Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Two (Midnight Harbor Book 2)
Hot Vampire Next Door: Episode Twenty-Eight

Terrified.

That was the word my mother used to describe the strange things happening around me before I was bound by Rita’s magic.

When I was only a year old.

What. The. Hell.

When I look up at Bran, the expression on his face makes me a little ill.

There’s the barest glimpse of fear pinched in the fine lines around his eyes.

Then it’s gone, tucked away.

Bran Duval cannot afford to be afraid.

Even of little mice.

Kelly comes over to me and wraps me in a hug. We’re nearly the same height, so I get a face full of her hair. It doesn’t smell like her expensive shampoo though. It smells like Locke House, like vodka and cigar smoke.

She cries against me. “If I knew…I mean, maybe I did and Julian made me forget. But you’re…we’ll always be sisters no matter what.”

“Of course we will.” I squeeze her tightly. Do I feel different knowing she’s not my blood sister? Do I even want to believe it’s true?

There’s a little voice in the back of my head that says subconsciously I always knew.

Maybe that was why I was so desperate to leave Midnight. I didn’t feel like I fit in my own skin, let alone the life I thought I was destined for.

“I’m so sorry, Jess,” Kelly says to me. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” Bran says.

Kelly pulls away and frowns at him. “Excuse me. I don’t need—”

I squeeze my sister’s arm. “He’s just like that. You’ll get used to it.”

“Why would I have to?” She frowns at me.

“Because he isn’t going anywhere,” I say. “You were the one who wanted Duval House to bid on me, anyway.”

“I—right.” She presses at the space between her brows. “I forgot about that. Your Pledge is…”

“Technically tomorrow, now that it’s after midnight.”

“Tomorrow? Oh fuck. I haven’t planned the party! What are we—”

“I think we have more important things to worry about.” I give the letter in my hand a shake.

“We still need a party! Your Pledge will happen, letter or not. I need a glass of wine and my planner. I need to start making a to-do list.”

“Slow down, Kels.”

“We need a party!” she shouts.

“Okay. I know. We’ll have a party.”

The outburst catches me by surprise and I just stare at her as she stares at me, eyes wide. This is so unlike her. Both of us are the non-confrontational sort. Sometimes to our detriment. We’ll often leave things unsaid when really, we should be communicating them, even if it’s hard.

Kelly exhales and folds her arms over her middle. “You deserve a celebration.”

“While I am positively thrilled about planning a party,” Bran says, which gets a scowl out of me because I know he’s being sarcastic, “we have an issue we should discuss right now. Julian might have let us leave his house, but he’ll be looking for another way to get what he wants. Namely you, mouse.”

“Mouse?” Kelly frowns at me.

“Long story.”

“Because you like grilled cheese so much.” She laughs to herself. “Clever.”

“I am a clever boy,” Bran says, still dripping with sarcasm.

I had no idea what I was getting into, putting Bran and my sister in the same room. I don’t know if I like it.

“What do you propose we do about Julian?” I ask him.

“He’ll continue to use Kelly against you. She’s pledged to his house, so he’ll have some strings he can pull to get her back.”

Kelly deflates. I slide my arm over her shoulders. “There must be something we can do.”

“We can petition the court to reverse her pledge,” Bran says.

“We can?”

Kelly nods. “Yes. Technically that’s true, but they’re rarely approved.”

“That’s because they rarely have the backing of a Duval.”

Kelly gives him a look. “The arrogance of a Duval is simply astounding.”

“It’s not arrogance if it’s fact.”

“We petition the courts. What do we say?”

“I petition the court,” Bran says. “I will attest to finding Kelly with compulsion fever. On its own, it’s not necessarily a reason to reverse a pledge, but if I’m asking for it, it’ll go through.”

“And then what?” Kelly asks. “I’ll be without a house. Without protection. Julian won’t let it go that easily.”

“That’s true. Which is why you’ll be adopted by Duval House.”

Kelly snorts. “You must be joking.”

“He doesn’t joke,” I say. But also, seriously? “What will Damien say?”

“Damien and Kelly used to fuck before she was Pledged to Locke House. So I doubt he’ll object.”

“Excuse me!” Kelly shouts.

I cut a look to my sister. “You slept with Damien Duval and didn’t tell me?!”

Kelly is still shooting daggers at Bran when she says to me, “It was a very long time ago.”

“Was it?” Bran challenges, like he already knows exactly how long ago it was.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I say.

“It was…it wasn’t something I wanted to go around shouting from the rooftops, okay? I wasn’t in a good place.”

“Not a good place? If Damien is anything like his brother, I’d say it was probably fucking nirvana.”

“Jessie!” She whacks me on the arm.

“What?” I laugh and rub at the sting as it fades. “I’m proud of you, is what I’m saying. You’re not usually the scandalous type.”

“I’m not!”

“Was it good?” I whisper behind the cup of my hand, like Bran can’t hear me. “Is Damien amazing in bed?”

“Mouse,” Bran says in his scolding tone of voice.

When I look across the room at him, his eyes are starting to fire. “I suggest you stop asking about how good my brother is in bed.”

There’s considerable tension in the lines around his mouth. Is he jealous? We’ve yet to have a discussion about what this actually is between us. Vampires don’t put girlfriend/boyfriend labels on their relationships usually, but are we in a relationship? Are we exclusive? Am I overthinking this?

When the glow in his irises intensifies, an errant thrill buzzes between my legs. My heart thumps harder. Bran’s chest expands as he takes in a deep breath.

“Mouse.”

I straighten. “Okay. I hear you.”

“Wait.” Kelly frowns. “Are you saying you’re sleeping with him?”

I make an innocent face at her. “Maybe?”

“Jessie!”

“I’m growing less and less fond of this conversation as it goes on,” Bran says.

“Is he fond of anything?” Kelly asks.

Mmmmm, yes. Teasing the living daylights out of me with his clever fingers and dirty mouth.

The buzz comes back and Bran scowls at me.

“Okay, so when do we petition the courts?” I ask, trying to shift the night back to the business at hand.

“Now,” Bran says.

“Now?” Kelly squeaks.

“Is there a better time? The vampire courts are only open at night.” He tilts his head, pinning her with a look. “Or perhaps we give Julian a few days to plot his revenge?”

Kelly plops onto the edge of Mom’s bed. The frame creaks. “Will Damien…I mean…have you spoken to him about this?”

“I have, yes,” Bran says.

I can’t ignore the way Kelly flushes, talking about Damien. I had no idea. How did I miss that? I guess I’ve always been a little oblivious to my sister’s personal life.

“What did he say?” A thread of hope turns her voice thin.

“He agreed to it.”

There’s a faint smile tugging at the corner of my sister’s lips before she brings her hands in front of her face, hiding it.

Maybe like me, my sister saw her life going in an entirely different direction.

Maybe like me, she’s spinning, unsure of where she’ll land but is hopeful that it’ll be better than where she started.

“Until we get an approval from the court, you’ll stay at my house,” Bran says.

“My house,” I correct.

The look he gives me is akin to the smack of his hand across my ass. And thinking about it, my clit throbs, new wetness soaking my panties.

I have to stop thinking about Bran doing naughty things to me or we’ll never get through the night.

“I’ll pack a bag,” Kelly says and leaves us.

I go across the hall to my room and Bran follows me. A chill creeps down my spine. If I thought him being in my living room was bad, my bedroom will be far worse.

Did I clean my room last I was here? I mean, I always have a clean room but what if I left something out that I don’t want him to see?

I quickly scan the dresser, the desk, the bedside table. My room is neat and uncluttered, but I spot a stupid picture of Sam and me from last summer where we’re making funny faces at the camera.

I snatch it from the mirror hanging above my dresser and quickly shove it into my top drawer.

“How long do you think we’ll be staying at your house?” I ask as I head into the closet.

Bran doesn’t immediately answer me and when I turn around, he’s suddenly there. He presses into me and I bang against the door. “If you don’t get control of yourself, little mouse,” he says, “I’ll take you right here, right now. I’ll fuck you loudly and without restraint.” He takes my wrist in hand and brings my arm up, baring the pale underside. He traces a vein with the tip of his finger, sending a warm jolt down my belly and gooseflesh down to my elbow.

“Maybe you should control yourself,” I argue.

“Oh, should I?” Fangs protrude from his mouth.

“Yes.”

“But you’re so tempting.” His eyes go vampire bright in the dimly lit closet, and then he sinks his fangs into my wrist.

It’s unexpected and I gasp, instinct telling me to pull away. But Bran holds fast to me, one hand on my wrist, the other snaking to the back of my neck.

There is an immediate primal need to go still beneath the pressure as he sucks the blood from my veins. Within seconds, I’m drenched.

Behind closed lids, the world sways as the air in my lungs stutters up my throat.

I want him to take me. Right here. Right now. Loudly and without restraint.

There’s a sudden chill at my wrist when Bran’s mouth leaves me.

I whimper at the absence of his warmth.

With the swipe of his thumb, he catches a rogue drop of blood from the corner of his mouth and sucks it back. His eyes are still glowing as he watches me.

“A word of caution, mouse,” he says.

I pant against the door, wound up tight. “What?”

“Don’t talk about other men in bed.” His leans in again and slips his hand inside the waistband of my pants, sending a flash of heat down to my core.

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll lose my fucking mind.”

His fingers trail along the seam of my panties.

“If talking about other men in bed gets you like this, maybe I don’t want to stop.”

The rumble of laughter deep in his chest is almost sinister. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

“You’re probably right.”

On my next breath, he invades my panties and roughly shoves two fingers inside of me. I gasp out as he grabs me around the throat, forcing my chin up, exposing the column of my neck to his fangs.

“I’m going to spend every waking minute making sure everyone knows you’re mine.” Then he sinks those fangs into my throat.

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