by C. J. Pinard
“I do, but it’s just rumor for now,” I said. “I know next to nothing about that damned secret vampire organization, but if I were a betting woman, I would say that Linden-asshole-Rich was probably part of its hierarchy. A high-ranking member at the very least. He reminds me of that vampire in that movie who sits on a proverbial throne and has minions do his dirty work for him.”
Beckett chuckled and downed the rest of his drink. “Vampire movies are so dumb. Not even close or accurate.”
“I see that now,” I deadpanned. “Anyway, what should I do about Kellan? This wicked attraction to him just can’t be healthy. But I feel like I need to keep him tethered to me, so I can get close to Linden.”
Beckett grinned at me and set his empty glass down on the small glass table next to the padded chair on which he sat. “I’m fairly sure you want to keep him ‘tethered to you’ for more than just access to his boss. From what you’ve told me, you’re falling for him. And while I know you can hold your own, I would just caution you to be careful where your heart is concerned. A man—a vampire—like him doesn’t seem like the type to take it slow, but... you never know. He’s pretty old, from what I’ve heard, so you may want to play on his old-school mentality. Don’t rush into things, Ayla. Get a feel for him as a person. Get to know what’s deep inside. It’s obvious you’ve got the attraction thing down, but you might want to get him into a situation where you have to talk and just be.”
“I get what you’re saying, but... I don’t know. I suck at this stuff. Just talking? That’s it? Are guys really into that anymore?” I asked, feeling frustrated, but knowing that my friend had a lot of years of experience with this stuff.
He nodded. “I know it sounds kinda corny, but... I wish someone would have given me this advice before I got so wrapped up with Jacquez,” he replied, looking away, his expression turning sad for a split-second, and then it went back to stony-faced again.
Beckett’s tale of how he was turned had never left my mind or my heart, and he hadn’t ever mentioned his maker except the one time when he shared his story with me. But... I could tell it still hurt him, even some thirty years later.
I put my arm around his shoulder and pulled him to me, resting my head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have such a wise and cute friend on my side. Every girl should have a Beck to lean on.” I let out a dramatic, girly sigh.
“You think I’m cute?” he asked with a half-grin.
I rolled my eyes and pulled back to look into his flawless face. “Duh, I wouldn’t have let you try to kiss me that first night if hadn’t thought so.”
Chapter 22
It wasn’t too much later when Beckett and I found ourselves back down in the bar to avoid the noise of the live band. Yes, there was still music playing from the jukebox here, but it wasn’t blasting out of gigantic, vibrating speakers.
We attempted to continue our conversation as we found a corner table near the door. The place was still busy, but there weren’t as many people inside. As we sat down, Jeannie asked if we needed anything. I told her I was still good with the cocktail I was nursing, but Beckett ordered a beer.
“Beer, huh?” I asked with a little chuckle.
He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Why not.”
“I agree; why not?” I replied, smiling.
I noticed he was staring beyond me, so I slowly turned my head around and could see a guy at the bar looking in our direction. He was young, good-looking, and was dressed nicely. He sipped on what looked like a tumbler half full of whiskey or brandy.
Turning back around, I said to my friend, “Do you know him?”
As if tearing his gaze from the man was a chore, Beckett eventually looked at me and grinned. “No, but I would like to.”
Resisting the urge to turn around again, I asked him, “Vampire?”
“Probably, but you never know,” he replied.
“Here’s your beer,” the waitress said. I hadn’t noticed her come up to the table. She set the beer down on a Moon Chasers cocktail napkin.
Beckett pulled his wallet out and handed her a card. “Start a tab please, Jeannie.”
She took the card and said, “I can, but the beer’s paid for.”
We both looked up at her.
“What?” Beckett asked.
She inclined her head toward the handsome stranger at the bar. “By him.”
“Oh really? I’ll take the card back, then. I don’t think I’ll be drinking very much tonight after all.”
Jeanine handed him back the card and walked off laughing.
“Very interesting,” I said with a sing-song teasing tone.
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Very interesting, indeed.”
Beckett lifted his bottle in thanks to the stranger, and then put it to his lips.
“So are you going to go talk to him?” I asked.
He set the beer down and then raised his eyebrow at something in the direction of the front door. “Yes, I am, so let me get to it. And... you can deal with that.”
I followed his gaze to the front door where Kellan and his two guards stood. Our eyes met, and he smiled.
Kellan Conley actually smiled.
Shivering at the way he was staring at me, I looked away slightly and then downed the rest of my gin and tonic. I took a deep breath and fished a five dollar bill from my purse for the tip and threw it on the table. By the time I turned around, Kellan was standing two feet in front of me, all up in my space.
I startled. “Geez, you scared me.”
He chuckled, low and deep. “Sorry.”
“Uh, do you want to sit?” I asked, indicating the table.
Without breaking eye contact, he nodded. “Absolutely.”
His two goons took off and posted up in the corner of the bar, and Kellan sat next to me at the four-person table. We were so close, our knees were touching. As he stared at me, not saying anything, I felt like it should be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. His light-blue eyes were intense, but they also stirred something in me that caused butterflies to swarm low in my belly.
When he didn’t say anything, I reached up and traced my finger on the top of his hand, which lay on the table. He looked down at it, and then back up at me, a small smile on his full lips.
“Why do you come here all the time?” I asked, a question I had always wanted to ask, but never found the opportunity to.
“I believe the line goes, ‘Come here often?’ You really should work on your flirting skills,” he said cheekily in that thick, beautiful accent of his.
I bit back a smile and shook my head. “No, really, I’m just curious. You always come in with those two guys. You seem more like security than customers.”
“Well,” he replied, slipping his hand out from where I was touching it and then grabbing mine, interlocking our fingers, “Why do you come here all the time?”
“Because it’s my place. My hangout. My jam.”
He chuckled. “Your jam? Doesn’t that refer to a song?”
“Yeah, I think so. But this bar is also my jam.”
“All right,” he replied, smiling. He reached our linked hands up and kissed my knuckles, while keeping our gazes locked.
I swallowed hard, my eyes widening. What is this guy doing to me?
“You are so beautiful, little wolf.”
Now I couldn’t swallow. I couldn’t even breathe. What do I say to that? I stared at him long, and then whispered just low enough for him to hear me, “So are you.”
He set our hands down on the table and put his other one on my knee.
We stared at each other for a bit longer, until I asked, “Are you going to answer the question?”
His brows dipped momentarily on his perfect face before he asked, “And what was the question again?”
“Why you come here all the time, smooth-talker?” I replied with a small smile.
“You weren’t one-hundred percent wrong when you said we seem like security. The Vlasé o
wns this bar, and it’s in my district. Therefore, it’s my responsibility to make sure things run smoothly.”
I pulled my hand away from his and used it to make a stopping motion, palm out. “Wait. You work for the Vlasé?” I mean, I kind of already knew this, thanks to the freaky blackout visions, but I needed to hear him admit it.
He nodded and snatched my hand up again, placing it on his knee. “Yes, love, but I think you already knew that.”
“So... there are districts then? Like by state or city?” I asked, totally captivated.
“City coordinates, mostly, but this is boring business talk, and I would rather discuss other things.”
Not me, I wanted to say. This stuff was very intriguing, and I wanted to know more. But as I went to ask, I remembered Beckett’s words of advice ringing in my ear: ... you may want to play on his old-school upbringing. Don’t rush into things. Get a feel for him as a person.
So instead, I said, “And what things would you like to discuss, Kellan?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t you start by telling me about your wolf family?”
I frowned. “I don’t know what to say... I lost my brother recently, and it’s been kinda hard on us, ya know?
“Oh, Ayla, I’m so sorry, love. I didn’t know. How did it happen?”
“We were wolves, a vampire attacked him, it was... awful.”
“I don’t understand. You were out, just being wolves and doing whatever wolves do in your wolf form, and a vampire came out of nowhere and attacked and killed your brother?” he asked, not with malice, but seeming curious.
Knowing I needed to tread carefully, I shrugged. “Something like that. Look, can we talk about something else? I’m too sober for this.”
He chuckled and then turned around and signaled the waitress. She came right over. With a wink, Jeanine said, “Hey, Kellan, what can I get ya?”
“Just a tonic water, and whatever Ayla wants.”
I glanced at him, then to Jeanine. “I’ll take a Red Bull and vodka double, please.”
“You got it,” she replied, flouncing away.
I watched her walk off, and my gaze landed on Beckett. He and the handsome stranger were at the bar, talking. As if sensing the weight of my stare, he turned and looked at me. I smiled at him, and he did the same back to me with a wink. That made me happy.
I eventually returned my attention to Kellan, and grinned. “I wasn’t implying that I wanted to get drunk. Just didn’t want to delve into all the feels tonight.”
He nodded. “I understand. So... let’s change the subject. Tell me what you have been doing. Do you work a job?”
Oh, God, why does he keep asking the hard questions? I plastered on a smile. “I do. I, uh, do contract work.”
“Doing what?” he asked, his hand on mine once again.
“Oh, this and that.”
“And by this and that... you mean killing vampires for money, Ayla?” he asked, a sincerity in his tone. And he still had that smile.
My eyes widened, I was sure, but it was far too late to try to recover. “How did you know about that?”
Just then, Jeanine set our drinks down. “Anything else? Can I get you some food?” she asked.
Kellan looked at me. “You hungry, love?”
Yes, for you.
Instead, I nodded, and then looked at her. “Could you bring me some chicken strips, please?”
“You got it,” she replied.
“Hungry like the wolf,” Kellan replied, mischief dancing in his eyes.
“That, I am,” I replied, clearly not meaning just for food.
“Are you going to answer my question?” he said, still staring intensely at me.
“And what question was that?” I quipped, throwing his earlier words back at him.
“Ayla, the Vampire Slayer, is that what they call you?”
I lifted an eyebrow at him, and contemplated how to answer. I looked down at my cocktail and lifted the straw to my lips while staring at the vampire I was falling for. Taking a long pull, I let the carbonated drink slide down my throat. I had learned early on that it took a hell of a lot of alcohol to get me actually drunk, but sometimes I could get a small buzz from the vodka and energy drink combination, so I took my time setting the drink down onto the cocktail napkin.
“Kellan,” I said, now placing my hand on top of his on the table, “let’s be clear here; I am not officially a vampire slayer.” I lifted my fingers and made air quotes around the words. “I would kill anything, or anyone for money... as long—”
“As long as they deserved it,” he finished for me.
I grinned. “And as long as the price was right.”
“That too,” he replied, staring at me.
I sighed, ready to launch into my justification of the job, but I wasn’t sure what I should say. As my mind scrambled for something to come up with, my teeth found my bottom lip. The lip-chewing seemed like such an immature and vulnerable thing to do, but it was also a knee-jerk reaction sometimes, and I wished I could stop doing it.
“Please do not do that, little wolf,” Kellan replied, his attention now completely on my mouth.
I quickly stopped, and then feigned innocence. “What are you talking about?”
As his gaze moved from my mouth to my eyes, his jaw was set firmly until he spoke. “You know what I mean. I am the only one who can bite and taste those lips.”
A small gasp floated from my mouth, and for the second time tonight, he had rendered me temporarily speechless. I just stared at him, until some words finally found me. Unfortunately, they were dumb words. “Well, they’re my lips, so I can bite them, too,” I replied, proud of my defiance and sass.
“Oh, is that right?” he replied, biting back a smile.
Before I could retort, he gripped both my knees and pulled me so our chairs were touching. He then leaned in and sealed his mouth on mine. I quickly realized he was going to get what he wanted regardless, and gave in and kissed him back. As our lips and tongues moved together, I felt like my head was getting dizzy... but in a good way.
When we pulled apart, I stared at him, heaving for breath.
His stare moved down to my lips, and then he reached the index finger of his right hand up and traced it along my bottom lip. His gaze temporarily flicked down to his finger, then back into my eyes. “Yes, that’s right. Mine.”
I found myself nodding in agreement, which was something that normally went against everything I believed in. Nobody owned me, and I owned nobody. But for some reason, I felt myself totally being okay with him owning my lips... and any other body part he felt he wanted lay claim to.
Chapter 23
The heat from his body, his stare, his finger on my lips... it was making me crazy. I forced myself to pull back, enjoying the way we were having a tense, but still... very easy conversation. I didn’t want it to end. I felt like if we kept up this dance, the finale once we were alone would be that much sweeter.
“Have I offended you, love?” he asked, looking concerned.
I shook my head. “Not at all. I just... we’re in public and all that, and...” I paused, and my teeth went to my lip, but I immediately stopped. “I was enjoying our conversation.” I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Call me old-fashioned or something, but the talking is definitely making me... ah, happy.”
With that, Kellan smiled with those beautiful lips and perfectly straight teeth, and laughed. “Funny you say that, because I completely agree.” He interlaced our fingers once again on the table.
A movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned my head to see Beckett and the hot guy heading toward the front door. My friend quickly winked at me before disappearing into the night with the hottie.
“You friend looks like he’s going to be getting lucky,” Kellan said, amusement in his voice.
I turned my attention back to the handsome vampire as he spoke, and slowly nodded. “It would seem that way. I just hope he’s safe.”
; Kellan’s eyes flicked to the door where the couple had left out of, then to me. “You have nothing to worry about. That stranger is human. Your vampire friend can surely handle himself.”
Breathing a sigh of relief I didn’t know I had been holding, I nodded. “Yes, he can... and he will.”
The electricity and tension between us was damn near crackling as we sat there and stared at each other. Finally finding some words, he asked, “So what else do you want to talk about? Surely you have some fun tales to share with me.”
He was right, but I was sure he had even more fun ‘tales’. However, I decided I was just going to be honest with him. “I have a few stories I could tell, though I’m sure your stories are much more interesting than mine.”
His thumb stroked the soft skin of the top of my hand, and after he inhaled a big breath and let it out, he replied, “I have a lot of history, that’s for sure, but I am not interested in sharing that right now. In fact, most of it I’d like to forget. What I want to hear is your beautiful voice sharing with me what is going on with your life, sincerity and truth speaking from those gorgeous lips of yours. Because once you’re done telling me all about it, I plan to claim those lips as my own, rendering them speechless except to call out my name once we’re alone.”
Well.
What in the hell was I supposed to say to that?
I tried to play it off... be cool like his words hadn’t affected me... but they had.
Clearing my throat unnecessarily, I finally found my voice. “If you’re quite done making me hot and bothered, I can tell you about a certain vampire I’m searching for.”
That seemed to get his attention, as he sort of perked up. The intensity in the air around him seemed to electrify as he asked, “You’re searching for a particular vampire?”
I nodded. “I am. The one who bit me and turned me into a freak.”
His eyes bounced back and forth between mine, and it seemed like forever before Kellan said, “I don’t think I’m following here. The vampire who bit you is still alive?”
I nodded, my face a mask of seriousness. “He is.”
“Knowing what I know about you, I find that hard to believe,” he replied.
