Page 37 of The Vampire Debt

Alaric lifts his hand and wraps his long, elegant fingers around my wrist, gently guiding the dagger away. “Am I now?”

“Yes!” I say. “It doesn’t matter how many times you compel me or threaten me—I will never be afraid of you.”

“And is that why you were searching for me, to tell me this?” He tugs on my wrist just enough to throw me off balance. I am forced to take a step to keep from falling into him. “Are you sure you’re not here for…otherreasons?” he asks, his tone full of meaning that makes my blood heat.

His other hand settles on my waist and he pulls me closer, until my front is flush against his. His eyes are focused on my mouth, then they lower.

I follow his gaze to my dress… but it’s not the dress I put on for dinner. It’s a nightgown, and I had been too set on finding him to realize someone changed me.

“Did—did you?” I look up at him in horror and embarrassment rises from my chest, up my neck to burn my face. I am hot and cold at the same time. “Did you do this?”

“You mean, did I change your clothes?” he asks with a nonchalant air.

“Yes,” I say, hating that the word comes out breathless. “Did you see menaked?” I cross my arms over my chest, feeling self-conscious at the turn in the conversation.

“I have seen countless women naked in my lifetime,” he says. It’s answer enough for me.

I can’t think with him this close. I’m embarrassed that he’s seen me… I’m infuriated. But most of all, I hate that having him hold me close makes me want him more than I want to end him.

My heartbeat speeds up and I wonder if he can hear it. The way he touches me, holds me, is so familiar it is as if he’s been doing it our entire lives.

It makes me feel like a traitor to who I am and to Xander. But even Xander has never made me feel the way Alaric does with just a look.

Clenching my jaw, I use that to fuel my purpose tonight.

I place my hands against his chest, still holding onto the dagger, and push away. His hold gives without resistance.

A dark smile forms on his beautiful, full lips. “My dear Clara, you flatter me.” His arrogant mask slips and he adds, “No, it was not I who dressed you…”

It takes me a moment to understand what he said.

“I would not force myself on you. I’m not…” He stops talking, halting on his next words and I know what they will be before he speaks. His eyes grow wide and I feel mine react the same. Instead of finishing that thought, he says, “What kind of man do you take me for?”

“You are not a man,” I bite out, trying to infuse as much hate as I can muster for him… and trying to remain unaffected by him. Inside I shiver, something clenching in my stomach. My body betrays me, wanting what it should fear, damnable thing that it is.

His nostrils flare as he steps closer. His eyes narrow and a wicked grin forms on his lips. “Make no mistake about this, Clara. I might be a vampire, but I am still a man.” Red rings his irises, a mixture of fire and ice.

Suddenly my mouth is dry, and my tongue feels thick and heavy in my mouth.

“What do you want from me?” I ask.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

My life. He wants my life in exchange for the vampire I killed.

“You’re insufferable,” he says when I don’t reply.

“And you’re a demon’s ass.”

“And you should be more careful with that sharp tongue of yours.” He leans over me, a dark smile forming across his lips.

I swallow. “Are you going to kill me now?”

He looks at me appraisingly, as though he’s weighing his options. “I haven’t decided yet.”

But I think he has.

“If you’re going to kill me, why don’t you do it already?” My back bumps into a bookshelf. I hadn’t even realized either of us had moved.