I tried to savor the attention, to put on the thought that I was in some way desirable. It fit like a pair of trousers fashioned from an old grain bag—too itchy, too close to the skin, too constricting.

I should have been charmed, but all I could think was I’d rather have eaten my meal in solitary silence.

“Let me get you something good for dessert.” Thomas was up and around the counter, ducking into the kitchen before I could protest.

For a brief moment, my mind flickered to the pie from yesterday. To my stubborn refusal while Raphael sat there. Well, maybe today I would have the pie.

But Thomas returned with just a pair of goblets. He seemed to consider both glasses for a second before carefully setting one in front of me.

“It’s a special dessert wine,” he explained with a gleam in his eye. “On the house, of course.”

I thanked him, though the truth was I didn’t much care for wine. I’d had it only as a small child, sampling from my mother’s cup. My impression from Nelson’s drinking was not favorable. I took a single sip to be polite and then set it down.

Thomas cast me a crestfallen look. His handsome face was made mulish with the expression, which was just a bit too exaggerated to be charming. “You don’t like it? It’s a, uh, specialty of the town I grew up in.”

The town, I recalled from his many tangents, was about a day’s journey away. “I’m not much for wine.”

“You’ll like it,” he insisted. “It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but everyone likes it once they finish their first glass.”

I squirmed, slightly uncomfortable with how pushy he was. It would be foolish to offend Thomas when he had been so kind. I just didn’t really want to drink the wine.

Wants are secondary to needs, I reminded myself. Being rude to a current host wasn’t just rude, it was stupid. Drawing attention by being stubborn when we were already passing through late at night, when a vampire was in their midst, was foolish.

I lifted my drink back from the table and readied to take another sip.

The wine was snatched from my hands before it reached my lips.

I jerked back, straight into a hard—familiar—chest. Raphael had suddenly returned and now stood behind my seat. And he’d taken the dessert wine.

“My ward doesn’t have the constitution for this drink.”

I sputtered a protest, but the wine was already at Raphael’s lips. Vampires don’t drink. But Raphael took a sip all the same, watching Thomas over the rim of the glass. He grimaced.

“It’s foul.”

I wanted to bury my head in my hands at his rudeness, but it got worse. He dumped the wine behind the counter. I stared up at the vampire in horror. Although now he didn’t look like the vampire I’d come to know. His dark hair gleamed in the low light, his blue eyes fixed on Thomas as he leaned over, a chilling smile on his face.

The tips of Thomas’s ears flared bright red. Anger? Or embarrassment?

Either way, I was mortified. “Mark,” I hissed.

“Apologies for the delay. Alphonse took some time to settle, but I’m here now and ready for a meal.” His gaze was fixed squarely on Thomas, menace radiating off him.

“Of… of course,” Thomas stammered. “I’ll go and get that for you.”

Raphael slid into the seat next to me. “Excellent. Then you can join me and Sam.”

Sitting pressed between Thomas and Raphael sounded worse than anything Greymere had come up with. I stood, clutching the blanket around me as if to save me from the awkwardness. “Actually, I’m exhausted, brother. I’ll just head up to rest.”

Raphael nodded. Too easily. “Of course. Have a tray sent upstairs,” he ordered Thomas, before turning to me. “Let’s head to bed.”

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Chapter Twelve

The room was just large enough to fit a small table and chair, along with a freshly made bed. A bright fire roared in the corner, heating the space. The room was a palace compared to where I’d stayed at Greymere. The only issue with the space was that Raphael and I both were in it, alone.

“It’d be worth the gold for a second room,” I groused. “You can always just enthrall someone into giving you more.”

“How quickly you’ve changed your mind about my powers,” Raphael mused.

I was willing to throw away a lot of morals if it meant not spending the night locked in the same four walls with a vampire. Yes, we’d slept near each other in the forest, by necessity. But spending the night in a tiny room with him?

“I’d rather spend the night with Alphonse.”

Raphael snorted. “And I’m sure the stable boys who are sipping spirits in the empty stall would love your company. But that’s not going to happen.”

“Then you should be the one to leave. You’re a creature of the night.” I hated the way fear turned my voice petulant. I sounded like a whining child.

“I could go out and hunt for a more suitable dinner, if you prefer.” He gestured to the tray that had been sent up shortly after. It was the worst looking goat leg I’d ever seen, courtesy of Thomas. Of course, Raphael had no intention of eating it. He’d planned to sit with us just to torture me, I was certain.

At my silence he arched a brow. “You’re even considering it. You find sharing a bed with me so distasteful?”

There was another reason I didn’t want to sleep in the bed, but I couldn’t make myself voice it. Couldn’t make myself admit how scared I felt.

“So be it.”

I tensed, but Raphael simply moved to the window and unlocked it, letting an icy chill into the room. In a single leap, he jumped from the window.

I sped over to the open window to see for myself, but he’d disappeared into the night. I relatched the window. On the table by the spot where Raphael stood was a dry, folded tunic. I glanced towards the latched window once more before changing and adjusting the fireplace, setting my original clothing to dry. Then I stripped the bed of the largest blanket and pillow and slipped under the frame.

My sleep was fitful. Red eyes haunted it, twisting into blue ones. I woke just after dawn and crawled out from my hiding spot, mussing the bed so no one would know where I’d slept.

No sign of Raphael. I heated the food from last night over the low flames of the fire and ate it as breakfast before heading down. The inn was quiet. No sign of the staff, aside from an older woman who swept the main floor. I wandered outside, looking for the vampire. Surely he wouldn’t have taken off on his own. The thought caused me more distress than I expected. I resolved to check the stables. To make sure he hadn’t slipped away on our single horse.

Instead of Raphael, I found Thomas.

Kissing a girl.

I must’ve made a sound, because both broke apart. Her blouse was unlaced slightly, and she hastily tied it while giggling at Thomas. Vaguely, I recalled her from the night before. Now, she darted past me and out of the barn.

I avoided Thomas’s eyes, moving over to Alphonse, who was still in his paddock. My chest unclenched at the sight of the horse. Why I was so shocked to see Thomas kissing another, I wasn’t quite sure. Was it because he’d flirted with me in town and last night? Had I thought it meant more? Not really. I knew there couldn’t be more. But I also only knew what “more” was in vague terms. There had been no affection in Greymere, no pretty words, no soft lips against my own. It was a world apart from how Tom lived.

I expected Thomas to disappear like the girl had, but instead he came closer, crowding me as I petted the horse.

“Err, good morning.”

“Morning, Sam.” He grinned at me, the dimple appearing the same as it had last night when he’d flirted with me.