Fangs in Frosting Read Online Free Page A

she smiles, her face glowing with excitement, I realize I’m too slow. “It’s not like I have to open during the day. It can be part of our marketing angle. We can do only night events, and --”
    “And when you don’t age?” I break into her flow of words. “Or get sick? Or go out during the day? The humans will ask questions, and questions will make other vampires nervous. Dangerously nervous.” The Council members are tight asses about secrecy. I should know. I’m one of the tight asses. “You can’t go back, not now, not ever.”
    “Oh.” Charlotte stares at me, and her body stills. I brace for her reaction. “Can I at least get my mother’s muffin pan?” Her voice is small, and her pain gouges into me.
    “It is important to sever all ties to your previous existence.” I repeat the advice my maker gave me. “So no, we can’t retrieve it.”
    “No one would know,” she pleads, covering my hand with hers. “I’ll slip in and out, and no one will see me, and no one will miss it because it’s not worth anything to anyone other than me.”
    “No.” God . This is hard.
    “Please, Viktor.” Her eyes glaze with the sheen of unshed tears. “It is the only thing I have left of my mother. I promise I’ll do anything else you ask of me. Let me get it.”
    “No.” I feel like the most evil creature on the face of the planet, because I am. I’m a heartless vampire, a cold-blooded predator. “It’s for your safety, Charlotte. The humans will be watching for you. They’ll have the place under surveillance. If they find out who, or what, you are, they’ll hunt you down and kill you, and if they aren’t successful, another vampire will be. You’ll die permanently this time.” And I will die with her because I can’t go back to a life alone, without my Charlotte.
    The joy vanishes from her face, and my world darkens as though she has flicked the lights off. Her shoulders slump, and her head lowers, her expressive eyes hidden from me.
    Does she hate me? Fear me? I can’t stand not knowing so I slip into her mind. Her thoughts are like a flock of frightened blackbirds, all dark and without color and flying in different directions. I sense hatred directed at the circumstances, not at me, and I feel the warm burst of love. She loves me, the vampire, the killer.
    “Oh, well.” Charlotte’s spine straightens, and she meets my gaze, determination and entrepreneurial zeal illuminating her freckled skin. “There are other pans, and I can start over again.”
    She crawls back into our bed, snuggling up to my side. I put my arm around her, a tinge of wariness tempering my happiness. She is taking this transformation surprisingly well.
    “I have some questions.” She props her chin up on my chest.
    A swell of panic rises within me, and I harshly bat it down. Questions are normal for the newly turned, I tell myself. They must learn the vampire rules, what to eat, and when to sleep, and how to survive amongst the humans. “Ask.” I review Vampire 101 in my mind, preparing to teach my beloved all that I know.
    “Do vampires have a banking system, and do they require credit checks?” She frowns. “Because I owe a human-run bank quite a bit of money, and my repayments have been, well” -- she worries her bottom lip with her fangs --”variable, I guess you could say. I don’t have any down payment either, and that’ll take some time to save up for. Maybe until then, I can use your kitchen.” She smiles. “Do vampires have a health code?”
    Her questions, all business or baking-related, spill out of her mouth in a continual stream. As I listen, I curse for the hundredth time my lack of preparedness. I have to visit my friend, Helena, before Charlotte notices she hasn’t a hunger for anything other than blood, as baking brings my beloved happiness, and I don’t know what will happen if she thinks she’ll never bake again.
    “Charlotte.” I hold her face between my hands. She’s so beautiful,