Page 113 of Vampire so Virtuous

Cally rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless, do you know that?”

“And yet you still adore me.” She smirked. “I’m off, babe. Marcel’s getting me an Uber on Antoine’s tab. Seems perfectly fair to get your boyfriend to pay for it.”

“Don’t call him that.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, finishing her coffee and rising from the bed.

“He’s a damn vampire. He isnotboyfriend material.”

As Eve headed for the door, she threw over her shoulder, “I saw the way he was eyeing you last night. I know that look.” She opened the door and stepped through, glancing back. “It’s the one I hide from you often enough.” She flashed Cally a grin as the door closed.

Cally stared after her. Did Eve’s playful veneer hide a deeper pain? And how could she think that about Antoine?

She shook her head. Her best friend was lusting after her—that was weird, but manageable. Cally was pretty sure Eve had come to terms with the situation, and she didn’t mind the teasing; it was fun. Maybe Eve had mistaken Antoine’s attention for the same thing, but Cally knew better. Antoine didn’t look at her with love or lust; he looked at her with hunger. Like a filet mignon on legs.

Great. He thinks I’m a cow.

She scowled and pushed herself up, padding into the lavishly appointed en suite of the palatial bedroom Marcel had found for her.

Half an hour later, dressed once again in last night’s clothes, she headed downstairs to see if Marcel was offering breakfast and walked into the living room, intending to continue through to the main hallway from which Marcel always appeared.

“Good morning.”

Antoine was sitting in his usual chair by the fire, wearing his usual black T-shirt and jeans, a book open on his lap. The same one Eve had pulled from the shelf the evening before.

Crap.

“Uh, good morning. I thought you’d be asleep.”

“I was thinking about it,” he said, resting a finger on the page to mark his position. “But the sun is only just coming up.” His eyebrows raised. “Would you like a coffee? I can call Marcel.”

“I’ve had one, thank you.” Cally realized she’d frozen just inside the door, and walked further into the room. She’d hoped to avoid him this morning, slip away before he awoke, yet here he was—offering her a cup ofcoffee no less, as if it were a perfectly normal thing for a vampire to do. “Has Eve left?”

“Yes, about half an hour ago.” There was a wry glimmer in his eyes. “Lovely lady.”

“Lovely as in… nice? Or as in tasty?”

“Lovely as in feisty, irreverent, playful, brave, and loyal.”

“You got all that from one night?”But he wasn’t wrong.

“She has her own brand of humor that I quite enjoy, and it’s clear she’s devoted to you. She said—let me see if I can get this right—‘If you hurt her, I will pour kerosene in your eyeballs while you sleep, then light your whole fucking coffin on fire.’” His lips flickered with a hint of a smile. “Then she thanked me for a lovely stay, and wished me a pleasant rest.”

“That sounds like something she’d say.” Cally took a step in, then decided, to hell with it, and walked over to the chair opposite him, sitting down. “I’m guessing you don’t sleep in a coffin, do you?”

“No,” he said. “My room is opposite the one you used last night. I sleep in a bed.”

A shiver ran down her spine. “How do you know which room I slept in?”

“Marcel told me.” He looked back down at his book. “Don’t worry, I didn’t stop by for a midnight snack.”

Doesn’t mean you didn’t watch me sleep, you creep.

“Even though I’m sure you would’ve enjoyed it if I had,” he added. He turned the page with more care and reverence than he’d ever shown her.

Cally bristled. “Don’t you dare feed on me while I’m asleep.”

“Where would be the fun in that?” he murmured to the book in his lap. “Half the pleasure is feeling you writhe.”