Charlotte closed her eyes, the shiver finally breaking through, rattling her from head to toe.

It would�ve been so easy to give in. To push aside everything she�d seen tonight�to bury it with her guilt and shame and all the other dark things she kept locked in a box�and fall into his eager embrace.

But she wouldn�t. Not this time.

She looked up at him again and shook her head. "I�m not sleeping with you tonight, Dorian. Forget it."

Dorian sighed and took a step back, breaking their connection. "I didn�t bring you here for sex, Charlotte."

"So we�re gonna sit around and play Scrabble, then?" She shoved against the column behind her, but it was as immovable as solid stone. "God, this thing was probably made in the middle ages."

"Renaissance, actually." He glared at her, broody as ever.

"Seriously? Fine. I�ve got a better game. Twenty questions. Me first." She popped her hands on her hips and glared right back at him. "Why the fuck didn�t you tell me you�re a� a bloodsucking vampire king?"

"And when, pray tell, would I have done that?"

"Oh, I don�t know, maybe before you�"

He rushed at her again, wrapping her in another impossible embrace, pinning her arms at her sides. His mouth was so close, she thought he might bite.

Images of their insane kiss in the basement flashed through her mind, the coppery tang of blood lingering in her mouth.

"Before I what?" his whispered. New fire raged in his eyes, a hot mix of lust and anger, and beneath his firm hold, Charlotte felt the unmistakable power coursing through his veins. It wasn�t just his superstrength, his speed, his commanding tone. It was something that ran much deeper, pulsing from the very core of his being.

A two-and-a-half-centuries-old vampire king�

Charley swallowed the knot of fear in her throat, trying to remain absolutely still. She didn�t think there was a right answer to his question, and even if there was, she didn�t trust herself to keep her voice steady.

But rather than press her for a response, Dorian simply released her, turned his back, and headed for the door. "Make yourself comfortable. I�ll return as soon as I can."

"Wait. That�s it?" She followed after him, mind reeling from the whiplash he�d caused. "You dropped the biggest bomb in history on me, and now you�re leaving?"

"You�ve made it quite clear you�re not looking for company tonight."

"Company, no. Answers, yes."

Keeping his back turned, he lowered his head and said, "I�ll answer your questions, but first I need to discuss some things with my brothers."

"Brothers, right. You mean your vampire coven? House? Whatever?"

"In this case, I mean both."

The words felt heavy and cold, and they hung in the air between them, setting Charley�s mind spinning again.

The men he�d introduced as his brothers were also his vampire house. So that meant� They were also literally his brothers?

How was that possible, unless� JrNovels.com