Page 83 of Vampire so Virtuous

“You want me to express my gratitude for bailing me out of a situation I was only in because of you?” She sniffed. “I hope you’re immortal, because you’ll be waiting a while.”

This time he did smile. The most entertaining visitor he’d had since… well, he didn’t get visitors.

“Something amusing to you, Vampire?”

Marcel chose then to return with a tray, bearing an open bottle of Margaux and a crystal glass.

Cally glared at Antoine in silence while Marcel crossed the room, until the old retainer drew near. She looked up at him. “Are you a vampire too?”

“No, madam, I am not,” Marcel set the tray on the table and poured her a glass. “Would you care for anything else?”

“No,” she replied tersely, then added more politely, “thank you.”

“Of course, madam.” Marcel bowed slightly and left, closing the door once more.

“My name is Antoine.”

“What?”

“Antoine. My name. Not ‘vampire.’”

“I know. I also know Anthony Du Pont is an alias, given your ‘dad’ and your ‘grandfather’ had the same name. Subtle,” she added scathingly. “How have you never been found out before now?”

“What makes you think I haven’t been? What do you think happens to young women who turn up at my house, unannounced?”

“We both know they never do.”

“One did today,” he said, pointedly.

“Yeah? Well, she’s here for a reason.” Her glare was back. “You’ve marked me. Whatever it is, I want it gone, and you’re going to do it.”

That was interesting. She shouldn’t have been able to tell.

He affected an expression of polite curiosity. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I want it gone! I canfeelit inside me.”

She certainly shouldn’t have been able tofeelanything. “Elaborate for me. What can you feel?”

“I can feel your fucking mark, okay? I get this…squirmingin my stomach whenever I see you. Whenever I think of you, I feel a pull toward you. It’s like we’re connected, and it’s freaking me out.”

He tilted his head and regarded her. The pull was accurately described, so she could truly feel it. On the other hand, the stomach sensation had nothing to do with it, and was presumably her own physiological reaction to him.

Antoine wondered at its cause. It wasn’t fear; he’d smell it if it were. While there was a faint hint of that spicy scent, it wasn’t strong—like she knew he was dangerous, but didn’t think he’d hurt her. He couldn’t understand why she was so sure, even though she wasn’t wrong.

So, not fear. Loathing? That much was obvious, which he supposed was no great surprise. She’d said ‘squirming’, though, and that didn’t seem to fit. An intriguing mystery, but he was letting himself get distracted.

Far more important was the connection of which she spoke. It shouldn’t have been possible; he’d never heard of such a thing. The mark must be significantly more powerful than he’d intended if it was working bilaterally—but then, he’d marked her right after feeding from Minh, when he hadn’t fully grasped how much more powerful he’d become.

If that were the reason for it, then it was only by luck that he hadn’t done her some damage—somehow, the power of the mark had made it two-way, instead of frying her brain and turning her into a mindless, fixated zombie. Worse than a thrall.

She was waiting for his response, and her glare hadn’t lessened. It made her gray eyes even more beautiful.

He chose to play ignorant, buying himself time. “A pull, you say? Is that how you were able to find my house?”

“No, Vampire—”

“Antoine,” he interjected a polite reminder.