A Shade of Vampire 27: A Web of Lies Read Free

heard the lock click. Given the quickness of his greeting, I guessed that he needed the toilet. Only the day before, Bastien hadn’t known how to use a regular toilet. One of the male nurses had to explain it to him. He’d stared in wonder when the nurse demonstrated the flush, gazing into the pot as though it was some kind of witchcraft. Recalling the kind of toilets I had experience with in The Woodlands, this didn’t exactly come as a surprise.
    I sat on the bed and waited while listening to him brush his teeth and then turn on the shower. I couldn’t help but giggle as he let out a low groan. I guessed that he was enjoying the hot water.
    When he stepped out, he was completely bare except for a towel draped low around his waist. I cleared my throat even as I ogled his physique.
    Coming to my senses, I realized that I had forgotten to put a change of clothes in the bathroom for him.
    “I’ll just go and, uh, get… something…” I said breathlessly, my voice trailing off as I left the room. I fetched a pair of pajamas from the cabinet and returned to hand them to him.
    When he retreated into the bathroom to change, I caught a glimpse of the floor—and chuckled to myself again. It looked like a mini-swimming pool in there. I wondered how much water had actually made it down the drain. Use of the shower curtain, I supposed, was still new to him.
    He returned, dressed in the pajamas. His body appeared dry, though his hair was still wet. I moved into the bathroom and laid some towels down on the floor to dry it before reaching into one of the cupboards and pulling out a hairdryer. I could bet a lot of money that he had never seen one of these before.
    I moved a chair in front of the mirror in the bedroom and indicated to Bastien that he should take a seat. He stared at the dryer as I switched it on and began blowing it against his locks. By the time I had finished, his hair had become static. I calmed it down with a comb and then suggested that we head downstairs to the hospital dining room for breakfast. When we arrived, I was happy to see that the breakfast table was still laid out. I wasn’t sure exactly what he might like, so I served him a bit of everything before sitting down opposite him with my own plate.
    It turned out that he wasn’t a fussy eater. And he seemed to be very hungry, too. He finished the whole plate, then got up and helped himself to seconds… and then thirds. I noticed he took a particular liking to the blackberry strudel. The cooks didn’t often prepare that for breakfast, but it was always a treat when they did; it was one of my favorites, too.
    Once we had finished eating, I led Bastien out of the hospital. His eyes positively shone as he drew in a deep breath and gazed around at the sprawling sunflower meadow and the thick forest that bordered it.
    He was back in his favorite kind of habitat. Out in the open. Out in the wild. As his eyes continued roaming the island, including the mountains that were visible in the distance, I realized how he saw it. Like one big playground.
    I guessed about now he would be feeling the urge to start…
    He finished my thought for me with action. He pulled me to him and gestured for me to climb onto his back. I barely had a chance to gain a firm grip on him before he bolted forward and began running through the field. The soft leaves and petals of the sunflowers brushed against my cheeks, as Bastien’s feet thudded against the soil.
    We soon reached the end of the field and arrived at the redwood trees. It didn’t take much to guess what would happen next. He leapt into the tree closest to us and began scaling it, branch by branch, until we reached the very top. Even though I was used to a stunning view of the island from my family’s penthouse, the sight we beheld at the top of this tree didn’t fail to take my breath away. Bastien looked mesmerized.
    “Beautiful,” he said softly.
    I was thrilled that he liked it so much.
    He remained standing