I pushed my thoughts away. Vibrant yellow was what I should focus on because if I shifted my attention from the mouthwatering aura of the guy sitting across from me, I might walk out of this restaurant and find Randal to ask what the hell was going on. I didn’t understand. From the way he had acted when he showed up at my work with the latté the other night, I had assumed he was into me. The last two days said something completely different though.
The urge to check my cell and see if he had messaged me about the dinner plans he had claimed he wanted to make bit at my insides. I refused to give in though because I needed to concentrate on the guy in front of me. He was more important than dinner plans with Randal, at least he should be.
Grayson muttered something, and I nodded and smiled like I had been doing the entirety of our one-sided conversation. My mind wasn’t on his words or his cute, nerdy looks. It wasn’t on the way everyone around us seemed to stare with such curiosity; it was fixated on things it shouldn’t be. I needed to get a grip. If not I’d be going home tonight with my main hunger still raging.
I took a small sip of the wine Grayson had ordered for me and forced my eyes to his. He wasn’t horrible looking. In fact, he was sort of cute. If it weren’t for his thick-rimmed glasses obscuring his gorgeous blue eyes, he would be incredibly handsome. I hadn’t seen eyes the shade of his on many. They were an icy color of blue that reminded me of a frozen lake. I wondered if anyone had ever told him he should wear contacts instead of glasses so he didn’t dull his most striking feature. I made a mental note to pass the idea along to him later.
Our waiter brought our salads then, and I attempted to focus on what Grayson was talking about. He deserved my full attention.
“Then I said, well you shouldn’t have told me you would, then.” He laughed at his joke as though it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard. I forced a giggle free, one I hoped mirrored his enough to seem genuine. There was not a single thing in his story that made sense to me. Accounting jokes were way over my head.
No part of me was into this date, and the sooner it was over the better. I straightened my back and poked my chest out farther, hoping to amp up my allure a little more. I’d seen this move propel a date exactly where I wanted it to be in a matter of minutes before.
“Okay, that’s enough about me.” Grayson leaned forward, resting his elbows against the tabletop. “I’m nearly boring you to sleep. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” I wasn’t, but it was for an entirely different reason. I was botching this date all to hell. “I want to know more about you,” I insisted, shifting the thread of conversation back to him, hoping it would salvage the evening. “You said you were from New Jersey, right?”
Satisfaction seemed to shine through his eyes as though he were amazed I had paid attention to the things he’d been saying. It was obvious he had noticed my distance tonight, and I hated it. Generally, I was more focused than this. Damn Randal.
“Yeah, I am.” He took a large swig from his wine. “Born and raised.”
“So, what brought you to Newvale, North Carolina?” I flashed him an interested, playful smile. One I knew was a real charmer.
“I have an aunt who lives here. When I was little we used to visit her during the summer.” He shrugged, and his lips quirked into a small smile that made his icy eyes brighten. “I fell in love with the hustle and bustle of the city I guess.”
“It is a great city.” I stabbed at a piece of romaine lettuce.
Our waiter returned, carrying our entrées, and I did my best throughout the remainder of our meal to pay attention to Grayson. I hadn’t chosen him solely for his amazingly tempting yellow aura. I’d chosen him because he was pure. I needed purity for my soul, to cleanse it of the arrogant ass I’d fed from at Lucky Duck. Besides, Grayson was a great guy; he just lacked confidence in himself. This was something I could give him, something he deserved.
I watched him as his gaze traveled around the room, taking in the envious stares of men surrounding us and the hungry gleam of want in the eyes of each woman. My lips twisted into a small smile. This was what he needed, to know this feeling, to accept it. Grayson was worthy of any woman’s attention and love, and tonight I would instill that knowledge in him.
When our waiter slipped the bill toward Grayson and took away our plates, I picked up my wineglass and downed the remaining bit. I kept my stare locked on his, making sure there was a seductive glint reflected in my eyes.
He needed to kiss me, but as shy as he was I didn’t think he was ever going to make a move unless I started laying it on thick.
God, I felt like a cheap whore some nights. Thank you, succubus curse.
Grayson pulled his wallet from his back pocket and slipped some cash out for a tip. “All right, are you ready?”
“Absolutely.”I was so ready.
I flipped my dark hair over my shoulder, and I made sure my honey-brown eyes shone with a level of innocence. It was important with guys like Grayson that my dark intentions remained hidden. He placed a hand against the small of my back and steered me toward the exit. This simple gesture was a move in the right direction. My heart pumped fast and hard with anticipation for what was to come next.
“I hope you enjoyed your meal.” His voice was pinched sounding, as if it was taking everything he had to speak from the onslaught of attention he was receiving as we walked.
My lips curved into a smile. This was what I did. I made men envious of who I was with and women want who I had. After tonight, Grayson would walk away with a new level of confidence that nothing could dull. He would blossom into the stand-up, heavily sought-after guy he should have always been.
“I did. Thank you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Did you?”
“Oh, of course.” He cleared his throat. I noticed from the corner of my eye that his fingers had come up to toy with the tie he wore. He was freaking adorable when he was nervous. “The night is young still. Think you might feel up to grabbing a coffee or something?”
Did he not want the night to end, or was he afraid to continue it somewhere alone with me? It was times like these when I wished I could read minds.
“Actually, I think I’ll have to pass.” I made sure my tone was soft and sweet, but there was still a level of disappointment and slight sting of rejection that crossed his features. I needed to tread carefully. “I don’t drink coffee. I’m more of a tea lover,” I added to lighten the mood. “I also have to be to work early in the morning.” A work-related excuse was something I was positive he could understand. Grayson seemed like the workaholic type.
Relief lit his eyes and relaxed his facial muscles. “Oh. Okay. So, I guess I should get you home then.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Once we reached Grayson’s car, he opened the passenger door for me, and I slipped inside. I tried to lock eyes with him, but he avoided my stare completely. If I hadn’t been able to see the lusty red spots faintly speckling his aura, I would have thought he seriously wasn’t into me and I’d lost my touch. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. Grayson was just ignoring any desires he harbored for me.
Such a gentleman.
I watched him walk around the front of the car. My eyes narrowed, zeroing in on his face. Grayson was a challenge. Maybe I should have paid more attention to him at dinner because now that I was, I found him to be the perfect distraction from my Randal dilemma.
Chapter 17
A goodnight kiss. That was all I wanted from Grayson. The desire to initiate one on his own was present in his aura, but he seemed nervous to press it.
“You know, I don’t think I told you earlier how nice of a place this is.” He shifted into park and stared up at the length of my building through his windshield.
“It is.”I nodded, hating the tension that always surrounded first-time goodnight kisses, especially when I was this impatient to receive one. “Which is why I live here.” I tried to go for a light tone, but was positive it came
off as anything but.
He chuckled and then surprised me by cutting the engine of his car. He climbed out and started around the front of the car. Disappointment splashed through me as I remembered how traditional he was. He was probably planning to walk me to my door, not come inside for a while.
As soon as we reached the door to my apartment, I shifted to look him in the eyes. “I had a nice time tonight.” This was the moment, my moment, to make what I was feeling disappear, to make me whole again if only for a few more days. “Thanks for being such a gentleman and walking me to my door.”
“No problem.” He crammed his hands into the front pockets of his slacks and dipped his gaze to my heels—or maybe he was staring at my legs, I couldn’t be sure because all I was focusing on were his lips. “So, when can I see you again?”
Such a simple question. One that I wished held a simple answer but didn’t.
Grayson deserved an answer, an honest one, but I wasn’t cruel enough to give it. I couldn’t tell him he would never see me again. I preferred things that way.
“You would look even more handsome if you lost the glasses and got contacts instead.” I bypassed his question and went straight for the one thing I felt he should remember. “You’ve got these amazing colored eyes that are hidden behind them.” I reached out and touched the rim of his glasses to emphasize my point, before allowing my fingertips to trail along his jawline.
His body responded to my touch, as I knew it would, and I counted to five inside my head while waiting for him to make a move and kiss me.
Five—his hands were still in his pockets.
Four—the muscles in his neck constricted as though they were readying to lean in.
Three—his tongue darted out and moistened his lips in preparation.
Two—the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat pulsated against my fingertips as I trailed them down the side of his neck.
One—he leaned in, but not all the way, and his breath mingled with mine in the small space between us.
Zero—the hunger inside of me, the yearning for this sickness I could feel festering and growing by the second to disappear couldn’t be tamed any longer.
Splaying my fingers across the back of his neck, I erased the inches separating us and pressed my lips to his. My entire body sighed into him. At the contact, his hands slipped free from his pockets and gripped hold of me, snaking around my waist. His mouth moved with mine, attempting to keep up with my hungry pace.
While this moment was good, it wasn’t what I wanted. The thing I needed most wasn’t coming to me as swiftly as I craved it. Pulling back, I struggled to catch my breath as I focused on the words I needed to ask.
Grayson dipped his head into the crook of my neck and trailed soft kisses along its length. The desire to gain from him what I had intended swelled to new proportions as I saw his bright yellow aura becoming dotted with smears of deep red. This was good but also disappointing. If I were planning on getting the specific type of energy I craved from him tonight, then I would have to hurry before the entire thing turned deep red with lust.
“Can I kiss you again?” I breathed the question against his ear as my fingers tangled into the hair at the nap of his neck.
“Of course.” Continuing in his soft trail of kisses, he gripped onto my hips tighter, forcing me closer to him. His desire for this thing between us to shift into something more pressed hard and ready against my thigh. I smiled as I dug into my purse behind his back for the key to my apartment.
The moment we passed the threshold I closed the door behind us. I dropped my purse on the floor and fisted the front of his shirt, pulling him toward me. My lips brushed against his in the form of a featherlight kiss because I wanted to savor this moment. I nearly cried as his energy flowed into me, steady and fast, exactly how I’d wanted it to. The faint taste of lemons splashed across my tongue as I tasted his mouth even deeper.
Grayson’s energy passed through his lips and entered me in a willing rush that dulled the sickness pooling in my gut. I could feel it travel through me, erasing every single trace of the illness. Once my body was rid of it entirely, the sensation that every single cell within me was waking up rejuvenated and alive burst through me as the kiss we shared burned hotter.
The taste of lemons turned into something sweet and spicy as the energy continued to pour from him to me. I’d missed this flavor.
The moment the spicy taste changed into something more sweet than not, I forced my eyes open and noticed tiny dots of gray entering Grayson’s aura. My heart dropped to my toes because my moment with him was over far too soon. A few more brushes of my lips against his, and I had to force myself away. I knew the consequences if I didn’t, and I couldn’t stomach them.
After prying my swollen lips from his, I released my grip on him and took a tentative step back. Even after the length of time I had been doing this a small part of me still expected them to say something or move in some way, but they never did. Each time they just stood there, as if I had frozen them in place.
Staring at Grayson’s dulled aura a lump rose in my throat, making it hard for me to swallow. “I’m so sorry, Grayson. Sorry for what I’ve taken from you. Sorry this night didn’t go the way you had planned. Sorry there won’t be a second date. You are a great guy, one some girl is going to be lucky to love and be loved by.” I reached out and skimmed my fingertips against his cheek. “The second you get rid of those nerdy-looking glasses…either that or bulk up. I don’t think there’s a guy out there with muscles and glasses who looks nerdy. Rock the Clark Kent look.”
My cell went off, breaking my concentration and forcing it elsewhere. It was probably for the best. I didn’t need to drag out this moment.
I quickly dug through my purse, trying to find it as though the sharp tone of the ringer would wake Grayson from his weird trance. I knew it wouldn’t. My reaction was purely instinct due to the eerie silence filling my apartment. Randal’s name and number lit my screen. Maybe he hadn’t forgotten about me after all.
“Hello?” My heart pounded in my ears, making my voice sound thick and weird. I cleared my throat and tossed a glance at Grayson. He still hadn’t moved, which was no surprise.
“Kenna, hello. How are you?” Randal’s voice was rich and intoxicating, sending chill bumps across my skin.
“I’m good. How are you?” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and walked through my apartment, flipping on lights and leaving Grayson’s earshot. Not that he would be able to take in anything I was saying; it just made me feel better to have a buffer between us.
“I’m well.” There was a weird pause at the end of his sentence before he continued. “I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
Was he nervous about asking me out? Maybe Bree had been right, and there was some sort of two-day rule guys went by when dating at first.
“I know we had said Wednesday would be good,” he continued when I didn’t answer right away, “but it came and went too quickly.”
“Sure.” The word slipped out, sounding far more eager than I liked. I blamed it on the effects of Grayson’s cheerful aura.
“Great. Can I pick you up at seven tomorrow night, then?”
The realization I had to work tomorrow night caught up with me. Seven wouldn’t do.
“Actually, I work tomorrow night. I’m sure you don’t want to eat around two in the morning, especially not from the places that will be open. Maybe we can plan something for a night when I’m off?” I could already see where dating a vampire was going to be tricky.
“I’m a night owl, so after two works for me.” He sounded amused. “And I wasn’t planning on taking you to a burger place anyway.”
“Right.” I ran my hand over my forehead. What had I been thinking? Of course he would be fine with eating after two. That was practically two in the afternoon to him. “Where did you want to meet?”
“I can swing by and pick you up from work.”
“Oh, oka
y.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Sounds great. See you then.”
The phone went silent against my ear and footsteps behind me sounded. Grayson had come to. He was walking out my apartment door when I spun around. I caught a slight glimpse of his face as he turned to close the door behind him. He was dazed, which was exactly what I’d come to expect. As soon as the door clicked closed, I leaned against my kitchen counter and sighed. Thoughts of self-loathing floated through my mind as I stared at the closed door. They didn’t last long though because Grayson’s liveliness came crashing through in seconds.
Chapter 18
“Well, doesn’t someone look chipper?” Sage leaned across the bar top, scrutinizing me as I walked toward where we stowed our stuff. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you finally got some last night.”
A grin that couldn’t be contained made its way onto my face. “I did, but I can guarantee that we’re not talking about the same thing.”
“And what some are you talking about?” She arched a brow. A desperate look flickered through her eyes, and I wondered if she was thinking of me sleeping with Randal and it bothered her.
“I managed to find the perfect type of guy last night and got what I’d been craving for months from him.”
“Awesome,” Ben muttered as he walked past us. My back went rigid. I was grateful something entirely different hadn’t slipped out my mouth. “I thought only guys talked about getting laid like that. It’s so cool chicks do the same. I mean I guess I always figured you did since it’s pretty hard to not kiss and tell, but this was still cool to have verified.” His words were slow and dazed sounding. He was high; there was no doubting it.
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