It was a reaction she thought foreign to the man.
However, she made no further attempt to tease him. She was in no mood for such things, and she wasn't about to entertain an intruder with more talk, especially not the vampire who had called her a whore some hours ago.
"The fact that the window was unlocked did not give you the right to just waltz in uninvited—" Camelia paused, her gaze drifting to the window again, her eyes narrowing.
No vampire could enter a home uninvited, yet there Ian was, standing in her bedroom. Her gaze fell on him, suspicion now filling her eyes.
"You shouldn't have been able to come in," she said.
Vampires didn't just walk into houses uninvited. Her knowledge on vampires was low, but she was certain of this fact.
"You didn't sense me when I walked in," Ian commented, his gaze still sweeping through the room. "At first I thought you were interested in my cock back in my chambers, but it seems you had no idea I was on that bed when you walked in."
"Your sense of smell is like that of a mere human, am I right, little wolf?" he asked, his gaze settling on her.
Trying to maintain her composure and not react, she kept a straight face, despite how her knuckles tightened at his words.
Without question, his observations were correct, and the thought of being reminded of her problem slightly enraged her, and stung a little too.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Camelia simply replied with a shrug. "And stop trying to brush off the main subject about how you managed to enter my house."
"My, my, who said I was brushing off the subject?" he asked.
"Then how did you get into the house without an invitation?" Camelia repeated.
"Can you even sense your wolf?" Ian asked, still prodding at the subject she was trying to avoid. "The fact that you can't pick up scents also means you can't access your other abilities," he continued.
Camelia fell utterly silent.
"Is that why your pack treats you the way they do? Like an outcast?"
Her eyes widened at his words. Her façade of calmness instantly broke, her eyes burning with hot tears.
"Get out, Ian," Camelia said, her voice low as she pointed toward the window. "The way you came in."
It had begun raining outside, not heavily, but a small drizzling.
Ian's expression shifted, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in Camelia's trembling lips and the unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
For a moment, he looked almost… apologetic.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low and smooth but lacking its usual mockery. "It wasn't my intention to upset you."
Seeing her hurt and on the verge of crying stirred something within him.
Camelia's gaze snapped up to his, searching for any sign of insincerity.
But Ian's face had returned to its usual mask, giving nothing away.
"It doesn't matter now," Camelia said, slipping back into her bed. "Just leave me alone, Ian. I don't want a blood-sucking creature lurking in my room while I try to sleep," she added.
Grabbing a pillow, she covered her face with it, attempting to calm herself.
For a moment, the room fell silent, leaving Camelia to wonder if he had left. But then she felt her bed dip, and the pillow was snatched away from her face.
She shot Ian a questioning look as he held her pillow tightly, as though it belonged to him.
"Are you crying?" Ian asked, gaze settled on her face.
There was a hint of concern in his voice, causing Camelia to frown.
"Give it back and leave." She reached for the pillow, but Ian simply raised his hand higher.
He kept the pillow out of her grasp, but she was not about to give up on getting her property back.
"Don't you want to know how I got into your home without an invitation?"
His question stilled her instantly.
She sat up properly.
"Well… yes, I do," she replied.
"That seemed to instantly catch your curiosity," Ian smirked wickedly. "Too bad I'm not going to tell you," he said with a careless shrug.
"You—" Camelia started.
Bright lightning flashed outside, followed by a loud clashing sound that could shake the heavens.
It soon escalated, the soft drizzle turning into a heavy downpour.
"The rain has its own plans this night. Seems like I'm stuck here with you," Ian said, his expression almost somewhat grim.
But something told Camelia he was pleased with the current situation.
"I don't care if it's raining heavily outside, hell, it could be flooding out there, but you're leaving," Camelia said.
"Oh… I see," Ian said as he rose from the bed, the pillow still in his hand.
"It is a dangerous weather for a creature such as myself to move in, considering how my blood could attract lightning. But I would rather take my chances of getting struck by lightning than upsetting you any further." He strode toward the window, fingers reaching to open it.
"Wait!" Camelia called out.
Ian halted, his lips stretching into a cunning smile, though he didn't turn.
"What?" His response was cold.
"You could get struck by lightning?" she asked, concern in her voice.
A vampire attracting thunder? She had never heard of such a thing before.
Ian spun around gently to face her.
"Yes," he replied with a straight face, despite lying through his teeth.
While keeping his usual stoic expression outwardly, he was grinning on the inside at how easily it was to deceive the girl. He had no plans of even leaving in the the first place.
"Sadly, it is one of the many curses we must endure," he added.
Camelia's eyes softened, pitying the man before her.
In her eyes, he looked sad in that moment. She couldn't force him to leave not after he had just revealed such a vulnerability.
The storm outside seemed almost harsher now, wind tapping against the glass like restless fingers.
"Well…" she murmured, rubbing her fingers together as she contemplated. "I could let you spend the night here, but–"
"Brilliant idea. I gladly accept," Ian said, not even letting her finish, his lips curving into a smile.
The smile on the man's face had Camelia rethinking her decision very quickly.
Maybe it was due to the dim light in the room, but when he smiled like that, his eyes looked somewhat darker, the kind of darkness that was almost too enticing to resist.