Page 16 of Burn Falls

I grinned. “I am.” I’d never been in this position before. It was unethical, but now I didn’t care.

“Why would you want to flirt with me when you can have any woman in this bar?” She looked around as though she was going to find me my next conquest.

“Something tells me that you’ll taste like heaven.” I was talking about her blood, but by the way Calla’s eyes became huge, I realized that she thought I was talking about her pussy. I was almost certain that would taste even better.

She blushed, and her heart started to beat faster. If she gave me the okay, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Instead, she slid off the barstool. “I’ll just—” Calla stumbled as if all the alcohol had gone to her feet, and I reached out to steady her.

“I think I should get you home.”

“I need to get back to the hospital,” she slurred.

I stood and looked down at her. “What did I say about trusting me?”

She swayed as I held her up. “There would be no change tonight.”

“Right. Let me take you home, and tomorrow afternoon I’ll come and check on you at the hospital.” Luckily the days were short in Alaska, and it was pitch dark before four in the afternoon.

“You’re gonna take me home?”

I nodded. “I am.”

“Are you going to have sex with me?”

I smirked. “Not tonight, sweets.”

“What if I want to have sex?”

“Ask me that again when you’re sober.”

She crossed her arms over her ample chest. “My mother was right.”

“Your mother’s wrong. So fucking wrong. If I wasn’t your father’s doctor, and you weren’t two sheets to the wind, I’d bend you over this barstool and fuck you so hard that everyone in this bar would be jealous.”

Her cheeks flamed again, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think her heart was going to beat out of her chest. “Okay. Let me pay the tab, and then you can tuck me in.”

“I told you, these are on my tab.”

“Thank you.” She grabbed her purse and swung it over her shoulder as I handed my card to the bartender. I didn’t let her go in fear she’d fall.

“Of course.”

After I signed the credit card slip, we walked across the street to where I’d parked in the garage for the hospital. If it weren’t for my strength, I’d have had to carry her, but I was able to keep her upright and us moving. There may have been a time or two when her feet lifted off the ground, but she was too drunk to realize it.

I opened the passenger side door of my black Mercedes and helped Calla into the seat, buckling her seatbelt after I watched her fumble with it. Then, after getting in on my side, I made my way out toward Burn Falls. I’d hoped to find out more about her, but five minutes into the drive she had fallen asleep.

An hour later, I pulled up outside the two-story home in the middle of nowhere. This was another reason I’d chosen to live in Burn Falls; the closest neighbor was a half a mile or more away. A thought occurred to me: if Miles was being drained because of a bad business deal, why didn’t the vamp wait until he was home and not in town? It made no sense why he was attacked at the distillery. Did this prove it was a random attack?

I shook Calla slightly. “Calla, you’re home.”

Her eyes flickered open. “Huh?”

“We’re here. I’ll walk you to the door.”

By the time I walked around the car to open the passenger door, Calla had fallen back to sleep. I reached inside, unbuckled her seatbelt, and then started to carry her up the long drive.

“Calla,” I whispered once I made it to the door. “I need your keys.”

“Hmmm?” she said against my chest.