Dragomir brushed the hair back over my shoulder with cool fingers and studied my throat. “She assumes we are sexual partners.”
“She’s just mad I didn’t gossip about a new boyfriend, that’s all.” I didn’t dare look away from his face; the appearance of his dental occlusions would be a solid indicator of trouble. My whole face burned as I remembered the way he’d embraced me before Betsy arrived. What he’d said and thought, the feeling of his unmoving body pressed against mine, the powerful embrace and the soft glancing touch of lips against lips… “So, uh, about the blood...”
But something else gripped my mind and then I drowned in heated sensations. Lips against lips, his tongue teasing mine, his hands low on my back and then squeezing my ass, hauling me tight against his body. Peeling clothing off one piece at a time, revealing me like a present, then lying naked in front of the fire. Entangled, moving together, heat gathering low and radiating out to…
I jerked back, heart pounding, as his thumb ran across my lower lip. His eyes remained silver and hungry, reflecting back at me like mirrors, and every inch of me shook. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. What was that?
Somehow the vampire maintained a bland, uninterested expression as I stared up at him, panting for breath, and as reason slowly collected around me again, so did understanding. Mind control. Mind tricks or hypnosis or mesmerism. Perhaps meant to soothe prey into cooperating by distracting them, enticing them. That was some serious apex shit.
Maybe I needed to get an MRI of his brain as he tried it, to see whether it was mental or magical or whatever.
Dragomir stepped back with effort as annoyance drifted across his expression, and gave me enough space that I breathed a little easier. He surveyed the living room once more. “Very well.”
Before I could do more than open my mouth, the mug left my hand and then returned, and Dragomir dabbed at the corner of his mouth and the spot of blood on his finger. I peered into my cocoa and wrinkled my nose. “That’s not exactly –”
“If you want it, drink it. If not – do not.” The vampire took one more look around, then slithered to stand in front of me and seized my chin. His eyes reminded me too much of a lion stalking a gazelle. “If someone discovers my existence, Ada Lovelace Montgomery, there will be... consequences. For all involved. I expect you to safeguard my secrets as you do your own.”
I massaged my temples. “I know that, Dragomir, but look what you just did. You told Betsy there’s some kind of relationship between us; she can describe you if anyone asks. If the detectives start asking questions, she might mention you. And how would I explain you to the cops?”
“You believe I should have killed her to keep her quiet?”
“Jesus, no!” I held up my hands to stop him, even though he hadn’t moved. “Fucking Christ, man. Don’t you dare touch her. Don’t get anywhere near her. Forget you ever met her. You hear me?”
“As you wish.” But the corners of his mouth quirked up and revealed the barest hint of fang.
My stomach twisted. If he wanted to hurt me, he didn’t have to hurt me. He could hurt her instead. The thought left my mouth dry and my throat tight. I hated feeling naïve and small, but I’d jumped into the metaphysical deep end without looking, so I’d pay the price for that folly. I just hoped no one else paid for my hubris. “I’m just saying, you have to be careful. Even if you’re the scariest predator in these parts, a mob with pitchforks and torches could probably still give you trouble. Just keep a low profile until we’ve got this shit figured out.”
“Precisely why she must keep her mouth shut, otherwise I will have to ensure the mob never forms.” Dragomir made a thoughtful noise and drifted slowly toward the door. “I will consider adjusting my behavior.”
I watched his back retreat. An uneasy feeling I’d examined for at least a day coalesced into an even more troubling thought. “Do your kind have predators? Is there anything that scares you?”
His shoulders tensed as he paused. The silence stretched until I nearly vibrated with the need to say something. Then Dragomir took one of his exaggerated breaths. “As I said, there are some who hunt my kind for their own reasons. And my kind are... competitive over resources and territory. On occasion we are ourselves the most dangerous predator we face.”
Well, fuck a duck. I was going to give him a nuclear advantage if he could walk in the day. I would be creating the apex-apex predator, the one who hunted vampires. “So if I help you walk in the light, are hordes of vampires going to descend on these mountains looking for the same thing?”
“Perhaps.” He glanced outside and then back at me, showing more fang as he smiled. “We will have to hope it remains secret, hm? Or that my day-walking will eliminate the threat of other vampires.”
With that, he stepped into the night and disappeared entirely.