Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

of her being his mate. She was, and Kevin well knew it, but he didn’t feel comfortable stating that to them at this point.
     
    * * * *
     
    Erica stood in the doorway, statue still. “Hi,” a kind, high-pitched voice broke into Erica’s thoughts, causing her to glance to her right towards the voice. A young woman with beautiful long blonde hair was fast approaching her. She wore a bright smile, and Erica felt compelled to smile in return. The young woman looked to be between eighteen and twenty-two years of age, and was certainly gorgeous enough to be a model.
    “You must be Erica. I’m Kevin’s sister, Jennifer,” the young woman stated pleasantly. It was impossible to ignore the natural beauty that shined through this young woman. Along with her long blonde hair, Jennifer had the deepest blue eyes Erica had ever seen. On second thought, Erica quickly decided that Jennifer was beyond looking like a model, and felt certain most models would give their eyeteeth to have this girl’s looks.
    Kevin suddenly appeared around the corner, and reached over to rumple his sister’s hair as he passed. “I see you met my noisy sister.” Jennifer stuck her tongue out at him in return, and it quickly became apparent these two enjoyed teasing each other.
    “Come, I’ll show you my pad,” Kevin stated, as he reached down to pick up Erica’s duffle bag she had placed on the floor. He straightened with bag in hand, and held out his other for her to place hers into. Ignoring his sister as if she wasn’t even there, he turned and led the way upstairs, and then down a long hallway.
    Erica took note of her surroundings as they walked down the hallway. She felt like she was in a hotel. The hallway they were walking down was long and carpeted in light beige. The walls displayed an inset lighting system which gave the hallway a soft glow. They passed numerous doors, all closed, on both sides. Erica found herself wondering if this monstrosity of a house had been a hotel at some point in time and someone had converted it into a home. It was certainly large enough to be a hotel, in her opinion. Kevin led the way silently until they came to the door at the end of the hall. He opened the door and stood aside for her to enter. Erica made it to the doorway, and stopped dead in her tracks as she quickly took in what would now be her temporary new home. She was facing a large living room, and she quickly noted a small hallway and several doors off to the right. She assumed they lead to the bedroom areas. Off to the left was a small kitchen. Kevin had his very own apartment within this huge house! It was cute and cozy and surprisingly very well kept up and clean, especially considering a bachelor lived here. The living room was nicely furnished with a leather couch and love seat, and tastefully decorated. Her eyes scanned over the fireplace, with a large flat screen television hanging above the mantel.
    Kevin found himself staring at his houseguest when he realized she seemed frozen in the doorway. He watched her intently for a moment while she took everything in. In an effort to get her to move forward in order to shut the door, Kevin reached over and placed his hand on the small of her back to gently usher her forward. “Come, I’ll show you to your room.” He led her through the living room and on to one of the closed doors that uncovered a bedroom. The room held a dresser along one wall, with a double bed and nightstand along another. The room itself was sparsely furnished compared to everything else she had seen, but at that given moment Erica felt she was walking into heaven. A small smile escaped her lips. This small room was hers, at least for the moment. She spotted one window, and made a quick mental note to check it later for a lock. Kevin watched her as she looked over the room and felt a smile come over his face as he watched the look of euphoria over her face.
    “This is my spare bedroom, and it is yours as long as you need it,” he stated, as he carefully placed his hands on her shoulders and allowed them to lightly drift down her arms.
    Erica was so happy at the moment that she felt tears of joy fast approaching. She blinked them away, as she glanced up into his gorgeous face. This man had just offered her a slice of heaven, and she didn’t want to repay him by sobbing all over his shirt. “Kevin, I don’t even know where to begin to thank you. I feel guilty coming to you.”
    “You have nothing to feel