trying to walk at the same time. I catch myself
just before my ankles have a different idea. “Would you mind if I took off my
shoes? I usually don’t wear these kinds of things and my feet have had enough.”
He smiles at me. “They are ridiculous.”
Once I am on the terra firma of the couch, I
unfasten the buckles and sigh at the relief of being flatfooted again. Eight
hundred dollars does not buy comfort apparently.
“Can I offer you some more wine?” He is
behind me and I turn to see a rather large kitchen in the corner opposite the
bed. It could be straight out of a Food Network cooking show. I tolerate wine
well enough on occasion—except for maybe on Sunday night—but what I have really
wanted all night is a beer. “Okay, thank you,” I answer to be polite.
Lucan shakes his head before heading to the
Sub Zero fridge. In seconds, he’s back with two Coors Lights. This mind reading
thing isn’t so bad after all, finally a man that knows your every desire. That
makes us both laugh. He twists the tops off and hands me one. I am trying not
to think of anything else I might desire of him.
“This is the most amazing place I have ever
seen, I love it.” I walk towards the windows spanning the south wall and Lucan
follows me. The surrounding buildings mostly obscure the view from my office on
the 30th floor, but from here, the city spreads out below like a field of
stars. I could enjoy this forever.
“Abri, I need to tell you something now.” His
face looks tortured. Oh God, he heard the forever thing and now he thinks I’m a
crazy bitch that’s ready to move in and start a family. I can’t even let myself
go there, not after one date. I feel there is something there but it’s too soon
to know what. I take a long draw on my beer.
“Oh Lucan—er, Luke, I just mean that I could
look at the city like this forever, not specifically herein your apartment. I
get that we’ve just met—” He puts his finger to my lips to stop my incessant
rambling.
“Shh, I’m ready to tell you,” he whispers
and with that I hear him speak a word in my mind.
Vampire .
CHAPTER NINE
I step back, removing his finger from my
lips. “Okay, I think I’ve officially had too much to drink. I know better than
to mix my alcohols. I think I’m starting to hear things.” I rub my temples
trying to replay the last few seconds. “You didn’t just do that thought
exchange thing to me, did you?”
He nods his head once and then turns away
from me. My brain begins firing off a string of questions that neither one of
us can comprehend. My subconscious fight or flight reflex takes over and
propels me backwards, away from Lucan and towards the creaky elevator across
the room. The magnetic pull between our bodies that I’ve noticed and tried to
ignore all night is stretching thin and it hurts. I find myself rubbing my
chest. A voice in my head tells me to stay. It’s my own voice, not his.
“I need a minute. Can I use your bathroom?”
My voice is smaller than I expect.
He says nothing, still facing away from me,
and points to the far corner of the room next to the monstrous kitchen. My bare
feet echo in the silence as I pad across the cold marble floor. I shut the door
behind me and slide to the floor. If it had had a lock, I would have thrown it.
What in the hell have I gotten myself into?
Vampire.
Vampire?
I will be the first to admit there are
things in this world I do not understand, but this has taken the proverbial
cake. Vampires cannot be real. Otherwise, I have to suspend everything I
believe in, give up on my definition of reality. Suspension of belief is not
something I am used to or even capable of, really. I have promised to trust
him, but even trust had its boundaries. That voice in my head reminds me that
I’ve already taken the mind reading and the electric shock in stride.
I do a quick mental check down of what I
know about vampires versus Lucan O’Reilly. Lucan came to
just before my ankles have a different idea. “Would you mind if I took off my
shoes? I usually don’t wear these kinds of things and my feet have had enough.”
He smiles at me. “They are ridiculous.”
Once I am on the terra firma of the couch, I
unfasten the buckles and sigh at the relief of being flatfooted again. Eight
hundred dollars does not buy comfort apparently.
“Can I offer you some more wine?” He is
behind me and I turn to see a rather large kitchen in the corner opposite the
bed. It could be straight out of a Food Network cooking show. I tolerate wine
well enough on occasion—except for maybe on Sunday night—but what I have really
wanted all night is a beer. “Okay, thank you,” I answer to be polite.
Lucan shakes his head before heading to the
Sub Zero fridge. In seconds, he’s back with two Coors Lights. This mind reading
thing isn’t so bad after all, finally a man that knows your every desire. That
makes us both laugh. He twists the tops off and hands me one. I am trying not
to think of anything else I might desire of him.
“This is the most amazing place I have ever
seen, I love it.” I walk towards the windows spanning the south wall and Lucan
follows me. The surrounding buildings mostly obscure the view from my office on
the 30th floor, but from here, the city spreads out below like a field of
stars. I could enjoy this forever.
“Abri, I need to tell you something now.” His
face looks tortured. Oh God, he heard the forever thing and now he thinks I’m a
crazy bitch that’s ready to move in and start a family. I can’t even let myself
go there, not after one date. I feel there is something there but it’s too soon
to know what. I take a long draw on my beer.
“Oh Lucan—er, Luke, I just mean that I could
look at the city like this forever, not specifically herein your apartment. I
get that we’ve just met—” He puts his finger to my lips to stop my incessant
rambling.
“Shh, I’m ready to tell you,” he whispers
and with that I hear him speak a word in my mind.
Vampire .
CHAPTER NINE
I step back, removing his finger from my
lips. “Okay, I think I’ve officially had too much to drink. I know better than
to mix my alcohols. I think I’m starting to hear things.” I rub my temples
trying to replay the last few seconds. “You didn’t just do that thought
exchange thing to me, did you?”
He nods his head once and then turns away
from me. My brain begins firing off a string of questions that neither one of
us can comprehend. My subconscious fight or flight reflex takes over and
propels me backwards, away from Lucan and towards the creaky elevator across
the room. The magnetic pull between our bodies that I’ve noticed and tried to
ignore all night is stretching thin and it hurts. I find myself rubbing my
chest. A voice in my head tells me to stay. It’s my own voice, not his.
“I need a minute. Can I use your bathroom?”
My voice is smaller than I expect.
He says nothing, still facing away from me,
and points to the far corner of the room next to the monstrous kitchen. My bare
feet echo in the silence as I pad across the cold marble floor. I shut the door
behind me and slide to the floor. If it had had a lock, I would have thrown it.
What in the hell have I gotten myself into?
Vampire.
Vampire?
I will be the first to admit there are
things in this world I do not understand, but this has taken the proverbial
cake. Vampires cannot be real. Otherwise, I have to suspend everything I
believe in, give up on my definition of reality. Suspension of belief is not
something I am used to or even capable of, really. I have promised to trust
him, but even trust had its boundaries. That voice in my head reminds me that
I’ve already taken the mind reading and the electric shock in stride.
I do a quick mental check down of what I
know about vampires versus Lucan O’Reilly. Lucan came to
Similar Books
