by JF Holland
“Sit down,” Leonard growled. “Do not cheapen yourself. You are not a two-bit hooker, and I will not have you acting that way.”
“Oh right, I forgot. I should be breathlessly, hanging on your every word, fawning over you like the others. I’m sure I could do that while I perform? I’m sure I could. After all, I took drama at school. Just hang on,” she told him, closing her eyes, as she took a deep breath. Then flipping open, her angry brown eyes met his incredulous ones. She held a finger up, “just give me a minute to get into the roll.”
“Jesus, Jill. Just sit the hell down and be quiet, you’re making a scene,” Leonard angrily hissed, voice lowering.
“Shit,” Jill grumbled, the wind leaving her sails as she dropped back into her seat. Groaning in mortification, as she looked around her and spotted the waiter baring down on them.
“Are you ready for your meal now, Sir, Madam?”
“Excellent timing, I think my dates blood sugar levels have dropped,” Leonard told the waiter dryly. He then sat back and waited for his plate to be placed before him.
“Thank you,” Jill quietly told the waiter as he set her meal before her, then discreetly left the table, not a word or look gave his feelings away.
“Do you think we can forget the last couple of minutes?” Leonard murmured, shaking his napkin and placing it over his lap. His hard-on now a thing of the past due to Jill’s ruffled feathers. She confused the hell out of him, and he found himself at a loss at what to do. He’d never had to deal with a female’s temper before, well yes, his mother and sister now and again, but never a date. The only dates he had were normally just a prelude to sex, and afterwards he walked away. So, this whole thing with Jill was new territory for him, and he was working blind.
“Leo?”
“Hmm?” he queried, not trusting himself to speak without upsetting her again. He was unhappy, and not used to being put on the defensive.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, her hand coming over the table and touching the back of his, and that quickly his bad mood vanished.
“It’s okay, eat your meal,” he told her, lifting his glass. “To, getting to know each other,” he said, waiting for her to lift her own glass.
“Maybe not so thoroughly next time,” Jill told him with a wrinkle of her nose and he laughed as he clinked his glass with hers.
“For future reference, don’t dare me if you aren’t prepared for the consequences. I may be many things; including cynical, but I don’t lie,” he told her.
“Okay, that’s good to know,” she told him with a wry smile. “I’ll remember that,” she said as she put down her glass and shook out her own napkin, putting it across her lap. Then she took her cue from Leonard to figure out which knife and fork she needed to use from the massive array before her on the table. “How much cutlery do you need for a meal,” she grumbled as she cut into her steak.
“It’s a little overboard,” he admitted. “Just wait until you taste the food though, it’s sublime,” he told her cutting into his own steak.
“Oh my god, it’s bleeding, did they not cook it?” Jill asked Leonard, staring dubiously at the red pool on his plate as he put his fork into his mouth. Her nose wrinkling in distaste as he pulled the dripping meat from the tines, before chewing with a moan.
“It’s cooked to perfection,” he told her, after swallowing, wiping his mouth on his napkin. Then he placed it back on his lap before cutting off another section of the nearly raw meat.
“Eww, did you just ask them to remove the horns and wipe its arse, that’s gross,” Jill murmured with a shudder, her lips pursing. Leonard dropped his cutlery, eyes jumping to Jill’s, then he burst out laughing at the look of disgust on her face.
That quickly, the tension between them eased and they carried on eating.
Chapter Fourteen
J ill couldn’t believe that she’d allowed Leonard to do that to her in the middle of a restaurant. A very high class one at that. She was mortified that she’d lost control in such a public place, and so easily. She was still confused as to how he’d done it though. Her hand went to her neck, a finger rubbing along the spot to see if there was anything there. Then mentally, she rolled her eyes as her hand dropped away, before picking up her knife and fork once more. She was being stupid, looking for a reason to explain her own behaviour. Obviously, it would be easier to explain away her response to him on the supernatural, and more palatable than thinking about how many women he’d have to have been with to figure out that he had that particular talent. She was reaching for the impossible to explain it away. There was no way that he’d bitten her and then drank her blood. That was just a preposterous thought. I mean, yes, he’d told her he was a vampire, but he was just yanking her chain and taking a pot shot at himself for his family’s peculiar dental anomaly. There was no such thing as vampires, they were a myth. Plus, he was eating food, albeit very rare steak, and again she shuddered at the pool of blood on his plate beneath his food. It was impossible for him to be a vampire. I mean, hello, his cutlery was silver and he wore a cross on a silver chain around his neck for god’s sake. He also had a reflection, she’d seen it often enough in the bar mirror the first evening they’d met. He also didn’t sparkle, and was definitely not cold to the touch. Nor was he pale, his skin was a lovely golden tan colour. Actually, he had a nice flush at present, she was just being ridiculous.
“You okay now?” Leonard asked, looking at her over his wine glass as he took a sip.
“I am, thank you, and you’re correct, the meal is divine,” she informed him, still unable to meet his gaze. I mean, he’d seen her ‘O’ face, and she flushed at the thought. Still amazed that he’d managed to give her the best orgasm of her life, with nothing but his mouth on her neck.
“Tell me something about yourself?”
“Hmm, where to start,” she replied, cutting a piece of her steak and fresh, crisp carrot, rubbing it through the very savoury beef Jus sauce. “I have a fondness for Chick flicks,” she informed him after she’d swallowed her food. “I also read, but there is no way I’m admitting to what kind of books,” her nose wrinkled at that one.
“Didn’t your profile say that you enjoyed poetry and long walks?” Leonard asked, again picking up his knife and fork. Jill spluttered, and covering her mouth, coughed, Leonard put down his fork and passed her a glass of water. “Are you okay?” he asked and she nodded, banging her own chest to dislodge the food.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure,” he replied, waving his fork, before continuing to eat now that her colour had returned to normal.
“I didn’t fill in the profile on the site, my friend Amanda did,” she told him.
“Seriously?”
“Hmm, I don’t read poetry, not that it isn’t beautiful,” she rushed to assure him, then her shoulders slumped. “I’m afraid the closest I get to poetry is in a card shop,” she admitted and he laughed. “What’s funny?” she asked, watching his eyes sparkle as he chewed.
“I didn’t fill mine in either. To be quite honest, I knew nothing about it until I’d already been matched with you.”
“Get out of here. That makes sense though,” she nodded, taking a mouthful of her duchess potato with a crisp, buttery parsnip, her eyes closing at the taste and texture.
“What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t figure out why someone who looks like you would need to join a dating site,” she told him, her fork moving over him.
“I could say the same for you. Why a dating site?”
“Amanda.”
“What about Amanda?”
“I’ve used dating sites before,” Jill admitted.
“Why though?” Leonard asked, his eyes roaming her features and wondering what was wrong with the human male population.
“I’ve never had much luck where men are concerned. There’s always some deep, dark secret they hide,” she told him with a shrug. “Amanda; in her infinite wisdom, decided that I needed to put some sed
ate past times.”
“Why?”
“She was hoping that by putting poetry and walking as my interests, it would weed out the crazies.”
“Crazies?”
“Oh yes, you would not believe it, and I’m not talking about normal crazies either. I had one man who was married, but also had a boyfriend. He’d joined the site with his wife’s blessing as they wanted to spice up their sex life.”
“I do hope they had a very large bed otherwise it would have been awfully cramped,” Leonard replied dryly.
“See, you get me. When I told them no, that I didn’t want to join their little flesh fest and that the bed would be cramped they didn’t understand my reticence.”
“Lucky escape,” Leonard told her with a snort.
“Okay, now you, who filled in your profile?”
“Luc,” Leonard told her, finishing his steak and dabbing at his mouth.
“Who’s Luc?”
“A very old friend,” Leonard replied.
“Can’t be that old, you’re what, thirty-two, three,” Jill told him taking in his features and still jet-black hair.
“I’m older than you think.”
“Okay, Mr Tall Dark and Mysterious, I won’t push for your age, but who’s Luc?”
“Luc is an old friend who decided that it was time I dated.”
“You needed help to find a date?” Jill asked him incredulously.
“No, Luc decided that I needed a date that had sedentary pastimes. Hence, why I’m now here with you,” he grinned.
“Oops, give Luc my apologies,” Jill grinned. “I read, but only,” she looked around as if to check they weren’t overheard. Then she leaned forward, “I only read trashy novels,” she mouthed and Leonard blinked, then grinned.
“Really?”
“Yes, my absolute weakness,” Jill admitted with a soft sigh.
“Mine too,” Leonard replied with a laugh.
“No,” Jill, looked at him, her fork landing on her plate.
“Yes, but I’ll deny all knowledge if you ever breathe a word.”
“Cross my heart,” Jill told him, making the sign of the cross on her chest. “As for exercise, I’m afraid getting out of bed is my limit. Gyms are not my idea of fun, sweaty grunting men, posing in mirrors is…” she wrinkled her nose, and Leonard chuckled.
“I can’t say I’ve ever spent any time in a gym, but I do enjoy walking or running occasionally,” he told her, topping up his wine glass after offering to do the same with Jill’s.
“I do like to visit cemeteries,” she admitted. Then finishing off her meal, she put her cutlery down, wiping her mouth on her napkin.
“The history,” Leonard nodded.
“Yes,” Jill replied excitedly, happy someone finally understood her love of going around cemeteries. “Then of course, there’s the people watching, trying to figure out their story.”
“Yes, I can’t say I’ve ever thought of it before, but I have found myself looking at couples since the other night. You are right, some seem to fit, and others look like complete opposites.”
“See, I told you, it’s interesting,” she smiled.
“May I remove your plates?” the waiter appeared by their table again.
“Of course, thank you,” Leonard replied.
“My compliments to the chef,” Jill told him.
“Thank you madam, I’ll be sure to pass that on,” the man bowed as he cleared their table.
“Do you want a dessert?” Leonard asked. “They do a divine black forest gateau with fresh cream?”
“I’m not sure I have room,” she told him, sounding morose.
“May we have the black forest, to share.” Leonard told the waiter, who’d turned back to them now after putting their plates and cutlery on a trolley.
“Of course sir, I’ll be back momentarily.”
“Right, so tell me about this Amanda?” Leonard asked Jill as they waited for their dessert.
“Amanda is lovely, and to be honest, I’m a little jealous about her relationship,” she admitted.
“You have a thing for her boyfriend?” Leonard asked, feeling something sour in his stomach, but Jill laughed.
“No, Polly is lovely too, but definitely not for me.”
“Polly, oh…”
“Yes, oh. Amanda and Polly have been together for about 8-years now. I was their maid of honour when they had their civil ceremony 4-years ago. They are so happy it is positively sickening, they even seem to know what the other is thinking,” she sighed.
“I know a few couples like that,” Leonard told her dryly thinking about the shifters who were mated with their ability for telepathic communication with their mates.
“So what’s Luc like?” Jill asked
“Luc and I shared an abode once upon a time,” Leonard told her.
“You and he…”
“Good god, no…” Leonard replied horrified.
“I’m yanking your chain Leo, don’t sweat it.” Jill laughed at the horror on his face.
“Very funny,” he told her dryly.
“Come on what’s he like?”
“He’s a good man, he will help anyone out. He’s a much better man than me, he’s selfless and honest,” Leonard sighed. “He had a bad experience with a female a while back and…”
“And?” Jill asked as Leonard frowned, seeming lost in thought and uncomfortable.
“It was my fault, I set him up with her. A double date of sorts.” There was no way he was going to explain to Jill that he’d just wanted to screw a nymph. One she wouldn’t understand about nymphs and immortals, and two, he really didn’t want her looking at him as if he was a letch. “Due to my… interference, Luc has been cursed ever since, and now turns to stone,” he sighed. Jill frowned at him, then her face cleared.
“I know a bad date can seem like a curse at the time, but he’ll get over it. When he’s ready he’ll warm to you again, honestly. Plus, given time, he’ll loosen up over dating and be ready to dip his toe in again.” She told him, patting his hand and making sympathetic noises.
The waiter arrived at their table with dessert before Leonard could make any more mistakes. He’d become so comfortable with Jill; he’d just blurted out about Luc’s curse. Of course, she’d thought he’d meant Luc froze at the idea of dating, and not that he’d literally meant cursed, but it was just lucky on his part. He would need to think carefully and weigh up his words before he spoke around Jill from now on. This was one of the reasons he didn’t mix with humans, too many things to remember and not normally worth the hassle.
He moved around the table and sat beside Jill so that they could share the desert. Each of them with a spoon, but Leonard ended up feeding her off his, finding that he enjoyed that even more than the sweet dessert. The downside was he found himself rock hard once again as he watched the way her lips wrapped around the spoon, as she took the sweet mixture from it.
He couldn’t remember when he’d enjoyed an evening more. Jill was good company, very down to earth and witty, but sadly, it was time to call it a night. He had to get her home, and his stomach was beginning to cramp again, he needed blood.
“Would you like anything else?”
“No, I’m fit to burst, thank you Leo,” Jill smiled. He found himself staring into her eyes, trapped by her soft gaze. His eyes dropped to her smiling mouth, tempted to taste her once again, but then a discreet cough broke him out of his contemplation. He smiled wryly at Jill, before his attention turned to the waiter.
“Will there be anything else, Sir?”
“No, I think we are done, thank you.”
“Very good, Sir, a pleasure to see you as always,” and with that he cleared away the empty dessert plate and cutlery, then left the table.
“Do we pay on our way out?” Jill asked in confusion as Leonard helped her up. Once again, he settled his suit jacket over her shoulders to keep her warm. He then placed his hand in the small of her back to see her to the door of the restaurant.
>
“They will just invoice me,” Leonard assured her.
“Do restaurants do that?” Jill asked.
“In some cases they do,” he assured her. He was not about to inform her that his family owned the restaurant, just one of the concerns his father had kept over the years. He paid for his meals, including a twenty percent tip, it was just invoiced to him. The chef; a Leopard shifter, was a dear friend of his father’s. Although Jill, also didn’t need to know that little titbit of information.
Chapter Fifteen
L eonard ushered Jill to his car, opening the door and settling her into the passenger seat. She removed his jacket and passed it to him with a smile as he closed the door. Getting into the driver’s seat, Leonard hung his jacket from the little peg above the back-passenger seat behind him. He then let out a sigh of relief as he spotted his blood flask in the gap between the door and his seat. Very quickly; as Jill was busily fussing with her seat belt and finding a station on the radio, he took a quick sip. He slid it back down beside him, stomach settling as soon as the blood hit his system.
A soft rock tune filtered into the car as the hum of the engine began.
“You enjoy rock music?” he enquired as he pulled out of the car park.
“I do, I’ve seen this band play live.”
“Any good?” he asked hitting the indicator and turning onto the main road.
“Vocally, they are just as good live.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a live performance,” he informed her.
“It’s a few years since I’ve been. Then again, it’s also been a year or two since I’ve been to the cinema. I was meant to have gone up to Amanda and Polly’s last weekend in Scotland. We were all going to see a new rom-com that had just been released, but I had a tummy bug so couldn’t go.” Jill told him, eyes closed as she leaned her head back against the headrest.
Leonard filed the information away for when he reached home. He’d search the listings to see which rom-com was showing in the cinema’s and take her.