A Shade of Kiev (A Shade of Vampire #8)(32)
Author: Bella Forrest

Adrian knows how to avoid answering questions.

Chapter 33: Kiev

The door to my room was open when I returned.

Lorena.

The beautiful vampire leaned against the wall, her long bare legs stretched out on my bed. Her arms crossed against her chest, she was biting her nails with a bored expression on her face. On catching sight of me, she shot up.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she purred. “What took you so long?”

A sultry smile on her face, she wore a thin robe that drooped around her shoulders, the outline of her underwear clearly visible. Her scent was intoxicating.

I frowned at her.

“When did I give you permission to enter my room?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

I opened the door wider and nodded toward it. She ignored my gesture and walked up to me, brushing the curves of her body against me.

“Let me make it up to you,” she whispered in my ear, sliding a hand beneath my shirt.

I knocked her arm away.

“I’m sure there are plenty of other vampires in this place who would appreciate your company,” I said, pointing once again toward the door.

Her eyes darkened. She reached her hands up and gripped my hair, hoisting herself onto me and wrapping her long smooth legs around me. She lowered her mouth to my neck and caressed my skin with her lips.

“Mmm… But I want you, Kiev,” she moaned softly. “Don’t you want me?”

Her teeth scraped against me as she shivered with desire. My breath hitched as she started tugging at my pants. I stepped backward, my back now up against the wall.

“No,” I breathed. “No… Get out.”

Her lips sucked on my skin harder, her fangs close to drawing blood.

I gripped her legs and broke their lock around my waist. When she struggled to hold on to me with her arms, I lurched forward and slammed her against the wall. Seizing her neck between my hands, my first instinct was to snap it in two. I managed to reel myself in and instead ran a claw along her throat, etching a cut just deep enough to sting.

That seemed to make her realize that I wasn’t to be swayed.

“What is it about that scrawny witch?” she choked, her eyes igniting with jealousy. “You seem to have all the time in the world for her!”

She exited the room and banged the door shut behind her.

I backed up against the wall and slid down it. Sitting on the floor, I stared at the bare wall in front of me.

What is it about Mona?

I wasn’t sure I knew.

Chapter 34: Mona

It dawned on me that I still hadn’t asked Kiev any of the questions I had planned on asking him. Somehow, those questions seemed irrelevant now that the words were flowing so freely just from spending time in Adrian’s presence.

Since I’d requested another day before our next date, I had that evening free. After I’d washed my dress and hung it out to dry, and done a few other chores around my cabin, I took out the chapters I’d managed to finish over the last few days and read them again. I lay down on the mattress and found myself reading through the same pages again and again, lost in the scenes I’d created.

My trance was broken by the sound of the front door creaking open. I leaped up and my heart jumped into my throat when I saw Adrian standing in front of me. I cursed myself for forgetting to lock the door after hanging out the laundry.

His torso was bare as he stood in the doorway, water dripping from his dark hair onto the floorboards.

“Come with me,” he said, his voice low.

“What?”

“You heard.”

“No. I’m not dressed properly,” I said, tightening my nightdress around me.

“I don’t care.”

I gasped when he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the door.

“Hold your breath.”

“Wait. No. Adrian!”

He jumped into the cool water, pulling me in after him. I surfaced, gasping for breath.

“I told you tomorrow!” I panted.

“I know,” he said.

“So why are you here?”

“I didn’t feel like waiting.”

As he looked at me, I realized that something was different about his eyes. I was used to them being a dark blood-red. At that moment, they seemed brighter somehow. More alive. Or perhaps it was just the reflection of the moon playing tricks on my vision.

I splashed water in his face.

“You can’t just barge into my home because you feel like it.”

He grabbed my arms and drew me closer toward him until I was almost touching his muscled chest.

“Should I leave then?” he asked, his eyes fixed on mine.

His words were more of a challenge than a question. Unwilling to answer, I splashed more water at him. He swam backward and disappeared beneath the water. When he resurfaced, he was holding a dagger. The gift he’d tried to give me. He reached for my waist and pulled my back against his chest. Running a hand along my right arm, he intertwined his fingers with mine and stretched out my palm. He placed the dagger in it, closing my fingers around the hilt.

“Why did you reject my gift?” he whispered into my ear, his breath cold against my neck.

I shivered as his lips brushed against my earlobe.

“Why do you make this so difficult for me?” he breathed.

His left arm tightened around my waist, his right hand still enveloping my own.

“Watch it, Adrian,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You know I’m good with daggers.”

Lifting my knees, I pressed my feet down against his thighs and broke free from him. I swam back to the cabin and climbed onto the porch. Walking to the bathroom, I placed the dagger on the windowsill before changing into dry clothes.

When I came out, Adrian was standing in the main room. I threw him a spare towel, forcing my eyes away from his torso as he dried himself. On looking up again, I swallowed a gasp. He had taken off his pants and wrapped the towel low around his waist. He walked outside and hung his wet pants over the railing.

“I didn’t give it for that,” I muttered.

But Adrian’s attention had been drawn to something else in my home. Before I could stop him, he swooped down to my mattress and grabbed hold of the parchment containing my recently finished chapters. Mortified, I lunged for him. But he was far too quick. He flew out the door and within seconds he sat perched on my roof.

No. No. No.

I stood helpless as he began reading. Damn vampires and their night vision. Protesting was useless. It would only fuel his curiosity. I had no choice but to stand there, my cheeks ablaze, watching him leaf through my chapters.