after
vampire criminals, and not only arrest them but execute them? Then he’s gotta
have some scars from getting into some fights. Maybe seeing the ugly side of
people for so long left its mark on him. The overexposure to it could have
stripped away his ability to trust and now he has a bad attitude to match all
the scars. So maybe the menace rolling off him tends to have people giving him
a wide berth when he enters the room and he likes it that way. Less chance of
getting bit in the ass by personal relationships in the long run.”
A faraway light lit up Ben’s dark eyes as he spoke and Emma
got the impression that maybe they weren’t just talking about her book anymore. What had happened to him to make him so hard and unforgiving? It was on
the tip of her tongue to ask, against her better judgment, but he was already
speaking before she could get the words out.
“As for what makes Natalie different? Maybe she’s not scared
of him. She’s the one person in that town who believes that there’s an actual
person underneath all that armor and she calls him out on his bullshit. He
loves her strength and thinks that she might be able to withstand a life with
someone like him.” He blinked as if coming out of a trance, then gave a soft
laugh. “I mean a vampire like him.”
Was that a sample of what made up his own version of a
“Charming List”? Before she realized what she was doing, Emma found herself
mentally cataloging her own personality to see if she possessed any of the
traits that he spoke of. What would it take to be the one he saw differently
from everyone else he had ever met? What would it take to be the one who wiped
that pained look off his face and replaced it with that stunning smile he so
rarely gave? And more importantly, why was she suddenly feeling so desperate to
be that one?
Trying to mask all of the completely inappropriate thoughts
that were firing off in her brain, she cleared her throat and flashed him a
smile. “You sure you’ve never written a novel before?”
Rolling his shoulders as though he were suddenly
uncomfortable, he frowned. “Hey, it’s your story. You can write about what you
want. Those are just my thoughts, for what they’re worth.”
“No, I like your idea.” And she really did. “It’s ten times
better than anything else I was coming up with on my own. It’s definitely something
I’ll have to think about and expound upon later.”
He nodded stiffly, then looked like he was about to say
something else when someone called his name. Emma turned to see that it was the
guitar player motioning for him to get back on stage.
“Guess break’s over.” He stood. “You sticking around for a
while?”
“Yeah, probably.” She nodded.
Giving her another nod, he ventured back toward the stage. Did
that mean he wanted her to stay or not? Or maybe he didn’t care either way. But
then why ask? Maybe the question should be why she cared so much.
Heaving out a self-disgusted sigh, she got up from the table
and went in search of Chloe and her promised martini that seemed to be taking
an extra-special long time to make. She found her friends congregated by the
bar chatting with Tyler and Adam when they were in between customers. Or when
Adam wasn’t flirting with one of said customers.
“So what happened? Did you guys run out of alcohol, or
what?” she asked Adam when he stopped chatting up a pretty redhead long enough
to notice she was standing there.
Adam’s ever-ready smile faded a little around the edges. “What
are you talking about, darlin’? If we ran out of alcohol on a Saturday night
Brandon would put my ass in a sling.”
That mental image had her laughing as she said, “I’m talking
about the martini Chloe was supposed to have ordered for me about ten minutes
ago.”
“I never ordered it,” Chloe interjected. “I was giving you
and your new lover some time alone to catch up.”
“You mean Ben?” Emma and Adam asked at the same time.
vampire criminals, and not only arrest them but execute them? Then he’s gotta
have some scars from getting into some fights. Maybe seeing the ugly side of
people for so long left its mark on him. The overexposure to it could have
stripped away his ability to trust and now he has a bad attitude to match all
the scars. So maybe the menace rolling off him tends to have people giving him
a wide berth when he enters the room and he likes it that way. Less chance of
getting bit in the ass by personal relationships in the long run.”
A faraway light lit up Ben’s dark eyes as he spoke and Emma
got the impression that maybe they weren’t just talking about her book anymore. What had happened to him to make him so hard and unforgiving? It was on
the tip of her tongue to ask, against her better judgment, but he was already
speaking before she could get the words out.
“As for what makes Natalie different? Maybe she’s not scared
of him. She’s the one person in that town who believes that there’s an actual
person underneath all that armor and she calls him out on his bullshit. He
loves her strength and thinks that she might be able to withstand a life with
someone like him.” He blinked as if coming out of a trance, then gave a soft
laugh. “I mean a vampire like him.”
Was that a sample of what made up his own version of a
“Charming List”? Before she realized what she was doing, Emma found herself
mentally cataloging her own personality to see if she possessed any of the
traits that he spoke of. What would it take to be the one he saw differently
from everyone else he had ever met? What would it take to be the one who wiped
that pained look off his face and replaced it with that stunning smile he so
rarely gave? And more importantly, why was she suddenly feeling so desperate to
be that one?
Trying to mask all of the completely inappropriate thoughts
that were firing off in her brain, she cleared her throat and flashed him a
smile. “You sure you’ve never written a novel before?”
Rolling his shoulders as though he were suddenly
uncomfortable, he frowned. “Hey, it’s your story. You can write about what you
want. Those are just my thoughts, for what they’re worth.”
“No, I like your idea.” And she really did. “It’s ten times
better than anything else I was coming up with on my own. It’s definitely something
I’ll have to think about and expound upon later.”
He nodded stiffly, then looked like he was about to say
something else when someone called his name. Emma turned to see that it was the
guitar player motioning for him to get back on stage.
“Guess break’s over.” He stood. “You sticking around for a
while?”
“Yeah, probably.” She nodded.
Giving her another nod, he ventured back toward the stage. Did
that mean he wanted her to stay or not? Or maybe he didn’t care either way. But
then why ask? Maybe the question should be why she cared so much.
Heaving out a self-disgusted sigh, she got up from the table
and went in search of Chloe and her promised martini that seemed to be taking
an extra-special long time to make. She found her friends congregated by the
bar chatting with Tyler and Adam when they were in between customers. Or when
Adam wasn’t flirting with one of said customers.
“So what happened? Did you guys run out of alcohol, or
what?” she asked Adam when he stopped chatting up a pretty redhead long enough
to notice she was standing there.
Adam’s ever-ready smile faded a little around the edges. “What
are you talking about, darlin’? If we ran out of alcohol on a Saturday night
Brandon would put my ass in a sling.”
That mental image had her laughing as she said, “I’m talking
about the martini Chloe was supposed to have ordered for me about ten minutes
ago.”
“I never ordered it,” Chloe interjected. “I was giving you
and your new lover some time alone to catch up.”
“You mean Ben?” Emma and Adam asked at the same time.
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