what those spots meant. She’d spent enough time trying to get her own dried blood out of her clothing while married to Jackson.
Blood.
Something inside her tore a tiny bit. So he’d gone out and fed. All because she’d told him no . She didn’t like the idea that, albeit inadvertently, she was responsible for an innocent person’s death. She wasn’t naive—she knew Sebastian killed to survive—but to do so out of anger went against everything she’d tried to form her new life into.
Her insides twisted and she gritted her jaw. Her emotions would always be at war because of his need to kill. No one wanted to think the person they loved was capable of harm, but with Sebastian she had no choice. At least when he only killed in order to survive, she could make some kind of peace with it.
Even though Sebastian tried to hide it from her, she always knew when his time ca me to feed . He grew pale r and became highly strung, snap ping at her and Elizabeth for no reas on. Then he’d make excuses to go out or wait until he thought she was asleep and slip away. The next night , he’d be back to himself again.
She knew he’d not reached that place yet.
“Why, Sebastian?” she said to his inert body. “Why did you do it?”
No w they had two issues to contend with—her refusing his proposal and him going out a nd feeding unnecessarily. Sh e knew she couldn’t control him and she wouldn’t want to . H e was a grown man and a force in his own right, but Sebastian had his boundaries and compromising them made her worry about what else might be wrong.
Serenity wanted to talk to him, make things right between them again . But, however mu ch she wa nted to speak to him, she had to wait until nightfall.
She sighed and went to her closet and pulled out a t-shirt and pair of jeans. She dressed quickly, not bothering to try to keep quiet, knowing he’d never hear her. Her day stretched ahead of her, long and alone , too many hours remaining for her to fret over Sebastian . She wished Elizabeth was home. With Elizabeth around , she was never in danger of bei ng lonely during the day. Even with her daughter at school, she had enough to do between pick - up and drop - off. Elizabeth’s clothes and toys would be scattered all over the floor, her breakfast things left out. Doing chores might seem mundane to many people, but considering her reality , it sometimes seemed like the only part of her life that contained any semblance of normality.
Dressed, Serenity headed downstairs to the kitchen. At the counter, she spooned coffee granules into the percolator and clicked the switch to start the machine hissing and gurgling. The aroma of coffee began to rise on the steam. Though her appetite had fled at the sight of the blood on Sebastian’s shirt, she put a piece of bread in the toaster, wanting to give herself something to do.
S uddenly S erenity froze, a prickle of goose bumps crawling over her skin like a hoard of spiders. Her pulse res onated in her ears, her breath shallow.
The certainty that she wasn’t alone gripped her .
The fall of footsteps in the room behind made her spin around, her heart pounding , certain she’d find someone standing behind her.
But the room was empty.
She frowned.
Sebastian?
She glanced at the window where the blinds were still lowered. Small slats of daylight pierced the tiny gaps in the wood. No, it wouldn’t be Sebastian, or any other vampire for that matter. The sun had risen outside , and Sebastian could only move in the day time if his life was being threatened. If someone was trying to harm him, he’d have yelled out at the very least.
She gave her head a slight shake. She must be imaging things.
She filled her favorite breakfast mug with coffee from the pot and spooned in sugar. Still , she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone. She sensed eyes drilling into her back, yet when she threw another glance over her shoulder, no one was there.
The toast popped,