JOVITA All this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t seen him in the light. Part of me wanted to believe that he purposely did this. He knew what he was doing. Does he take every other girl by surprise by unveiling himself when they least expected it? He brushed his hair in the mirror, ignoring me, while I struggled to ignore my racing heart. I do not know why my heart rate kept spiking like that. This was a man I was brought up to despise, but here I am, acknowledging his beauty. I wanted to kick myself in the ass. “You are my assistant from today henceforth and will always be by my side,” he said from the mirror. I will always be by his side sounded so intimate that I had to convince myself that he was only speaking of work. “Your job description includes bedroom duties...” “What?” I flared, interrupting him. “With all due respect, you will have to kill me first before getting into my panties. I am not a whore and did not come here to be your sex sl
RALPH What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I being so tolerant of Jovita? It has nothing to do with the fact that she bears the same name as the only woman I loved when I was alive. I was supposed to hate everyone by that name because of what was done to me. I have existed for centuries, gone to several places, and roamed the earth, but I never came across anyone by that name until this dark-haired woman came into my life. I have given her the leniency I have given no other person. I have never had to reconsider my policy about sex with humans until now. Coming out of my bathroom and seeing Jovita standing in my room, I forgot that she was there for any reason other than because I wanted her. And fuck did I want her. I do not know how to get rid of this ungodly attraction. Any time she opened her mouth, she challenged me, and it was funny that she felt she could. It was as if she had no idea who I was or what I could do. My aura does not intimidate her
JOVITA I walked back to the room, and my eyes fell on the nightstand, where his ring still sat, staring at me. My face creased in a confused frown. Why didn't he take his ring? I went over and picked it up, examining it. It looked pretty expensive and unique and made me wonder if this was just his fancy ring or if he left it there as part of his plan to get to know me. I left it there and stared at the dead body beside the bed. I dragged her across the room toward the window, and with all the strength I could muster, I hauled her over the windowsill and into the bellowing sea. I watched her plummet and crash into the water. I walked back into the room, inspecting it. From the white walls to the large walk-in closet and the black head and footboard of the bed, there was no sign of softness in the personality of the owner of the room. His room was, however, the most modern room in the castle. There were no pictures on the walls or on the nightstand. Who was I kidding? These peop
JOVITA I slept off with Lord Ralph's image still in my head. I also dreamt of him and knew I needed to speak to my uncle. When I woke up the following day, Ana was already gone. I needed to find time to talk with her. She was the only person I was supposed to be closest to in this place, but I don't know what to do if she keeps up with this attitude. I had my bath, and something hit me as I was cleaning my body. The ring. My heart tumbled in my chest as I thought harder about that ring. My whole body went stiff. I tried to remember seeing it there after bathing in Lord Ralph's room. My mind totally went off it, and I was sure I had felt someone watching me then. Was it there? Was it not there? I would be in a big mess if someone found me in Lord Ralph's room having my bath. I ran my hands through my hair. How do vampires show anger? Do they break things or kill humans or relax and be cold? What if Lord Ralph found out I had the audacity to b
RALPH "It is just a careless mistake and nothing else," I defended, avoiding Colbert's eyes. But his stare told me he did not believe me or partially did so. I picked the food in front of me with my fork and chewed, ignoring his hard stare. "I certainly can't remember the last time we forgot our rings." Colbert leaned closer. "Are you okay? Is something bothering you?" I gave up. Lying to Colbert was not easy for me. But I did not want him to know anything about HER or tell him I lusted after her nakedness. I shut the thoughts away from me. I was growing hard again, thinking of it. "I have been feeling sick lately. I don't really know how I feel. It's... It's a new kind of feeling, and it's strange." Colbert observed me for a while. "Does this happen when you are around a female?" "Of course not. This isn't even about what you are thinking about," I lied through my teeth. But I can't tell my beloved brother that I was lusting after a femal
JOVITA I closed the door gently behind me, sighing with relief, and leaned on the door to compose myself before going down the stairs as I left the presence of the two intimidating men. My heart almost pumped out of my chest when I was there. Excluding the role I had to play as a naive girl, I realized I could not meet Lord Ralph's eyes. I was scared that he would punish me for bathing in his bathroom, but I was surprised when he said nothing like that. I was about to leave when his brother's voice reached my ears. I halted and placed my ear to the door to hear what they were saying. "You are sick indeed, and it is becoming alarming. Have you, by any chance, told anyone your secrets about the blood bank?" "Don't be silly. How would I let anyone know my secrets?" "What about the girl?" "What girl?" "The one that just left here. Is there something I should know about her?" I held my breath in the silence that followed. They suspected me ind
JOVITA "Everybody out!" one vampire yelled as they entered the dining hall. The girls squealed when their tables were overturned, and their plates of food crashed and spilled on the floor. They shoved us out of our seats. "Ingrates!" one of the vampire girls snared. I was confused because I did not understand what was happening. They ensured they turned all the tables and chased us out of the hall. We matched to the compound in a straight line. The boys and men were already standing outside. Lord Ralph stood on the balcony of the first floor, watching us calmly. We were all made to face him on that balcony; his face was furious. I know he was not known for smiling, but I knew he was angry this time around. A confused murmur erupted among the humans. "Do you know what is going on?" Emily asked beside me. I turned to see that she had gone pale with fear already. I shook my head. I might have an inkling of what was happening, and my chest was beating so
JOVITA I went straight to our room and searched the closet. There was nothing there. No crossbow, no stake. I looked under the small cabinet in the room, the bed, and even the bathroom. Nothing. The door to our room opened, and Ana strolled inside, but I ignored her. She went to her bed and sat down, watching me for a while. I could feel her gaze as I opened and upturned things, but I did not speak. This was surprising. When did Bryce come here? I doubted he ever came here because I had been in the kitchen with him. There was no time to come up here and take them out. A thought hit me. Could it be Lord Ralph that removed it himself? No, I dismissed that thought. It can never be. "Are you looking for something?" Ana asked calmly. "Yes," I replied monotonously, not ready for any lecture or guilt trap from her. "Your weapons, I guess?" My head snapped toward her. "Did you see them anywhere?" "You keep implicating yourself and others..."