Page 7 of B Negative
“Not now, Gareth. I must get my mate settled. Speak to me in the morning.”
“Your Highness, I’m not sure the matter can wait.”
Titus paused and gave his assistant a glare that had my knees shaking. Sunny’s hand fell from its resting spot across her torso as I forced myself not to show how much Titus’s power affected me.
“It will wait,” he repeated and walked off.
I stood there, muscles still locked at the king’s casual show of dominance.
“Hurry along, Ms. Vaughn,” he called from ahead.
As soon as I could, I blurred down the window-lined hall, following close behind Titus.
“These are my personal living quarters, Ms. Vaughn.”
I froze in place as Titus’s hand came to rest on a doorknob. “If that’s your bedroom—”
Titus gave me an admonishing glare. “Don’t be ridiculous, Eden. This is the mate suite.”
Mate suite.
Like the room I had across from Julian in his compound? Was separate sleeping quarters common for vampires? Was it a royal thing?
I couldn’t ask without giving myself away as an ignorant baby vamp with no maker.
But it got me thinking. Sunny would be unconscious for at least three days while she transitioned. Maybe I could use my time here to learn more about vampires. Covertly, of course. I wouldn’t risk outing myself as made to Titus, even if he had agreed not to hold it against me.
I trusted Titus about as much as I trusted Julian. Once Titus realized the scope of what he’d agreed to, I doubted he’d honor it.
We entered what was to be Sunny’s suite, and I stopped dead in my tracks. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Just like my room in the compound, this room was starkly white where the hall and entryway, the only other part of the residence I’d seen, were creams and browns with lots of texture and detail to draw the eye.
Titus busied himself opening the gauzy white drapes and actually fluffing the pillows on the sofa.
It was a strange sight.
“You can lay her in there,” he instructed, gesturing to a small hallway. Titus followed as I walked to the bedroom, watching as I laid Sunny on the bed, carefully arranging her limbs the way they should be and fanning her coppery hair around her shoulders.
“Sunny is lucky to have a friend like you,” Titus said, his tight tone drawing my attention.
He looked through Sunny, gaze fixed by some memory of his past, as his jaw muscles flexed with tension.
What had Titus’s transition been like?
“I assume you’ll want to sleep here,” he said, gaze clearing to find mine.
“You assume correctly.”
Titus nodded toward the white chaise in the corner. “You find the furniture comfortable enough. If you need anything, dial nine. Sherri will help you.”
Titus stepped toward the door.
“And if I need you?” I asked.
Titus raised a blond eyebrow at me. “Do you expect to?”
My lip curled at the insinuation. “I don’t know what to expect in your tower, Titus. But I make it a priority to cover my ass at all times.”