New Orleans Nocturnes 07: Batshift Crazy by Carrie Pulkinen

Author:Carrie Pulkinen [Pulkinen, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

The moment the sun completed its descent behind the horizon, Gaston walked out the back door and sat on a bench in the B and B garden. Wispy clouds stretched across the crescent moon, and the cool February air smelled of the sweet Taiwan cherry blossoms from the tree near the fountain.

Nerves had his stomach tied in unfamiliar knots. Any moment, Maeve would appear from the door to join him, and he both anticipated and dreaded her arrival. He wasn’t used to feeling such uncertainty about a woman…hell, about anything.

After the way she kissed him last night, he had been certain she felt their bond. She’d leaned into him, such passion crossing from her lips to his, he’d nearly turned to a pile of ash. Even when he’d nicked her tongue with a fang, she had seemed pleased rather than horrified. And that tiny taste of her blood was sweeter than ambrosia.

But the mere suggestion of turning her had killed the moment faster than a guillotine on the Queen of Scots. The only way to keep Maeve safe and make her his for the rest of eternity would be for her to become a vampire…an idea she had rejected the moment the words crossed his lips.

He would have to woo her. To make her see him as more than the loathsome—yet incredibly handsome—burden who had derailed her life.

The revolving door turned, and Maeve stepped through, wearing dark jeans with an emerald sweater that perfectly accented her hair's fiery hue. He rose and smoothed his midnight blue shirt down his stomach before bowing slightly—an old habit he’d never been able to break.

A glittering smile brightened her eyes. “Whenever you do that, you make me feel like an eighteenth-century princess.”

“Yet you are a modern-day queen.” He held out his hand, and much to his relief, she accepted the gesture, allowing him to kiss the backs of her fingers and guide her deeper into the gardens.

“Oh, please.” She laughed. “Nobody worships me.”

He did, and he’d be damned before letting her go another day without knowing. “A queen’s purpose is not to be worshipped by her subjects but to serve them. You fulfill that purpose for the bats at your sanctuary.”

Her smile widened. “Maeve O’Meara, Bat Queen. I like it.”

They stepped into a wooden gazebo situated beneath a towering Magnolia tree and settled onto a bench. “I believe you intended to bring a list of questions to ask. Did your mind slip?”

“Oh, no. I’ve got them.” She tapped her temple.

He chuckled. “Then ask away.”

She narrowed her eyes, studying his, the movement of her mouth indicating she chewed the inside of her cheek. “Question one. Can vampires read minds?”

“Sadly, no.” Though, he would love to know what thoughts tumbled through hers.

“Thank the devil.” Her shoulders slumped in relief.

“You’ve had thoughts you don’t want me to know about?”

“Plenty.” She pressed her lips together, her eyes flashing briefly. “Sometimes it looks like you and your friends are having conversations in your minds.”

“Yes, we have telepathy…or as Jane likes to call it…‘thought speaking.

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