REX
There was practically nothing to do here. It was freaking boring without the hot vampire. I woke up, had breakfast and was fed a very sweet fruit. Uchele, they had called it. I'd seen no fruit like that, and I ended up devouring everything because, why not? It was that freaking delicious.
I had a nap after my meal and then took a tour of the house. There wasn't even much to see, as most of the doors were locked shut. Apparently, Nyx had a lot to hide. Typical of a vampire. His coffin must be in one of those rooms, and he's just hiding it, right?
In Dracula, the count slept in a coffin, so it must be the same. That was likely why I woke up alone on the bed, with his side cold.
"Miss, here's your juice," a maid said as she approached with a tray.
I took the glass from the tray and smiled. "Thank you so much." I lifted the glass and took a sip.
She bowed and took a step back.
There was just one thing I noticed. The maids all seemed distant. When I tried to strike up a conversation with the one who brought me to the garden, she had run like the entire legion of devils were behind her, and since then, I hadn't seen her.
Three unfamiliar ones came to check on me occasionally, and they kept their distance. I was convinced that if I spoke with this one now, she would appear as the first one did.
She stayed until I finished the juice before she took the empty glass and scurried away. I leaned back on the bench and looked up. With the silence and just the sweet scent of flowers to accompany me, I felt so fucking lonely. If only I had something to do.
Before everything went south, I worked. I poured everything into my company and all that went down the drain in a day. I knew Kevin had something to do with it.
I lifted my hand to shield my face from the sun.
"What are you doing all alone out here, ma belle?"
The question startled me. I turned, and my lips tugged up in a smile. Standing a few feet from me was Nyx, in all his freaking glory.
He wasn't wearing the formal clothes from last night, just a loose black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing forearms that looked like they could snap a tree in half. His curly black hair was messy, like he'd been running his hands through it, and those red eyes caught the light like actual rubies.
I was getting used to their colour unlike the first time I'd actually seen them.
"Were you missing me, Meine Liebe?" he asked.
I snorted. "Missing you? I was having the time of my life eating mystery fruit and terrorising the staff."
One corner of his mouth lifted. "Terrorising?"
"They run away from me," I said, gesturing vaguely at the path the maid had vanished down. "Like I'm contagious."
Talking to him comes more easily than I thought it would. I had figured we would remain strangers until… Well, until we part ways.
Nyx settled onto the bench beside me, close enough that I could feel the chill rolling off him. It wasn't corpse-cold, exactly, but like standing near a deep well on a summer day.
"They are afraid of me," he mumbled. "Not you."
"Yeah? Then why do they bolt every time I say hello?"
"Because I have made it clear that any harm that comes to you, any discomfort, any slight, will be answered in kind." He turned those red eyes on me, and there was something ancient and terrifying moving in their depths. "They're just keeping their distance to keep themselves safe." He grinned, showing off those sharp canines of his.
I should've been horrified at the sight of his fangs. Instead, my stupid heart did this little flutter-kick thing, and I had to look away before he saw me blush like an idiot.
"That's…" I cleared my throat. "That's messed up, actually."
"Is it?" He leaned back, mirroring my pose. "You are my guest. My responsibility."
"As if," I muttered under my breath. "I'm more like a prey."
He laughed, even though what I said wasn't funny. It was a startling, rich and warm sound. I wanted to hear it again immediately.
I stared hard at his mouth until he stopped laughing and looked at me. His eyes darkened.
"Rex." He said my name like a prayer and a curse. He reached out and traced my lower lip with his thumb. My breath hitched in my throat. "Ask me to stop if you don't want this."
I should. Any sane human wouldn't want to have anything to do with a damned bloodsucker. I should too. Instead, I leaned into his touch and said, "Have you forgotten we signed a contract, Nyx? I still have one year with you."
His eyes flared, the red deepening to something almost black, and a growl rumbled in his chest.
"Then," he whispered, bending his head until his lips were a breath from mine, "I am afraid you are very, very stupid, Bambina."
"Probably," I agreed, and closed the distance. His mouth was cold, but his kiss burned.
His hand slid into my hair, fingers tangling at my nape. His tongue swept along the seam of my lips, and I parted them. He kissed me harder, like he'd been starving.
I made a sound, and he drank it down… His tongue swept deeper, and then I felt the grazes of his fangs. A single fang dragged across the swollen flesh of my lower lip, so slowly I felt every millimetre of that razor edge. Pain bloomed, and then my blood was on his tongue and he growled.
My thighs pressed together beneath my sundress and my pussy throbbed. I was getting fuckingly wet, and just from a fucking kiss.
He pulled away just enough to let me see his face. "I can get addicted to you, Dalkomhan."