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I roll my eyes and have a gulp of wine, the grapes mixing beautifully with the blood, smoky and rich. “They know the risks in coming here.”
“Regardless,” he says steadily, “I thought maybe you could use someone who could take a, well, necessary roughness.”
“If you think vampires stand a chance against my guardian, you are sorely mistaken.” I saw the demon wrap its tail around Aleksi’s neck and then pop his head clean off.
He clucks his tongue. “I don’t know how you sleep at night.”
I shrug, not knowing if he means with the demon here or with the way I conduct myself. Perhaps both. “Not well, thanks for asking.” I sigh. “Anyway. So you think a vampire might handle my appetite better. Perhaps. But is that the real reason that girl is here?”
I stare hard at him until he flinches a little. “What?”
My brow goes up, suspicious. “I know why you brought her here.”
He blinks and clears his throat and I know the truth immediately. He is quite transparent and it’s not because of his pale skin.
“Why?” he questions but I hear the reluctance in his voice, like he knows he’s been found out.
I give him a triumphant grin. “You’re trying to set me up. That’s easy to see.”
Van Helsing stares blankly at me for a moment before he says, “I’m setting you up…”
“Isn’t it obvious? You bring an attractive vampire here, one that is already a fan of mine, so I don’t have to win her over. You think I need the company beyond a quick fuck. You think I’m lonely up here, that perhaps if I had some other vampire in my life that it would tame me in some way.” I have a sip of my wine and smirk. “Sorry, Doctor, but you’re sorely mistaken.”
A look of palpable relief comes across his brow. “Whew. Well. I’m glad I don’t have to keep that from you anymore.”
“It was a nice try,” I commend him. “She’s just my type. You know me well.”
“But youwillgive her a try, won’t you?” he asks.
I smirk at how eager he is. “I will give her a try tonight. Sure. But she’ll be leaving with you in the morning.”
He looks disappointed.
“Sorry,” I add. “But the last thing I need is another complication in my life.”
His look of disappointment turns into one of disbelief. “As if your life is highly complicated,” he notes. “You’re a fucking hermit.”
I bristle at that. “You try living here with thatthing.”
“I’m sure your magic book makes it all better.”
“It does,” I tell him curtly.
I only wish that the pages would fill themselves in. I haven’t seen a new spell appear in the book for over four years now. It’s like whatever has been supplying me with magic, perhaps the book itself, has decided to withhold the last of it for reasons unknown. It doesn’t stop me from pouring over the pages every night, wishing the pages would fill with ink before my eyes. There has to be more to it. There has to be some way to unlock more of it. But how?
Van Helsing steers the subject away from the book and back onto Rose.
“Just be nice to her,” he says.
I let out a wry laugh. “Nice to her? Oh, I’ll be nice to her. Where did you even find her anyway? Her accent is American.”
“She’s from Oregon. She came into my lab requesting to meet you.”
“And you didn’t find that odd?”
“At first. But you know how the young ones are. They want to know everything.”
I frown mid-sip. “Young ones? How old is she?”
