Free Blood Dolls by Sophie Stern Page B

was curious about what vampires did when they were drinking, when they were having fun. When they weren’t just eating or brooding, what did they do? Did they act like normal people?
    “They’re very sexual parties,” Samuel said. He turned the corner and they stopped in front of his office. He placed his palm on a panel beside the door, unlocking it.
    “More sexual than the sitting room?”
    “Much more sexual than that.” He stepped inside the office and she followed. Samuel closed and locked the door behind them, then went to his desk. He sat at the large chair and Celia walked over to the large bookshelves.
    “Mind if I read something today?”
    “You can read anything you like.”
    Samuel had quite the collection. There were first editions and signed editions and leather bound books and hardcovers. There were things she’d never heard of and books she’d never imagined.
    After a few minutes, Celia selected a copy of a romance novel and brought it over to Samuel. He motioned for her to sit at his feet, so she did. There was a large, round cushion there just for her. She sat down, leaned her head against his knee, and began to read.
    The words flew off the page and into her imagination. As she read, Samuel played with her hair, made phone calls, and reviewed business transactions. Although he had been a doctor long ago, he had his own online company now. It allowed him to be independently wealthy, yet maintain his privacy.
    She had learned quickly that privacy, to a vampire, was one of the most important things in the universe. Yes, the world knew about vampires, but the world only had a small glimpse. Even Celia, living with them, believed she only knew what they wanted her to know.
    After awhile, she began to feel drowsy, and she felt the book slip from her fingers.
    “Careful,” Samuel said, taking it from her. He placed the book on his desk, then continued to play with her hair. “Are you sleepy, kitten?”
    “A bit.”
    “Go lie on the couch.”
    Her feet moved of their own accord and she made her way to the sofa. It was in front of the fireplace and Celia thought it was one of the coziest places in the room. She curled up and closed her eyes, trying not to think too hard about her new life, trying not to think too much about the way things had turned for her.
    She was no longer just an admin at her stepfather’s business. She was no longer worried about her mother. She was no longer just a plain, ordinary girl. Now, she was different. Now, things had changed.
    Celia didn’t want to think about how quickly her life had turned around or how addicted she was to Samuel. It hadn’t been long. It had only been days or weeks. She didn’t even know. All she knew was that for the first time in her life, Celia wasn’t worried about how she would eat, or how she would protect herself, or how she would stay away from Raymond.
    For the first time in a very long time, Celia felt safe.
    At home.
    Protected.
    And as she curled up in the middle of Samuel’s office, she closed her eyes, and she fell asleep.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    He shouldn’t be thinking about keeping her. He knew that much. Samuel was smarter than that. He shouldn’t be thinking about keeping a woman, about asking one to marry him. He shouldn’t be thinking about turning her, about living forever with her. He shouldn’t.
    If he had learned anything from Harper’s death, it was that nothing was forever. You might think it was, you might want it to be, but it wasn’t.
    He had loved her.
    Wanted her.
    Cared for her.
    He had protected her, but he had failed her. There was a reason there weren’t many female vampires and it had nothing to do with a vamp’s inability to commit to a woman. No, that wasn’t it at all.
    The reason there were so few vamps had nothing to do with love and everything to do with the fact that females almost always died during the transition. Giving up your humanity wasn’t easy. Even men often died instead of coming