Page 113 of Bleed

“No,” he replies flatly.

“Emergency juice box?”

“No.”

“Midnight Capri Sun?”

“Bex.”

“Fine,” I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Damn, Albie, lighten up.”

His jaw clenches as he caps the pouch, setting it aside. “I was given explicit instructions regarding the quantity to draw,” he murmurs. “And unlike you, I’ve learned my lesson about following protocol.” His gaze lifts to mine, narrowing. “I won’t let you tempt me into trouble again.”

“Boring,” I sigh, feigning a yawn.

He starts tidying up his supplies while I peel away the gauze to inspect my arm. The tiny puncture has already stopped bleeding, so I toss the gauze onto the coffee table and push to my feet.

The room immediately tilts.

Albert catches my elbow before I can topple sideways. “Sit down,” he barks.

“I’m fine,” I say, shaking off his grip.

“You’ve just had blood drawn.”

“Psh, I’ve had more blood than that taken before.”

“Sit for a few minutes, at least.”

I wave him off, bending forward to snatch the blood bag off the coffee table. It’s still warm, the heat of it leeching through the thin plastic and into my palm.

Albert frowns. “What are you doing?”

“Making a delivery,” I say, holding up the pouch triumphantly.

He extends a hand. “I can take it to him.”

I shake my head, drawing the pouch into my chest protectively. “But I’m already here.”

“So am I,” he replies, still holding out an expectant palm.

“Yeah, but I live here.”

He stares at me, clearly unsure how to argue my very valid point.

“Unless you wanna stick around and hang out?” I smile sweetly, batting my lashes. “There’s a Real Housewives marathon on TV. We could make a blanket nest on the couch, give each other manicures…”

“As tempting as that sounds, I have somewhere else to be,” he mumbles.

“Ouch.” I squint at him, tilting my head. “Is he hot, at least?”

A smirk pulls at the corner of Albert’s mouth. “Which one?”

I suck in a gasp, slapping his arm. “Shut up, are you off to have a sexy vampire three-way?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he replies, winking.

“I really would,” I admit as I spin on a heel, heading for the door. “Have fun!”