“Well, you have a funny way of showing it.” I cough in a laugh, and then regret it. “You are so hot and cold. I’ve been starting to wonder if you didn’t like me at all. Is it just my dad’s land that you wanted? Because if that’s all it is then you don’t have to pretend that?—”
“No,” he cuts me off. “Mina, you’ve been so much help. The rescue, and I are both better off for your being here. I relish your help.” The frogs have grown quiet now, the morning birds are starting to chirp.
I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat. “Was that so hard to say?”
“I don’t mean to be distant—I just—I want to keep you safe.”
I scoff. “Everyone seems to think the way to protect me is by keeping secrets.”
“Someone tried to break into the hen house again. After you left today.” He admits.
“What?” I demand. “Why didn’t you say anything? Is everyone alright?”
“All the chickens are fine,” he says and relief washes through me. “That’s part of why I came to see you tonight, I wanted to make sure you were alright too.”
“Thanks.” I want to reach for him and settle for turning away and wrapping my arms around myself instead. “You shouldn’t have spent the whole night with me.”
“I wanted to.” His soft voice moves toward me. “I want to tell you everything, Mina. I think you know, it can be hard to trust people.” He’s standing right behind me, so close that I can feel his breath on my neck, and the heat of his body through my shirt.
“I just can’t handle being alone anymore. I was just starting to feel at home here. With you.” I start to turn. But he catches me. His strong arms possessively wrap around my waist to keep me from facing him.
“As long as I am alive, you will always have someone with you. You will never be alone, or unguarded.” His words settle a deep chill in my stomach.
I lean back into his chest, looking up to the sky. The stars are starting to disappear in the grey morning light. We’ve stayed out so late that it’s almost early, the sun will be up soon.
“I should probably be getting home.” I admit.
“What time is it?” Eggward’s voice suddenly panicked.
“I don’t know. Almost sunrise from the looks of it.”
“Sunrise!” Eggward mutters. “I have to leave.”
I start to protest, but then he kisses me, or presses his face into my neck. Regardless, it feels wonderful, sexy, erotic. For a moment I don’t know what to expect. There’s a sharp press at my neck, his teeth dent into my skin. I gasp, and my knees nearly go weak at the feeling, but his strong arms hold me up. It takes a few moments for me to regain my strength, then he releases me almost as quickly as he grabbed me. “Now they’ll know you are under protection.”
And then he’s gone, and despite his words he leaves me alone, shivering in the early dawn without him.
I walk back to my house alone, exhausted to my very bones. Lucy is weird about mirrors in the house, something superstitious I think, but I stumble to my bedroom and angle my make-up mirror to see myself better. But there, clear as day, is a bright red mark on my neck, a single poke, like his other fang didn’t make contact. I rub slightly at the spot. It’s tender, but he didn’t break the skin. Maybe he was being extra careful not to?—
Eggward bit me. Which confirms everything I suspected. Lucy was wrong, and his dumb vampire ass bit me on the neck.
Maybe he didn’t need blood, but he still bit me.
The freak.
I smile at my reflection. I’m absolutely going to gloat when I see Lucy in the morning.
Chapter Five
After arriving home at nearly dawn I wake understandably late. Barely managing to get dressed and ready for work, putting on a wide-necked shirt so the mark that remains on my neck is clearly visible. I admire it briefly in my mirror before I step out of my bedroom. I want everyone to know it’s there.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you have fun last night?” Lucy manages to be consistently peppy, no matter how little sleep she seems to get.
“When did you get home?” I ask. The house was empty when I got home.
She shrugs and sips her breakfast smoothie from a metal tumbler. “After you did.”
“You’re going to have to denounce your all liquid diet because you will be eating crow once you hear what happened last night,” I announce.
