22. Rina #2
I took the time while Ezra was gone to get dressed, pulling on another gown from the closet.
Though someone had done my laundry, I found I almost preferred the flowing dress to my usual attire.
Especially considering the thigh slits and how easy access they gave Ezra to my body—a statement I never thought I’d say.
“You’re thinking very hard over there,” Ezra said as I sat at the vanity, smoothing the brush through my hair.
I hummed in response as the vampire leaned against the wall, watching me.
Really, I was just trying to process that he was here, in my room, and everything felt so normal.
That the way he’d brought me breakfast and taken care of me wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for me, for us.
He’d always made sure I was fed, but this was different. More intimate.
I couldn’t look at that too deeply.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” Ezra asked as I set the brush down, before tying my hair into a loose braid.
“So my surprise wasn’t breakfast in bed?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He smirked. “No. I want to show you something.”
“What could you possibly have to show me that I haven’t already seen?”
“A surprise,” he repeated.
I groaned. “Ezra.” There was a chance I’d strangle him before he ever showed me this so-called surprise of his. “You’re not secretly about to lead me into the catacombs under this manor where a bunch of vampires will ravenously feed on my blood until I’m a husk or something, right?”
“For fucks sake, Rina. Where do you even come up with this stuff?” He smoothed his hand down his face.
My eyes widened playfully. “Movies.” I’d probably watched more horror movies than I had any right to considering how long they kept me up at night.
“Stop watching those. I think I prefer the Twilight references.” The vampire sighed. “Just put your shoes on so we can go outside.”
“Outside?” I perked up. I really hadn’t left the manor since we’d gotten here, and it was strange how easy it was to lose track of days when you were living in some weird flux state between day and night.
Once I’d pulled on my boots, I followed Ezra into the backyard.
The gloomy weather outside reminded me of winter at home.
Pleasant Grove seemed like another life, another me.
It was strange to think about—maybe because the only company I’d had for the last week and a half was vampires.
And a baby raccoon who acted like something in between a dog and a cat.
“Where are we going?” I asked, glad for my long legs so I could keep up with him. He was so much taller than me, with that long stride.
“You’ll see.”
“Oh, so it is a murder house,” I joked with him.
He gave me a look, and I tried to hide my smile, not wanting him to see how much joy I got out of annoying him. “You’re such a fucking brat.” Maybe I was. But only for him.
We stopped in front of a large domed building—a greenhouse, I realized. It was a wrought iron structure probably as large as my Nana’s entire house.
“What is this place?” I asked. We were only a short walk from the manor, so I didn’t know how I’d missed it on my original tour.
“My sanctuary.” He gave me a hesitant smile. “When I’m not on the road, I enjoy spending my time here—and in the garage.”
“The garage? I didn’t even know this house had one.”
Ezra chuckled. “That’s on purpose. But yes, I enjoy restoring old cars. It’s something of a hobby of mine.”
That made sense. The car we’d driven in—that red convertible—had been old. It felt like I was finally putting the pieces together of this man’s personality. Like I was able to understand what made him tick.
He opened the glass door for me, letting me wander inside. It was like stepping into another world. There were flowers everywhere the eye could see, an array of different colors and types of them as far as the eye could see.
“This is beautiful,” I said, wandering through and running my fingers along some of the blooms. There was even a fountain and a small water feature running through the center of the greenhouse.
I’d never seen anything like it. Even Sophie, our resident herbalist with earth magic and a nursery of her own, didn’t have anything on this.
He chuckled. “Careful. Some of them are poison, belladonna.” He curled a finger around my hair, a face framing one that had escaped from my braid.
“Beautiful and deadly.” His words were a caress against my neck, my nipples standing at attention as his arm wrapped around my midriff, holding me tight against his body.
He guided me to a back corner—dark, though I could still see the sky through the glass ceiling.
At night, it would be a beautiful view of the stars and the moon.
The flowers were all closed, and I frowned. “They haven’t opened yet?”
“They bloom at night,” he murmured, tracing a finger over the buds. “It’s the most incredible thing to witness.”
Night blooming roses. It sounded like something out of a fairytale, and yet, it was undoubtedly true. The deep purple color, so dark it almost looked like the color of blood, peeked out of one.
“Wow.”
I was in awe.
Turning back to look at him, I stared into his red eyes. “Can we stay here until they open?”
He brushed that piece of hair away from my face. “Of course, Rina. Whatever you want.”
Those words felt like so much more.
Like a promise for the future—just one I didn’t quite understand yet.