Page 4 of The Vampire's Mate

“Did you need something?” he asks, quirking one dark brow.

“Cookies.”

His eyes flit down to the plate in my hands before rising back up to meet mine. Slowly. Did he pause on my breasts? Fuck, can he see my nipples trying to burst through the thin material?

“It seems as if you already have some,” he says.

“What?” I ask, confusion breaking through my fog of lust and anxiety.

Of course, I have nipples. Everyone has them.

“Cookies,” he says, pointing a finger at the plate in my hand.

“What?” I ask again.

Did I mention I’m a brilliant conversationalist? Especially with smoking hot, half-naked men?

“I asked if you needed anything, and you said cookies. But you already have some. In your hands.”

“Oh. No, these are for you. A housewarming gift,” I say, finally catching on and holding the plate up a little higher.

“That’s very nice, but I can’t eat those.”

“Are you allergic? There’s no nuts in them. I swear,” I say in a rush.

“In a sense,” he says softly, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

I can’t help but pant as my heart accelerates. Fuck, that’s sexy. He has dimples are a mile deep, and his blunt, white teeth are so straight, he must’ve had the greatest orthodontist on the planet when he was younger.

“I can make you something else if you can’t have cookies,” I offer, grasping the tail of the conversation and holding on tight before I lose it again and look like even more of an idiot.

He leans a shoulder against the doorjamb and crosses his ankles. The move makes the muscles in his chest tighten and dance, and I fight the urge to lean forward to see what they taste like. Just one bite…

My lascivious thoughts disintegrate when he leans forward slightly, his gaze trained on my bare neck, and inhales deeply. His smile turns slightly feral, and his dark eyes brighten.

My bones petrify as my eyes flare wide. They’re laser focused on that smile, so I don’t miss it when his canines shift, growing slightly longer and more pointed before his smile drops and his lips seal shut. He pushes off the door jamb, straightening as I take a step back.

“Eden, wait,” he says, but I’m already spinning, my ponytail flying out in a wide arc behind me as I prepare to haul ass back to my apartment.

Half the cookies slide off the plate to hit the tile floor as I spin, but I don’t stop to clean up the mess. I don’t stop at all until I’m safely back in my apartment, the door closed and locked behind me. I lean back against the wooden panel, breathing hard through my mouth as my brain tries to wrap itself around what just happened.

My new neighbor is, indeed, a vampire.

And if I’m not mistaken, he just admitted he wants to take a bite out of me. And not the good kind.

“Fuck,” I whisper.

What am I going to do now?

3

THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE WEIRD

I pace across my living room, dropping the plate and what’s left of the cookies onto the coffee table. I retrace my steps, leaning against the door and holding my breath as I listen for any telltale footsteps that Jesse followed me back here. Hearing nothing, I push away from the door and move to the center of the room.

I just found out my neighbor is a vampire. A real-life monster in gorgeous model’s body.

Hell, I was planning on seducing the man not fifteen minutes ago, and now I’m afraid I’ll be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of my life.