Page 148 of Vampire so Virtuous

Of course they were. Antoine was doing one-twenty.

She settled into the soft leather of her seat. “I still want to go to mine.”

“We’re going to Fisher Hill.”

She fought to keep her voice calm. “No way, Antoine. We’re notliving together.I desperately need a shower, and I need to burn these clothes.”AndI want to be alone.

He glanced over again, his nose wrinkling. She knew he could smell her—hell, she could smell herself, even without ‘superior vampire abilities.’

“Fine. You can pack a bag, then we’ll go to Fisher Hill.”

She said nothing, letting him take it as assent.But once I get home, I’m not leaving.

For a while they drove in silence. It should’ve been awkward—and maybe it was, for him—but Cally was too wrung out to care. She’d managed a little sleep on Belle’s sofa, so it was less physical tiredness, more just… emotional exhaustion.

“Belle said it was your increased power from feeding on Minh that woke my dormant witch blood.”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

“She was wrong.”

He stared at her for so long that she couldn’t help but nod toward the road. He swung his eyes back. “What do you mean?”

“That vision I had? It was before you bit Minh in the parking lot. And Eve says I did… magic stuff… even before then.”Still not convinced of that.

They’d passed Fisher Hill and reached Brookline, and Antoine turned north toward Allston. The traffic was growing heavier, despite the early hour.

“Have you been bitten before?”

“Would I know?”

“It doesn’t seem likely,” he said, answering his own question. “Most vampires would leave a body. But dizziness and loss of blood? Memory loss, disorientation—a passage of unaccounted time?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Nothing like that. Only when you did.”

He frowned at the windscreen. “What else did Belle tell you?”

“She said the symbiosis of witch and vampire awakens the dormant blood when the vampire is powerful enough. I asked her if she could do it, and she didn’t exactly say she could, but she did say that most powerful vampires wouldn’t want to risk being bound to a witch.” She stared out of the window. Then, her frustration boiled over. “I can’t fucking believe it!” She turned to glare at him. “This is all your fault, you know.”

Antoine glanced at her, his jaw tightening, then his lips twitched. “Not entirely, no.”

“You saying some of it’s mine?”

“Well, next time you walk down an alley alone, wear a T-shirt saying, ‘I’m a witch, don’t bite me.’”

She stared at him, then couldn’t help but laugh. It was all just so ridiculous—she was a witch, practicallymarriedto a vampire. Worse than married;Fatum con-whatever-it-was. The churn of emotions, from hopelessness and despair to anger, fear, and… hysterical laughter.

Then it faded and her eyes filled with tears. “My life is over.”

“Non, ma chérie,it is not,” he said gently. “I won’t let that happen. In fact, you will lead a very long and very full life.”

“Wrapped in cotton wool by my vampire jailor. What kind of life is that?” She hunched in her seat and faced the window again. “You only want me because I’m your little battery bunny.”

“Non, ma chérie,” he said again. “I wanted you before I learned you were a witch.” He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “This probably doesn’t help, but having had time to consider the idea, I am pleased we will be together. I’m looking forward to it.”

“You’re right,” she said. “That doesn’t help at all.”Although it did.

“Do you know how many chattel have sought me at my house in the last hundred years?” he went on, as though he hadn’t heard her. “Precisely one.”