by Jessica Sims
The man was impossible, I thought as I went back to my table. It was going to be hard to concentrate on my date with a massive were-cougar male hovering nearby.
Lonnie Smith showed up a short time later. He didn’t look several hundred years old, which his bio had listed. I’d never met him in person; whereas most supes liked to come in to the agency themselves, vampires were a reclusive lot and didn’t venture out unless they had to. Getting one to show up for a date was a trick in itself.
He wore a black turtleneck with several gold chains looped around his neck and a black leather coat over it. His black hair was slicked back, and he looked like something from a bad ’70s movie. Maybe vampires had a hard time keeping up with fashion.
I extended my hand for him to shake and gave him a quick smile of greeting. “Lonnie? Hi, I’m Minnie.”
“Minnie, my angel,” he said in a low, rumbling voice. He clasped my hand in his and held it tight. “You look more beautiful than in your picture. I am very pleased.”
Though he held my hand a bit longer than was comfortable, I resisted the urge to pull it away. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re pleased.”
“Oh, very,” he said, still holding on to my hand and sitting down in the chair next to mine.
I had no choice but to sit down as well. So he was a little touchy-feely. I could deal with that, I guessed. After all, being turned had to involve a certain level of intimacy, didn’t it?
He began to rub my hand. “So tell me about you, Minnie. What do you like?”
I adjusted my glasses with my other hand, noticing that his gaze kept straying to my bare neck. True to Josh’s orders, I’d worn my hair twisted up in a loose knot, and it seemed to be getting Lonnie’s attention. This date was already turning out much better than my last one.
“Me? Well . . . ” I paused, thinking. I couldn’t really give away too much, but I didn’t want to sound boring. Unfortunately, all the things I liked were pretty boring. “I’m kind of a homebody.”
“Me, too,” he said with a close-lipped smile. “What kinds of things do you like to do at home?”
“Well, I like to curl up and watch a good movie. And puzzles. I like puzzles.”
“Puzzles?” Lonnie looked as if I’d just said the most unappealing thing in the world. Oh, no. I was losing his attention.
“What do you like to do?” I asked quickly.
He gave me a half smile. “Not puzzles.”
I cast around for something else to say. I never realized small talk was so hard, especially when your date wasn’t exactly helping things along. “Do you like sports? Running? Tennis?”
“I’m a vampire. Unless it happens at night or indoors, I can’t do it.”
“Oh, of course,” I said quickly, feeling flustered. “Maybe table . . . tennis? I like table tennis.”
He glanced at the door. Shit, I was losing him.
“And sex,” I added desperately. “I love sex.”
His eyes flared with interest, his attention moving back to me. The grin returned to his face. “You don’t say?”
God help me, but I was desperate and didn’t want him to end this date. “Oh yes, all the time. I totally need it.”
He leaned down and examined my hand, then pulled it to his mouth, kissing the back of it delicately. “You smell incredible. What’s your blood type again?”
“O positive.”
“My favorite flavor,” he said with another close-lipped smile before leaning in to kiss my hand again.
I let him, pleased that the date had turned around. “So what about you?” I asked. “What do you like to do at home?”
“I like,” he began slowly, then nipped at one of my fingers. “Reading.”
“Oh?” I asked. “What sorts of things?”
“My favorite is The Perfumed Garden.” And he nipped at another one of my fingers. “Though I am also fond of The Story of O and Lolita.”
I knew of Lolita, but not the other two. Classics? Or maybe he was a poet at heart? Not really my thing, but kind of sweet. “Those sound nice. I haven’t read them.”
“I’d love to go through a few passages with you,” he said and rubbed a hand down my arm.
“Sure,” I said. “Maybe next time we get together, you can bring me one to borrow.”
His eyes narrowed, and I could practically hear his breath hiss. “That sounds incredible.”
Wow, this guy was really into those books. I began to feel a little uneasy about that and decided to turn the subject. “So what else are you into?”
“Frottage.”
I frowned. “I . . . see.” What was that? I was pretty sure that it was dirty, but I wasn’t sure how dirty. I decided to play stupid, smiling widely. “I’m a big fan of fromage myself.”
He studied me a moment, then laughed as if I’d said something hilarious. “You have quite a clever tongue.”
“Thank you.” Why did everything this man was saying sound dirtier than it was? Was I just taking things the wrong way? I continued to smile at him as if we’d connected at some deeper level.
At least he wasn’t looking at the door anymore.
“I do have a particular favorite,” he said, leaning in and running a finger down my bare shoulder.
“Do tell.”
“Have you heard of ‘the shocker’?”
“Is that a TV show?” I asked politely.
“All right,” Josh said, appearing from behind the wall. “That fucking does it.” He grabbed my date by the collar and hauled him into the air.
“Josh!” I got to my feet. “What are you doing?”
Lonnie clawed at his throat, glancing over at me with alarm.
“I’m ending this date,” Josh said. “This asshole is done with you.”
“Butt out,” I snapped at him. “It’s my date.”
“You’re done,” he repeated, setting Lonnie on his feet and leaning into his face. “Get out of here.”
“Now see here,” Lonnie began.
Josh’s eyes began to gleam like a cat’s and he leaned in, so close that only I could hear it. “Beat it, buddy. She’s human.”
The vampire’s eyes widened and he looked over at me, then back at Josh. And then he took off, weaving between tables as he exited the restaurant.
Outrage slammed through me and I turned to Josh, fists clenched. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving you from a bad situation,” he told me, grabbing my hand and beginning to pull me toward the front door. “We need to talk. Somewhere private.”
I bit my lip—it was either that or start screaming at him. I was so angry that I couldn’t see straight as Josh dragged me out of the restaurant. So the vampire had been a little fresh. Who cared? I needed to be turned. And about two minutes ago, I’d had a vampire practically eating out of the palm of my hand until my do-gooder “coach” had decided to change the rules on me.
As soon as we got to the parking lot, I jerked my arm from his grasp. “I thought you said you were helping me date vampires!”
“I am,” he told me between gritted teeth and steered me away from the crowd. “Just not that one.”
“What was wrong with that one? He liked me!”
“Yeah, because you told him you like puzzles and knitting and oh yeah, sex. Way to break the ice.”
“I didn’t tell him I liked knitting,” I said. “And he looked like he was bored! He was staring at the door! I had to keep his interest somehow.”
Josh glared back at me, walking quickly to the far edge of the parking lot and dragging me along behind him. He halted so abruptly when we were at his car that I almost ran into his back. Then he turned and pulled me against his car, his arms grasping mine. He looked furious and oddly possessive. His jaw was clenched, his mouth turned down into a frown. And he was staring at my mouth. He looked like he was inches away from kissing me. A lot.
And that made my breath quicken.
“Do you even know what ‘the shocker’ is, Marie?”
“I’m guessing it’s not a game show,” I snapped back at him.
He held his hand up and tucked his fourth finger back against his thumb. Then he tilted his hand and showed me the gesture. “This is the shocker.”
I stared at the pairing of his first two fingers and the pinky, not recognizing the gesture. If it weren’t for the fact that his ring finger was tucked in, it’d almost look like a Vulcan hand gesture. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
“You’re really sheltered, aren’t you?” Josh stared at me, then shook his head. He did the gesture again and explained, “The saying is ‘Two in the pink, one in the stink.’ ”
I stared at his hand. Two in the pink . . . ? And then I blushed, hard, slapping his hand away. “Oh. Ew.”
“Yeah. Not exactly first-date material. Which, I might add, you set yourself up for.”
“I’m guessing frottage is pretty dirty, too, then.”
“You’d be guessing right,” he said, a hard edge in his voice. “Jesus, Marie. How is it that a smart, pretty girl like you can be so clueless when it comes to men?”
I stared at him, wounded. “I just wanted him to like me.”
“And would you have slept with him just to get him to like you?”
I hesitated. If he wanted the honest-to-God truth, I didn’t have that answer. I’d thought about it, and I wasn’t averse to using my body to get a vampire’s interest. If sleeping with someone bought me fifty extra years of life? I’d do it in a heartbeat.
“I don’t believe you, Marie.” Josh stared at me as if he didn’t know me. “What is going on in that brain of yours?”
I shook my head and got my keys out of my purse. “I’m going home.”
I expected him to protest, but he only stared at me.
I got in my car and left.
• • •
I dated another vampire the next night, and I didn’t tell Josh. I didn’t want him sabotaging my personal business.
As soon as I got there, though, I realized I’d made a mistake. This one? Flat-out scared me. He arrived with a bodyguard walking two feet behind him. The bodyguard stood behind the table at all times, and he jumped at the slightest noise.
We dined at an Italian restaurant, though my date ate and drank nothing. It made me uncomfortable, and I had a hard time eating my meal as well. We made small talk, and I didn’t throw down the sex-bomb. I’d learned my lesson.
The entire time we talked, the vampire watched me.
At first, I didn’t think too much of it. He had a direct stare, but I attributed it to his watchfulness and the presence of the bodyguard. But as the night went on, I began to grow more and more uneasy at his tightly controlled motions and the dead, emotionless expression on his face. Even when he smiled, it didn’t reach his cold, cold eyes.
I felt like prey.
For the first time since working at the dating agency, I was uncomfortable in the presence of a supernatural. And I began to see what Josh had been warning me about.
This man didn’t want a date. He wanted a diversion. At best, he wanted an easy meal. At worst, he wanted someone he could easily bury in the backyard.
I suffered through two hours of the date before calling it done. Even then, I felt his gaze watching me as I left. We were only two blocks from the dating agency, but I didn’t trust him enough to make the walk alone. I called a taxi and hid in the restroom until it arrived.
Another lesson learned.
When I got back to the agency, Josh was there, waiting in my seat.
He was chatting with Ryder but got to his feet when I entered the door. A sexy smile curved his mouth at the sight of me, and he pulled out an enormous box of chocolates with a big ribbon on the top. He held the chocolates out toward me and pulled out my seat, inviting me to sit down. “Peace offering?”
I glanced at the chocolates, then back at his too-innocent face. “Are you going to interrupt one of my dates again?”
“It depends,” he said easily. “Is another man going to offer to give you the shocker?”
“Do what?” Ryder’s wide blue eyes turned to me. “Did he just say what I think he said? Did someone try to give you a shocker?”
“No,” I hissed, yanking the chocolates out of Josh’s hand and dropping them on the desk. “Can we please change the subject? I’m still mad at you, Josh. What you did is unforgivable.”
Josh looked nonplussed. “So I should have left you there and let that guy manhandle you? Say disgusting things to you? Perhaps let him demonstrate his moves on you?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “You should have. Are we dating? No, we’re not. Therefore, not your business.”
Josh’s face grew hard. “Well, then, I’m sorry if I took up your time, Marie. It won’t happen again.”
My chest began to have this funny ache, but I said nothing when he stormed out the front door, making the bell clang loudly against the glass.
Ryder stared at it. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Josh mad.”
It was the first time for me, too. I’d pushed him too far. Instead of being indignant about the whole thing, I just felt . . . awful. Like I’d screwed up. He’d only been trying to help me. He’d been protecting me, been a friend. And I’d been nasty to him. He’d come to apologize and I’d chased him away again.
I chased everyone away.
Suddenly weary to the core, I laid my head on my desk and felt like crying.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ryder asked softly.
“No.”
“Do you have someone else you want to talk about it with?”
I had only one other friend besides my coworkers. And he’d just stormed out the door because I’d been awful to him. I sat up and pressed my face in my hands. “Why am I so bad with people, Ryder?”
“It’s a gift,” she said lightly.
“Thanks.”
“I don’t know Josh as well as you,” she said thoughtfully, toying with the glittery ruler on her desk. “But unless I miss my guess, it’s hard to get him angry, and it’s probably harder to keep him angry. Maybe you should . . . gee, I don’t know, try apologizing?”
I stared at the box of chocolates on my desk. I’d turned down his flowers and his coffee, and yet he’d kept trying. He was determined to break through my icy shell and get to the real me inside, the one I hid away from everyone. Why? Was it the challenge of trying to score with me? Was he fascinated because I turned him down? Or was Josh simply being the nice white knight to me like he was to Carol?
Either way, after tonight, I doubted he was going to flirt with me ever again.
Maybe it was the exhaustion, or my disease, but I was tired of pushing everyone away. “Ryder—”
“Red Bull run? Sounds great,” she said. “Pick one up for me, will ya?”
“You’re the best.”
She grinned. “I know.”
I hurried out to the parking lot, thinking for a moment. I could text him . . . or I could swing by the diner and see if this was one of Carol’s nights.
Sure enough, I caught Josh as he was tucking Carol into the passenger side of his car. I threw mine into park and jumped out, racing over to his side. “Josh, can we talk?”
He gave me a cool look as he calmly closed Carol’s door, then turned away from me. “I’m pretty sure we’ve both said enough tonight.”
“I think there’s more to be said,” I added quickly.
“I don’t.” He began to walk around the other side of the car.
“Josh,” I began.
He didn’t turn around.
“Josh,” I said again, louder, trying to get his attention.
He opened his car door, as if he was about to drive away.
“Will you please pay attention to me?” I snapped. “I’m trying to apologize to you.”
He paused, then leaned against the side of the car. His eyes flashed like a cougar’s, and I knew he was still angry about my words earlier.
Merde.
“That’s because you’re not making this easy,” I said, stalking toward him. I moved directly in front of him, and when his gaze grew even more direct, I dropped my eyes. “And I’m not good at apologizing.”
I felt his hand go to my waist, and a shiver ripped through me.
“Nor am I good at letting people in,” I admitted. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I can’t stand the thought of you being mad at me.”
His hand reached up and brushed my cheek. “Marie,” he said, so softly I could barely hear it. “I don’t know what’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours. I don’t know why you’re determined to visit every vampire in this territory and see if he wants to sleep with you. I can’t begin to imagine what this is.” His beautiful eyes studied me. “Some sort of personal challenge?”
“Something like that,” I told him. Seemed safest.
His thumb stroked across my lower lip. “What do you have to prove? I know that you are beautiful. And sexy. And you drive me crazy. You know that, too.”
My eyes widened.
“And if you want a one-night stand with a supernatural,” he said, leaning in so close that his breath brushed against my cheek, “I’ll break out my fangs, lick you for hours, and then ride you so hard that you’ll be bowlegged the next day.”
And he kissed me. Hot. Wet. Possessive. His mouth swooped over mine and his tongue thrust against mine in a move that was a decided claim. And then he pulled away, leaving me dazed and wanting.
“So you think about that,” he whispered.
He got in the car, buckled his seat belt, and drove away with Carol.
I thought about his hard, possessive kiss. Josh was so laid-back and easygoing, yet he’d grown fierce on vampire Lonnie when he’d felt I’d been threatened. He’d grown even more possessive when he’d kissed me. He constantly touched me and complimented me. I felt branded. Claimed by him.
This . . . was going to be a problem.
And yet I toyed with the idea of taking what Josh was promising. Not as a solution to my problem—if he turned me, it’d be a death sentence, like Sara said. It would destroy the Russell clan if one of the cougars turned a human when they’d banned the act for others. No one would trust them, and the Alliance would crumble.