Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)(51)

She set the flowers down on the table and pulled out the clear vase she had bought. It caught the light of the setting sun and she knew she was quickly running out of time. Cian would be up very soon and she wanted the table to look perfect. Going back into the kitchen, she began to run cool water into the vase as she tapped her toe to the music.

Tonight, they would laugh and hang out and it would be perfect. She wouldn't feel this terrible nasty nagging feeling in her stomach anymore. It had bugged her all day. No matter what she had done to make sure everything in her life was as it should be, she had felt that something was amiss. She had even called Memaw to make sure her grandmother was still alive in her nursing home. That call had trapped her into fifteen minutes of explaining to Memaw who she was, that the war was long over, and that the bad man Hitler was dead. But it had been worth it to hear the old woman's voice.

Behind her, the machinery to Cian's secret compartment whirred to life and she heard the wall began to slide up. Abandoning her vase, she ran out of the kitchen and across the apartment to leap onto the bed and snuggle with him as she always did.

She was almost to the bed when a raven-haired woman sat up and swept her thick hair back from her face. Samantha stumbled to a stop, her mouth dropping open, as she took in the woman's tattoos and peculiar looks. She wasn't sure if the girl was pretty or not, but she was damn sexy with her hair falling around her face and her tight tank top hugging her breasts.

“Hi,” the young woman said with an East Texas inflection.

“Hi,” Samantha said, not sure what else to say.

Cian rolled over onto his side and slowly dragged himself upright.

“Sam?”

“I'm here, baby,” she said, and walked toward the bed, confusion clouding her thoughts.

“Um” was all he said, and rubbed his face.

“I'm Amaliya,” the stranger in her fiancé's bed said, and rolled to her knees. “You must be Sam. Cian told me all about you.”

“Really?” Samantha hesitated. “Well, good. Maybe he can tell me about you.”

“She's a vampire,” Cian said groggily.

“Obviously.”



He never looked quite this bad when he woke up and Samantha was worried. He looked a little pale. “I took her in last night. She's new to my world.”

“In other words, completely stupid about what I should be doing,”

Amaliya said. Realizing that Samantha was uncomfortable, she crawled out of the bed and stretched. “He's going to teach me to be a good vampire.”

“Something like that,” Cian muttered. He pulled himself out of the bed.

Samantha went to him and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. She found comfort in his touch, but his skin was colder than usual. “You need to feed, don't you?”

He nodded and she ran her fingers through his hair. It grew out really fast and already it fell over his brow. He looked scruffy and she rather liked it. But at the same time, he seemed distant even though he held her close and snuggled into her.

Amaliya pulled her tank top down over the slight curve of her stomach and looked at Samantha curiously. Samantha knew that look. She was being sized up. Her outfit that had seemed so cute earlier felt girlish and stupid under the gaze of the sultry woman before her.

Hugging Cian close to her, she kissed his forehead and enjoyed the feel of his arms around her.

“Why haven't you fed, baby?” she asked softly.

“I fed her,” he answered in a quiet voice, and his body slightly stiffened.

Samantha looked toward the dark-haired girl now rummaging through a bag laying on the floor near the couch that Samantha had totally missed.

“She can't feed herself?” she questioned, her tone sharper than she would have liked.

Cian drew back and rubbed his stubbly chin. “She is new. She doesn't realize how often she has to feed.”

Samantha watched her fiancé's gaze follow the woman as she slipped out onto the wrap around balcony and she felt her stomach tighten with worry.

“So, you're going to teach her? Or just keep feeding her yourself?”

Trying not to show how upset she was, she began to make the bed for him. If she let him, he'd just leave it a mess and lower the walls.

“Teach her,” Cian answered in a peeved tone.

He walked away to the small guest bath where he kept his toothpaste and an electric toothbrush. He was always conscious of his gross breath. Samantha was pretty sure it was from drinking blood.

Wrinkling her nose, she fluffed up a pillow and watched his cute ass as he disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. He was more uncommunicative than usual and it was not making her happy.

Sorting through the covers and getting them layered correctly, she kept glancing toward Amaliya out on the balcony. She was out there smoking and talking on a cellphone.

“Cian, she's smoking,” Samantha complained loudly.

“What?” He reappeared looking grumpy, but he came over and helped her tuck the covers in.

“She's smoking!” Samantha pointed and frowned at him. “You know how much I hate that. You remember how I worked hard to help get smoking banned in the clubs.”

Cian looked over at Amaliya in a way that made her vastly uncomfortable. It was almost as if he was embarrassed to look at the other vampire. “Who could she be talking to?” With a frown, he headed over to the door that lead onto the balcony.