Startled
by the incredulity in his tone, she turned to see a full-on worried frown
marring his handsome features.
“First of all, a one-night stand does not a lover make.” Her
comments were directed toward Chloe but she watched Adam out of the corner of
her eye. It wasn’t as though this information was a secret—nothing much was a
secret around Chloe—but she was curious about Adam’s reaction. As she spoke, he
clenched his jaw and she could see the muscle there ticking. He wasn’t jealous,
was he? No, no way. Sure he flirted with her but he flirted with every woman
within a mile’s radius, so her affections and attention were of little
consequence.
So what was with the frown?
“And second of all,” she said, trying her hardest to ignore
the unease his fraught expression caused her, “we weren’t talking about
anything exciting so you could have stayed at the table.”
“Mmhmm.” Chloe smiled at Adam. “Sweetie, could you please
make my dear friend, Emma here, a martini?”
Regaining some of his signature charm, he smiled and threw
Emma a wink. “Sure thing.”
Once she had her drink in hand, there was no more talk of
her and Ben as a couple. Instead, she, Chloe and Mina made their way onto the
dance floor leaving the men, and their odd behavior, behind them.
Eventually, as closing time approached, the band wrapped up
their set and left the stage. There were still a handful of people lingering
about for last call as she sat at the bar. She told herself that she was just
enjoying the time spent with friends and in no way was she waiting for Ben. But
when he came up behind her and braced his hands against the bar on either side
in front of her, all of her rationalizations went right out the window.
“I was thinking.” His deep voice in her ear sent goose bumps
breaking out along her skin. “How does Charlie break it to Natalie that he’s a
vampire?”
Emma laughed, then had a moment to wonder if that low,
seductive sound had actually come from her. How was it possible that he
affected her like this? He was just about the complete antithesis of the type
of man she’d always been attracted to. But against all odds, the fact still
remained that she wanted him so badly she ached with it.
“ That’s what you were thinking about while you were
up on stage?” She tried to bring her voice back to a normal tone rather than
the husky quality it now somehow contained. But with his sheer proximity and
the way he chuckled against her skin, she didn’t think she succeeded all that
well.
“What can I say? Your book’s got me intrigued. So how does
he tell her?”
Emma twirled her half-full martini glass between her
fingers, forcing the rest of her body to remain still when she felt herself
begin to lean back against his warm hardness. “She invites him over for dinner
and he kind of slips up and has to tell her.”
“Do they fight about it?”
Frowning, she turned to look at him. “No, actually, they
don’t. At that point in the story she trusts him.”
Ben cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Does anyone else in their
small town know what he is?”
Where was he going with this? “Well, there’s another vampire
in town. One of the rogues that Charlie would have hunted before his
retirement. The rogue is killing random women because he’s trying to draw
Charlie out into the open. But he’s the only one who knows.”
He snorted. “So there’s a string of murders all of a sudden
since he moved to town and in the middle of that shitstorm he drops the vampire
bomb? How can she trust him at that point?”
Shaking her head she put a little space between them. “He
explains to her about the other vampire and why he’s hunting him.”
“No, they have to fight about it. No one is that gullible
and trusting. Besides,” he lowered his gaze to her mouth and licked his lips,
“make-up sex is hot as hell.”
Swallowing hard, she said, “I wouldn’t know.”
Dipping his head, he ran the tip of his
by the incredulity in his tone, she turned to see a full-on worried frown
marring his handsome features.
“First of all, a one-night stand does not a lover make.” Her
comments were directed toward Chloe but she watched Adam out of the corner of
her eye. It wasn’t as though this information was a secret—nothing much was a
secret around Chloe—but she was curious about Adam’s reaction. As she spoke, he
clenched his jaw and she could see the muscle there ticking. He wasn’t jealous,
was he? No, no way. Sure he flirted with her but he flirted with every woman
within a mile’s radius, so her affections and attention were of little
consequence.
So what was with the frown?
“And second of all,” she said, trying her hardest to ignore
the unease his fraught expression caused her, “we weren’t talking about
anything exciting so you could have stayed at the table.”
“Mmhmm.” Chloe smiled at Adam. “Sweetie, could you please
make my dear friend, Emma here, a martini?”
Regaining some of his signature charm, he smiled and threw
Emma a wink. “Sure thing.”
Once she had her drink in hand, there was no more talk of
her and Ben as a couple. Instead, she, Chloe and Mina made their way onto the
dance floor leaving the men, and their odd behavior, behind them.
Eventually, as closing time approached, the band wrapped up
their set and left the stage. There were still a handful of people lingering
about for last call as she sat at the bar. She told herself that she was just
enjoying the time spent with friends and in no way was she waiting for Ben. But
when he came up behind her and braced his hands against the bar on either side
in front of her, all of her rationalizations went right out the window.
“I was thinking.” His deep voice in her ear sent goose bumps
breaking out along her skin. “How does Charlie break it to Natalie that he’s a
vampire?”
Emma laughed, then had a moment to wonder if that low,
seductive sound had actually come from her. How was it possible that he
affected her like this? He was just about the complete antithesis of the type
of man she’d always been attracted to. But against all odds, the fact still
remained that she wanted him so badly she ached with it.
“ That’s what you were thinking about while you were
up on stage?” She tried to bring her voice back to a normal tone rather than
the husky quality it now somehow contained. But with his sheer proximity and
the way he chuckled against her skin, she didn’t think she succeeded all that
well.
“What can I say? Your book’s got me intrigued. So how does
he tell her?”
Emma twirled her half-full martini glass between her
fingers, forcing the rest of her body to remain still when she felt herself
begin to lean back against his warm hardness. “She invites him over for dinner
and he kind of slips up and has to tell her.”
“Do they fight about it?”
Frowning, she turned to look at him. “No, actually, they
don’t. At that point in the story she trusts him.”
Ben cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Does anyone else in their
small town know what he is?”
Where was he going with this? “Well, there’s another vampire
in town. One of the rogues that Charlie would have hunted before his
retirement. The rogue is killing random women because he’s trying to draw
Charlie out into the open. But he’s the only one who knows.”
He snorted. “So there’s a string of murders all of a sudden
since he moved to town and in the middle of that shitstorm he drops the vampire
bomb? How can she trust him at that point?”
Shaking her head she put a little space between them. “He
explains to her about the other vampire and why he’s hunting him.”
“No, they have to fight about it. No one is that gullible
and trusting. Besides,” he lowered his gaze to her mouth and licked his lips,
“make-up sex is hot as hell.”
Swallowing hard, she said, “I wouldn’t know.”
Dipping his head, he ran the tip of his
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