Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Amos stared at the damn roses on the coffee table, regretting buying the piece of trash.
They’d looked decent enough on the HemoMatch website, but sitting here in this gloomy living room? That dark, near–black red looked no different from fresh arterial blood.
Fuck.
The thought of blood hit him. The craving slammed in, twisting his stomach like a wet rag, acid flooding his gums instantly.
Stop it. He cursed the starving beast living in his gut.
The donor was due any minute. Amos hadn’t tasted live blood in nearly a century. The thought of finally feeding made him restless, fangs throbbing against his nerves, forcing him to clench his fists
again.
Thump–thump.
It was a heartbeat.
Amos snapped his head around. The person hadn’t even stepped onto the porch yet, but he could hear it–the sludge of heavy plasma pumping through veins, audible even through the wall.
Then, the doorbell rang.
The shrill noise made his temple twitch. Amos took a deep breath, shoving down the urge to claw right through the wood.
Slow down. Act human.
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Chapter 84
He quickly smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt, forced his rigid facial muscles into a mask that hopefully didn’t scream “I want to eat you,’ and yanked the door open.
The porch light hit his visitor. Instantly, Amos’s temple throbbed.
Oh, no.
It was a woman.
She was pretty enough–messy black curls like a bird’s nest. that held a warmth to it. Those loose scrubs hid her figure Amos’s eyes? She was radiating heat from every pore. Wri over her: Delicious.
Another shiver raked through him. He froze, forcing the sensation
down.
“Hi p>
Her voice trembled.
She stood with hunched shoulders, hands knotted in front of her, staring at him with big, dark eyes like a rabbit facing down a hawk.
“I’m from HemoMatch. Are you Amos Hansen p>
Amos couldn’t tell her age and didn’t care. What caught him was that half–dead exhaustion clinging to her–the look of someone who’d been chased by life with nowhere left to hide. That scent of a beaten–down stray woke up a protective instinct he thought had rotted away long ago.
Damn it.
He loosened his death grip on the doorframe, keeping his voice flat. “Yes. And you are p>
Chapter 24
She blinked, the wariness in her eyes sharpening, the shifted her weight, toeing out–a stance ready to bold. “You don’t know? The agency didn’t give you my file p>
“I know someone is here.” Amos nodded, his voice low. “But no
name p>
“Oh.” She gripped her bag strap tight, looking like she wanted to r “Okay. That’s weird p>
“Is it p>
“Yeah. I’m a stranger. You’re just going to let some rand
house p>
Amos couldn’t help the dry chuckle that escaped him. “You couldn’t
hurt me p>
Her eyes went wide.
Idiot. Spoke too fast.
He cursed internally, quickly backpedaling. “I mean, the agency does very thorough background checks p>
She arched a skeptical brow, but the look of absolute terror faded slightly.
“I assume they withhold donor info to prevent predatory clients from using the service as a hunting ground,” he added.
At that, the color drained right out of her face.
Seeing her fear, a faint, amused smirk tugged at Amos’s lips. He stepped aside, palms up to show he was harmless. “No need to be scared. I don’t hurt people. If you’re uncomfortable p>
Chapter 84
The sentence cut off. The night breeze shifted, sweeping past her collar and slamming her scent straight into Amos’s lungs.
For a second, Amos’s brain just short–circuited. He stood there, paralyzed.
The smell was… divine. It obliterated his reason instantly. Like Christmas dinner, birthday cake, and top–shelf Pinot Noir all at once–but also none of those things. It was uniquely her.
The urge to drag her inside and tear her throat out was so vic had to dig his nails into his palms just to keep from lunging.
“If you’re uncomfortable,” he managed to rasp, his voice sounding like gravel, “you can leave. I understand p>
He had said the words, but his eyes refused to move. That sweet scent hooked him, dragging his gaze down to the hollow of her throat, locking onto the frantic pulse of the blue vein beneath her
skin.
She tried to hold his gaze, squaring her shoulders, but a second later she found something.. was wrong.
She stared at his face, her voice trembling.
“ Your eyes… they changed p>
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