Page 58 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“Are you going to hurt me?”

It was profoundly stupid of her not to keep this from Dr. Murnau. She never would have had the fortitude to open the blinds and let the sun take care of Valeria for her, but she could have told the doctor the truth, and he surely would have had a plan. Now, she would be just another casualty.

“No,” Valeria sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going to hurt you before you believe me?”

“You bent iron.”

“I wanted to prove it was a poor weapon against me. If I really wanted to hurt you, you couldn’t stop me.”

“A display of brute strength isn’t how you relay safety.”

She shrugged. “It got my point across, didn’t it? Besides, you have to let me show off a little. It’s been so difficult controlling myself around you.”

Caroline’s eyes bugged out. Valeria had lost her mind if she was flirting with her right now.

“Because you want to drain my blood?”

“No. Well, I would like to try your blood because I think it would taste divine, but I don’t want to kill you, if that’s what you mean.”

She let out a shaky breath; it wasn’t ideal, but she did feel better that Valeria didn’t want to kill her.

“I don’t want you to drink from me. At all.”

Her gaze hardened. “I won’t, I promise. You spilled your blood last night, and I restrained myself. If you won’t trust my words, trust that.”

Caroline nodded, remembering the control she witnessed in Valeria. It was hard to believe it had only been that morning.

Silence settled between them, and for the first time it was awkward. Caroline was on the floor and Valeria above her on the bed, still holding the bent poker.

“Did you kill Mr. Hall?” She blurted out.

“Who?”

“Mr. Hall. He’s the bricklayer who was here the other day when you caught me crying in my room.”

“Ah,” Valeria said, flicking her eyes away. “I did.”

“Why?”

“He made you cry.”

Her words hung in the air between them, and Caroline knew she shouldn’t be charmed by a murder committed in her name, but that didn’t stop the warmth that bloomed within her.

“I was hungry, so don’t think I did it all for you. It was just convenient.”

“So I shouldn’t expect to find a body after every time I argue with someone?”

Valeria huffed. “Perhaps it was better when you were frightened of me.”

Caroline laughed. “Maybe I still am.”

“No.” Valeria wrinkled her nose. “I would smell it. It’s an awful scent. I vastly prefer you to smell like this.”

“And what do I smell like now?”

“Mine.”

Caroline ducked her head, not knowing what to say in response, but it felt good to hear the words. Even though it shouldn’t. She was engaged, and Valeria was a vampire. They had no future.