The Merzetti Effect (A Vampire Romance) by Norah Wilson Read Free Book Online Page B

stuff.”
    “Ah, of course. I think it’s safe to say you’ll be better than me. You certainly couldn’t be any slower.”
    “Okay, then.”
    “Okay you’ll take the job?”
    She ordered her twanging nerves to settle down. “Yes, I’d like the job.”
    “Excellent. I think we’ll deal very well together.”
    Deal very well together? Sometimes he used the strangest turn of phrase. “When do I start?”
    “I think we’d better put you on the payroll immediately,” came his wry reply. “After all, you wouldn’t be lying there if you hadn’t come for the interview.”
    Immediately. Thank goodness. An infusion for her desperately dwindling bank balance. “It could be a day or two before I’m up to scratch,” she cautioned.
    “There’s no hurry,” he said. “You need to recuperate. And remember, we’ll have to do frequent blood work to monitor your situation. In fact, I’d like you to stay here for the immediate future so we can keep a close eye on things. Would that be agreeable?”
    A shiver went through her at the reminder of her exposure, which she’d almost managed to forget for a few minutes. And once again, he was right. It made sense to stay here while she needed close monitoring.
    Whoa, Ainsley! Ten minutes ago, she’d been ready to fight her way out of here. What had changed?
    Well, number one, despite his slayer routine, he seemed genuinely devoted to helping the vampire community co-exist peaceably with the broader community.
    God, had she just framed the thought vampire community ?
    She forced her thoughts back to why she felt better disposed to staying here.
    Well, he’d actually asked this time, more of an invitation than a decree. She didn’t feel so much like a prisoner.
    Plus her future didn’t look quite as gloomy as she’d assumed. Worst case scenario, if she were infected and Delano … er, Dr. Bowen were unable to halt the progression, it didn’t mean she’d automatically turn into a ravening predator like her attacker. Clearly, there were kinder, gentler vampires.
    “Ms. Crawford?”
    “Ainsley,” she said. “If we’re going to work together, I guess you’d better call me Ainsley.”
    “And you can call me Delano.”
    “Delano.” She said his name experimentally, surprised at how easily it rolled off her tongue. “Okay, Delano, if I’m going to stay here, I’m going to need some things from my apartment. Can we make a trip over there tomorrow?”
    “I’ll have Eli do it. Just make a list of what you’d like to have and he’ll see to it.”
    “Thank you.”
    “And now, I really must snatch some sleep. Vampire hours and all that.” With that, he left as quietly as he’d come.
    Vampire hours.
    Suddenly, the fundamental, frightening paradigm shifts she’d been forced to make in the last hours caught up with her. Finding the lever, she lowered the head of the bed so she could lie prone again, adjusted her pillow and closed her eyes. She’d think about it all tomorrow.
    No, not tomorrow. Tonight.
    Vampire hours…

Chapter 5
    C RAZY . F OUR DAYS , and he was going quietly crazy.
    Currently, she was in a completely different room, and still she tortured him. She saturated his senses, aroused every lustful hunger he possessed. He hadn’t counted on that when he’d hatched this plan.
    That damnable scented soap she used. Oh, it was very subtle; most people probably wouldn’t even notice it. But it had wormed its way into his olfactory system, right into his permanent memory. His scientist’s brain had catalogued the component parts insofar as he could distinguish them: sandalwood, vanilla, soft musk and some spice or other‌—‌nutmeg? Saffron, maybe? God help him, he could tell how far or how near she was from her scent alone. For pity’s sake, he could all but hear the blood in her veins. Surge and whisper, surge and whisper…
    Four short days and the frustration was a living thing under his skin. Last night, for the first time in decades, he’d been