Page 28 of Bleed

I should probably be thrilled I’m not getting bitten every few days. Most donors would kill for an arrangement this easy. But instead, I’m strangely… disappointed?

Because somewhere along the way, I started liking the bites. Craving them, even. The rush, the heat, the strange floating feeling that lingers under my skin for hours after… it’s the cleanest high I’ve ever felt.

This whole situation just isn’t what I expected, at all.

“Ready to move onto the next room?” Albert asks. “Or do you need a minute to mourn the loss of your sexy vampire fantasies?”

Heat flashes across my face. “I wasn’t–”

“You absolutely were,” he smirks.

I roll my eyes, spinning around and heading for the hallway. “What’s next?”

He catches up quickly, leading the way farther down the hall while I keep pace beside him.

The tour continues in a blur of luxury– a gigantic bathroom, a home gym with equipment I wouldn’t know how to use if my life depended on it, a fully-stocked wine cellar, and a home theater with reclining leather seats. Each room somehow feels more expensive than the last, every one flawlessly designed. Albert chatters the entire time, pointing out features and making sarcastic little comments while I absorb approximately none of the information because my brain’s too busy trying to process that rich people apparently live like this all the time.

Eventually, he leads me back through the sprawling kitchen and living room and down the opposite hallway. Several guest rooms line the corridor, their doors standing partially open as we pass. Albert finally comes to a stop at the last one.

“This one’s yours,” he says, gesturing dramatically toward the doorway. “Ladies first.”

I step past him, entering the room to find the relocation team already hard at work inside. One guy carries hangers full of clothes toward a walk-in closet that’s literally the size of my old bedroom, another arranging my cheap little trinkets across the sleek dresser and matching nightstands like they actually belong there. The whole scene is fucking surreal.

It takes me a second to even register the scale of the place, my eager eyes drinking in every detail. The bed is massive, layered in crisp white bedding. The furniture is all sharp lines and soft neutral colors, modern in that intimidatingly expensive way that reminds me of upscale hotel suites. Not that I’ve ever actually stayed in one. But I’ve taken enough Bite engagements in downtown hotels to recognize the vibe, and this room has it.

I slowly turn in place as I take everything in, something dangerously close to excitement bubbling low in my stomach. A massive soaker tub is visible through the open en-suite doorway, and I try not to drool as I stare at it longingly, belatedly realizing that Albert’s watching me with thinly-veiled amusement.

“Nice, right?” he asks, wagging his brows.

I immediately school my expression into something cooler and far less doe-eyed idiot, shrugging noncommittally. “It’ll do.”

Understatement of the century.

This place is a goddamn palace, and the second I’m left alone, I fully intend to lie starfish in the center of that bed, test out the bathtub, and maybe cry a little over the endless closet space.

“Well, that concludes the tour, then,” Albert sighs. “Unless you have any questions.”

One very obvious question immediately comes to mind. “What about upstairs?”

He gives a small shake of his head. “That’s Doc’s domain,” he mumbles, averting his gaze. “He’ll give you the lay of the land up there.”

“When?” I ask, too curious.

“Probably when he wakes up.”

A tiny thread of nervous energy winds through my stomach at the reminder that a vampire’s sleeping somewhere above me.

I nod slowly. “Is your room upstairs, too?”

“Oh, I don’t live here,” he replies with a soft chuckle. “Most of what I do is virtual. Scheduling, organization, that kinda thing. You’ll probably only see me when Doc needs me to draw your blood.”

“Oh,” I reply, a little disappointed.

Albert picks up on my tone, his mouth twitching. “Aww,” he coos. “You’re gonna miss me.”

“Don’t ruin it,” I mutter.

He grins smugly.