~

 

“So if this was my blood?” Jenny said; holding up the cup in her hand and Bailey groaned…

“Can we not?” He was getting thirty, but not for coffee.

He knew that he could control himself – but not how long he could control himself for if she kept on with the same line of questioning.

I’m only human … ok, that’s not exactly true, but still – make it stop … make her stop…

He begged whatever entity was listening – if there was one out there at all…

“You said ask you anything…” she teased him because it was a little funny to watch the man squirm.

“And you have – I think you know more about blood and feeding than most vampires…” Bailey offered back, a little starch to his tone as he rebuked her just enough to make her press her lips together to try to supress the smile that had him mesmerised.

“Except how it tastes…”

“You have such a barbed tongue when you want it that I’m sure you’ve tasted your own blood before,” he smirked.

“Well, that’s how it tastes to me, but how does it taste to you?”

“Like that coffee tastes to you, only better – imagine your taste buds were heightened and you drank that coffee…”

“Yum…” she lifted the cup and sipped at the brew inside. “Ok, I get it now…”

“Not yet, but soon…” he wiggled those dark eyebrows once more for effect and watched her smile grow.

“Wait until you’re offered…” She shot back, and then widened her eyes… “Oh, that’s right, you’re a vampire, you stalk, you creep, you swoop, you take…”

“My life sounds like endless fun,” he said dryly.

“No stalking?” She teased, babying him with her eyes and her tone.

“Not of late, no…”

“No creeping?”

“I do not creep … but I am … stealthy.”

“No … swooping?”

Jenny blinked twice when she found herself inside of his arms, tilted back, and looking up into the jet black of his eyes…

“I swoop, I claim, I conquer…” he grinned, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about the little bit of his fangs that he was showing.

Jenny’s eyes dropped down to those fangs and she drew in a fast breath of surprise … there was a rush to something inside of her, but it wasn’t fear or panic…

“You almost spilled my coffee…” she rebuked him.

“Perish the thought,” he shot back, playfully.

“Somebody wants to lose his fangs…”

“Fighting talk and from a human…” he grinned.

“So, now you have me here…”

She didn’t get to finish as his lips came down on hers.

 

~

~

~

 

“So, you only went on one date with him?” Karl felt the rumble of a growl within his chest, but there wasn’t a damn thing that he could do to keep it at bay.

The thought of his mate with another man, especially a dangerous one, was enough to send his bear into freefall. He needed to keep a tight rein on the beast, because he didn’t think that her story was going to get any easier for either of them.

“He seemed … nice,” Bonnie said, looking anywhere but at Karl.

“Nice…” he grumbled another growl.

“He lived in my apartment block and I ran into him all the time. He became a familiar face … I didn’t see that other side of him until I told him that I thought we’d be better as friends…”

“Friends,” Karl nodded. His fingers twitched to curl into fists and he pressed his hands flatter against his thighs.

“”Are you going to repeat every last word I say?”

“Say … no,” he shook his head, and Bonnie couldn’t help but smile, even though she didn’t much feel like it.

“Do you really want to hear this?”

No!

But I have to know…

“Yes,” Karl managed to force that one word out when his mind was screaming the word no at him.

“He started to show up at places – the coffee shop that Jenny and I went to – in the line at the cinema – our local bar…” Bonnie tossed up her hand in frustration. “It all seemed innocent at first, because he made it feel like that. I guess I wasn’t looking for anything hinky…”

“Why would you?”

“Right,” Bonnie nodded. “But then it got a little more obvious. He showed up at my front door – got a little aggressive with a male friend of Jenny’s that I was chatting with, who’s gay by the way…”

Bonnie shrugged, and it looked like a pretty helpless shrug from where he was sitting.

He wanted to reach out and wrap her within the safety of his arms. The need was clawing inside of him to make certain that she knew that she was protected – that she knew deep down that he’d never let anyone hurt her ever again.

He didn’t know how to do that without her freaking out.

What he did know for sure was that he wanted to kill the guy responsible.

“So, he’s not a shifter?”

“No.”

“Vampire?”

“God, no.” She realised how bad her response sounded the moment that the word had come out of her, and she looked a little sheepish.

“No magic, wizard, warlock…”

“No magic…”

“Just a human…” he considered it for a long moment.

“Define just…” Bonnie was scowling now.

“Well, I mean, he doesn’t have …” he floundered when she raised just the one eyebrow at him.

“Any superpowers?”

“Yes,” Karl said, and he almost blew out a sigh of relief that she’d let him off the hook.

“Hmm …” Bonnie folded her arms under her breasts and he caught the way that they rose just a little – he stifled the growl that rumbled through his chest at the images that went through his mind.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just…”

“And we’re back to just … Look, the man might not have fangs and claws and magic, but he’s got fists, and an attitude that would rival a…” she tossed a hand up towards him…

“Bad mood bear?” Karl asked.

“That’s not what I said…”

“But was it what you meant?” Karl pressed her and she was back to scowling again.

Karl wasn’t sure how they come to be at loggerheads. He’d put his foot in his mouth somewhere along the line – probably the just human remark – and now she was looking at him as if he was public enemy number one.