Page 31

CELINE

" L una!”

I burst into Bean Hive with none of the grace and stealth Zavier asked me to.

The woman in question halts what she’s doing behind the bar when I yell her name.

She must sense my panic because she apologizes to the customer she’s helping, handing off the mug she’s holding to another employee, and rushes over.

Luna’s blonde hair waves behind her and I'm hit with a cloud of her delicate perfume when she stops in front of me.

“Celine, what’s wrong?” Her eyebrows furrow and I glance around noticing all the patrons staring at me after my outburst. “Is it something with work?”

“Actually, I’m off but my vacation time just took a turn for the worst. Come here,” I hiss, and grab her arm, dragging her into the supply closet behind the bar.

“What’s going on? You’re scaring me.” She crosses her arms over her chest and peers imploringly into my eyes.

“I’m scaring you?” Her comment strikes me as funny after everything that just happened. “A man just bled out, almost to death might I add, on the floor in front of me and now has me here to request blood. To drink. ” The last two words leave in a barely audible gust of air.

Luna’s eyes grow big as saucers at my words. “Zavier? Is he okay?”

“How’d you know?”

“Oh, girl, he is down bad for you. Who else could it be?” She’s already rummaging around in a fridge hidden behind a shelf full of different syrups and coffee cups.

“What trouble did he get himself into? If he sent you here, it must’ve been bad.

Gosh, he better pull through or we’ll have to deal with him haunting us, I’m sure. ”

I sputter at how casual she’s acting. “How are you okay with this? I’m certainly not!” My level of hysteria is slowly rising. “Are you in kahoots? In some weird ass cult where you drink blood? Zavier wouldn’t give me any answers.”

Luna stops what she’s doing to give me a pitying glance.

“If Zav hasn’t told you yet, then it’s not my story to tell.

” She casually holds multiple blood bags and closes the fridge, setting them in a small portable cooler.

“Here. You need to get back to him with these as soon as possible. If he’s injured, he’s going to need these and the sooner the better. ”

Shooing me out of the closet and toward the front door she gives me one last sad smile.

“Just hear him out, Celine. I know it all sounds fake and downright insane, but it’s real.

He genuinely likes you so don’t do anything rash.

There’s so much about the world that none of us really know and now you’re getting to see a side of that very few humans ever have the curtain pulled back on. ”

I give her a hesitant nod and high tail it back to the apartment. I have a multitude of questions for her, it’s in my nature, but there’s something tugging at me telling me I have to go.

“I’m here!” The front door slams against the wall as I throw the keys down and rush inside. “Zavier, you better not be dead! I haven’t gotten to interrogate you Detective Brennan style yet!” A low, weak wheeze sounds from the living room, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“I haven’t gotten to go down on you yet, how could I pass away?” he questions, and I marvel at his ability to be flirty even in the state he’s in now.

Unzipping the cooler and yanking out two of the blood bags I jog over to his prone form on the couch.

“Here.” Thrusting it in his face when I rip the cap off, he grabs it and slurps down the crimson liquid.

“That hits the spot.” He licks his lips. “AB negative is my favorite. Luna must be feeling bad for me.” Zavier chuckles and swallows another mouthful of the bag to finish it off. “I’m gonna owe her big time.”

Wordlessly he motions for the other bag and does the same thing.

Each suck brings color back to his pale skin and it’s like his once gaunt face is full of life and warmth again.

He drinks the other two bags I have in the cooler before finally thudding back against the couch with a relieved sigh.

Long fingers push the blanket aside to reveal perfectly smooth skin where there once were nasty wounds. Not even a scar is left behind.

“How is that possible?” I murmur and back away, thumping clumsily to the floor in disbelief.

In my rush to help Zavier and get him more blood, my adrenaline has kept me going until now.

I didn’t give myself time to question what was going on, but now that immediate danger is out of the way I’m back to a state of what in the fuckery is this.

Zavier must realize the predicament he’s in because his eyes dart to mine and we stare at each other in silence, neither knowing what to say next.

“Might as well rip the bandage off.” He runs a hand through his red hair much like the color of the blood he was just downing. “I’m a vampire.”

I wait for him to say more but he doesn’t. No punchline to the joke, no ha I got you, Celine. He says nothing else and sits there waiting for me to reply to his ridiculous statement.

“A vampire,” I reply in a deadpan voice. He nods. “I vant to suck your blood ... kind of vampire?”

Zav rolls his eyes at that one.

“That’s a harmful stereotype, how dare you bring that up?

” He crosses his arms, sporting a mock pout on his lips, but I don’t budge in my serious stare.

Zav deflates, and I swear there’s a twinge of worry in his emerald eyes.

“Yes, a vampire. I know it sounds crazy but it’s true.

There’s no easy way to explain it so there. That’s the truth.”

“You’re right. It does sound crazy. You know what else is crazy? Luna acting like giving away blood is completely normal and you showing up on death’s door but recovering in an insanely quick amount of time after drinking blood. None of it makes sense.”

I mean, I guess it does make sense if I choose to believe him.

Feeling antsy, I get up and start to pace around the living room. There’s no way I can stay still with the turbulent emotions inside of me. As a detective you need to have solid facts to build your case and put criminals behind bars. Simple opinion and educated hypothesis won’t get you anywhere.

I just need to think about this logically even though it’s completely illogical.

Through my internal debate Zavier sits still as a statue but his eyes follow me as I pace back and forth. I try to ignore his heavy gaze, but I feel the weight of it, it’s impossible not to.

Midnight decides to make himself known and gives a short hiss at me when I almost mow him over before prancing over and jumping up next to Zavier on the couch.

That in itself is one piece of evidence to consider, as much as Midnight hates me, because he’s a grump, he loves Zav. Animals are intuitive and if Zavier is the predator he claims to be, I don’t think Midnight would be so chummy with him.

Another piece to consider, the state he was in and the healing that took place after he had blood is undeniable.

I don’t think I can blame it on being tired or half asleep when he’s right in front of me perfectly fine.

His blood spilled from last night still covers the floor and has started to dry around the edges.

Something else to consider is how strange Zavier is.

The man has always carried an ethereal grace to him. There’s just something about his aura you can’t put your finger on, but you know it’s more than what’s “normal”. He walks with a stealth and confidence you’ll never find on most human beings.

“Prove it.” Even with the thoughts running through my mind I still can’t wrap my head around it.

He arches an almost mocking brow. “The sort of dying and coming back to life with blood thing wasn’t enough for you?”

Zavier gives a half snort but gives Midnight one last stroke before standing.

He slowly approaches me where I’m positioned over by the TV stand and I back up right into it, pinned between him and the furniture.

I should be screaming, maybe shaking in terror, but instead I find my body subtly lurching toward his.

His large palm cradles my cheek, and I lean into him before coming to my senses and pulling away.

A flash of hurt fills his face, but I look away and try not to feel guilty.

“Please, don’t be afraid of me. Don’t pull away.” His baritone voice cracks, breaking my heart. “I can’t stand it.” Thankfully he doesn’t make another move to touch me and backs up slightly.

A soft clicking sound fills the space and I glance back at Zavier with a gasp. He looks exactly the same minus the deadly sharp fangs that now poke out from underneath his lip. The deadly curve and shining pearlescent finish to them give a lethal edge to this already gorgeous man.

Drawn like a moth to a flame, I can’t stop myself from softly running my pointer finger along their edge. Zavier suddenly grabs my finger and pulls it away.

“I’d be very careful if I were you.” His voice is barely a whisper full of restrained desire. “My fangs are very sharp and I’m not feeling particularly in control right now.”

“Are you going to hurt me?” It’s a question anyone in my place would ask. Cornered by a wild animal who barely seems to be holding themself back.

“No.” Zavier breathes out. “Never. Never you.” With the utmost gentle touch, he slowly folds his arms around me and deflates in relief when I don’t automatically pull away.

I should. This whole situation is fucked and there’s still part of my brain that can’t fathom the man in front of me being a creature from mythology that most definitely shouldn’t be real.

“I’d rather die than hurt you.” He passes his long fingers through my messy strands.

I look up at him, unable to keep the question from leaving my tongue. “If you were so desperate for blood ... why didn’t you ... drink mine?”

A small part of me can’t help but be curious what it would be like. Would it hurt? Would it feel good?

Zavier lets out a strangled sound and I stiffen. He immediately loosens his grip on me. Soft lips against my ear cause shivers to ripple through my body. The magnetic pull between us is particularly strong in this moment and it’s like I couldn’t move if I wanted to.

“I couldn’t. Especially right then, if I drank from you, it wouldn’t end any other way than with my cock inside your pussy.

” His filthy words send a flush of heat through my chest. “Like I said before, you deserve more than that. I also refuse to take you to bed and fully claim what’s mine until you’ve accepted what I am and you’re okay with it.

I know right now you aren’t.” With that, he backs away and sits back down on the couch, one lean leg crossed over the other.

“You must have other questions so hit me with them.”

Wanting to keep some distance between us with the tension in the air I choose to grab one of the stools from the bar and drag it over to sit across from him.

“All right, let’s talk.” I wrack my brain for which question I want to ask first. “So, do you deposit your paychecks at the blood bank?”