Page 9 of The Vampire Trap
CHAPTER FOUR
ZADIE
Heat rises up my neck to my cheeks. “Wha—? No… I-I… that’s not—” I sputter and push against his chest, trying to escape.
Infuriatingly, his grin only widens as he until he straightens and lets me go. Out of his arms, I put space between us so I can think. “I am not trying to seduce you!” My voice is shriller than I’d like.
“No? But you are in my bedroom… and you were in my arms within seconds of finding you here.”
“I didn’t ask you to catch me,” I bite out indignantly.
The viscount chuckles, which only makes my face burn hotter. “You would have preferred I let you fall and hit your head?”
I open my mouth. Snap it shut. Then try again. “Of course not.” this was intentional. I was looking for the lavatory and….”
“Which is one floor below.” He doesn’t even have the decency to hesitate before refuting my claim.
Demon shit.
My pulse hammers loudly. Think, Zadie, think! I can’t let him discover the real reason why I’m here. “All the doors were locked,” I finally say. But my voice comes out weak like a child caught in the act of stealing cookies and claiming that monsters made me do it. The lies sounded pathetic even to my ears, so I suppose I can’t blame him for not believing me.
“All except the one you were looking for.”
Even though he smiles, and his tone is light as he looks upon me with kindly eyes, I cannot let myself forget that he is a murderer. One who has roamed free for months, hiding behind his status.
Nervously, I twist my fingers.
I heave a defeated sigh, then settle for a partial truth. “You’re right, Lord Morgan, I did lie, and I am sorry.”
“Thomas,” he interrupts. I must give him an odd look because he clarifies, “Please call me Thomas.”
For a long moment, I say nothing, unsure what to make of his over-familiarity. It’s too hard to tell if he’s being sincere or if this is a ploy he uses on his victims. Indecision wars within on whether I follow his lead or outright reject it.
Then I realize that too much time has passed, and he’s still waiting for my reply, but all I can do is ramble. “I-I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve never been to a vampire’s home before, and I let my curiosity get the better of me.”
Understanding crosses his features. “Did you think I had people chained up or piles of bones in my basement?”
“No… maybe…” I cross my arms and look away, annoyed with his teasing and how easily he reads me.
He throws his head back and laughs. I glare at him until he can stop long enough to speak again. There’s such a warm and carefree manner about him. It’s hard to believe he has another side to him capable of such grim deeds. If he wanted to, it would be easy to kill me here and now, go after my sister, then stage an attack on our carriage. All he’d have to do is throw us to the demons just beyond the road. Up here, alone as we are, there would be nothing I could do to stop him.
Continuing to search for the night-forged silver weapon tonight is out of the question. It would be too risky.
I need to earn his trust. If I make sure he knows others are aware when I’m with him, he won’t dare harm a single hair on my head. Perhaps, if I manage to earn his friendship, he might even show me where he keeps such a prized object hidden.
“You may call me Zadie,” I say.
The vampire lord takes a step back, studies me from head to toe, then mirrors my stance. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted or amused when you say that with such a sour look on your face.”
“If you insist I call you by your name, then it would be awkward of you continued to call me lady.”
“Who’s insisting?”
My jaw goes slack. “Are you insane?” I demand, then instantly regret it.
Obviously, he’s insane.
He hosts balls and flirts with women he barely knows in his bedroom, and when he tires of that, he runs off to murder an innocent to spite others of his kind.