Read In the Blood for Free Online Page B

looking anywhere but at each other, though Cassie stole a glance or two to try and discern what he was thinking. Had that been another mind trick? The sensible thing would have been to blame it on that, but the truth was, she’d lost control, just as he had.
    “I have questions,” she asked after what seemed like a long time, hoping to return the moment to neutral ground.
    “All right.” He rubbed his hands together as though he anticipated her questions happily. His sudden shift in mood only highlighted the awkwardness of their situation, an oddly endearing reaction in Cassie’s mind. He placed a hand on her elbow to steer her from the foyer to the staircase, and his touch sent a shock of awareness through her. Strangely, the crazy glass stairs and dizzying height displayed by the windows ahead didn’t seem as terrifying with him at her side.
    He led her to the couch and waited until she had sat before seating himself in the armchair adjacent. “Would you like to go first, or shall I?”
    “I will,” she said quickly. She hadn’t thought he would want to know anything about her. No one usually did. “How old are you?”
    “Forty-two,” he answered automatically, then corrected himself. “No, no, you wish to know about—”
    “Total,” she prompted. “The total number of years.”
    “Yes.” He tapped his finger against his lips, his brow creased in a frown. “I was born in 1881. That would make me…one hundred and twenty-nine years old.”
    She tried not to choke on her own spit. She’d expected him to be old. Maybe even ancient. She’d been fully prepared to learn he was five hundred. Hearing it out loud was a lot different than imagining it in your head, though. “Maybe I should have started with ‘where are you from?’”
    He shook his head, making a clucking noise with his tongue. “No, no. It’s my turn now. Where are you from?”
    She took a deep breath and tried to remember her therapist’s words . You do not need to disclose what happened to anyone. You have a new life now, and you’ve paid your debt to society. You won’t hurt anyone by omitting the truth. Easy enough to say when you’re being paid to, she guessed. Now was not the time to tell him, if she ever told him at all. “I’m from Arizona.”
    His eyebrows shot up at that. “Arizona, and you moved all the way to New York? I’m impressed.”
    She shrugged. “Don’t be, it was just a plane ride. Now, my turn. Where are you from?”
    “The Austro-Hungarian Empire,” he said, then he cursed under his breath. “No, I’m sorry. Czechoslovakia.”
    “The Czech Republic,” she corrected him quietly. “Since the end of the cold war.”
    “Ah, yes. I have not been back since I left there, and I must confess I have not always cared for politics.” He shrugged. “I must now, for the sake of the company. But it bores me. I let Anthony handle the details.”
    “And you don’t miss your home?” If a news story came on related to her home state, Cassie’s ears always perked up, even though she didn’t want them to.
    “There is nothing there for me,” he said, with a harshness that shocked Cassie. Recovering his cool demeanor, he continued, “But you spoke out of turn. I have the same question for you.”
    Cassie felt her heartbeat in her throat. “Do I miss my home? No. Not at all.”
    He smiled, slow and genuine. “I think we must be very alike.”
    “You mean besides the whole you’re-a-vampire thing?” She snickered. “Yeah, I guess we’re a lot alike.”
    In more ways than you know.
    Suddenly, it wasn’t funny anymore. Not even in a grim, darkly humorous way. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “Oh man, I am…so exhausted.”
    “It is the adrenaline wearing off. It is safer for you to stay here,” he said, letting out a long breath, as if bracing for an argument. “I do not expect you to…fulfill our previous agreement while you are here tonight. But if you wish to be