Chapter 20
W hen night fell, I found myself excited to get ready to meet Matteo. Never able to resist dressing up, I pulled out a form-fitting dress, loving the deep emerald. It would bring out the colour of my eyes. I pulled my hair up, then changed my mind, instead letting my curly red hair sit around my shoulders. Exposing my throat like that to a vampire would only be asking for trouble.
“Why am I doing this?” I wondered for the millionth time.
I caught the elevator and smiled as Dan entered.
“You look nice,” he said, failing at hiding his disappointment. “Have a hot date with the gallery owner?”
So, he’d read the article, and he had probably seen the photo of Matteo last night. I studied Dan, and for a moment, I doubted my decision. Dan was attractive and would be the safe decision. He’d pursued me for the past few months and would eagerly accept any invitation from me.
You don’t want ‘safe’. Not sure where the thought came from, I forced myself to smile.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice light. “I do actually. Are we still on for our usual run in the morning?”
His eyes widened as if it was the last thing he expected from me. “You know it, I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Same. I look forward to it,” I told him, meaning it.
He left in the car park, and I wondered again if holding him at bay was a poor decision on my part. The second before the elevator door closed, I opened my mouth, ready to call him back. But my curiosity once again got the best of me.
I walked from the building and froze, finding a limo parked out front. Matteo stood in front of the open door, red rose in one hand, the other held out to me. People walking past were staring, and heat rose to my cheeks. The suit he wore looked expensive, and his hair was slicked back. A black woollen jacket sat over the suit. His mouth curved into a smile as his eyes met mine, and for a horrifying moment I wondered if he was listening to my racing heart.
“My fair maiden, the most beautiful in the city tonight,” he said in his Italian accent.
My heart skipped . Damn, I always knew my attraction to accents was going to get me in trouble. People recognised me and took their cameras out to take photos of the two of us. If only you knew it was a vampire you were so eager to take a photo of. I reached out a trembling hand, taking his. As he took my hand, calm rushed through me. He gave a deep bow and brought my hand up to his lips, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.
I hope you know what you’re doing.
“Shall we give the city another photo opportunity for the front page?” he asked.
“I don’t think-”
He pulled me to him and dipped me in one swift motion and I gasped, unprepared for that. I stopped, gazing up at him, my hand on his arm for balance. His dark eyes stared into mine, and I found myself hoping he would kiss me. Like he had on the balcony.
He lifted his eyes to those around us. “I think that should be enough to get the people of Melbourne excited.”
I held back from telling him it would probably be all of Australia.
He guided me into the limo before following me in, and he pulled the door shut behind him.
The heat of his gaze intensified. “What changed your mind about meeting me?”
“My friends convinced me to meet you, and we’ll be in public.” I shrugged. “Plus, I guess I’m just curious.”
“About?” He watched me from his seat.
“Why I drew a vampire’s attention. You’re pretty persistent. What really drew you to me? Is this a long game for a hunt? So, you can wine and dine me, and then dine on me?” I asked.
His eyes flashed red. Only for a moment, but long enough. I tensed again.
“I won’t deny that I’d like that, but it was your voice that drew me into that bar, not your blood. I’ve never heard one like it. I was in mid-hunt when I heard you. And when I saw you on that stage, you looked alive, as if the music were a part of you. So, I decided right there that I would make you mine.”
He’d said that last night, too.
“But I’m not yours,” I told him. “You cannot lay some dark vampiric claim to someone you’ve only just met.”
“Do you want to know what I think?” he asked.
I was curious. “What?”
“That you’re as drawn to me as I am to you. And that not once since you set foot into the limo have you considered yourself in danger. I sense no fear in you.” He leaned forward, towards me. “In fact, your gaze shifts between my eyes and my mouth, so if I were to kiss you right now, you wouldn’t fight it.” His hand lifted my hair from my neck, fingers brushing my throat. “I think you will offer me your throat willingly before the end of winter.”
His voice was soft and hypnotic, and heat flooded through me, as he continued to stroke my neck. I couldn’t move, and he leaned towards me, fangs descending. Arousal turned to fear, and I pulled away from him, pushing his fingers away. His red eyes narrowed.
“Don’t move,” he growled, and I froze as he did lean forward then, pressing his face to my neck and breathing in. This close, he smelled of cedarwood and sea, pulling at the painful twinge in my heart.
Is he smelling me? Terror flooded through me as it dawned on me that I was alone with a vampire, his fangs inches from biting into me. His tongue was unexpected, as if he were tasting my skin. He growled, a sound that spoke to a deep part of me, and I fought the urge to run. He’d told me not to move, and something in me trusted that that was the right thing to do .
“The scent of fear makes us give chase,” he said at last, pulling away with what looked like difficulty. “It is intoxicating, so you must never run from a vampire, if you hope to live through an encounter with one.”
“I believe you,” I said simply, attempting to push down my fear. “I don’t like where our conversation is going, though. I will not welcome your bite. I had hoped agreeing to join you for dinner would be an evening of civility. It seems I was wrong.”
“Civility?” He drew his eyebrows together.
“Civil conversation. No vampire stunts. That you’d keep the fangs away.”
The red in his eyes faded and he smiled, his teeth normal. “I can do that. Perhaps you have some questions?”
I had a lot of questions, but wanted to eat first, and maybe drink some wine to calm my nerves.