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“Jimmy. You have earned the right to call me Jimmy, son. Whatever we need to do to repay you, let me know. I know what they say.”

“Noab,” Enani says before I can respond to Mr. Jimmy. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Because she can have whatever she wants from me, without a second thought, I nod and say, “Let me buy you a drink from the machine?”

She smiles then follows me into the hall. “Not here. Let’s go into the waiting room,” she says, then journeys down the walkway. One side of the waiting area is pretty occupied so she walks to the other and finds two chairs in the corner far from anyone. When she doesn’t sit, I don’t either. “Thank you again for saving them. They mean everything to me. The house and everything in it can be replaced but not them.”

“You welcome. It’s my job.”

She steps closer then lowers her voice to a whisper. “I know what happens next but I want to offer myself. I can’t have you feed on Nana and Papa but you can feed on me. I just don’t know how it goes. Do I meet you at Blood Lust? Do we create a schedule? How does it work?” she asks so seriously and fast that I have to hold in my amused smirk.

Among the humans, there’s a rumor connected to Station 112 that blood is the required payment. They believe each life we save is indebted to us for feedings. It’s so ingrained in Hollow Grove that they even believe if those rescued refuse to allow us to feed, we will close the station. It’s bogus as fuck but is believed by the majority of humans nevertheless, even her.

I can’t lie, I’m craving to sink my teeth into her smooth ass skin and taste her blood. Everything in me knows it’s sweet but I’ll never trick her or mislead her into allowing me the privilege.

“It doesn’t work that way,” I say and her entire beautiful face gets tight.

“No,” she continues to whisper. “I’m talking about the blood payment. I’m offering my blood; you can feed on me.”

Her hand swiftly moves to the side of her neck then she drops it. To make sure she clearly hears and understands me, I step closer, leaving no space between us, then lean in.

“It’s not a requirement. That’s just a myth. We don’t expect any kind of payment, blood or money, but I can’t lie. I absolutely want to taste your blood. Warm blood from a beautiful woman I can’t stop thinking about is my dream though,” I say and her breath hitches then she lifts her head to meet my eyes.

“I want to do it.”

“Are you sure?”

She places her hand on my chest then says, “You saved the two most important people in my life. I don’t even want to think about the outcome if you weren’t there. I want to do it; let me,” she says and my damn fangs threaten to protract.

She wants to let me feed on her. Shit!

“When are you off?”

“Seven but you need to handle your fam. Take care of them first. I can wait.”

Her shoulders drop then she shakes her head. “I have a lot to do. They don’t have a home to go to in the morning. God, I have so much to do. Okay. Okay. Let me get them settled then we can figure this out,” she says in a slight panic.

“We can do that.” My hand caresses the side of her face then moves under her chin. The desire to touch her is too fucking strong, I have to give in. “If you need anything, I can help. I’ve been around awhile; I have resources,” I say and she blesses me with a smile.

“You’ve done enough already.”

“You let me make that determination.”

She gives in and utters, “Okay.”

What happens next fucks me up though. She blinks and tears fall. I’ve only known Enani for a few hours, but I already want to fix any and every issue in her life and definitely don’t want to see her cry.

“Ay. What’s wrong?” I ask after thumbing her tears.

“It’s just been a long, long day. When the call came in and I realized it was them and their home, my heart stopped. I thought I’d lost them. Then, when they wouldn’t let me get close to the house, I really thought I’d lost them.”

“But you didn’t. You still have them.”

“Because of you,” she says before blowing out a breath. “I just… I don’t know. My emotions are all over the place. I shouldn’t do this in front of you.”

I don’t want you to do it at all.

“You can do whatever you need to do. Just let me help.”