Saved By Your Hot Book Boyfriend

26. The Hot Guy Celebrates Your Birthday

26

The Hot Guy Celebrates Your Birthday

You

You continue to stare back and forth from Ziros to the cake. Dumbstruck.

“Well?” He asks, “Aren’t you going to blow out the candles?”

Candles. Yes, there are lit candles, despite the wind. Candles that did not go out.

Because magic.

Apparently.

“Right, of course,” you say, nodding along, still not really sure what’s going on. Is this a dream? This has to be a dream.

“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Ziros says as you take a deep breath.

A wish?

You’re still far too half-asleep for this.

What even to wish for?

In the .005 seconds before you blow out the candles, you close your eyes and focus on the first thing that comes to mind.

You get them all in one sweep.

Does that mean your wish will come true?

With another disbelieving glance from the cake to Ziros, you ask, “You…made this?”

He grins wider.

“Yep.”

And he’s never looked so proud of himself.

Honestly, he should be proud of himself. You’re seriously impressed. You can still barely believe it.

The dude is incredible.

Slowly, you say, “You didn’t tell me you’re a chef.”

Ziros just laughs.

“A chef? Nah. This was nothing.”

“Nothing!?” You lift the cake carefully higher, examining all the sides, getting a closer look at the perfect, artful swirls of chocolate. There’s not a crumb to be seen, not a stray bit of frosting or a chocolate curl out of place. It’s perfect. “This is amazing!”

“Be careful,” Ziros says with a grin, still leaning against the wall. “You know every compliment you give me is going straight to my ego.”

He looks like he’s joking, but you’re pretty sure he’s absolutely serious.

At least he’s self-aware?

He already has an ego big enough for two people, but how could you not compliment him?

“Nobody’s ever done this for me before,” you say, shaking your head, still holding the cake in awe.

You sniffle, trying to blink back the tears as they threaten to spill over.

Too late.

“You’re crying,” Ziros says with a frown, pushing off the wall. He carefully takes the cake plate from your hands, setting it on the bedside table before sitting down on the comforter beside you.

He slings an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close.

“Hey, now. Please tell me you’re crying because of how awesome I am, and not because I’ve been deceived by everything I read on your phone about modern traditions, and giving cake on a birthday actually means something awful.”

You laugh softly, wiping your eyes on the sleeve of your borrowed shirt.

“It’s definitely the former.”

“Oh?” You can hear the smirk in Ziros’ voice even before you look at his face. “So you’re saying I’m actually so awesome, I made you cry?”

You nod, then shake your head.

That just makes him grin wider.

“Mission accomplished.” He tucks a strand of loose hair behind your ear. Leaning close, he whispers, “ Happy birthday, human .”

Is this a dream? It must be a dream.

You can’t even bring yourself to be annoyed that he’s still calling you ‘human’. If anything, it’s almost endearing.

He pulls away, taking the cake back to the kitchen with him.

“So, should I let you cut this, or do I bring you a slice?”

Normally you might not be so keen on having cake first thing upon waking, but hey, it’s a special occasion.

“You can bring me a slice. If you don’t mind.”

And besides. Being hand-delivered homemade cake in bed by a hot guy is kinda a dream come true.

Speaking of hot things.

You blush at the memory of last night.

Did that seriously happen?

You might think it was just a dream, but the bite marks in your borrowed shirt say otherwise.

Who knew being bitten by a vampire could be so hot?

Okay, definitely the authors of all your favorite vampire romance novels. They absolutely knew.

But still.

“And for the birthday human,” Ziros says, presenting you with a perfectly-cut slice of cake. There’s even two layers of chocolate frosting between the layers.

It looks like something you’d see in a store.

“Okay, no lies: You seriously made this? No joke?” You’re still not quite sure you believe him. It hardly seems possible. “I didn’t even hear you cooking.”

Ziros frowns, and for a second you swear he looks like he wants to say something. But he just shrugs and says, “You were sleeping pretty soundly.”

Odd. You’re not usually that sound of a sleeper.

“I guess I must have been really tired.”

Now for the real test.

You slice off a bit of cake onto your fork, bringing it to your mouth. Ziros watches from a few feet away as you slowly savor it.

Well, hold my donuts and drink my coffee!

It doesn’t just look good.

It tastes amazing!

Ziros grins, cutting a slice for himself. “Based on your expression, I’ll take it you like it, human.”

“Not to inflate your oversized ego any more than I already have, but this is amazing. I still can’t believe you made it. You could seriously open your own bakery. Or—” You stop mid-sentence, struck with what you hope is an amazing idea. Possibly the best idea. “I work at a cafe. You could totally get a job there. I bet my boss would be all over hiring someone who can cook like this. What else can you make?”

“A job, huh?” Ziros sets his empty plate down—yes, empty already—and stares off into space. For a moment, he looks like he’s considering it. Then he shakes his head. “Nah. I don’t need a job. That sounds like work.”

“Exactly! That’s the point.”

“I don’t like work, human. I only like fun.” He smirks, leaning in over you where you sit on the edge of the bed. So close, he could kiss you. But instead he just brushes the edge of your lips with one finger. Smirking harder as you blush, he says simply, “You had a crumb on your face.”

You fold your arms, turning away with a pout. “You did that on purpose.”

“Did I?”

He gets up, heading for the kitchen sink with his empty plate.

Based on the way he’d swept through your kitchen like a storm the first night, you never would have expected he could be so organized and so good at baking, but the kitchen is surprisingly spotless. Even the cake pans are already washed.

“Did you take so much blood that I died, or maybe I’m still asleep? Is that it? Because this feels like a strange dream.”

Okay, all of this has felt like a strange dream. Everything ever since the moment that weird bookshop appeared.

Nothing has been normal since.

Not that you’re complaining.

“As long as it’s not a nightmare,” Ziros says, turning around as you try to sneak to your closet to grab a change of clothes.

His eyes travel down the length of your bare legs, then back up.

“My shirt looks good on you,” he says with a slow smirk, leaning back against the wall as he watches you pass. “You should wear that more often.”

You blush.

He’s being so flirty and nice. If you’re not careful, you might even start to think he likes you or something.

But that can’t be.

Right?

He wouldn’t. You’re just a human, and he’s a vampire… half-vampire , that is. You glance at him, but this time he’s not looking. Speaking of, if he’s only half vampire, then what’s his other half?

Not that it matters. All he wants is for you to set him free.

That was the whole deal. Ha, you should probably get learning how in the world to do that.

Maybe you should have made that your birthday wish. But no.

Guiltily, you wished for something else.

Something impractical and improbable and probably totally one-sided that you absolutely had no business wishing.

Especially not after learning the ‘power of wishes’.

I wish we could be together forever .

Yep. That’s what you wished for.

It’s a good thing Ziros didn’t try to get you to say it out loud.

It was a selfish wish, maybe. And an impossible, impulsive one, surely.

But it’s too late to take it back.

At least no one else will even know but you.

“It’s just a silly wish,” you mumble to yourself as you shut yourself in the bathroom and climb into the shower, ready to start your birthday feeling refreshed. “What’s the big deal?”

Ziros

Is it my imagination, or did she not lock the door? I didn’t hear a click .

Still.

I know better than to think that was intentional, that it was an invitation. She lives alone. Or—she used to.

Before me.

There’d be no reason for her to lock it with no one else around.

But I want to see it again—that shirt.

Wet .

I let out a low, involuntary growl at the memory of it, nearly translucent as it clung to her curves. That’s an image I hope never fades from my mind.

Not for an eternity.

I can’t help but picture her now, standing in the hot water, steam rising all around as she waits for me to join her.

Damn .

I’m the one who needs a shower.

A cold one. Ice cold . Because all I want is to sink into her again. And not just with my fangs.

I haven’t felt this alive in centuries. Not even before I was locked away.

I don’t know what the hell it means, but everything just feels…different now. Different than it ever has before.

It must be the human’s magic flowing through my body.

I mutter a curse under my breath, grabbing the edge of her kitchen counter. If I don’t hold onto something, I might give in.

And then who knows what the hell I’ll do.

I need more.

But I can’t.

I won’t .

Not when I can’t shake the bad feeling that I’m the reason she slept so soundly.

I don’t think it was just the blood I took.

No.

I think I took her magic.

And I didn’t do it on purpose. That’s the scary part.

Stealing blood is one thing, but life energy? That’s how you kill someone.

Okay, taking too much blood would do it, too. But both together? That’s a recipe for disaster.

It’s gotta be that damn link all over again, making her magic flow too easily into me.

But now that I’ve tasted her blood, it’s like something has awoken deep inside me. A hunger that won’t go back to sleep.

I can picture it now as clearly as if I’m there in the shower with her.

I want to pin her against the wall and bite her all over again.

I growl, clenching my teeth at the thought. I can practically taste her.

And it’s her birthday. I’d make her feel so damn good. I’d give her whatever she wants. If she’d let me, I’d carry her to the edge of the bathroom counter, spread her legs, and—

What the hell am I thinking?

I’ve gotta get control of these damn thoughts.

I grab a glass, filling it with cold water before chugging it down. Then another, half-tempted to pour the next one over my head.

I can’t think. Couldn’t sleep.

Can’t rest.

I need her.

Every second I’m with her, the less I want to leave.

The less I want to be set free.

What the hell is wrong with me?

She’s a human.

Humans are destined to die so young. We can’t be together.

We can’t.

And besides.

I hate humans.

They’re selfish and shortsighted and I should know better than to think she’s any different.

* * *

“I’ve got bad news,” my human says with a sigh, holding out her phone as she steps out of the bathroom, fully dressed—much to my dismay—and with her hair wrapped in a towel. “Even though it’s my birthday, I just got asked to come into work.”

“Then say you can’t go.”

That seems like the obvious answer to me.

She frowns, glancing down at her phone. “I would, but I kinda need the hours, if I’m honest. It’s just a short shift—only a half day, anyway. So I kinda already said I’d take it.”

I’d hoped we could do something more fun for her birthday, like maybe cash in on our superyacht night. There’s so many things I’d love to do to her on that yacht.

But it looks like instead we’ll be enduring the drudgery of modern humanity.

“I don’t know if I can leave you alone here,” she says with a soft frown, glancing at her wrist, then mine. The cuff on her arm glows softly golden. “I’m not sure how far I can go.”

“Don’t worry, human,” I say, grabbing the nearly invisible thread of magic and giving it a tug. Reeling it in. “You can just take me with you.”

She yelps in surprise as the golden thread twangs at her wrist, sending her tumbling into my arms.

“Hey!” she protests, glaring up at me as I steady her back on her feet. “No fair! I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Me either.” I grin. “Guess it pays to try.”