CHAPTER TEN

" J ust the eggs?" The server asked, snapping her out of the terrifying staring contest with Logan.

"Yes. Yup. Yes, please. To go," Brooklyn said quickly.

Christ.

Of all the luck. Her first breakfast at the café and he was here.

His scruff had grown on his jaw, and she wondered if he'd been up all night. Shit. Of course he had. He was a nocturnal predator.

Logan had probably spent the night outside hunting bunnies and kittens for fun. And was headed to bed to pull the wings off his collection of flies.

She bit her lip at her silly joke, but as she imagined him lying naked in bed, her core heated. Brooklyn pressed her thighs together and hoped like hell no one noticed.

"Sure, no problem," the friendly vampire server replied.

Everyone had been welcoming to her except Logan. She'd seen the blood on his tongue after baring his fangs but had forced herself not to react.

She was a trained nurse.

Blood didn't scare her.

The unspoken threat did. She wanted to run out of the café as fast as she could.

But he'd catch her.

Oh god, why is that hot?

A wave of arousal shot through her as she visualized Logan chasing her through the halls and slamming her up against the wall.

Brooklyn rubbed her temple.

She should have foreseen this. Her history with men wasn't good. Just ask Belinda.

"Babe. Stop choosing assholes. At the very least, settle for someone who will commit," Belinda had said to her a few years ago.

It was true. She chose the men who treated her badly and never committed. Hence, being thirty-five and single.

Her first boyfriend, David, had been in college, also studying science...and also sleeping with three other students.

Asshole.

Then there'd been Carlos.

She'd met him at a party one weekend through Belinda. They'd dated for a year and when she'd asked what he envisioned for his future one night over dinner, Carlos had called her pushy and clingy.

Why? It was a conversation. A normal one couples should have as far as she was concerned. Especially after being together for a year.

After that, Brooklyn had gone out with a handful of guys on just one or two dates but had felt pretty disheartened by the dating scene.

Her thirtieth birthday had come and gone, then her thirty-fifth.

Now she was living in a castle full of vampires.

So the chances of finding true love had never been so far away.

In fact, the only male giving her any attention was Logan, who looked like he wanted to use his incisors to slit her open and feed her to his pet flies.

Great.

Brooklyn kept her eyes down and scrolled through her phone, but she could still feel the heat of his gaze on her.

Under the table, her leg bounced, and she had no idea what she was looking at. Finally, the server walked over with her wrapped meal, and she leaped up.

"Thank you." She pushed a tip into his hand.

"We don't tip here," he called out as she rushed away.

"Keep it anyway!" she replied as she zipped between the tables and out of the café.

Thank god.

Oh, my god. Thank god.

I can't do this. I need to resign.

He's going to hurt me.

I should tell Sage.

Or Ari.

Or the king.

No. I'll just go home. Book a flight today.

Now.

Why wait?

My life might depend on it.

What was I thinking coming here?

Vampires. Of course, there were going to be a few who were dangerous in the workplace. They were predators. She hadn't thought this through at all.

It wasn't until Brooklyn was one hundred feet from her door that she realized she'd left her room key on the table in the café.

Damn it.

She stood in the same spot for a moment and couldn't think of a way out of it. Most people were asleep, so even going to the security office was a waste of time. It was closed.

Maybe Logan had left already. He'd already been eating, so it was likely. She nodded to herself, then turned around and—

Bang.

"Hello, little mouse. Looking for this?" Logan held up the key.

High.

So that she couldn't reach it.

Not hard given he was nearly a foot taller than her.

"Yes." She gulped, staring up at it.

But it wasn't the key she had a heightened awareness of. It was the solid wall of ripped muscular chest she was up against.

And the fact the Logan had one arm around her lower waist.

And...how extremely glorious it felt.

His huge masculinity was intoxicating, and as terrified as she was, her body wanted him to do some really terrible things to it.

"You can let me go," she finally squeaked out.

Dark, hungry eyes stared down at her.

Then Logan licked his lips.

Brooklyn felt herself begin shudder, the automatic reaction betraying how she felt. Biologically, she knew why.

So did her predator.

"Scared, little mouse?" Logan purred, his mouth descending closer as he pulled her harder against his chest.

"Please let me go."

"I will let you go when I have finished playing."

She was a toy to him and the worse part of it was she wished he'd play in a different way. But Logan had made it clear.

I don't fuck humans.

Yet she could feel his hardness, and he looked as thrilled about it as she was with her own reaction.

Could he scent her wet panties?

"I'll scream," she threatened, hoping that would be enough to deter him.

"I hope you do." Logan's smile widened.

"Why?" she asked.

"Why what?" Logan asked, his smile disappearing. "Why do I want you to scream?"

Brooklyn nodded. "Yes. Does it turn you on?"

Immediately, his arms dropped away, and she had to steady herself with a hand on his abdomen to stop from falling over.

Logan grabbed her wrist hard and removed it as he glared at her angrily.

Ouch.

"Do not even joke about such a revolting possibility, human," he ground out, hate lacing his words.

"You're hurting me." She winced.

"You have no idea the pain I could inflict on you. If I was allowed."

"Why?" Brooklyn asked.

Why did he hate her so much? She was trying to help them. He was so angry and full of hate for her.

It made no sense.

"More fucking why questions. Here's one for you. Why are you not scampering back to your room, human?" Logan growled.

Brooklyn glanced down at his other hand.

"You have my key," she said. "Otherwise, I can assure you I would be in there hiding under the covers."

His dark steel eyes began to swirl with something she didn't recognize at the mention of her in bed. Or maybe she did, and she wasn't sure either of them wanted to acknowledge it.

They had chemistry.

Powerful chemistry.

She didn't need to be a scientist to admit that.

"You need to stay far away from me," he rasped low in the back of his throat.

"Trust me. I'm trying." She swallowed.

Flipping her wrist over, Logan dropped the key into her palm and stepped away. Then took another step while still facing her.

They both stood staring at one another as her heart pounded in her ears and goose bumps prickled her skin.

Logan's eyelids lowered, then he growled. "Run, little mouse."

So she did.