by Mara Leigh
“A job?” He tips his head to the side. “Technically, I guess I have two jobs.”
“Then go. Do your work. And go feed. Take care of yourself.”
“I’d rather take care of you.” Raising his eyebrows, he shoots me a lustful look that I feel between my legs.
“I’m serious, Gray. What do they say on planes? Put on your own oxygen first?” Not that I’ve ever been on a plane—another experience I’ll never have now I’m a vampire. “I don’t need a 24/7 babysitter.”
“Work can wait. You’re my priority, princess.”
“You should at least feed. But be careful about it.” I tip my head toward the nearby cop and catch him looking at us again. “Remember, if he’s here there could be more hanging around.”
Gray licks his lips. “Tonight, it’s not human blood I need.”
“Oh.” I suck in a breath of realization. I wish I knew better how all these things worked. Not having been taught by my Maker, and then being held captive for the majority of time since I turned, there’s so much I still have to learn. “Do you want…” I touch my throat. “I mean you can…”
Desire fills his eyes, along with a palpable deep hunger, but then he casts his gaze down toward the table. “That, princess, would be a very, very bad idea.”
“Why?” I reach across the table. “I fed from you the night we met. Let me return the favor.” He almost fed from me that night, too. “Don’t you want my blood?” I ask, knowing that he does. His desire is beyond obvious.
He takes my hand and looks up into my eyes. “It’s not a question of want.” His thumb strokes my palm, multiplying the need between my legs. It’s all I can do not to crawl over the table and kiss him.
I glance over at Rock, but he quickly looks away. It stabs my heart.
“Gray.” I lean across the table. “Rock’s here. I’ll be fine. Go. Feed. I’ll see you at home.”
“Home.” He smiles. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.” And I do. I can’t believe I’m now sharing a home with these two wonderful men, one giant, one vampire. I only hope the former will share a bed with me again tonight.
Standing, Gray leans across the table and kisses me. It’s a relatively chaste kiss for Gray, but it almost makes me come. My attraction to Gray is… Using the word attraction could never be enough, even adding the most powerful modifier. There must be stronger word to describe the connection between us. In its own way, it’s as intense as my love for Rock.
Gray crosses to the bar and talks to Rock. My heart wants both men, but my body…my body wants Rock, but craves Grayson, like it needs him to survive. Maybe that’s because I’ve already had a taste of Gray?
I look down at the table. I’m fooling myself with that overly simple explanation. My need for Gray is far too intense to be explained solely by the quest for pleasure or my near-animalistic desire—even if there is plenty of that.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
A male voice draws my attention from my confused haze, and I look up to see the cop is standing next to my table.
“I hope it’s okay that I came over.” He brushes his hand over his short blond hair. “It’s just that I noticed your glass was empty and thought I’d offer some assistance with that.” He grins, and it lights up his eyes—the most intense shade of green.
Rock’s eyes are an aqua blue, like the ocean, but this cop’s eyes look like grass after the rain and they’re so focused on me I feel like he’s seeing my soul. I hope he’s not. If he figures out what I am he’ll pull out a stake.
“I’m Colton, by the way.” He extends his hand to shake. “What are you drinking?”
“Selina.” I shake his hand, wondering immediately if I should have given a false name. But I don’t know why.
It’s not like anyone’s ever reported me missing. If my mom had, if she’d ever wanted me back, I’d have been with her years ago.
There’s no reason to keep my name from the police, but my adolescent habit of hiding from the authorities, or anyone who might report me to them, looms large.
“Irish whiskey.” I touch the rim of my empty glass. “But I really don’t need another.”
“Come on.” His infectious, boyish smile is so genuine. “You’re not going to make me drink alone, are you?”
“You’ve been drinking alone the past two hours.” I try to suppress my smile.
“That’s okay. I forgive you.”
I laugh. A little company wouldn’t be a bad thing. I’ll just have to be very careful about what I say.
He leans on the table. “If you want to be alone, that’s fine, but I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t offer my company after your boyfriend left.”
“He’s not—” I stop myself. Boyfriend doesn’t seem like the right word to describe who Gray is to me, but I have no idea what word to substitute.
“Not your boyfriend.” He pumps his fist in the air. “So I’ve got a chance.” He beckons Chelle over.
She arrives in seconds. Turns out Chelle can see this booth better when an attractive man’s here.
“Another round for me and my friend here,” he tells her.
Looking at me, Chelle raises her eyebrow. She clearly doesn’t approve of this situation, and there are so many valid reasons for her concern that I can’t pick out just one.
“Another double?” she asks me.
“Why not?” I answer. If I’m going to have a drink with this hunk of a man, I might as well enjoy it.
Colton slides into the booth opposite me, claiming the space Gray vacated but filling it with a totally different energy. My body’s charged with a different energy too. One I don’t fully recognize—both shy and excited that this clean-cut, good-looking hunk is paying attention to me.
I barely went to high school, never mind college, but based on Hollywood movies, Colton’s the big man on campus type, whereas I’m the weird, art-student girl everyone makes fun of, and the dynamic makes me feel shy. But what I should be feeling instead of shyness is caution. I need to remember that he’s a cop.
“You live around here?” he asks.
I lean back. “Why?”
“Sorry.” He raises his palms toward me. “Just making conversation.”
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound rude, it’s just—”
“A beautiful woman like you has to be careful.” He finishes my sentence with his assumption. “I get it. But you’re safe with me.” He pulls out his badge and shows it to me. “I’m a cop.”
Opposite the official police force badge is a card that makes my insides freeze. Vampire Task Force. Whatever that is, it doesn’t sound good, especially for me.
“You’re a vampire killer?” I wish I could hide the fear in my voice.
“Killer?” He tips his head to the side. “Exterminator is a more accurate word. The VTF is ridding this city of the vampire menace for good. His chest fills with pride as his large hand palms his nearly empty pint glass. “You’ll always be safe next to me.”
“Oh, I will, will I?”
His cheeks flush. “I only meant…”
Chelle shows up with our drinks and places them on the table.
“Thanks,” I tell her.
“Yes, thanks, Chelle,” Colton says. “Put them on my tab.”
“No need,” she replies. “They’re on the house. On Rock.” She looks at me as she says his name, and I nod.
Who knows what Chelle thinks is going on here, but Rock is right across the room so if he has a problem with my sharing a drink with this man, he can just come over and tell me. It’s not like I’m hiding anything. In fact, I hope it motivates Rock to talk to me so we can banish the residual awkwardness between us.
But beyond my petty idea that talking to Colton might make Rock jealous, it seems smart to talk to this cop and find out what he wants. I’ve caught him staring at me numerous times, and need to know if his curiosity is of the man-to-woman variety or the way more dangerous cop-to-vampire kind.
> With Chelle gone, I might as well cut to the chase. “Why do you keep staring at me?”
His cheek flush intensifies. “Staring? I…I haven’t…” Grinning sheepishly, he shakes his head. “Okay. Guilty as charged.” He reaches both hands across the table. “Cuff me.”
“Maybe I will.” I wink.
His neck joins in on the blushing, and I’m fairly certain I’m blushing now too. Sexual innuendo is outside my normal wheelhouse—so is flirting for that matter. While human, I avoided men like the plague. I was held prisoner for the first fourteen months after my transition, and this overwhelming desire to attract the attention of the opposite sex, to enjoy male attention, is new.
He takes a long drink of his beer. “I’m sorry for staring. It’s just that…” He clears his throat and looks like he’s gathering courage. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful woman.”
I make a face. “I doubt that.”
I’m not one of those girls who pretends she doesn’t know that she’s pretty. I know that men find me attractive—they always have, even before my transition eliminated things like bad hair days and pimples. Since I turned, my face looks like it’s always made up, but in a natural way.
But my looks are what drew Xavier to me, and Pike. His scarred face and body flash through my mind and I shiver.
“Are you okay?” Colton asks.
I nod.
“You look like you saw a ghost or something.” He turns to scan the room. “Or worse, a vampire.” He frowns, then gets up. “Is it okay if I sit beside you? I feel better if I can see the entrance. I did promise you’d be safe around me.”
“Okay,” I say carefully. “I wouldn’t want you to break any promises.”
He slides onto the bench next to me. At least his angle for staking me is more awkward now that he’s right next to me.
“I’ll keep my hands to myself,” he says. “Unlike some people,” he adds under his breath.
“Thanks.” Although I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself.
Colton’s scent overwhelms my senses. Clean and citrusy, the man smells so good I want to lick him, taste him. And although I told Gray I didn’t need to feed, I’m suddenly hungry as I listen to the blood coursing through his veins.
I take a sip of my whiskey to drown the urge to dig my fangs into Colton’s neck and taste his warm nectar. “So,” I say, hoping to change the subject. “What’s a vampire-exterminator like you, doing in a gin joint like this?”
“Gin joint?”
I shake my head. “Old movie reference. Not a good one.”
“Bad movie?”
“No, a good movie—Casablanca—just not a good reference. Not even close to the actual quote.”
“Movies. Is that what you’re into?” His eyes light up with interest as he turns toward me.
I shrug. “I used to be.”
“Why not anymore?”
“Since you’re a cop, I shouldn’t tell you this…”
“Off the record.” He grins.
I smile from the inside out. “When I was in my teens, my friend Lark and I used to spend entire days in multiplexes.”
“That’s not illegal.”
“It is if you don’t buy tickets.”
His eyebrows rise a little, then his expression softens. “You were just a kid.”
“Yeah.” And movie theaters were a way to keep warm. Memories of Lark flood in, and sadness steals my voice. On lucky days, she and I would score the magic combo of discarded ticket stubs and a lazy teenage ticket taker—usually a guy Lark flirted with so he wouldn’t look at our tickets too closely.
Then, once we got inside, we’d stay until the last movie ended. Tons of free food, too. It’s shocking what people leave under seats.
“Why so much time in movie theaters?” he asks softly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Looking at the table, I shake my head.
“New topic then.” His voice brightens. “What are you into now? Besides hanging out in this bar, I mean.” He gestures toward Rock with his head. “You know the owner I take it?”
Rock is looking toward us, concern in his eyes. At least he’s made eye contact with me, and I smile softly to tell him I’m okay, then turn back toward Colton. I can’t lose sight of the fact that this conversation is my chance to find out whether his presence here poses a danger. I got caught up in his attention.
“You never answered my question,” I say.
“What question is that?”
“Why is a cop, a vampire killer cop, hanging out at O’Malley’s?” Nerves scatter through me the second my question’s out there. I fear his answer as much as I want to hear it.
My instincts say I can trust Colton, but my better judgment says he could put a stake through my heart at any second. He’s got at least two tucked into the lining of his jacket, and given his job he probably has more concealed.
“I’m here—” his eyes narrow and his jaw hardens “—because we got an anonymous tip that this place shelters vampires.”
I clasp my glass of whiskey to steady my shaking hand.
He touches my forearm. “Don’t be afraid, Selina. I haven’t seen any bloodsuckers here, and if one does come in, I’m here to protect you.”
I nod, my mouth so dry I can’t begin to speak.
“If one of those monsters comes anywhere near you, it’s dead.” His grip on my arm tightens and the hate in his eyes turns intense.
“I feel safe here. Thank you.” My voice comes out softer than I’d like, but clearly he’s interpreting my fear to be a fear of vampires, rather than what it is—a fear of him.
“How did you get into the vampire killing business?” I ask, hoping to sound casual.
“It’s not a business,” he says in a serious tone. “I’m a police constable.”
“But there’s more to it for you, isn’t there. Something personal?” Every instinct inside me says that I’m right, and even if I’m not, I hope my question will get him talking again.
His grip on my arm softens, but he leaves his hand there and I don’t ask him to move it.
I tell myself that I’m letting him flirt to keep him distracted from discovering what I am, but if I’m honest, I like the physical contact and flirting. His palm is warm and comforting—the connection electric—and there’s no denying that Colton’s attractive. No denying our natural chemistry.
I look into his eyes, and it seems corny but sparks fly between us—almost literally. When we look into each other’s eyes I imagine pulses of light, laser beams joining our eyes. I giggle.
“What’s funny?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I just had a funny image run through my mind.”
“What?”
My teeth scrape the corner of my lower lip as I consider whether or not to answer honestly. “Laser eyes.”
His eyes widen. “You felt it too?”
“Felt what?”
He moves an inch closer, his hand slides down my forearm, and we entwine our fingers.
Holding hands with Colton is the most intimate moment I’ve had with anyone other than Rock, even more intimate than sex with Gray. It should feel wrong, holding hands with this man, but it doesn’t. It feels right—perfect.
“The attraction between us.” His voice is lower now, softer and deeper, and it strokes me like velvet. “You feel it too. Don’t you.”
I lick my lips. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He leans forward. “I think that you do.”
He is going to kiss me.
Our mouths are only a few delicious inches apart, and I’m trapped by his gaze, caught in the grass-green gorgeousness of his eyes, in the pools of his dimples, in the draw of the lush pillows that form his pink lips.
He straightens, pulling back from me.
The space between us widens, but the connection doesn’t break. “Sorry.” He shakes his head.
“For what?”
“For coming on so strong.” He clears hi
s throat. “And for lying.”
My chest tightens. “What did you lie about?”
“When I told you I came to the bar looking for vampires.” His thumb strokes my index finger as he holds my hand. “The tip is what brought me in here the first time, and the second, but the lead didn’t check out.”
“It didn’t?” My heart thumps.
He shakes his head.
“So, I guess you came back for the Motown and free peanuts?” My voice is thready as I anticipate his answer.
“Sure, the peanuts are great.” He smiles softly. “But that’s not why I keep coming back here.”
“It’s not?” I can barely breathe now.
“I’ve come here every night, hoping to get a chance to meet you.”
Warmth spreads inside me. On the surface, his words sound like a pickup line, but they didn’t come across that way—at all. They came across as…confessional.
He shifts on the bench. “I’m not a stalker, honest. But the moment I first saw you…” He looks away for a moment. “Ever since then, Selina, you’re all I can think about. From the first second I saw you, I wanted to meet you, to get to know you.”
“Wow.” I’m not sure what else to say.
“I’ve never felt so immediately drawn to anyone,” he continues. “Never been so attracted to someone, especially since—” He stops himself, pausing so long I almost interject, but then he adds, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
I suck in a sharp breath. “You’re saying you’re in love with me?”
“All I know is…” He blinks hard. “My heart is racing a million miles an hour and my stomach is fluttering, and I know it’s crazy.” He shakes his head. “I know it could just be infatuation, but I am falling—and falling hard.”
He rakes his hand through his short blond hair. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and the bar owner, or that sharp-dressing dude who left you sitting here all alone.” His expression fills with a palpable longing, combined with pain or possibly sadness. “But if you’re available, or can make yourself available, I’d very much like to date you.”
“Date me?” I’ve never been on a date in my life.
“I’m just going to put everything all out there.” He clears his throat. “Selina, I feel like we’re meant to be together. I feel like we’d be missing out on something great if we don’t at least give it a shot.”