Page 28 of The Vampire's Mate

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You were fine until a few seconds ago, and now you seem…I don’t know. Off,” she says.

I take a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. Steph has always been able to read me like a book.

“Why did he pick me?”

“What do you mean?” she asks, looking truly perplexed.

“Vampires are out,” I say quietly. “I’m sure there are millions of women who’d give their left tit to experience sex with one. Jes––He could have any woman he wants. Why does he want me?”

Steph leans back with an exaggerated eye roll. “You’re gorgeous, Eden.”

I look down at myself, eyeing my thick thighs and the rolls of my stomach stretching my shirt. When I look back up, one eyebrow is arched as I stare at her pointedly. She’s gorgeous. With long, shiny brown hair, dove gray eyes, and a body with curves in all the right places, my best friend is a bombshell.

“Stop it,” she says, reading my mind. “You’re perfect. And I would commit murder if I thought it would get me an ass like yours. Besides, which one of the two of us has a vampire giving her multiple orgasms on the regular?”

“Fair enough,” I say, giving her a genuine smile. “I haven’t even told you about the bit––”

“Hello, girls.”

I startle at the sudden appearance of Bernadette. She’s holding a tray with two steaming mugs atop it, and carefully places one in front of each of us before straightening. Her eyes, the same color as her niece’s, study me for a moment as her nose twitches.

“What are you two whispering about out here?”

She asks the question to both of us, but her steely gaze never leaves me. There’s something off about her stare, and I quickly realize it’s missing the warmth that is usually there when she sees me. Her back is stiff, too, and her cheeks are ruddy as her chest heaves with quick, unsteady breaths.

“Oh, Eden has a boyfriend,” Steph says, her tone light and teasing.

“Is that so?” Bernadette asks, her gaze boring into me even harder than before.

“It’s new,” I say, my eyebrows drawing low as she continues to stare.

“Aunt Bernie, are you okay?” Steph asks, and Bernadette’s entire body twitches as if she’s snapped out of a trance.

“Yes, of course. You girls let me know if you need anything else.”

With that, she spins and walks away. I watch her go, then turn my wide eyes back to Steph.

“That was weird. What’s going on with her?” I ask.

Steph shrugs noncommittally. “Who knows? She’s been acting strange for days, and when I ask her about it, she blows me off with excuses. I think she’s just getting cranky in her old age.”

“She’s not that old, Steph,” I say with a light chuckle.

“Whatever. What were you saying before she interrupted us? Something you hadn’t told me yet?”

I lean in close, motioning for her to do the same. “I let him bite me.”

“You did what?!” she shouts, and I frantically motion for her to lower the volume.

“A bite doesn’t turn you,” I say quickly. “That’s a myth. But it does make you come harder than a nuclear explosion.”

“Holy shit,” she breathes, her eyes wide with wonder. “Please find out if he has any vampy friends. Mama needs a nuclear explosion.”

She gives me a desperate look, and I laugh. I love her so much.