CHAPTER SEVEN || COLE #2
He sighed. “I’m not planning on harming you. But if there’s some other fanged fuck out there killing innocent people, I ought to know how to defend myself if it comes down to it.”
“You don’t,” I said.
Harris glared. “I don’t what?”
I considered him. He was an attractive man—barely thirty, tall and solidly built, dark-skinned, with broad features and full lips.
Deliciously masculine. He would have been a himbo, truly, except for the intelligence in his dark eyes, which burned with determination.
I could almost see his need to make this right somehow.
I’d met very few men like him through the years.
Truly, he was a rare sort—someone who’d seen the worst humanity had to offer and still believed in justice.
Who still believed in goodness, deep down.
He wasn’t the least bit like me.
Nothing could happen to him. I wouldn’t permit it.
But if he kept on this case, something very bad indeed might happen to him.
Not all of my kind were as particular in their choice of victim.
There was every chance the vampire in question had simply seen this man, felt hungry, and murdered him for blood.
They’d easily do the same to Harris if he crossed paths with them.
“You don’t fight, Harris. You call me.”
The frown on his face deepened. “Are you okay, Cole?”
“It’s been a long night, Detective.”
“It’s morning.” His brows furrowed. “Wait—why aren’t you bursting into flames?”
“Don’t believe everything you read, Detective. Direct sunlight is unpleasant, not lethal.” I smiled, but it didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Concerned about me, are you?”
He shrugged, though his gaze stayed steady. “Call me crazy, but I think the feeling might be mutual.”
* * *
Later that morning, I bought a house.
Earlier, when I’d been watching Eli from across the street, I’d noticed the For Sale sign next door. I hadn’t planned to act on it—until now. But after knocking on the door and speaking with the elderly couple who were planning to retire to Florida—no accounting for taste—I secured the sale.
I paid in cash, far over the asking price, on the condition that the current owners leave immediately.
Money talks, and within hours, the couple were on their way to Florida with a king’s ransom in their account, and I was Eli’s new next-door neighbor.
Technically, no one can purchase a house the same day, no matter how much supernatural influence is involved.
There were still legalities to resolve. But with a hefty dose of hypnotism, the previous owners had graciously allowed me to occupy the property until the paperwork was finalized.
By sunset, the movers had come and gone. The cleaning service had scrubbed the place top to bottom—it still smelled faintly of bleach. The new furniture I’d ordered had been delivered, assembled, and arranged, the boxes hauled away.
My new home was modest but livable.
The entire time, I told myself this was practical—that being nearby would help with my seduction, with getting to know Eli. Understanding who he was and how he knew me. Mitigating any risk he might pose.
But that wasn’t it, and I knew it.
There was a murderous vampire in town. Someone who didn’t care about covering their tracks.
And they’d dropped a body only a few miles from my home—practically on my doorstep.
I couldn’t be sure it was a message for me, but I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t, either.
And I wasn’t letting the young doctor out of my sight.
Dr. De La Cruz had made more of an impact on me than I wanted to admit. But I wasn’t human; I couldn’t comfort myself with lies. Eli had affected me. And the idea of anything bad—anything at all—happening to him was unacceptable.
Already, I felt the truth like a pulse beneath my skin: I didn’t understand why or how, but I knew Eli belonged to me. He was mine.
In the threshold hours between late afternoon and evening—when the day isn’t quite done and night hasn’t yet arrived—I made my way into the master bedroom and slept in the brand-new bed, exhausted down to my bones.
I’ve needed less and less sleep as the centuries have worn on, but I still needed some.
Three hours later, I woke to a knock at the door.
When I answered, I found Eli standing there, holding a wicker basket filled with expensive chocolate and artisanal cheeses.
The expression on his face when he saw me was priceless.
“You,” he breathed, once he’d recovered enough to speak.
“Me,” I agreed. My gaze dropped to the basket. “And you brought snacks.”
“I saw the moving trucks earlier. I was going to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
“How wholesome of you.”
He blushed, and from the way his gaze raked over me—almost against his will—I got the distinct sense he had far less wholesome ideas about how else he might welcome me.
“You bought this house?”
“Yup.” I popped the p and grinned. “Paid a truly outrageous amount for it, too.”
He brushed past me into the foyer. His eyes took in the living room—already furnished with a matching sofa set, a television I’d probably never use, a designer rug, and a sleek modern coffee table.
“And you already have furniture,” Eli said weakly. “That’s… a thing you did.”
“Sure is,” I said, closing the door and following as he strode through the house like he owned it, stopping in the kitchen. “You know, it’s quite rude to enter a home without an invitation.”
He shot me a dark look over his shoulder as he pushed open the bedroom door. “Seems fair. You went into my home without permission first.”
I pursed my lips. “True.”
“What’s going on?” Eli demanded, rounding on me. “None of this makes any sense. You just pop into my life out of nowhere, drop a bunch of cryptic hints about stalking me, but then act worried about my safety?” His voice rose. “And now you’re buying the house right next door!”
“Bought,” I corrected mildly. “It’s already paid for. In full.”
Eli’s lower lip trembled. His eyes searched mine, vulnerable enough that I might have done anything for him right then. An impossible thought. “Who the fuck are you, Nicolas?”
I cupped his cheek with my palm. His eyes slid halfway closed, and he practically melted against my touch. “Does it matter?”
“Y-yes,” he stammered. “Tell me.”
“Perhaps later,” I whispered, stepping closer until our bodies touched. I felt my cock stir at his nearness, the delicious heat of him. The scent of him—like church incense—enveloped me, both calming and maddening.
But somehow, standing this close, I no longer felt like a vampire.
For the first time in eight centuries, I almost felt like a man.
And then I lowered my lips to his and kissed him.