Mating Fever by Crymsyn Hart

Have you seen him since?”
    I shook my head. “N-no. I-I would have told you if I had.”
    “Of course you would have. Come on, we need to get you away from here.”
    “But what about Sandi? We can’t just leave him in the kitchen. All that blood.”
    “I’ve already called Ivan to come over. He will take care of the body.”
    “How?”
    “Do you really want to know?”
    I shook my head. My stomach turned at what I thought Ivan would do since he had a penchant for raw, human meat. I couldn’t think of him snacking on my roommate. Keaton helped me up.
    “Thank you.”
    “You should come to my place for now. Do you need anything here?”
    I glanced at my room, but I needed clothes. “Just give me a minute, okay?”
    “Sure.” Keaton stepped away. I grabbed a suitcase from my closet amongst the wreckage. Some clothes were okay. Those went into the bag. In my dresser were a few bras and panties to wear along with some pajamas that I would need. I gathered my laptop and a couple of books I was reading. But none of that seemed to matter. I walked out of my room and in that moment knew that I was saying goodbye to my old life and beginning a new one. Keaton brought me back to his house afterwards.
    The last thing I had taken with me was an old stuffed bear that hadn’t been shredded. I snuggled closer with it in the bed. Keaton walked into the bedroom carrying a mug filled with hot tea. He gave it to me. I blew the steam away and sipped on it.
    “You’ll stay here from now on. We’ll go shopping when you’re ready. Sunday if you want.”
    I shook my head. “No. I told Stephania that I would meet her Sunday so we could go shopping.”
    Keaton gave me a tight smile. “Well, that’s good.”
    “You don’t sound like it is.”
    “It’s not that. There is still some bad blood between us.”
    “You don’t trust her?”
    “No. I do. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I’ll be careful. She seems sincere about our relationship. She did warn me about the evil and gave me the salt. If I had been home...” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
    Keaton grimaced. He ran his hand over my knee. “I know. If you had been there, I would’ve lost you.”
    “Do you know who was in the house?”
    He got up and began to pace. He clutched the bedpost. “It was that bastard who attacked you in the alleyway.”
    “I thought you killed him?”
    “So did I. He might have had someone with him. Pulled out the stake right after I left. I was too focused on you.”
    “How did he find me?”
    “He must have had a piece of your clothing to trace your scent. Did he take anything of yours that night?”
    I thought back. His hand caressed my throat and ran through my hair. I had a scarf around my neck that night that he'd ripped off. “He took my scarf. I didn’t think about it because he dropped it to the ground.”
    “He must have come back and grabbed it after we left.”
    “Do you know who he is? Can he track me back here?”
    Keaton nodded. “I know who he is.”
    “Who?”
    “Someone I thought would’ve known better. I’ll take care of him.”
    “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I love you.”
    Keaton stopped pacing and stared at me. Surprise lit up his face. “What did you say?”
    “That I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
    “Before that.”
    I felt the blood heat my cheeks. The words had slipped out, but once they did, I knew them to be true. He had protected me. Shown me that he loved me, and it wasn’t because of the mating fever or whatever the vampire mojo was that bound us together. “That I love you.”
    He took my hands and peered into my eyes. “You mean that?”
    “Yeah. I do. I don’t want to lose you.”
    “You won’t. I swear.” He wove his fingers in my hair and pulled me to him. His lips met mine, and I conformed my body to his. The pleasure of his touch ignited my need for him. Keaton thrust his tongue into my mouth. I tasted his sweetness. I cried out when