Arys quickly wrapped up his visit. He beamed a fangless smile at the tiny lady as she turned to go. I noticed the small bundle tucked under her arm, and a tiny puppy poked its head out of the blanket.
My heart melted. I couldn’t believe that the vampire had done such an unselfish act for another. I was touched, and I resisted the urge to break open my head and forcibly remove the part of me that reacted so strongly to him.
“You disgust me.” The words spilled from between my lips before he’d even closed the car door.
“What? Why?” His eyebrows raised high in surprise. “Because I bought Mrs. Olson a puppy? We both know that Benny can never be replaced, but she’s alone. She needs a companion.”
What in the hell was wrong with me? I’d done so much worse than kill a neighborhood pet, and here I was persecuting the vampire.
“I’m sorry. I’m just a little on edge today. I didn’t sleep very well.” Or very much. I’d been haunted by the attack dream again.
“I hope the wolf pup was able to comfort you last night. I felt he may be more calming.” Arys reached over to grasp my hand briefly in his. His fingertips were cool. He hadn’t fed recently.
“Bullshit. You didn’t want me to leave with him, and you know it.” A few sparks leapt about our joined hands, but they were minimal and did not grow further.
“True. But, I know that he loves you in ways unheard of to both you and I. And, that means more than my personal jealousy.”
An admittance of genuine caring from the vampire? It astounded me to realize how little I really thought of him. And really, who the hell was I to judge? I threw the car in gear and pulled away from the curb.
I wasn’t completely naive. I wasn’t falling for the amazing, sweet guy gimmick. The next twenty minutes were going to involve a lot of swatting.
He took advantage of a minor traffic distraction and slid his hand across the furry seat covers to brush the sliver of skin showing on my lower back. I struggled to pull the back of my t-shirt down but couldn’t because of the angle of my seat.
“You just can’t sit still, can you?” he asked.
He flashed me a cocky grin and reached up to hit the button that opens the sunroof. It irritated me that he helped himself to my controls. I wasn’t surprised when he reached for the radio next.
“It looks more like you can’t sit still,” I said pointedly. We were at a red light, so I gave him a nice, hard glare.
He made a slow melodramatic show of switching the radio station. “You should calm down, Alexa. Your anger is giving me a hard on.”
“What?” My eyes dropped to his lap. I looked away quickly, but it was too late. He’d already seen me do it.
“You heard me. You’re mad at yourself, and you want to be pissed at me. But you can’t, can you?” He poked me in the side, and I flinched.
“Ow, careful. I took a pretty good fall last night. And stop distracting the driver.”
“Tell me what I want to hear.” His velvet smooth voice dropped lower, and I felt it caress me.
“And what might that be?” I stared straight ahead, anything to avoid eye contact, and silently pleaded for the light to turn green.
“That you don’t blame me any more than I blame you. That it takes two to tango and all that jazz.” I saw his casual shrug in my peripheral vision.
Green, finally! I hit the gas pedal, and the Hemi roared. I left a tail-gaiter behind me in the dust. Shoulder checking, I moved over two lanes of traffic as we merged on to the highway.
“Does it mean so much to you? That I believe you didn’t manipulate me into bed because you’re a power hungry player who doesn’t know when to stop.”
“Yes,” he said, “It does. I think you greatly underestimate the respect that I have for you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I took a deep breath and focused on the warm summer air as it whipped my hair around my face. The air smelled faintly of rain, and I expected a shower before the night was through.
After five minutes of strained silence, Arys leaned forward and popped open the glove box. My mind raced a mile a minute. I didn’t think I’d stashed anything personal in there.
“Arys,” I said sharply and swatted his arm. “Get out of there. I don’t come to your house and rummage through the drawers.”
“Be my guest,” he replied and held up a portion of a joint. “I didn’t know you were into the mellow stuff. I didn’t taste it in your blood.”
My eyes widened in surprise at his find. “I’m not. I haven’t smoked the stuff since I was sixteen. That’s got to be Shaz’s. Make sure there isn’t any more, will you?”
I noticed a small, European sports car racing up behind me, and I maneuvered over to allow him free rein of the fast lane. Regardless of my night vision, I’d prefer not to bite it in a car crash.
When the little European model had sped by, I glanced over at Arys. In his hand, illuminated by the glove box light, was a speeding ticket I’d received a few weeks prior.
“You’re quite the little bad ass, huh Alexa? I knew it.”