Page 79 of Vampires of Eden

“It’s nice that you care,” he says, tilting his head. “Especially after my disgusting behavior earlier this week. Thank you.”

Our eyes lock in a still moment. Like a semibreve rest that tells the musician to pause.

He is… charming. Sensitive and fragile beneath his sharp and glossy purebred prince façade. Just like Leoni said.

It captivates me. It makes me hungry in a way I’m not at all comfortable with.

Breaking his gaze, I push up from the step to stand. “Not disgusting. And of course I care. Shall we finish staining the table together? After that, there’s some furniture that we can assemble upstairs.”

Alexander stands as well, brushing off his jeans and following me toward the door. “Yeah, sure. Thatsounds good.”

As I grab the handle, I glance over my shoulder. “Just… a word of caution?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep.”

His brow furrows, perplexed. “What do you mean? What promise can’t I keep?”

A chilly wind swishes between us as our eyes lock once more. The dense woods creak as birds twitter and sing. Branches bend and sway.

The urge to reach out and pinch his waist again is unbearable. I want to prove my point, but I don’t do it. Instead, I hold back because intentionally making his eyes alight would be a jackass move and I’m supposed to be in recovery. I’m back on the wagon.

“Nothing,” I say, turning and pulling the door open. “Just be careful.”

When I return to the cottage later in the evening, the lights are on. I head to the kitchen and Leoni is there, sitting at our homey and eclectic table with her laptop open. The screen glows against her warm skin and hazel eyes. Only the low lights above the stove are on, creating a hushed and calming ambiance.

I walk over to meet her. “Hey, you.”

She glances up from her computer and offers a smile. “Hola—how was the safe house?”

“Good,” I say, pulling a chair out and sitting across from her. “Alexander was there, like I predicted.”

She snickers, typing on her keyboard. “Did you give him a good talking to?”

“I did. You were right about him. He is a puercoespín.”

“Without question.”

I fold my arms and exhale a deep sigh. “Do you know who Lord Cherrington is?”

“Unfortunately. Why?”

“Did you know that Alexander’s parents are pushing a bonding arrangement with him?”

Leoni stops typing and draws back in horror. “¿Qué? Es broma, ¿verdad? Me estás chingando, ¿verdad? No waaaay.”

“He’s as bad as he sounds, then?”

“Ugh, he’s an old snake,” Leoni explains, her nose upturned in distaste. “His parents died a long time ago in a mysterious house fire and left him ahugeinheritance, so he’s never been forced to choose a bonding arrangement. He’s arrogant, shady and known for treating other vampires like shit—purebred and ranked alike. Que se vaya a la chingada.”

He can go to hell.

Her response validates my assessment that this is all wrong. I’m not biased just because I have some absurd feelings bubbling inside my nature. “Alexander said that he can’t sit on the board unless he’s married or he has steady income.”

Leoni nods. “It’s probably because Alexander is still young. Those stipulations are applied when a vampire is under a hundred. If Ansväd had waited to retire, this wouldn’t be an issue. But I guess the papers have already been submitted?”

“Sounds like it…” What I’m about to suggest is ludicrous, even to me. Still, I let the words fall from my mouth because I want to know what she’ll say. “Should I lend him the money?”