She then frowns at my neck, at my hands. “Where are all your other necklaces and rings?”
“I took them off,” I say, hiding my hands beneath the table for some reason, while the ruby continues to burn against my skin. “Wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate for this place.”
“Oh and you covered up all your tattoos, too,” she notes. “Makes me look like the unkept wild child here. That’s okay. I am who I am.”
Never change, I think. I give her a quick smile. So far she hasn’t noticed that my canine teeth are pointier than normal. It’s actually not that noticeable, I feel like they must grow when needed.
I pick up the menu, hoping she drops the subject about my jewelry. If she asks to see my tattoos for some reason, I’m doomed.
We lapse into silence while I decide on what to eat. I’m not hungry at all, not for food or blood, but it will look weird if I don’t order anything. I think the lobster bisque seems like a good bet. I take my sunglasses off and put them on the table, my eyes finally adjusting to the light.
“Oh, my god,” Elle says in a hush, while the back of my necklace suddenly flares up, hot against my chest.
“What?” I ask, peering down at the ruby as I hold it away from my skin.
“I just saw the most gorgeous man in the whole world walk in here. He’s by the bar.”
I couldn’t be less interested. “Uh huh,” I tell her, trying to figure out what the necklace is doing to me.
“He’s not either of our types, but fucking hell, I want to jump over all the tables and maul him. He is beautiful.” She pauses. “Lenore. You’re not even looking.”
I give an exasperated sigh and tear my eyes away from the menu.
Look across to the bar.
Where they lock with Absolon’s gaze.
My eyes widen, air caught in my throat.
“Oh my god, he’s staring at you,” Elle whispers harshly. “He’s walking over here!”
She’s right. Solon, his gaze still holding mine captive, strides gracefully through the restaurant toward us. For a moment I’m outside my body, ignoring the way the ruby burns at my throat, the way my heart is doing summersaults, how my thighs are clenching together as they try to calm the lust that’s suddenly flaring inside me.
I’m able to look at Absolon through Elle’s eyes.
And he really is the most gorgeous creature in the world.
Today he’s wearing just a dark-teal dress shirt, no tie, but a pair of sunglasses hanging from his collar, black pants, expensive-looking shoes. His black hair is slicked off his face, showing off his perfect hairline, his dark brows putting his eyes in shadow, the blue playing off the color of his shirt. His body is tall, lean, but packed with muscle, and he moves with such stealthy confidence that every head in this place is turning and watching him come towards me.
My vampire.
I try to swallow, try to move, to do something, because I know this isn’t a good thing, to have that world and this world collide like this, have Elle and Absolon together, but I can barely even think.
“Lenore,” Solon says to me, stopping in front of the table, his accent sounding more British today, that voice smooth and rich as cream. “Sorry I’m late.”
My eyes go even wider, and he leans over and kisses me on the cheek and I feel like my heart just went off like a bomb, my body shivering on the outside, a burst of heat and ice.
I’m speechless. I look down at the menu, trying to breathe, while Solon takes the seat beside me.
Why is he here?
“My apologies,” Solon says, and when I look up, he’s talking to Elle, holding his hand out across the table. “You seem surprised. I was sure that Lenore would have told you I was coming. I’m Solon.”
Elle’s mouth drops open and then she quickly snaps it shut. She shakes his hand, and I notice she winces just a little from what must be a strong, cold grip. “Uh, hi. I’m Elle.” She takes her hand back, shaking it slightly as she looks at me expectantly. “And no, Lenore didn’t tell me we were having company.”
“It slipped my mind,” I manage to say. My cheek burns from where his lips met my skin, though at least the ruby necklace has cooled down.
“Lenore has told me so much about you,” Solon goes on, and now I’m frowning, feeling a strange sense of panic, because I never told him anything about Elle. Either he’s lying or he figured some shit out on his own, and with him being a predator that sucks people’s blood to live, the latter is concerning.
“Good things I hope,” Elle says, and I notice her body language has totally changed. She’s leaning forward in her chair, elbow on the table, hand in her chin, and staring at him with heart eyes.
Stop it, I warn him in my head.
He only flashes Elle a smile that seems to make her melt on the spot, his teeth doing nothing to scare her. Just charming your friend here.
You’re compelling her. I pause. And you’re not wanted here.
You know I am. By you.
That’s what you think.
It’s what I know.
“All good things,” Solon assures her, still smiling.
Elle nods, then finally breaks away from his gaze, looking to me. “You have so much to tell me. When did you meet?” She’s looking back at him, examining his shirt, his hair, his face. Something like realization dawns on her. She stares at me. “Oh my god. Is this the hot guy from The Cloister? Your mystery man?”
Oh god, shut up Elle, I think.
Mystery man? Solon’s thoughts cut right into me. Hot guy?
I dare to look at him. He’s grinning with extreme self-satisfaction.
Great.
I clear my throat, both of them staring at me expectantly. “Yes,” I finally say.
“But how? Where did you see him again?” She leans forward, fingers pressed against the table. “Oh my god, don’t tell me he’s your stalker.”
“Stalker?” Solon asks in mock horror. He puts his elbows on the table, large hands clasped up by his face, and tilts his head as he looks at me, a cunning smile curving his lips. “Tell me more about this stalker.”
I shake my head and look at Elle. “That was nothing.”
“I ran into Lenore at the Ferry Building, getting my morning coffee,” he says to her, the lie coming so easily to him. “Thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Took my bloody breath away.”
My cheeks immediately go hot while Elle looks like she’s melting again.
That has to be a lie too.
And it shouldn’t matter if is, I remind myself.
Then I catch my thoughts, hoping he didn’t hear them.
I eye him and he’s still smiling at me, but his eyes have grown serious, and I feel the weight of them deep inside me, catching me off-guard.
“Is he the one who gave you the necklace?” Elle asks, breaking the moment. “Be honest. Because if so, then you know those gems are real.”
I blink and give her a quick smile, reaching for my champagne. I need more. Much more.
“Yes, I did,” Solon says, reaching over and grabbing the bottle for me, refiling my glass and Elle’s. “I got it at auction and thought it would be worthy of her.”
Elle’s mouth drops open for the second time in ten minutes.
Just then the waiter comes by and gives Absolon a look of admiration.
“Mr. Stavig,” the waiter says, straightening his shoulders. “It’s been a long time since you’ve graced us with your presence. Why, you don’t seem to age, do you?”
Solon grins at him. “Hector, you’re too kind. I’ve been quite busy these days.”
Meanwhile Elle and I are both watching the exchange, maybe impressed for different reasons. Hector is treating Solon like he’s royalty, and Solon is so damn comfortable in his role, I have to wonder how much power and influence this man has in the city of San Francisco.
“Well, I’m delighted you’re here. I’ll tell Andre that you’re back, your bill will be taken care of. Please give Ezra my
regards,” he says, giving us a nod before walking off.
“Don’t tell me you own this place,” I mutter under my breath.
“This place? No. I just used to come here a lot. Back in the day it was a lot better.” He grins at Elle. “Don’t tell Hector I said that, okay?” Then he winks and her eyes go round, like he just blew her mind with his handsomeness.
She blinks and gives me a sloppy smile that I know isn’t from the champagne.
“I need to use the restroom,” she says, getting to her feet, and gives me the kind of pointed glance that signals she wants me to go with her.
I’m about to get up, but Solon is quick and places his hand on my thigh, holding me down. “Sit,” he hisses at me under his breath.
I watch as Elle walks off, then I reach down and attempt to pry his hand off of me, but it’s like trying to move cement. “Don’t tell me to sit, I’m not a dog,” I hiss right back at him.
“Then why are you panting like one in heat?” he says, leaning in close, the scent of him overwhelming me.
“I am not…” I snipe at him, trailing off because I don’t even want to repeat it.
He slides his hand down to my inner thigh, wedging his fingers between my legs, and I automatically clamp them together, but I’m not really sure if I’m trying to keep him in or keep him out.
His nose brushes against my ear, inhaling deeply as his slides his hand further up my thigh. “Your smell when you’re aroused is the most intoxicating scent in the world,” he murmurs, his voice sinking right into me, pooling in the heat between my legs, the growing ache.
“Get your hand off me,” I tell him, my voice quiet and shaking, my eyes darting around the restaurant to see if anyone is watching. They aren’t.
“Are you telling me to stop?” he says, now pressing his fingers right up against me, the thin material of my leggings and underwear providing no barrier, the strong breadth of his finger pushing right up against my clit.
I gasp, my breath catching, my eyes fluttering closed as I clench around his hand, wanting more, needing more.
“I’m…”
“Coming?” he whispers harshly in my ear, and I can’t even answer him because he moves his hand harder against me, his fingers rubbing over me once, twice, and…
Oh my god.
How can this already be happening?
I try hard to hold my orgasm back, the cries softly strangling in my throat, and I’m biting down on my lip hard enough to draw blood while my body shakes and jerks in my chair, Solon keeping his hand where it is, pressing into me.
“Fuck,” I exclaim quietly, the word trembling on my lips. My heart is racing in my chest, stars falling in front of my eyes, like they’re landing on the table. Golden warmth flows over me, the deep, sated feeling of a mind-blowing orgasm.
How the fuck did he just do that so fast?
He barely even touched me.
I really am an animal around him, aren’t I?
And then reality fights through the haze.
I’m in a restaurant.
And he just made me come in public.
I carefully look around, afraid that others would have seen it all, but it seems I’m of no interest to anyone.
To anyone but Solon that is.
“You bastard,” I growl at him, grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand away from me. Now it comes off me easy and he takes it back. He breathes in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, and I don’t have to guess what he’s smelling.
“I’ve been called worse things,” he says, supressing a smile as he looks at me. He reaches out and quickly rubs his thumb across my lips, the blood glistening on it, then rubs it across his own lips, licking them delicately.
I swallow uneasily as I watch him, wondering if my blood will do anything to him. He’s shown so much restraint before.
“I seem to recall a time you were begging me to make you come,” he adds, after a thoughtful moment.
“You know you have no right being here,” I tell him, getting angry all over again. What I went through in bloodlust has no bearing on the way I am now around him. Does it?
This is how your body will always react, he’d once told me.
“Need to keep an eye on you, moonshine,” he says, reaching for my glass of champagne and having a gulp before setting it back down. “You’re on fragile ground. It’s a dangerous world now.”
“Dangerous?” I snap. “You’re the one who put me in danger by parading me in a room full of vampires.”
He gives me a steady look. “I told you why I did that.”
“And how am I supposed to trust you? You already lied to me.”
“When?”
“When I found out that you’re the one who sold out my parents, my real ones. You made a trade. You helped kill them. And you wanted me dead too, didn’t you?”
He jerks his head back like I just slapped him, his brows knitted together, eyes on fire. “What?”
“Should we order food?”
Elle’s voice makes me pull away from him and I see her approaching the table. From the wary look on her face I can tell she stayed as long as she did in there to give us some alone time.
I give her a reassuring smile, even though I’m beyond pissed off at Solon for even being here. He needs to leave, now.
Elle sits down, glancing between the two of us. “Everything okay?” she asks, still giving Solon the dreamy eyes.
“Solon was just leaving,” I tell her. “He’s a vampire, you know. Shouldn’t be in the daylight for so long.”
Solon goes stiff beside me, all his muscles tensing, and I swear I hear his heartbeat increase.
He angles his head and gives me a hard, cold stare. Careful. Humans aren’t so easily compelled when they’re faced with the truth.
I frown, knowing Elle obviously knew I was joking.
But when I look at Elle now, she’s sitting up straight in her chair, and I can smell a sharp tang in the air, her blood. It must be adrenaline making it more potent. Her eyes are watching Solon closely, her face contorting. She’s no longer compelled. She’s completely afraid of him. Revulsed, even.
I attempt to smile, open my mouth, about to joke that I’m a vampire too when Solon suddenly grabs my wrist.
Don’t! he yells in my head, his word a dagger. I meet his eyes and they’re impossibly blue, his pupils pin pricks. Don’t tell her the truth unless you want her to believe it. Unless you want her to look at you like she’s looking at me. Unless you want to lose her as a friend.
I suck in my breath, fear running through me now, the fear of losing Elle, my only friend. Then I look at her and try to smile but she’s still staring at Solon, like she really believes he is what he is, and that she’s his next meal.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to be going,” Solon says, letting go of my wrist and swiftly getting to his feet, towering over the table. “It was nice to meet you Elle,” he says, but she doesn’t say anything back, just presses her lips together.
He leans in close to me, his mouth going behind my ear, the feel of his breath making my lids flutter. “Keep your truth between the two of us,” he whispers, creating goosebumps. “Come find me when you’re ready.”
Then he kisses the skin behind my ear and I feel like I’m totally coming undone. My eyes close, and they don’t open for a few moments. When I finally do look, he’s gone.
And Elle is staring at me with a grim expression, rubbing her hands up and down her arms like she’s cold.
“Who the fuck was that?” she asks.
“Absolon Stavig,” I tell her absently, knowing full well she’ll probably Google him later, but I also know that there’s nothing about him on the internet, because I did the same this morning.
“Well, I don’t like him,” she says, crossing her arms. “Gives me the fucking creeps.”
I sigh, finishing the rest of my champagne. “Yeah, he’s not for everyone.”
“I mean it, Lenore. Where did you find him? He is much too old for
you, too.”
I can’t help but narrow my eyes. “I love a good age-gap.”
After the first century, it probably doesn’t matter much.
“Do your parents know about him?”
I nod. “Yes. They do. Actually, they introduced us.”
A version of the truth.
She shakes her head. “Let me guess, he owns a few museums. The man is obviously made of money.”
I pour the rest of the champagne into my glass. “I’m just glad you got to meet him. You seemed to like him at first.”
“Yeah,” she says, slowly thinking it over. Then she shrugs. “I don’t know what changed. But I still don’t like him.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about him?”
Because we’re not really together. Because I’m not even sure if I like him.
Because he really is a vampire and so am I and I hope you never believe it.
“It all happened so fast,” I say after a moment.
She frowns at me. “As long as you’re happy, I guess.”
I almost choke on my champagne. Happy? If only I could tell her the truth. How far from happy I am.
But if she asked me if I feel alive, well…
That’s another story.
I’ve never felt so alive.
Chapter Fourteen
I have a restless few days at the hotel, which is supposed to be my indefinite home until we figure out what to do. I know it must be costing my parents a fortune, and even though they have money, I hate being this kind of strain on them. They don’t have Solon’s wealth, that’s for sure. But I have no choice.
My parents have come by a couple of times, never together. We sit in my hotel room and order room service and talk. Sometimes it feels like old times, but more often than not there’s this tension between us, one made from fear. I know my parents aren’t sure if I’m suddenly going to spring up and bite them, and I’m afraid of doing the exact same thing.
Black Sunshine Page 19
