Age Gap

"You broke my equipment. You disrupted my feeding schedule. You owe me twenty thousand dollars."

He stared at her. "I don't even have twenty thousand dollars."

"Then," she said, "we'll find another arrangement."

She hadn't fed on a living person in a century. She had a system — synthetic blood, cold silence, a castle no GPS could find. Then he knocked over her lab equipment and bled, and three ...

"Maybe," she whispered, refusing to look away, "I'm tired of being protected."
Something dangerous flashed across his face.
His forehead rested against hers, his eyes closing as if simply being this close required every ounce of his self-control.
"You have no idea," he breathed, "how difficult you make this."
She swallowed. "Then stop fighting it."
For one impossible second, it looked as though he...