Page 5

T his is a bad idea. I’m already liking this hyperactive puppy way too much to let him go at the end of the night.

He almost makes me want to stay, but I can’t. He would grow old and die as I stayed the same age.

You could turn him.

I startle at the thought. I swore to never turn a human after I was forced to live this life without my consent. Even the humans who beg me, I refuse. They have no idea what they’re asking for. Becoming a vampire means never going outdoors to see the sunrise again. Never feeling your heart race when you’re excited or scared. People you love will die. They’ll be at peace while you go on to live forever and never age .

It’s unnatural. Life becomes repetitive. Life becomes boring.

My one and only friend, Layla, hates that I feel this way. For her, being turned saved her life. She was living in Spain, on her deathbed with the bubonic plague, when her husband paid a vampire to save her.

Vampires don’t like to drink the blood of humans sick with infections. It makes us ill as well. It won’t kill us, but we become weak for days. But Layla said the moment the vampire saw her, he became obsessed.

Vampires don’t fall in love. We fall into possession. We find a human we want and claim them. Before there were rules, many humans didn’t survive a vampire encounter. Now, if they’re lucky, they’ll be compelled and let go and forget all about the supernatural world. Or the vampire will become so infatuated that they’ll turn the human who then becomes immortal and develops a lust for blood.

It’s sick, and I won’t do it.

But Layla was dying, so she didn’t protest. Her husband offered the vampire extra money to turn him, too, but Layla needed a human to feed on to complete the turn. She attacked her husband, killing him—revenge for years of abuse. Then, a few weeks later, she plunged a wooden stake into her sire’s chest. A difficult and painful thing for a fledgling still bound to their sire to do .

But Layla wasn’t going to let another man control her.

She was given a second chance, and she embraced this life as most vampires do. However, I cannot fathom playing God and choosing who gets to live forever.

I was given forever, and I barely lasted five hundred years.

Would the next five hundred be different if I had Teddy by my side?

I shake my head, quickly changing into a pair of sweats and a shirt while Teddy dresses in the living room. How can I have that thought about a stranger, a human, when it’s barely been two hours since we met? I can’t explain it. I’m attracted to him, sure, and I could blame my exaggerated horniness on Ana’s booze and drug-infused blood, but I know it’s more than that.

Nothing in my world is ever that simple.

However, there’s no use investing in this connection if it will be severed at sunrise.

Returning to the kitchen, I open my fridge and frown. Right. I don’t have food here.

“It appears I need to go grocery shopping,” I say when Teddy joins me after getting dressed. “We could order in. Pizza?”

“Sounds good to me. I like everything. Except anchovies. ”

Teddy laughs, his entire face lighting up with sunshine. A tinge of jealousy rips through my chest.

I wish I could enjoy life as he does. Teddy’s joy is natural. I’ve noticed any small moment garners a smile.

How I yearn to view the world through his eyes. Does he cherish every second as if it’s his last? He’d mentioned how controlling his parents were growing up. He spent years experiencing life in a limited capacity.

Is his dark past what brightens his present?

“Do you ever get angry?” I ask, grabbing my phone to pull up the website for the pizza place down the block to order a pepperoni pie.

“Sometimes.” He shrugs. “I find being angry is a waste of time and energy. Not always, but in most situations. Shit happens, and it’s often an issue out of our control. Why get mad or upset about it? How does that help? Especially when mistakes are made by someone who is likely overworked and underpaid. We are surrounded by strangers dealing with their own personal emergencies and adding fuel to the fire will only make it worse.”

“You’re a better person than me,” I say, in awe of this empathetic and compassionate man.

He leans his hip on the kitchen island and crosses his arms .

“Or maybe I don’t get angry because I just like to smile. Maybe I want people to find me irresistible or charming or handsome because of that smile.”

I raise a brow. “Is that why I brought you home? Your irresistible and charming smile?”

“Yes. And because you felt guilty for assaulting me with a door.”

“I did not—” I clamp my mouth shut and turn back to the fridge to hide my smile. “The pizza will be here in thirty minutes. Would you like something to drink while we wait?”

“Sure! Surprise me.”

He walks away, heading straight to my record player. He sifts through the stack sitting next to it—my favorite albums—and pauses halfway through.

Which one did he choose?

He removes the vinyl from the sleeve and carefully places it on the player. He treats it with such care. Just as he did with me after we fucked.

I’m not like a human who needs aftercare to prevent UTIs. I just didn’t want to get cum on my couch. I was shocked when Teddy offered to clean me up. It’s not something vampires do.

We fuck and feed and leave.

Wait .

Teddy and I fucked… but I didn’t feed on him.

My fangs kept dropping, and I even bit him during our kiss, but I had no desire to feed from him.

I mean, I do want to drink his blood. It’s delectable. But my body didn’t crave it as much as it desired his sex.

If we plan to fuck until dawn, making the most out of our one-night stand, I won’t be able to hide what I am from him much longer. My cold skin already has him suspicious. I could reveal myself then compel him to forget, but I’m hesitant after my compulsion failed earlier tonight—something I still cannot explain.

The familiar notes of BB King’s To Know You Is To Love You fill the apartment.

Teddy returns to the kitchen and stops a foot from me. He starts solo dancing to the beat of the song, dipping his shoulders and shuffling his feet.

Crap that’s adorable.

He really is irresistible and charming. I find him incredibly sexy, and I rarely have this unadulterated desire for another being, especially a human.

“Come on,” he says. “Dance with me.”

I’m in the middle of pouring us glasses of wine to pair with our pizza and shake my head.

“I don’t dance.”

“Yes, you do. We danced earlier. ”

“That was slow dancing. I don’t do this...” I wave my finger in front of him.

He reaches out a hand and thankfully I’m saved by my phone ringing.

Wait. The pizza shouldn’t be here already. I just placed the order.

“Are you going to answer that?” Teddy asks when I don’t move. “It could be the pizza.”

“It said thirty minutes, and it’s only been five, and that’s how long it takes just to walk to my apartment from the restaurant.”

Besides, I know who’s calling. I requested no interruptions tonight as it was going to be my last. Only one brave person would defy that request.

The ringing stops, and it’s immediately followed by someone banging on the door.

“Sounds important.”

I curse.

“Stay right here. Don’t move.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Yes ma’am?

I pause because the last time someone called me ma’am was decades ago when I was traveling through the South. Teddy did say he’s from Kansas. Do people in the Midwest say ma’am there too ?

He’s too sweet. Too polite.

I’m going to corrupt him.

“What?” I seethe when opening the penthouse door a crack. “I told you not to interrupt me tonight, no matter what.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” my royal advisor says, trying to peer into the apartment to see what I’m hiding. “But we’ve received word that a feral vampire is leaving bodies across the city.”

“Shh!” I hiss and open the door just enough to squeeze out.

I nod to my security guards standing on either side of the door, then narrow my eyes at my best friend.

I met Layla Sofia Aldana about one hundred years ago. Our connection is rare. Vampires don’t tend to have close friends, at least not in the way a human would. But Layla is the type of person who draws you in, not only with her beauty, but her wit and aura. She radiates happiness, and while I’m her complete opposite, she’s the only brightness I allow in my life. If she were any brighter, she’d rival the sun.

She’s older by a couple hundred years with light brown skin and umber hair that’s always up in a high ponytail. She’s curvy, but not nearly as thick as me. People often underestimate her. She may be short, but she’s fierce. And she’s a badass fighter.

She once took out an entire team of vampire hunters all by herself, just to protect me. It’s why I named her my right-hand woman.

“Who are you hiding in there?” she asks, reaching for the door. I swat her hand.

“No one. Go away. Don’t make me sic the griffins on you.”

My guards roll their eyes because they know I would never do that. Plus, I’m pretty sure Layla intimidates them.

Layla ignores my threat and sniffs the air, then scrunches her nose. “You smell like sex…” Her brow quirks. “Oh and with a man?” She sniffs some more, and her brown eyes widen. “A human man?”

“I do fuck men, occasionally. Humans too.”

Layla is like me. We enjoy the company of all genders. We met in New Orleans at a jazz club. She was on stage singing in her sparkling flapper dress.

She was stunning .

We soon became an item. Our relationship was fueled by attraction. It was the 1920s and casual sex was growing in popularity. It was some of the best years of my life because Layla had quickly become my dearest friend. We had many things in common, including suffering years of being controlled by men.

After a months’ long affair, we decided friendship would be best. Neither of us wanted to lose this connection and sex often ruins that part of a relationship.

It was for the best. She’s too optimistic about life, whereas I’m hours away from ending it all.

I haven’t told her.

I won’t.

I did, however, write a recommendation to COVE, the Council of Vampire Elites, that she be named queen in my place. They’ll find it in my will, which also leaves my entire estate to Layla. Not that she needs it. She has her own wealth and belongings. But she’s the only one I trust with my legacy.

“Who is it?”

“No one. Again, mind your business.”

“I am your business, Millie May.”

I groan. “You know I hate when you call me that.”

“Fine, Your Majesty. So what do you want to do about the feral vampire? Should I call the gargoyles?”

I shift on my feet and nibble on my bottom lip.

“Yes. Have them be on the lookout.” I sigh. “I suppose I should send my one-night stand home so you can tell me everything you have on this vampire. It’s been a couple years since we’ve had one go mad with blood lust.”

I open the door and walk back inside, only to come face to face with Teddy. I freeze in place, and Layla bumps into me.

“What the hell?” she grumbles.

“Um…” Teddy says, standing in the foyer near the penthouse entrance where he definitely heard what we were talking about. “Vampires? Blood lust?”

“Shit,” I say.

“Shit,” Layla echoes.