Chapter 4 #2
His eyes shot up, traveling over her features as though he were attempting to memorize her face. Then his large shoulders relaxed and he returned her smile with a timid one of his own as he gave her hand a small squeeze and released it. “I tend to talk too much when I’m nervous,” he admitted.
“Are you nervous?”
Shoving his hands in his front pockets, he turned on the charm she remembered from the night before. “Only around pretty ladies.” He grinned.
The air rushed from her lungs. Not from the compliment. From that smile. He was beautiful when his entire face lit up like that.
“Thank you,” she managed.
He rubbed the back of his neck, the muscles in his arm flexing, and he suddenly looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else.
“I’m pretty positive your cell isn’t here.
The club is checked every night after we close before the cleaning crew comes in, and if anything is found, it’s brought to the bar and put inside the safe.
No one brought anything to me or Andrew that I can recall. But I can check for you and make sure.”
“That’s not really necessary—” Maybe she’d misread his intentions. Maybe he smiled like that at everyone and was used to sweet-talking women. He was a bartender, after all. Flirting was how he made his tips.
But he was already walking around her.
Devon watched him pass. He moved with an easy grace she could only hope to achieve someday—and probably never would—his strides long and smooth.
Yet, the ease of movement didn’t quite succeed in covering the raw power she sensed was carefully restrained.
She imagined he always had to be aware not to appear “other.” Vampires were capable of many inhuman traits—speed, mind control, and superior strength, just to name those that were well-known by people like her.
Eyes on his broad back, she followed him back down the hallway.
When she got to the bar, he was already behind it, opening the small safe beneath the register.
Guilt plagued her for lying to him. “Um, really, you don’t have to do this.
I’ll take your word for it. I probably just dropped it in my car or something. ”
He gave her a quick glance and opened the door of the safe, then backed away and indicated for her to look for herself.
Feeling rather foolish, she walked over and bent down to peer inside. It was completely empty. “Yeah. It’s not in there. But, thanks for letting me look for myself.” She straightened and took a quick step back so he could lock it up again…
And hit a wall of pure, hard muscle as he stepped forward at the same time.
His arm snaked around her, trapping her arms to her sides and holding her tight against him. Warm breath teased the curls that had escaped her ponytail, tickling her cheek. Curling his big body around her, he breathed in the scent of her hair before slowly moving down to her throat.
Devon froze, her heart racing in her chest even as her breath arrested in her lungs. Tingles of fear and arousal chased each other across her skin.
His voice rumbled just behind her right ear. “I won’t hurt you, Devon.” Something between a growl of restraint and a purr of pleasure followed his words.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up and a chill shivered down her spine. But she held completely still, wondering every moment if this would be her last. She was stupid. Lured by the charisma and the sweet smile, she’d forgotten for a moment who—or rather, what—she was dealing with.
And yet, beneath the panic, ripples of desire heated her blood and tightened the muscles low in her stomach. She felt every inch of him against her. Every tiny shift of muscle. Every breath. Every heartbeat.
He nuzzled her neck, still making that noise, and without conscious thought, she tilted her head away to make more room for him even as her mind screamed at her to get away. She gave herself a hard internal shake. “Kohl? What are you doing?”
“You smell so good,” he told her. “Come to dinner with me tonight, Devon.”
Something scraped her skin. A fang? But the sting was there and gone so fast she wasn’t completely sure she hadn’t imagined it, replaced by a brush of his lips so soft it made her shudder. “Am I the main course?” The second the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back.
He chuckled, deep and low. “No. At least, not tonight. I like to get to know my victims a little before I feed on them.”
Devon frowned. Was he teasing her? “Then why are you holding me here like this?”
“You touched me and…I didn’t think.” He inhaled deeply, pulling her in tighter. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you.”
He was hard. She could feel him against her. “You’re holding me against my will, Kohl.” Actually, what he was doing was pretty much the most exciting thing that had happened to her in a long time. But it was also the most dangerous. She needed to remember that. “You’re scaring me a little.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he stilled against her. His arm immediately disappeared and the warmth of his body left her back.
She shivered again, this time from the cold.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention, Devon.” His voice was raw.
She turned around, drawn by the distress in his tone, but he took a step back and lowered his chin, staring hard at the floor between them so she couldn’t see his face. One arm crossed his body, his hand resting on the opposite shoulder.
Her eyes narrowed at the familiarity of the gesture. He was hiding. That’s why he’d pulled her up against him. So she wouldn’t see who he was. “I know what you are, Kohl. You don’t have to worry about that. You don’t have to hide.”
Eyes lit from within flashed up to her face, more fiery gold than brown now.
He studied her for a few seconds, then dropped his arm.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” he repeated, and she could see the tips of his fangs peeking out from beneath his upper lip.
“I just…reacted, and then I panicked. And then I reacted to the panic. I forgot you were familiar with—” He made a circle with his finger, encompassing his face. “This.”
He was wrong. Though she knew they existed, and had read a lot about them from the reports that came in, she wasn’t used to seeing vampires up close and personal.
It wasn’t part of her job description. She’d been more behind the scenes than in the field.
Devon took the chance to study him, enticed by the way he ran the tip of his tongue over his exposed fangs, and for the briefest of instances, she wondered what it would feel like to be bit.
He sighed heavily, and looked off to the side, breaking the connection. Then he frowned, and when he turned back, his eyes were back to their normal brown. “Does this mean you won’t go to dinner with me?”
Devon laughed. She couldn’t help it. This entire conversation was ridiculous. “That all depends.”
One eyebrow lifted in silent question. “On?”
Her fear of him overridden by the raw lust still heating her blood, she said the first thing that came to her mind. “On whether or not you’re going to expect sex as a thank you.”
He stilled again. It was eerie the way he could do that. There wasn’t the slightest movement in his large body that she could see. Then he leaned in toward her. “Is there room to negotiate?”
A smile spread across her face. “There’s always room to negotiate, but no guarantees on the outcome.”
Kohl gave her a nod, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “I’ll pick you up just after dark.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Their eyes caught and held, and they grinned at each other until Kohl broke it off, glancing toward the hall. “I would walk you to your car, but, you know, I burn easily. Even on cloudy days such as this.”
“It’s okay. I can see myself out.” She turned to go, but he took her arm, staying her. Tingles ran all the way up to her shoulder. “What?” she asked.
Those warm brown eyes travelled over her face. “I do remember you, Devon. And I’m very glad you came back here today.”
His declaration, if that’s what it was, took her by surprise. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing.
“You’re parked out front?”
She nodded.
“I’ll let you out.”
He came toward her, placing his hand on the small of her back. His palm was warm, even through her hoodie. Devon allowed him to steer her in the right direction, a sense of déjà vu teasing the edges of her memory.
Did he touch her like this last night? Why didn’t she remember?
At the door, he pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He stayed out of the reach of the light as he opened it for her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay.”
She heard the lock click as he shut it behind her.
Devon walked back to her car in a daze. Had she just agreed to have dinner with a vampire? Was she really that hard up?
But as she started the engine and made her way back out to the highway, she knew it had nothing to do with desperation, and everything to do with Kohl.