“I just need a place to sleep, Sebastian. Let me stay the night and I swear I won’t be any trouble. I won’t get in your way. I’m a simple person who’s having a hard time.”
Twenty different reasons for why she should leave, along with another twenty alternatives for her sleeping arrangements, flittered through his mind. For every one he almost gave voice to, his gut clenched, something inside of him tightening until his vision went hazy.
At least he could physically remove himself from her presence. The sun wouldn’t rise for a few more hours, but he had to separate himself from this woman. Maybe do a little research on illnesses known to affect vampires. If the affliction was the result of the other part of his genealogy, there would be nothing for him to do but wait for it to pass. Although not a praying man usually, he gave a silent word of pleading to his god that vampirism explained everything and not his unknown heritage.
Alice must have mistaken his silence for indecision. “If you get sick again, I’ll be able to help. You shouldn’t be alone.” Her gaze went to her hand, where she still held a slice of uneaten pizza. Quietly, she added, “Even if it’s not me, it should be someone.”
Bast stopped trying to argue with himself. If somehow he found the strength of will to turn her away, there was no way he would let her walk out now, alone and in the middle of the night. Even he wasn’t callous enough to do that to a defenseless woman. “I keep odd hours and will be asleep most of the day tomorrow. You should leave during that time.” He held her up a hand when she started to protest, rising to his feet at the same time. “Or you can stay until I’m awake and we’ll talk again then. Go or stay. The choice is up to you.”
* * *
Despite what he said, she had no choice. Sebastian didn’t want to understand her plight, but she had nowhere else to go. For some reason he was willing to let her stay, and in her old life, she would have stormed out at the first sign he didn’t want her there.
Alice sighed.
In her old life, she wouldn’t have allowed a stranger to bring her home. Most definitely she would have never let a single kiss make her feel...
Her face flushed. What had he done when he’d kissed her? She’d never had such a strong reaction to anyone or anything in her life. God, she’d had lovers who’d failed to bring her to that level of pleasure during intercourse. For Sebastian, it had taken a single kiss. What would have happened if they’d gone further?
She shook off the thought. That didn’t matter. What did matter were those last words of warning he’d given her. He’d been so serious. So ominous. And silly, desperate her forced herself into making light of the matter.
What she needed to do was come up with an escape plan. Just in case. For all she knew, morning would come without a hitch, but if she needed to make a break for it before then, then she needed a plan B, one that included procuring a baseball bat or at least a knife. She didn’t have anything like that on her, but if Sebastian had crooked plans for her, she wasn’t about to make it easy.
Ignoring the way her body protested leaving the comfort of the first real bed she’d slept in in weeks, Alice lowered her feet to the plush rug. Padding to the door took a small reserve of courage, but after several minutes of pressing her ear to the wood yielded not a peep from the other side, she turned the knob.
His scent was everywhere, as if he’d marked every foot of the palatial house inch by painstaking inch. Or maybe she’d just become hung up on how good he smelled. It almost distracted her from choosing a window near her guest room to unlatch. Almost.
Instead, she turned the lock slowly, breath held, praying it didn’t make a sound when unbolted. He’d stopped her before she’d located his room, and if Bast hadn’t gone there immediately after leaving her, he could be anywhere. Her nerves were on screaming alert, but when the tiny click did little more than puff out the sound, she released a breath.
This plan B was a little rudimentary, but in a pinch, would do nicely. Besides, there was no way in hell she was walking out of here without something she could hock for a fifty. There wasn’t a whole lot she could walk away with on the sly, but everything she’d seen so far screamed opulence. It was taste and Better Homes and Gardens and shit-you-can’t-afford all rolled into one. If he’d offered her more than a hot and cot, maybe she’d reconsider lifting something. But tomorrow, when her ass was parked on a bench somewhere, one eye open while she slept, she’d be kicking herself for being too nice.