Page 3 of Deadly Cravings

Tobias’s eyebrows were lowered. Downer number two, except this one’s moral compass surpassed allhumansI’d encountered. He was an oddity, the only vampire I knew to care about humanity, but he needed to get with the program. Humans were toys, correction,everythingwas a toy meant for us to play with.

“Have you seen the morsel next door?” I licked my lips. “I can’t wait to get my dick and fangs in her, you’ll think the same as soon as you lay eyes on her—okay, maybeyouwon’t.” The British vampire was the oldest of all of us and yet, he was as untouched as a nun—or priest. I chuckled under my breath.

“Let’s stop discussing cunts,” Jax hissed as I dropped in the parlor recliner.

I kicked my feet up, crossing them at the ankles, admiring the glint of my Dior Derbys.

“I’m going to the club on Thirty-Sixth Avenue to see if I can get to the restricted area.” Tobias crossed his arms.

Ah, that’s why he was all dressed up.

Ren had been gone for a few weeks. A blink of an eye really, I don’t know why they were up in arms about it. My bets were that he’d worn down that vamp bitch he was obsessed with, and they were fucking away like little rabid bunnies.

I dampened my grin before my next words. I couldn’t seem too excited.

“I can go with you.”

“No, stay here,” Jaxon snapped. “There’s a reason Tobias is going. He won’t get distracted by any of the pussy trying to catch his attention.”

“Rude,” I purred, a smile curving my lips. “But accurate.” I fished the cell phone out of my pocket and navigated to my contacts.Which women to invite over...

“There’s another concern.” Jax pushed off the wall. I was surprised he could lean at all with the stick so perfectly lodged in his ass. Sighing, I sank deeper into the seat. “We have a new neighbor. We must not call attention to ourselves. That includes fucking her.” Both pairs of eyes fixed on me. “Asher. Put that thing down, you’re worse than a child.”

I huffed out a breath and crossed my arms. “I don’t appreciate you clipping my wings,” I muttered sullenly, playing up my disappointment.

They could say what they liked but the human would be mine.

THREE

catalina

It was too dark out.

My steps thudded in rhythm with my heart.Thump. Thump. Thump.I quickened my pace, trying not to outright break into a sprint.

It was the most dangerous at night. I knew this. The Pale One would pin me down with a shackle-like grip, becoming stiff and unconscious for hours on end. It hadn’t taken me long to deduce that it was because of the sunrise. I’d never been able to break free of him even with him out of commission, so I was no match to one that was awake.

I wish I could have afforded ordering a ride to my new place, and come back in the morning to collect my car.

A gust of wind fluttered my hair backwards and I shivered. It was the city, so it had to be safer, right? But with each step I took toward where I’d parked there were less people. It wasn’t as bustling as it was earlier. The street looked like a ghost town and the floor was damp from the light drizzle that had fallen before nightfall. Another store shut its lights off and I quickened my pace, my steps slapping against the sidewalk. A block more . . .

My heart rate ramped up as I passed a broken street lamp.

I should have spent the money on the ride.

I knew better. All the research I’d done said vampires didn’t go out during daylight, and I’d donea lotof research for my books. Writing romance novels about vampires seemed like the opposite thing I should have done with my debilitating fear of them, but the words just spilled out and I soon learned that creating them as sweet, obsessive heroes worked to calm the overwhelming fear I grappled with. Had it developed into some weird as fuck sexual fantasy? Sure had, but it wasn’t like I was seeking them out to fuck them.

I was just writing about fucking them.

The tip of my heel wedged into a crevice, and I caught myself before face-planting. Son of a bitch, they better not be scuffed, but I couldn’t stop to check.

I was almost to the parking lot. Just a little farther, through the brick lined alley...

A heavy thud stopped me in my tracks and I clung to the side of the apartment building. Stillness was key. The possibility of it being vampires was astronomically low, I couldn’t be that unlucky, right?

Better safe than sorry. If it wasn’t a vampire, then whatever it was would pass by me as if I wasn’t there, and as long as I showed no reaction—even if it was a vampire—then they’d think I was a clueless human.

Either way, I couldnotrun.