Blood Debt Read online

  His large frame jolted me forward. I lost my balance, but before I could fall, his hands grasped my hips and steadied me. My breath caught in my throat when his fingers touched the bare skin where my shirt had ridden up.

  “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”

  Fighting down the heat in my cheeks, I turned to him, his hands falling from my hips.

  “I just remembered. What the hell am I going to say to my roommate? How am I going to explain the differences in my appearance? Or why I’ve been gone for four nights?”

  His lips held a hint of a smile. “Don’t worry. Leave your roommate to me.”

  My mouth fell open in shock. “You’re not going to kill her, are you?”

  His deep, hearty laugh bounced off the marble walls of the foyer, and I gaped at him. Somehow, he was even more beautiful when he laughed. How unfair was that?

  “No, Adrienne. I’m not going to kill her. What kind of vampire do you take me for?” he asked with a smirk.

  I didn’t know how to answer that question. What kind of vampire was he? I guessed I’d find out in time. Now that he was my maker, I had a feeling we’d be spending a lot of time together.

  Chapter 5

  Nicholas called a car for us and a black Suburban was waiting at the curb when we exited his building.

  “Have a nice night, Mr. Talbot,” the doorman offered as we strode past him.

  Well, at least I knew his last name now, I thought as Nicholas nodded to the man. But I still had no intention of sleeping with him. At least not in that way. My face heated uncomfortably, and I did my best to angle myself so he couldn’t see.

  If Nicholas was my maker now, did that mean anything beyond that was off limits? I glanced up at him through my lashes, turning before he could catch me.

  These thoughts were stupid. Nicholas hadn’t expressed a single shred of interested in me beyond the maker thing. I really needed to get myself under control before I messed up the first decent thing to happen to me since I left that party.

  I gave my address to the driver and sat back in my seat. There were still dozens of questions running through my head, and I took a minute to choose one.

  “Are there vampire real estate agents?” I whispered.

  Nicholas flung his head back, the confines of the car full of his hearty laughter.

  “It’s all right, you don’t need to whisper,” he told me. “Alexander is a vampire too.” He gestured with his hand toward the driver.

  My cheeks heated. “Oh.” Nicholas chuckled and they burned hotter. “Well? Are there?”

  “We have vampires in all kinds of professions. Bankers, drivers, waiters, CEOs, and real estate agents among many others. Why do you ask?”

  “I thought vampire-proof apartment hunting would be a lot easier if I went through a vampire real estate agent.”

  “Why would you be apartment hunting?” he asked carefully.

  “Well, my lease ends in a few days and the place I had lined up won’t work anymore since it’s not vampire-proof. Think I’ll be able to find something I can afford in Brooklyn?”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Nicholas said with finality in his tone, ignoring my question.

  “What do you mean, ‘that won’t be necessary’?” I asked, imitating his deep voice.

  His scowl was back. “I’m your maker now. You’ll live with me for the time being.”

  “I’m not living with you.”

  “And why do you think you won’t be living with me?” he asked.

  “I know I won’t be living with you because you don’t even have space for me in that bachelor pad of yours.”

  He scoffed. “Nonsense. There’s plenty of space. It will just take some rearranging. It’s customary for new vampires to live with their makers for the first few years at least. Besides, I already ordered you a new bed.” He sounded so hopeful my heart melted a little.

  “You did?” I asked in a small voice. His thoughtfulness tugged at my heartstrings.

  “Of course. It’s not proper for two unmarried people to share a bed,” he explained in a gruff tone.

  At the reminder of our sleeping arrangements the previous day, heat crept back up my neck.

  “Besides,” he continued, “I figured you’d be staying for a while and would want your own space. Unfortunately, you’ll have to share a room with me for now.”

  “What? Why? Can’t I sleep in the T.V. room?”

  What was this, summer camp? I wasn’t bunking with this guy. No matter how handsome he was. In fact, his good looks were another reason why I couldn’t stay in his room. No need to further complicate this weird situation.

  “Absolutely not. The only light-proof room in the apartment is my own. I’m not taking a chance with your life by entrusting your safety to a pair of curtains. It’s not happening.”

  The finality in his tone rankled, even though I knew it came from a good place.

  “But what if you want to invite someone over? Won’t my bed in your room be cramping your style?” I asked, equal parts interested and scared of what his answer might be.

  He looked at me for a moment, seeming to study my face. The passing streetlights alternately bathed his face in a soft yellow glow and threw it into darkness. It didn’t matter; I could see every inch of his face in any amount of light.

  Besides, I’d memorized it by now, anyway.

  “No, Adrienne. You won’t be ‘cramping’ any style of mine,” he replied softly, ending the discussion.

  I guess I have a new roommate.

  Minutes later, we pulled up outside my dorm building. I was nervous to face my roommate after all that had happened. Would my new appearance scare her? What excuse could I give for my absence these last four days? Nicholas said he’d take care of it, but what did that mean? All I had was his assurance he wouldn’t kill her. That left a lot of options I wasn’t comfortable with.

  Swallowing my questions, I hopped out of the car after Nicholas, deciding to do what he asked and leave it to him. He gestured for me to lead the way, and I walked up the cement staircase and down the familiar halls to the room I’d spent the last four years in.

  I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I technically still lived here, but it felt wrong to just walk in. Like I didn’t belong here anymore. I sighed out loud. Feeling like I didn’t belong was nothing new to me.

  The door opened, and there stood my roommate, Charlotte. Her short blond hair was in its typical ringlets and her bright blue eyes sparkled when they met mine.

  “Adrienne!” She squealed, reaching out to pull me into a big hug. She pulled back and took a better look at me. “Where have you been? What’s going on?” She squinted at me, trying to see clearly without her glasses as usual, before gasping and jerking backward.

  I’d forgotten Nicholas was there until he stepped up next to me and locked eyes with her.

  “Hello, Charlotte.” His voice was deep and steady. “My name is Nicholas and I’ve come here with Adrienne to collect her things. She’s been offered a job overseas and needs to leave tonight.”

  “Needs to leave tonight,” Charlotte repeated in a monotone voice, the sparkle in her eyes now dim.

  “That’s right. I believe you have somewhere to be right now too, don’t you?” he asked her in a voice you’d reserve for a two-year-old.

  “Somewhere to be.” She repeated his words again.

  “Say goodbye to Adrienne and grab your purse. You have to go grocery shopping right now.”

  Charlotte turned her lifeless eyes toward me. “Goodbye, Adrienne. I need to go grocery shopping right now.” She turned around, picked up her purse from her desk, and walked past us.

  I watched her shuffle slowly down the hallway before I turned and looked at Nicholas.

  “What the hell did you just do to her?” I almost yelled.

  He pulled me in the room and shut the door before answering.

  “That is called glamouring. It’s a type of hypnosis vampires can use on humans. We can
implant thoughts or take away memories we don’t want them to have.”

  “Is she going to be okay? She didn’t look like herself. There won’t be any lasting damage, will there?”

  “No damage whatsoever. She’ll go to the grocery store and shop like I told her she wanted to. When she’s done with the task I’ve given her, she’ll wake up from the glamour and only remember saying goodbye to you before you left to work overseas. Now she won’t be wondering or worried about where you are. If you choose to, you can keep in contact with her digitally, but I would suggest not seeing her again in person. As you saw, your physical changes were noticeable to her and she’ll ask questions you can’t answer.”

  I took a seat on my old bed, trying to process what I’d just witnessed.

  “Can I do that too? Glamour someone?”

  “Of course. All vampires have this skill. It’s an innate ability that comes with the change. You’ll need to use glamour when the time comes for you to feed.”

  Ugh, how had I forgotten the whole drinking blood thing? I still didn’t know if I could bring myself to do it.

  For the time being, I was fine. I wasn’t hungry–or thirsty–which was a blessing. I didn’t think I was prepared to make that leap yet. I felt like if I didn’t drink blood, I wasn’t really a vampire. In the meantime, I could pretend nothing was different besides my living arrangements and my sleeping schedule.

  Shoving those thoughts to the back of my mind, I looked around the small room I’d lived in for the last four years. It had never been “home”–nothing had been since I was sixteen. I’d lost it when I’d lost my parents. From that point on, I’d just been shuffling from place to place.

  Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to accept Nicholas’ proposal. I desperately wanted a place I could call home, to feel like I belonged again. Maybe being a vampire and living with Nicholas would bring me the solace I’d been seeking for so long. I sure as hell hadn’t found it anywhere else yet.

  A knock on the door interrupted my musings, and I watched Nicholas answer it. Alexander stood on the other side with his arms full of boxes and other packing materials. “There’s more downstairs if you need them,” he said.

  It was then I realized it was the first time I’d ever heard him speak. He had a deep voice that had the slightest indecipherable accent. Now that I saw him standing in front of Nicholas, I realized he was also a lot bigger than him. Taller, wider, but also meaner.

  It seemed like something about bringing packing supplies up to my apartment displeased him. His dark brows furrowed deeply over his dark eyes, and his full lips were pressed so hard together, they were turning white.

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know,” Nicholas said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

  Alexander nodded once before turning around and stalking off.

  “All right, Adrienne. Let’s put your new vampire speed to the test,” Nicholas said, distracting me from staring at the place Alexander once stood scowling.

  I turned to him with a grin. “Really?”

  “Really,” he answered with a grin of his own. “We don’t have long before Charlotte returns so I want you packed up and moved out of here as soon as possible. I’m going to stand aside since I don’t know what’s yours or hers and I don’t want to go poking around in your things.”

  I watched him suppress a shudder and rolled my eyes. Men. What? Was he afraid of coming across a tampon or a pair of panties?

  With my hands on my hips, I surveyed the small room, forming a game plan. Once I had a pretty good idea of how I would pack, I sprang into action.

  Working on my clothing first, I pulled open the closet and deposited the garments, hangers and all, into a box Nicholas had assembled for me. Next, I emptied my dresser drawers as quickly as I had the closet.

  “Come on, Adrienne. I know you can move faster than that,” Nicholas encouraged as he taped my full boxes closed and put together new ones for me to fill.

  With renewed vigor, I spun around the room, snatching items off shelves and out of drawers. I pulled down my wall hangings and gently collected the few family pictures I had scattered around the room. Lastly, I ripped my bedding off the university-provided mattress and stuffed it into the last box.

  I whirled to a stop, taking a look around the now half-empty dorm room. I wasn’t even winded. Spinning in a circle, I confirmed all my things were packed away and finally faced Nicholas.

  “How did I do?” I asked, eager to please him.

  He shrugged a shoulder. “You did pretty good, I suppose,” he said before turning his back.

  “Pretty good?! I just packed four years’ worth of crap in under five minutes! What do you mean pretty good?”

  I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder to make him face me. When he turned, he wore a grin that almost split his face in two.

  “I’m joking, Adrienne, you did great. You’re utilizing your strength and speed really well. I’m impressed.”

  I huffed. “That’s more like it.”

  Nicholas chuckled before he bent down and picked up a stack of two large boxes like they weighed nothing. He turned for the door and I picked up another two and followed him out.

  Huh, they really weren’t heavy at all.

  It was going to take some time to get used to this super strength stuff.

  It took us another couple of trips before all my things were loaded into the back of the Suburban. Nicholas checked his phone before ushering me inside the vehicle.

  “We need to get to the apartment, your bed should arrive shortly,” he explained after he’d climbed in after me.

  “You really didn’t have to buy me a new bed, Nicholas. I could have gotten my own. I’m already taking up residence in your home. You don’t have to buy me things too.”

  The truth was, I wasn’t used to being taken care of.

  “Adrienne, when you’re as old as me, you’ve accumulated more money than you’ll ever be able to spend. Please, allow me to buy you a few necessities as I see fit.”

  I didn’t know which question to ask first.

  “How old is that exactly?” He couldn’t have been older than thirty.

  “I just celebrated my 254th birthday.”

  “What?!” My voice ricocheted around the interior of the SUV.

  Nicholas arched a brow at my reaction. “Haven’t you heard vampires are immortal?” He asked the question like this was common knowledge.

  “I mean, I guess. I just hadn’t thought about it.” I gulped, not sure I wanted the answer to this next question either. “So that means I’m immortal now?”

  “Of course not.”

  “But you just–”

  “I asked if you’d heard vampires were immortal,” he cut me off. “Not that we were.”

  Like that made sense.

  “So then how the hell are you 254 when you look like you’re thirty?” I was getting sick of this game already.

  “Twenty-eight, actually.”

  I growled under my breath and he grinned at me. Grinned. My right palm itched to smack the grin off his face.

  Stupid, confusing, pain in my ass vamp–

  “We aren’t immortal, but the change slows our aging considerably. There isn’t a specific formula since everyone is different, but it seems as though most of us age about one year for every hundred we live.”

  One year for every hundred.

  Holy shit.

  Taking advantage of my speechlessness, Nicholas continued. “Alexander here is over five hundred, aren’t you?” he asked our driver.

  He grunted. “Five hundred twenty-three, actually.”

  It was too much to take in. I was speechless.

  I turned to Nicholas, and my eyes widened in shock. I wasn’t immortal, but I was damn close to it. Numbers and calculations ran through my head in rapid succession. If the average lifespan is about eighty years, that meant I had another fifty-eight human years which translated to another 5,800 years as a vampire. I wouldn’t die of old age until the
year 7,816. If the Earth was still around at that point. If the sun hadn’t burned out by then. If–

  “I can see the wheels turning in your head, Adrienne.” Nicholas’ voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “The years you have left to live aren’t as important as the time you have now. The longer you live, the more you come to realize the only thing that matters is today. What we do with it, how we live it. Tomorrow may not come and yesterday is gone. Today is all you have. Hope for tomorrow, but live for today. Do you think you can you do that?”

  His words rolled around in my head, calming my nerves and soothing my soul. I didn’t need to worry about the thousands of years spread before me, just like I hadn’t worried about the decades I had left when I was human. I would continue to live for today, and hope for tomorrow, like Nicholas suggested.

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded. I could live for today. I had to. What other choice was there?

  Nicholas slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. The contact should have been awkward, but I found myself relaxing into his embrace. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to be held until that moment. The past forty-eight hours had been a whirlwind of information and my nerves were frayed.

  It felt nice to be in someone’s arms. To let them do the worrying for a few minutes. To let myself be taken care of. I’d always been an independent person. I had to be after I lost my entire family in one night.

  But in this new world I’d found myself in, I needed to let down my guard and let someone in to help me. Thankfully, Nicholas had offered to fill that position already. All I had to do was sit back and let him. For the first time in a long time, I vowed to do just that.

  Chapter 6

  When Nicholas mentioned buying me ‘a few necessities’, what he’d meant was an entire bedroom set. The bed was a beautiful, king-sized, four-poster canopy bed made of wood, painted a delicate white. Framing the bed on either side were matching nightstands. Along with those pieces were an armoire, and a long dresser that had an oval-shaped mirror attached to the top.