by Jessica Sims
And he probably wanted to get going.
But he didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He kissed me one more time and then released me. “Want to go out for breakfast?”
“It’s dinnertime for everyone else.”
Josh’s smile was achingly sweet. “Not for you and me.”
That made us sound like . . . something more. Did he always go out to breakfast with his dates afterward? I’d gotten the impression that he got away from them as quickly as he could. But the two of us were in that weird zone that was more than friends but less than a couple. Friends with benefits.
And friends could go out for breakfast.
“Sure,” I said. “Give me fifteen minutes to get ready.”
• • •
I wasn’t surprised when Josh suggested the diner. I didn’t even mind when he left me to go hunt down Carol and pull her into a big bear hug. The elderly woman lit up at the sight of him, and I smiled in response.
I felt that way whenever I saw him, too. There was something so boyish and exuberant about Josh. He was open and flirty and pleasant to everyone—everything I was not. What on earth did he see in me?
Voyons, it was obvious: he had told me himself. He was a predator, and predators liked the chase. I’d been playing hard to get, and now I wasn’t hard to get anymore.
I felt a twinge of anxiety. Was I going to be another one-night stand?
But that was what I wanted, right? So why was I even thinking these things?
Carol showed us to the same booth we’d had last time, gave me a knowing wink, then headed off for coffee. The evening was young and the restaurant was full. When I slid into the booth, Josh slid in beside me, just like last time.
Except this time I didn’t pull away. And this time he put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close and kissing my temple. Affectionate. Sweet. Loving. Like a real couple.
Which we couldn’t be. Disconcerted, I grabbed the menu. “What are you getting?”
“The usual,” he said.
I grinned, amused. “I think I’ll go with something smaller this time.”
I ordered a breakfast platter when Carol returned, and Josh spent a few minutes chatting with her about how she was doing, and her cats. His arm remained around my shoulders the entire time, and Carol didn’t blink at the sight.
Did he bring many dates here? It didn’t seem like a date spot. Was she used to seeing him with his arm around random females? The thought made me unhappy.
As soon as Carol walked away, my phone rang. I fished it out of my purse and winced at the name displayed. Dad. I’d been avoiding him ever since my insomnia had hit and I’d started pursuing my crazy plan. I felt a little bad about that, but he was so wrapped up in Posey that I didn’t think he noticed. His calls were less frequent and tended to be about the exciting places they were going, and why didn’t I join them.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said, giving Josh a warning to be quiet.
“Salut, ma petite puce,” he boomed into the phone.
“How’s it going, Dad? How’s the trip to Vegas?”
“We’re back early,” he said. “You sound like you’re in a restaurant! Hot date?”
“Not exactly. Just breakfast with a friend.”
That friend slid his hand on the inside of my thigh and nipped at my shoulder. My entire body flushed in response.
“Friend, huh?” Josh murmured against my neck.
My dad was still chatting. “Have you been seeing this friend for long?”
“Not long,” I said lamely. Thank God Josh couldn’t hear the conversation . . . or could he? Shifters had good hearing. “So you enjoyed Vegas?”
“Vegas was great! But Posey spent all her money and we got bored. The show she wanted to see was cancelled, so we thought we’d come back and see you instead.”
It was getting difficult for me to concentrate on the conversation, since Josh had his hand on my thigh. I could have sworn it was inching up even higher. Josh was watching me with an intense gaze, even as the food was set down. I gave him a faint smile, trying to concentrate on the call. “I’m working all week, Dad. I don’t know if I can—”
“You get off at eight a.m. tomorrow, right? Posey and I’ll bring you breakfast! It’ll be grand. You know we’d love to see you.”
I wanted to see my dad, too, but I wasn’t sure about him coming over. I was worried he’d suspect something. “Gee, I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on,” he said cheerfully. “Posey’s been saving you some Avon samples, and she’s dying to show them to you. And you should bring your friend so I can meet him.”
This was rapidly getting worse. “Daddy—”
“What’s the matter?” Josh murmured against my neck. “Don’t want to be seen with me?”
I froze. “I just—”
“Come on, honey. I’m dying to see you again.”
Josh pressed a kiss to my neck and then began to nibble at my free ear. His hand slid higher up my thigh, until he was practically cupping my sex under the table.
“Okay,” I squeaked when his tongue flickered at my earlobe. Anything to get off the damn call. “Just call me in the morning, Dad.”
“See you then,” he said cheerfully. “Love you.”
“Love you, too,” I said, and hung up. As soon as I did, I squirmed away from Josh. “What are you doing?”
“Getting myself an invite to breakfast, looks like,” he said with a grin.
“My dad thinks we’re dating now,” I hissed, annoyed.
He shrugged and picked a piece of bacon from my plate, ignoring his own platters of food. “I promise not to propose marriage, then.”
“Josh, he doesn’t know about my disease. I don’t want him to know.”
He stared at me, surprised. “You haven’t told him?”
“I haven’t told anyone but you.” I shook my head, remembering Dad’s ravaged face as he’d sat at my mother’s bedside when she’d gotten sick. His devastation when she’d been so weak at the end, and his infinite, sad patience when she’d gone completely insane and failed to recognize him. He’d tenderly cared for her anyhow, and I’d seen how it had destroyed him, day by day.
“It took him years to recover from my mother’s death. The only thing that got him out of his funk was Posey.” And that was why I couldn’t hate her. “I can’t ruin his happiness just as he’s found it again.”
“Marie,” he said slowly. “You need to tell your father. What if—”
“There’s no what-ifs,” I told him sharply. “None.”
If that meant I was living in denial, so be it. It was the only way I could deal with this.
He frowned. “You don’t think he’ll guess something’s wrong?”
I knew what he meant. My face was wan, the circles under my eyes enormous. I’d dropped at least ten pounds, and people constantly asked me if I was all right.
But I could chalk it up to the flu as long as I had a good distraction. I slipped my arm through Josh’s. “We’re going to be so sickeningly cute that he’s not even going to think to ask.”
And as if to prove he could be cute, Josh leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.
And I melted. Just a little.
• • •
Minnie had a message waiting when I got in to work.
Tonight is not good for me, my dearest. Can we meet tomorrow? I’m counting the hours until I get to see your lovely face again.
It was signed with AJ—Andre’s initials. That was . . . sweet, I guessed. “My dearest” sounded a little stiff, but it also sounded affectionate. I’d take it. I sent him back an email that tomorrow night was fine.
Oddly, though, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Andre again. The entire relationship felt so . . . controlled. On both his part and mine. It was strange to be seeing a guy without his picking up the phone or sending messages to see how I was doing. We only interacted on our dates. Were all vampires like that?
It should have bothered me more, but I was distracted
by Josh. Josh, with his cocky, confident grin that made my knees weak. Josh, who’d kissed the hell out of me in the parking lot outside Midnight Liaisons. I’d barely managed to stumble through the door, earning a suspicious glance from Ryder.
“Everything okay?”
“Just . . . fine,” I said as I sat at my desk, dazed.
Sara had been waiting for a client to call back about an issue with his file, and she transferred the case to me, since she was leaving for the day. As she pointed at the screen, I noticed she kept glancing at my neck.
Did I have a hickey? I blushed at the thought and forced myself to concentrate on her instructions, taking notes. When she finally left, I fished a compact out of my purse.
There were no love bites. Nothing I could see. Huh. Maybe I’d imagined her interest.
The night crawled past. The phones were slower than usual, and I wasn’t in a chatty mood. Ryder wasn’t, either. I spent hours staring at my computer monitor, daydreaming.
I kept imagining Josh’s big body over mine. The way he’d kissed my mouth and licked me all over. The way he’d pushed into me so fiercely, so possessively.
And I remembered the tiny kiss he’d pressed to my nose at breakfast.
It had felt . . . like being a real couple. Not a hookup. This felt special. But maybe I was just being sentimental. Maybe this was how Josh made all his girlfriends feel. Maybe that was why so many of them complained to the agency when he wouldn’t call them back.
On a whim, I pulled up his profile. There he was, leaning against a wall, thumbs hooked into his belt loops, pointing you-know-where. The pose showed off just how muscular his arms were, how flat his stomach. How cocky his grin. He looked like a guy who knew he was hot.
Current status? Available.
That bugged me. It wasn’t like I could claim him, of course. But I wasn’t sure I wanted him claiming anyone else.
I looked at his profile history. He’d been a client for the past four years and had dated dozens of women. I scrolled down through the dates, uncomfortably aware of just how much of a player he was. His last date had been three weeks ago—a were-fox named Hayami. She had sent messages to him through the site, but they’d gone unanswered. In fact, his entire inbox was full of personal messages from other females. Some he had a history with, and some were brand-new.
I scrolled through the messages, feeling like a snoop. But it wasn’t really snooping, since I worked for the company. We told people we monitored their dates and their messages, so they knew it wasn’t private.
Still, when I ran across the nude photos that one girl had sent Josh, I deleted them with a scowl.
• • •
I was still feeling a little out of sorts when he dropped by to pick me up the next morning. I stifled a yawn behind my hand as I slid into the car next to him. We’d only taken one car to dinner last night because that had seemed smartest. Now? I wish we’d taken two.
Josh looked tired. Slightly on edge and annoyed. But he leaned in to kiss me, and I studied him as he pulled onto the highway. “Everything okay?”
He glanced over at me. “Long night, that’s all.”
“More vampire problems?”
“Just one vampire being high maintenance and demanding.” His mouth firmed. “Look, Marie, I hate to ask this . . . ”
Oh, no. Here it was.
“But I don’t think you should see Andre anymore. Even other vampires steer clear of him. There’s something going on underneath that nice-guy exterior, but I don’t know what it is. He’s secretive.”
Phew. I’d thought he was going to suggest that he and I not see each other anymore. “I thought you said all vampires were secretive.”
He frowned. “They are.”
“So what makes this one worse? Have you heard something?”
His jaw clenched a little. “No. But my instincts tell me he’s hiding something. I just need to find out what.”
I didn’t know a thing about cat instincts. But I did know that Andre was my chance to live. I was willing to put up with a little weirdness for that.
“You can’t ask me to stop seeing him,” I told him softly.
His hands clenched on the steering wheel, and he sighed. “I know. I just want you to be careful.” Josh glanced over at me, his eyes serious. “For me.”
I put my hand on his thigh, feeling strangely possessive of him at the moment. “I’ll be careful.”
• • •
As soon as I got home, I took one look at my spotless apartment and realized I had a problem. My father knew me better than anyone, and he knew that I liked to clean when I was stressed. This would make him ask questions.
I immediately took off for the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” Josh asked.
“I need to dirty this place up,” I told him breathlessly. “My father will know something’s up when he sees I’ve been cleaning.”
He scratched the back of his head as I raced around, trying to find something that would suitably “dirty” up the place. “I have a couple of dirty shirts in my car. You want me to grab them?”
I stopped to stare at him. “Why do you have dirty shirts?”
He shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Didn’t get home a day or two.”
“Do I even want to ask? But that’s fine—grab a couple of your shirts. We can toss them on the floor.” As soon as I said that, I cringed, mentally wanting to clean the place at the thought. I went to the kitchen as he headed out to his car and threw some leftovers onto a couple of plates, then dumped the leftovers into the garbage. I tossed the dirtied dishes in the sink and set a half-full glass of soda on the counter, hoping that it’d get flat fast. I opened a bag of chips and ate one, then scattered the crumbs on the counter, twisting the bag closed messily.
After that, I pulled out a puzzle and arranged it on the table so it looked as if I was still working on it. Josh returned to the apartment and held up his shirts. “Where do you want these?”
I stuffed them behind the couch, then threw a blanket on the love seat in a messy pile. There. I surveyed my handiwork and turned to Josh. “Does this room look lived-in?”
He grinned back at me. “Perfect.”
I flopped down on the couch, suddenly too tired to do anything else.
“Why don’t you rest? I’ll go make the kitchen look a bit more lived in and make myself a snack.”
As he left, I noticed he had one of my sleep tees tucked under his arm. What did he want with that? Interesting.
Before I could ask, there was a knock at the door and then the doorbell, just in case we hadn’t heard them the first time.
“They’re here,” I called to Josh, dragging myself off the couch. I peeped through the peephole and grimaced at Posey’s bright pink outfit.
I quelled my nervous breathing. With Josh here, there were bound to be questions. This would be the first date I’d ever introduced to my dad . . . and we weren’t even dating. Josh was just a friend helping me out. My real date wouldn’t rise until after dark, because he was undead.
That thought disturbed me.
I swung the door open and smiled brightly. “Hi, Dad, Posey.”
“Marie-Pierre!” my father said. He leaned in to give me a kiss, then stepped into the apartment. “Baby, you’re not going to believe what we got you in Vegas.”
“Oh, I’ll believe it,” I said dryly and welcomed Posey in with an awkward hug. “Hi, Posey.”
“Hello, Marie-Pierre,” she cooed in a thick south Texas accent. The way she said my full name with her drawl made it sound Pee-uh-air, which I’m pretty sure was not what my mother had intended when she’d named me. “How are you doing, sweetie?” She examined my pale face, then brightened. “Look at you, so pale. The gothic look is so 2009, honey. I brought you some makeup samples. There’s a new line I’m promoting, and I think it’ll bring out the apples in those cheeks for you.”
My father beamed. “Isn’t she thoughtful?”
Oh, yes. Telli
ng me that I looked like hell was so thoughtful of her. But my dad loved her, so I smiled brightly. “That’s awesome. Thanks, Posey.”
Josh hung at the back of the room, waiting to be introduced. I looked over at him and his easy, amused grin, and felt suddenly flustered. Dad was looking at me expectantly, and Posey had a lunatic grin on her overly made-up face.
“Well?” Dad said. “Introduce us to your friend, ma petite puce.”
“Sure,” I said, moving to Josh’s side. “Dad, Posey, this is . . . my friend. Josh.”
Josh casually put his arm over my shoulders, and I gritted my teeth.
“Marie . . . Pierre?” Josh asked, glancing over at me, and I could hear the chuckle in his voice.
“Her mother was French-Canadian,” my father explained. “It’s a family name. For some reason, Marie doesn’t like it.”
“I think it’s lovely. And it is so nice to meet you, Josh,” Posey said, sweeping forward to hug him in a cloud of perfume. “Marie-Pierre has told us so much about you.”
“Has she now,” he said, taking the hug with no hint of awkwardness, though his nostrils flared from her heavy scent.
My dad moved forward, extending his hand. “Good to meet you, son. Have you two been dating long?”
“We’re not—” I began.
“Really keeping track of things,” Josh said with an easy grin. “Taking it one day at a time.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Dad said and gestured at Posey. “We brought donuts and coffee and orange juice. I hope that’s okay?”
I smiled. “That sounds great. Thank you.”
Posey unloaded makeup and skin-care samples on me while Josh and Dad set out the food. They cleaned the puzzle off my dining room table, and I could hear the two men chatting in low voices. Josh was already at ease around my father. I supposed that was a good thing, but it bothered me. If they fell in love with him, it would just make things more difficult.
“Breakfast is ready,” Dad called cheerfully, saving me before Posey could start dabbing a wrinkle cream on my face.
As I moved forward, Dad threw his arm over my shoulders and hugged me close. “You look tired. You’re not working too hard, are you?”
