Original Sin (The Order of Vampires 1)

She wasn’t even sure she liked the man. She didn’t want a relationship with a parent who didn’t want her. But she wanted a family again, that sense of belonging to someone, of knowing you’re loved and safe and will always have an emotional haven to call home.

Her mind immediately turned to Adam. She didn’t doubt he could be all those things, but she also didn’t want to stay with him for selfish reasons. She wanted to stay because...

Because he looked at her like no one else ever had. Because he cared when she was upset and pestered her to eat and rest when she was weary. Because he cared about her and when he kissed her, her whole body felt it.

Those little details that hinted at possibly falling in love for the first time in her life were why she should want to stay, but every time she thought to leave, she didn’t think of those lovely reasons to stay. She thought of a world without Adam. She thought of him suffering because she was too selfish to save him. She thought of all the pressure to change everything in order to save a man she hardly knew.

And those were not the intimate reasons she hoped would convince her to stay. They were the impersonal consequences of why she shouldn’t go.

Maybe she was a fool to try to romanticize anything that boiled down to a life or death choice. But she wanted the fairy tale. This was her life and the more she considered possibly rerouting all of it, the more the little girl with big dreams inside of her insisted she should stay. But every part of her wanted it to be for love more than anything else.

Could she love Adam?

Did he love her? He claimed to, but her mom used to say, never trust a man’s promise if it’s made in bed.

Biting her nails down to nubs didn’t bring her any closer to answers. Nipping one cuticle too short, she tsked as a hangnail started to bleed.

She stilled and scanned the porch, listening for the others inside. She covered the bleeding finger with her other hand, putting pressure on the cut. Could they smell that?

What about turning into other things, like bats? That seemed ridiculous, but she didn’t believe in any of this a few days ago.

And what about actors like Reese Witherspoon? The woman still looked like a teenager and had the energy to act and manage a growing empire, yet she was born in the seventies. She seriously hadn’t aged. Was she immortal, too?

Everything was moving too fast. She wished she knew exactly how much longer Adam had before losing his humanity.

Hours of thinking and she was no closer to a decision. The be-all and end-all that kept running through her head. She didn’t want Adam to die.

But, she also wasn’t ready to make a lifelong commitment to someone she just met. Nor was she sold on giving up her creature comforts like microwaves, and cell phones, and elastic banded underwear. But the no bra thing was nice. And for the love of God, could a girl get some shoes?

Why couldn’t she save Adam and live out in the real world? Would anyone really hold it against him if she made it a condition?

They wouldn’t have to get married or live on the farm. They could just ... date. Do the modern world immortal thing. Have fun with it and...

The thought of sharing him with the world turned her stomach. She wasn’t a possessive person, but she also didn’t want women looking at him or flirting with him. He was hers.

But what if someone else came along and he no longer wanted her? What if he got tired of her? Eternity was a long-ass time to stay with one partner.

Slow, approaching footsteps drew her attention to the front gate. Jonas, Adam’s father, met her stare and nodded a silent greeting as he returned from his after dinner stroll to check the animals.

She dropped her feet to the floor and sat up. “I was just—”

He held up a hand, saving her the need for any excuse. “Our home is yours.”

She smiled with appreciation for his hospitality. “Thanks.”

“Mind if I sit?”

She wasn’t about to tell him no. “Not at all.”

The rocker whined under his weight. They stared into the distance. At first the silence was nice, but as it stretched, the more she felt this wasn’t an accidental visit.

They swayed in unison, a soft breeze cutting across the porch and carrying the scent of flowers from the gate. The still beauty encapsulated this place in time, far enough removed that it could easily seem like no other world existed.

“You like it here.”

She turned at his comment. He wasn’t asking but observing. She smiled. “How could I not? It’s beautiful.”