I pushed his shoulder in playful response, but he didn’t budge. He chuckled, then eyed my Jeep and tapped a knuckle against the metal body. “Still driving this thing?”
“Spit it out. You think women shouldn’t drive or something?”
He laughed. “Not at all. Though you realize your car isn’t at all gas efficient, don’t you? And the emissions—”
“I’m not getting rid of my Jeep, okay?”
“Would it be so terrible to trade it in for something a little more…eco-friendly? Some of us plan on being around for a while.”
“Fantastic reminder. Thanks. In case you haven’t noticed, your Prius doesn’t handle the snow very well. That wouldn’t happen to be the reason you left it home today, would it?”
“I like walking,” he said, an easy smile playing at his lips.
“I’ll remind you of that after our next snowstorm, when you’re asking for a ride to buy groceries.”
He stepped closer and swept a strand of hair away from my face. There was that heat again—a chemistry that spun between us and made me feel like a fly stuck in a web. A chemistry I needed to ignore.
“I have to go.” I opened the door to get in my car, but then turned around, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you came here just to give me a hard time about my Jeep.”
His jaw clenched, and his fists balled at his sides. “I didn’t.”
“No?” I raised an eyebrow. “Then why?”
He closed the distance between us and placed his hands on my waist, stopping me from climbing in. Despite the early November chill, my skin suddenly warmed. His gaze dropped to my lips before he leaned in gently to close his mouth over my own.
I parted my lips to welcome the kiss, and he pressed closer, his tongue exploring my mouth, the kiss singing through my veins as I tried to deny the pulsing knot forming in my stomach. The kiss ended too soon.
“I really should get going. I still have to pick up groceries,” I whispered, though my reasons for wanting to leave had changed completely. And it wasn’t like I could get away from him. I was heading back to the house—his house. Hopefully the drive would cool me down.
“Let me give you a hand.” He stepped between my legs, grabbed me by my hips, and lifted me into my seat. His arm was wrapped around the small of my back and his hips pressed against the inside of my thighs, his heat playing against my own.
Moments like these made me want to give in to my physical desires, even if I wasn’t ready to turn over my heart.
Charles turned my palm up and kissed the inside of my wrist, and my skin tingled beneath his warm, velvety lips. Then he pulled away, the tips of his fangs dipping past his upper lip. I wondered how he’d hid them before—apparently Cruor’s fangs often descended when they engaged in any carnal activity, though I’d never seen Charles this interested until recently. His fangs weren’t so scary, though, not with the knowledge they belonged to a man who would cause me no harm.
“See you tonight,” he said, taking another step back. He was scowling now, or maybe that was the only way for him to hide his fangs.
I cleared my throat. “Mmhmm. See you.”
I settled into my seat and closed the door. After I started the engine, I glanced back up, but he was already gone.
***
WHEN I ARRIVED ‘home’, the sky was drained and pale and the air easy to breathe and smelled like fresh snow. The front door swung open before I knocked, and Charles ushered me inside. Of course with his super speed, he’d managed to return home faster than I could drive there.
“Were you waiting by the door?” I teased as he helped me shrug off my coat.
“I heard you pull up.” He hung my coat on a peg of the hall coat rack. “Adrian will be here soon. Should I put on some tea?”
“That’d be great.”
He motioned toward a black leather sofa, complete with red silk pillows. It wasn’t the sofa I’d seen there this morning. “Please, sit down.”
“Ummm…what happened to the sofa?”
Charles laughed. “The other one was only temporary. I finally got around to ordering something new.”
Once I seated myself, he headed for the kitchen. A young woman outside caught my attention. She was standing across the street in her nightdress, her hair dark and her gaze empty, her bare feet reddened by the snow blanketing the pavement. Her thin lips hinted at a frown, and she stared straight at me, unmoving.
My heart rate picked up, and I craned my head toward the kitchen. Charles was pouring the tea.
I looked out the window again, and I shivered. She stood in the middle of the road now, her gaze still cutting toward me as though she’d not moved at all. When I’d first looked, she’d been across the street, on the sidewalk. I was sure of it.
Moments later, Charles returned from the kitchen and pressed a steaming cup of tea into my hands.