Genesis shrugged. "If I had to guess, it may be because humans started dying. You said so yourself."
"There is that." I gritted my teeth together, suddenly worried that I wasn't doing enough to nourish her, to take care of her. It was my job, damn it!
"Ethan?" She licked her lips and leaned forward. "Your eyes are turning black again."
"Yes, they do that."
"Why?"
"Because they can."
"Seriously?"
I smiled. "No, because sometimes I can't control myself. They lose color when I'm feeling something extreme. The green simply fades into black. A lack of color doesn't mean I'm soulless or anything ridiculous. It just means the vampire blood has spread to other parts of my body, readying me for a fight."
"Hmm…"
"Your eyes turn green too, you know."
"What?" Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I've shared blood with you. When you're feeling something extreme, your eyes will turn green like mine. They match your mate's. You'll also notice that you don't need as much sleep as usual. Your skin will become softer. Think of it as having a very nice beauty regimen." I laughed at her excited expression. "You're welcome?"
"Wow."
"Not that you need it," I added quickly. "The last thing you need is to offer more temptation for me and my kind."
She didn't say anything.
"I'm curious to learn more about you," I said honestly. "But I don't want to keep you cooped up in the study all day. You don't seem like the type who enjoys studying."
She sighed. "What gave me away?"
"Your emotions easily betray you — and if they didn't, your blood surely would."
Red stained her cheeks, causing all of my blood to once again whoosh from my face to my lower extremities—only this time I wasn't bracing for a fight, but for a few hours tangled in bed with her.
"Why don't I take you to that bookstore we told you about? You can meet Drystan and see if it's something that you'd enjoy doing while I work."
"You work?"
"I'd like to think so."
"Like Mason?"
"Like Mason. Unlike Stephanie and Alex, however." I held out my hand. "I'll show you after the bookstore. Would you like that?"
"Yeah." She took my hand then squinted down at it.
"Something wrong?"
"I'm just trying to figure out what a vampire does for a job."
I barked out a laugh and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Yes, well, I think I may keep you in suspense until later."
She leaned into me.
I inhaled her scent, and my body shuddered with awareness.
It was horrible knowing that my reaction to her was so strong, yet she had no idea the war that raged inside of me, the desire I had to tell her everything, to cut myself open and show her my pain, my shame, and ask her to take it all away.
I was balancing with my life — possibly hers.
And yet, I couldn't find myself to regret anything.
Not anymore.
Not after talking with her.
Not after truly tasting her.
"Hungry again?" she asked.
"What?"
"You were licking me."
"Uh…" Damn it, I really needed to stay focused. I moved away from her, enough to evade the temptation of her neck. "Sorry."
She glanced up at me through hooded eyes. "It's okay."
I growled.
She bit her lower lip.
And again, we were in the damn hallway. What was it about the hallway that destroyed every shred of sense I possessed?
"Ethan?" Mason called from the kitchen. "You going out?"
"Yeah…" I called, never taking my eyes from Genesis. "The bookstore."
"Get me berries!" he yelled. "We're out."
I shook my head, the spell broken. "Eat meat, for God's sakes, wolf."
"Berries," he repeated.
Genesis laughed softly.
"Damn berries." I led her to the door. "Shall we?"
"Should we ask him if he needs pinecones too?"
A pinecone flew by my head. "Clearly, he still has some left if he's using them as ammo."
Genesis
"I've been here before," I blurted when Ethan pulled up to a downtown book shop around fifteen minutes from his house. It was one of my favorites. It had the best scones in the world, and the coffee was well-known in the area. "It's called Wolf's."
"Funny, right?" Ethan smirked.
I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. Did that mean I'd met the owner before? The bookstore wasn't huge like a Barnes and Noble, but it was big enough that it had two levels and multiple employees.
The bell on the door chimed as Ethan opened it and ushered me in. The smell of books was so familiar my knees almost gave way.
"Ethan." A man who looked like he was around my age smiled in our direction and made his way toward us. He seemed younger than Mason even; he had the same shaggy hair and really dark brown eyes — almost black. "So this is… Genesis."
"Hi." I waved awkwardly, unsure of how I was supposed to address him since, technically, nobody knew what he was.
He grinned. "You're cute."
Ethan growled.
"I meant it in an innocent way." Drystan held up his hands. "Easy…" He turned his attention back to me. "You've got the job."