Page 16 of Azure Mania

“Precisely. Darius is living near the sea, as always, and rarely reaches out to us. Aurelia… who knows? She sends letters from time to time, so she’s well. You know how secretive she is.”

“I’m just glad they’re all well.”

“Ophelia and Faith are getting married in four months. Come home for the celebration.”

“Of course,” I nod. “What should I buy them?”

Valerio pauses, then a small smirk tugs on the corner of his lips.

“I know just the thing.”

Chapter 10

Yvonne

“You stole my money?!” Yvonne’s screeching voice makes me wince.

The vase flies toward me, but I dodge it just in time, watching as it hits the wall and smashes into pieces. Yvonne pants, her brows narrowed. That damned hair of hers is styled in loose curls. Her dress is sage green and satin, with a wide, cognac colored belt around her waist. Her gold jewelry shimmers under the soft daylight, and it makes me wonder how much gold she owns. Clearly, it’s real and given the number of rings on her fingers, and the size of her earrings, it’s fucking heavy.

“Borrowed,” I correct. “I borrowed your money.”

“You took it without permission! That is the definition of stealing, you rotten bastard!”

“Fine,” I roll my eyes, then pull out the money I withdrew from the ATM machine, tossing it on the small table. “There.”

Her brows narrow in suspicion. “Where did you get that? Did you steal it, too?”

“No,” I drawl out. “I took it out of the ATM machine.”

Yvonne frowns. “How do you even know what that is? You’ve been asleep for two-hundred years. Matter of fact, whose card did you use?”

“Since when do I have to explain myself to you?” I scoff. “It’s none of your business, Yvonne.”

“Just making sure you don’t bring cops to my doorstep,” she mumbles, then walks past me to clean up the mess.

Her scent wafts through the air, causing my eyes to snap shut as her smell assaults my senses. My jaw clenches and I can no longer think straight. Whenever she’s within breathing distance from me, I suddenly just want to rip her clothes off and fuck her into tomorrow. God, why is she so irresistible?

Yvonne’s my biggest reckoning, sent to test me. And it’s working — because all I can think about is her. I’m already breathing, living and yearning for her, knowing damn well I shouldn’t.

The smell of blood fills the air and Yvonne hisses.

“Damn it,” she groans, sucking the blood off her finger. My instincts are at an all-time high, wishing nothing more than to drain her body off the blood. That’s when images of Martha flash behind my eyes.

The way I drank all of her blood until she went limp in my arms, the way even that didn’t satisfy the blood-thirsty monster inside of me. The guilt starts eating me alive, and I take a step back, forcing the memories to the back of my head. My heart feels like it’s breaking in half all over again.

“What?” Yvonne says flatly, taking the finger out of her mouth. My eyes fall I am yuon her, while she picks up the pieces, walks to the kitchen and throws them in the trash.

“Nothing,” I mutter. “So, how far have you got with your research about our situation?”

“Do you want me to be honest, or to lie to you?”

“Why the fuck would I want lies? Tell me honestly what you’ve found out.”

“We shouldn’t have had sex, for more than one reason. The main one being, it only made the connection stronger,” she explains.

“Damn, I see why you asked if I wanted you to lie,” I sit down on the chair, rubbing my hands all over my face. “So, what now?”

“Now, we hope my little helper finds a solution, because being tied to you for the rest of eternity, is something that I’ll never allow.”