Page 49 of Vampires, Whiskey, and Southern Charm

“Up or down, Masie?” Stark asked again.

My eyes toggled between the options as I thought about what to do next. My original goal to get rid of Stark was in limbo now that I knew we had an entire community of vampires. The problem was too big for one person to handle. I could inadvertently trigger a massacre of the entire town if I acted without understanding the situation.

Kill one wasp, you rile up the whole nest.Not that I was even sure I wanted to kill Stark. I mean, the man lived on a golf course. How big a threat was he really?

Regardless, I’d made a deal with Stark to give him this night in exchange for saving Jimmie’s life. I supposed I had to see it through.

“Up,” I replied.

“After you.”

I started up the stairs and noticed an odd scent that reminded me of cinnamon. “What’s that smell?”

“My new plug-in. Holiday spice. Do you like it?”

What the…?Vampires liked air freshener. “Sure. I guess.”

“I have many antiques, and sometimes the odor is too much like a thrift store.”

This night just kept getting weirder.

“Stop in front of the second door,” Stark said.

“Okay.”

It took a while to get there because the hallway at the top of the stairs went on forever.

I got to the door, stopped, and faced what looked like an ordinary bedroom door with dark-stained wood. “What next?”

He stayed back a few feet. “In that room you will find every device known to man, each one capable of evoking extraordinary pleasure—or pain, depending on your preference. You will pick five that you wish me to use on you.”

I stepped away from the door. “’Scuse me?”

Yes, I was feeling curious about Stark and what a relationship with him might be like, but it would take a lot more than that to give myself to him.

I was raised a certain way and unashamed of it. I liked the idea of my first time being with a man I felt connected to in every possible way. I wanted to be married to him and know he had my back, just like I had his. I planned to give myself to someone who wanted the same things out of life.

In short, my sexual curiosity with Stark didn’t warrant betraying myself, my hopes, and my upbringing. I liked being good. It was the only thing that kept me from falling down the dark hole inside myself.

“What’s option two?” I asked.

Stark grinned. “Basement.”

“And what will I find down there?”

“You will choose five objects and use them on me.”

This was a “me fuck you five ways” or “you get fucked five ways” test?

“I choose neither,” I said.

His eyes narrowed with annoyance. “That is not a choice.”

“As long as I have my own mind, I say it is.”

His supple lips flattened. “I cannot verify you are Anna if you do not enter one of the rooms and choose five objects. Her tastes in the bedroom are well documented. She practically wrote the handbook on human-vampire intercourse.”

“Anna was human?” Shocking.