Read Online Marked: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance by Michelle Fox, Gwen Knight - Free Book Online Page B

Ethen handed it over and tucked into the seat across from me.
    “You’re…going to watch?”
    He gave an elegant shrug. “It isn’t often I get the chance to witness such a scene.”
    “Touché,” I murmured before taking my first bite. The moment the food touched my tongue, my eyes fluttered shut, and I let loose an appreciative moan. Chicago deep-dish pizza…there really weren’t many things better than that.
    “Good?” Ethen asked.
    “Delicious. You honestly can’t eat?”
    “My tastes run a little more exotic than pizza.”
    I almost choked on my next bite, my hand flying up to cover my mouth in case I spat something out. Worth it, though, to hear his deep, rumbling laughter.
    “Was that a joke?” I teased, leaning across the marble-topped counter.
    “Partly,” he responded with a wicked grin, one that robbed me of breath. “Wine?”
    With pizza? I was about to decline when I remembered this would be my first time cracking a vein for a vampire. Perhaps a little alcohol would help soothe my nerves. “Please.”
    “Any preference?”
    I glanced up from my slice. “What are my choices?”
    “I have a wine cellar should you wish to look?”
    That sounded tedious. I shook my head. “Whichever you prefer is fine.” Clearly, he could drink then.
    “I had Ms. Doyle bring up a bottle of Riesling before we arrived. Unless you’d prefer champagne?”
    “The Riesling, please. Champagne always gives me a headache.”
    “Ah. We wouldn’t want that,” he commented as he reached for a bottle I hadn’t noticed earlier.
    He popped the cork and filled two glasses. When he returned, he handed me a glass, which I nearly drained in three swallows. Maybe my nerves were more shot than I wanted to admit.
    I lowered the glass to the table and met his gaze. “So, Ethen, what do you do?”
    “I suppose the easiest explanation is that I own a selection of large businesses, all conglomerated into one massive enterprise,” he commented as he refilled my drink.
    “That’s the easiest explanation, huh? What sort of businesses?”
    “Architecture, mostly.”
    “You like to build things?”
    He canted his head and studied me. “In a manner of speaking. I enjoy bringing concepts and ideas to life. To give them substance and form.”
    Interesting. I regarded him with a raised brow. A vampire who enjoyed bringing things to life…surely that wasn’t normal.
    “Is that so surprising?” he questioned.
    I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth. Truthfully, yes. My family had always spoken of a vampire’s baser instinct to destroy. To mutilate and kill. So far, I’d seen nothing of the like with Ethen. For all intents and purposes, he had the appearance—and so far, charm and temperament—of a human. Better, in fact. Was my family wrong about them? What if he wasn’t the monster they said he was?
    I took another bite of pizza before speaking. “Have you always been an architect?”
    “Always?” He shook his head. “Always is a long time when you live forever. So, no. I’ve dabbled in a great many things.”
    “And how long have you been alive?”
    “Some would argue that I’m not alive now.”
    I blinked at that, my wine glass hovering near my lips. “Do you believe that?”
    “Do you ?”
    I hesitated. I wasn’t sure what to think. With a look of grim determination, Ethen pushed to his feet and rounded the table. Before I could inquire, he grasped my hand and placed it over his heart. “What do you feel?”
    I felt…nothing. His chest was still as death. “But your skin…” I whispered.
    “Blood warms us. To become this, you first must die. So you tell me. Am I alive or dead?”
    This conversation was growing a tad too philosophical for my liking. Personally, the thought of the undead gave me the willies.
    Sensing my discomfort, Ethen slowly released my hand and returned to his chair. “What about you?”
    “I’m quite alive. No debate there,” I teased, hoping to break the tension.
    Mischief