Just A Taste | BOOK 1 The Night Lords Series

23. Glitter Power

Count Grumpy Pants shut me inside a single bedroom with no other doors except for the one we came in. I expected him to stay outside the room like last time but he surprised me by following me in and locking it from the inside. I wasn't able to determine much from the blurry ride over here given he practically moved like a bullet but I can at least guess the carnage was pretty bad.

I. Am. So. Bored.

Leave it to Cassius to put me in a room with his most boring, most inexpressive, most aggravating babysitter available.

"I'm not a babysitter."

I look up, surprised. Did I say that out loud? We sat on opposite ends of the room. Well, I sat on the bed while he leaned against the wall by the door. I'm still not used to looking at all these vampires and their strangely colored eyes so I was having a hard time meeting his ruby gaze. I decide to focus on my lap while I take a chance at small talk.

"Why'd you lock the door? A lot of you keep saying they're useless."

"Who said it was to keep things out?"

I look up with a frown. "What do you..." But then my voice trails off as it clicks. He was keeping me in. The lock just gave me something to struggle with if I even considered making a run for it. The thought makes me scowl.

"You're mean." I say, crossing my arms.

He barks a laugh. "What are you? Four?"

My scowl deepens and I look away. "Whatever."

"Don't do that."

I peer back over my shoulder to see his red eyes gleaming. I arch a brow. "Don't do what?"

One moment, he's across the room, the next, he's looming over me. He was so close that I have to basically break my neck to look up at him. Valentino leans down to breathe in my scent.

"Don't make that pouting face. With you dressed like that, acting like a little rebel, it can drive any man wild. Even one who's usually good at keeping himself under control."

I swallow hard and the hungry vampire licks his lips before purposely taking a step back. "Too bad my Lord claimed you as a pet. Otherwise, I'd have my way with you right now." He returns to his earlier post by the wall.

My jaw drops. Were all vampires so... brazen?!

Feeling uncomfortable now that he said that, I grab the top sheet off the bed and wrap myself in it, shooting him a glare but his gaze remains passive. Back to being a grumpy robot, then.

Time drags on and I struggle to keep from dying of boredom. How do immortals do it? They live way longer than humans so their boredom levels, I'm sure, far exceed that of a human's. I start tapping my foot and Valentino eventually gets tired of that, snapping at me to cut it out. Standing up, I start to pace, ignoring the vampire as his gaze follows me back and forth. I think about today and decide to take back what I thought about them getting bored. There hasn't been one minute actually where something didn't or wasn't happening that kept one on their toes. If every waking hour was like this, no wonder none of them seemed to relax. They were all psychos.

My pacing starts to slow as I remember what I'd seen out in the hall. Multiple guards, unconscious, yet there's been no sign of blood. What if, by some teensy chance, that rogue vampire didn't take all of them out on his own. I mean, it wasn't hard to believe but if there was something out there that I could possibly get my hands on, maybe I could...

I drop my bed sheet and turn to face Valentino. He arches a brow.

"I have to pee."

His blink is deliberately slow and I cross my arms over my stomach, shifting back and forth on my feet in what I hoped looked like I really needed to go.