyes, but when I leaned closer and offered her a hand up, she took it. I led her back down the ramp and into the offices and service area in the back of the main room. From there we took the stairs down to Roman and my apartment. With just the three, or with Hudson the four of us as primary workers for the aquarium, we all found it easier to just stay on site. Tripp lived upstairs in what we called “the Penthouse,” but his apartment had too many windows for Roman and I. We’d claimed the basement instead and had it redone to suit our needs.
“You live down here?” she asked as I took her through the door into our living room.
I tried to see it through her eyes, but I didn’t know what she’d make of our lair. In the middle of the room was an oversized and very comfy couch, and on either side were tables with large gold lamps. The couch faced the big screen, and in front of the screen I’d lined up several different game consoles. The walls were lined with bookcases with all the different things Roman had studied over the years. We had a small kitchen off one side, though we primarily used the fridge for blood stock. But since Hudson crashed on our couch fairly often, we’d taken to having a few human foods available.
“Yes, I have that bedroom, and my brother’s is over there.” I flicked the switch on the wall and the ceiling opened up, revealing the tank above us.
Delphine lifted her chin and gazed at the fish that passed by. “It’s beautiful.”
Delphine
The ceiling was amazing with the tank giving everything a blue glow. The furniture seemed to be black, gold, or dark wood. Everything was sleek and expensive, but what else would I expect in a vampire’s lair?
I crossed over to the large and very comfortable looking couch. It was black, of course, in this bachelor pad, but it had two chaise sides and a large ottoman in the middle. I reached out to stroke the cushion, wondering just how soft the leather was, and pain sliced through me. With a scream, I clutched my arm to me. A bleeding gash ran down the side of my wrist.
Levi rushed over, his fangs protruding. “Are you okay?”
I blinked at him, unsure what had happened, then stared at the couch.
A creature rose from between the cushions. With oversized ears, intelligent green eyes, and a long dark-brown-colored body, it took me a moment to recognize a cat. A very self-satisfied looking feline who licked her bloodied claw and scowled at me.
“Cinbad,” Levi scolded. “Bad girl.”
“Sinbad?” I asked, still in shock. “Isn’t that a boy’s name?” I didn’t know why my brain went there, but I winced at the pain as Levi examined my arm.
“Her name was Cinnamon when we got her,” he bit out, “but she’s so bad that we ended up calling her Cinbad.”
Cinbad swayed down the couch and settled with her back toward us. Her tail swished madly in annoyance.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” I said.
Levi grumbled something unintelligible. Then he turned my arm back and forth. Leaning forward, he licked along the cut and I squirmed. I’d forgotten I was down here, alone, with a vampire, and now I had an open wound again.
“Hold still,” he muttered.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “I’m not food.”
Levi scowled. “Vampire spit can seal up wounds.”
I frowned. “Then why didn’t you do it upstairs? Before?”
“It was too big, and there were other symptoms. The human doctors would have asked questions if I had to take you to the hospital.”
He continued licking my arm, and I felt warmth spreading through my core. There was something about these guys that seemed to instantly turn me on, even when one was licking a cat’s scratch.
