Read Online A Vampire's Promise by Carla Susan Smith - Free Book Online Page B

The look on Gabriel’s face said he knew I was being diplomatic, and the reason why, but he wasn’t going to press me on it. “But you can’t really blame me, not with that whole Special Forces persona he has.”
    â€œSpecial Forces? Ah, you think he is in the military?”
    I stopped with my coffee cup halfway to my mouth to see if he was joking. He wasn’t. “Well, yeah, I mean the clothes are a dead giveaway, along with the GI Joe buzz cut, but it’s also the way he carries himself.” I hesitated, hoping I wasn’t about to put my foot in it. “I half expected him to whip out a grenade launcher from inside his coat,” I finished with a nervous laugh.
    Gabriel looked puzzled. “I think he just wears what he feels comfortable in.”
    Whoa. He really didn’t see it. Perhaps the guy had been dressing that way for so long no one noticed it anymore. Not altogether unheard of, but still a little strange.
    â€œSo he’s not a soldier then?” I asked.
    â€œNo, he’s not.”
    â€œIs he Russian?”
    His head nod was accompanied by a slight smile. “Yes, he is.”
    â€œFrom Moscow?” It was the only place in Russia I could think of on the spur of the moment.
    â€œNo, he’s from a small town that doesn’t exist anymore.”
    I wasn’t sure what to make of that. A casualty of civil unrest and shifting borders perhaps? “Oh, well that’s a really nasty scar on his face. Do you know how he got it?”
    Gabriel picked up his spoon and began to stir his coffee. “Why all the questions about Aleksei?”
    I felt mildly embarrassed, and picked up my own spoon. “Well, he’s not the sort of guy you’re going to forget anytime soon.”
    â€œReally?”
    I shrugged. “Yeah, really.” Glancing across the table, I saw Gabriel pull his eyebrows together ever so slightly and wondered if he was mistaking my general curiosity for interest of a different kind. And I imagine he’d be quite devastating without the scar.
    I didn’t realize I’d spoken that part out loud until the look on Gabriel’s face told me so. It really wasn’t a smart thing to talk about one guy while you were out with another, especially not on a date and without your own car.
    â€œSorry,” I apologized. “That was rude of me.”
    â€œI’m sure if you were to ask him, Aleksei would tell you how it happened.”
    I couldn’t tell if Gabriel was expecting me to meet up with the big guy again, or if he was offering to set me up. Neither was something I wanted to happen. Silence ensued once more, the air between us becoming thick and heavy, making me positive I had just blown whatever chance might have existed of seeing Gabriel again.
    Way to go, Rowan. No wonder you’re sleeping alone.
    I could just imagine what Laycee was going to do with this scenario when I told her. The thought prompted me to take a wild stab at damage control. What did I have to lose?
    â€œI’m not interested in him, you know . . . at least not like that. ”
    â€œLike what?”
    Gabriel’s expression became one of extreme politeness. Putting his hands on the table, he bracketed his coffee cup with his long fingers. I remembered how they had felt resting around my neck. He knew exactly what I meant about Aleksei, but I was being punished. A reprimand to make me feel uncomfortable because it was rude of me to talk so much about another man. Okay, I was woman enough to accept I’d made a mistake.
    â€œI’m not looking at him as potential boyfriend material,” I said with as much detachment as I could. “I was just curious. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
    Gabriel deliberated over my words. “And are you looking at me as potential boyfriend material?” he asked finally.
    I shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. I’d kind of opened myself