"You�re beautiful, Charlotte D�Amico." He grabbed her and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. She stiffened in his arms, but then relaxed, parting her lips for him as he drank her in, her mouth warm and soft, her gentle murmurs stirring him into a frenzy.

Entirely too soon, she broke their kiss and gave him a playful shove, glaring at him with a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Just talking, remember?"

"Forgive me." Dorian gave a slight bow. "I was� overcome."

"Don�t let it happen again." She found a flat spot on the ridge and took a seat, patting the space next to her for Dorian to join her. When he did, she said, "Okay, enough about shifters. I need Vampire 101, lightning round. Ready?"

"What�s a lightning�"

"Garlic. Myth or fact?"

He laughed, understanding her meaning. "Myth. Like any good gourmet, I adore garlic."

"Holy water?"

"Mostly myth, although witches can enchant water with certain spells that vampires find� uncomfortable."

"Witches? As in, broomstick riding, spell-casting, fortune-telling�"

"Wait, is this still the lightning round? Because witches are a topic all their own."

Charlotte blinked rapidly, then sighed. "Okay, we�ll save witches for later. What about walking in daylight?"

"A feat made possible by� witches."

"Seriously?"

"Witches and vampires have a long, complicated, and mostly symbiotic history which I�ll tell you more about after the lightning round."

"When you go to someone�s apartment or house, do you have to be invited in?"

"We haven�t for a good seventy or eighty years now."

She cocked her head and smirked. "Witches?"

"You�re an excellent student," he said with a wink. "That spell was born of necessity in modern times. As cities became more crowded, with a high percentage of renters and property turnover, tracking down owners to ask for permission to enter became more challenging. So, for the vampire who can afford it, there�s an easy fix."

"Sounds like witches do a lot of favors for you guys."

"For which they�re extremely well-paid, I assure you." Dorian sighed, still bristling about Marlys�s exploitative prices.

"What about stakes?"

"Deadly. But only when they�re made of wood, and only if you manage to pierce the heart, like I told you last night. Otherwise, you�ll just piss us off."

"Can vampires be killed by anything else?"

"Several things," he said with a wry laugh. "Forgive me if I don�t readily disclose them." JrNovels.com