He smiled, not bothering to hide his fully extended fangs. “Both.”
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“Humor me, por favor.”
She rolled her eyes at his insistence. Cezar ignored the taunting gesture. She was warm and soft in his arms, and for the moment he wanted to think about nothing but the sensation of her beating heart against his chest and the scent of her warm skin.
“I moved around a lot, which wasn’t all bad since I managed to see a great deal of the world over the years,” she at last confessed in a soft voice. “Venice, Amsterdam, Cairo…I even spent a few memorable months in Tokyo before traveling to America.”
“How did you survive?”
“I took whatever job I could find. In the early days I usually worked as a maid, since it was the only respectable job open to a woman. Later I began waiting tables at cheap restaurants.” She grimaced. “A job I don’t recommend to anyone. Even today the smell of hot grease makes my stomach heave.”
Cezar resisted the urge to skim his hands over that stomach. Or maybe he would skim his lips over that stomach. Oh…yes. Definitely his lips. And then he could explore down to the tiny thong and between her legs…
“What of men?” he abruptly demanded.
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
An odd tension gripped him as he suddenly realized just how important her answer was to him.
“Did you ever marry?”
“Good God, no,” she breathed in shock.
“Why not? You’re an incredibly beautiful woman.” He gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing over the fullness of her lower lip. “I don’t doubt that you’ve had to fight the men off.”
Her tongue peeked out to touch the precise spot his thumb had caressed, sending a zing of electricity through his body.
That tongue could no doubt make a vampire howl in bliss.
The mere thought of it was nearly enough to make him howl.
Swallowing a groan, Cezar forced himself to concentrate on her low words.
“And just how do you expect me to explain the fact that I’m some bizarre Superman clone?” she demanded.
“Don’t you mean Wonder Woman?”
“That’s not funny.” She gave his arm a pinch. “I couldn’t risk being close to anyone.”
A strange pain lanced through him. “Did you want to be close to someone? Was there someone special?”
She shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.” His teeth ground together. “It matters.”
Their gazes tangled and for a moment Cezar feared she might refuse to answer him. Then, with a frustrated shake of her head she conceded defeat.
“No, there was no one special. I’ve been completely and utterly alone for…for what seems like forever. Are you happy?”
He was more than happy. He was fiercely pleased by the notion she hadn’t given her heart to some unworthy bastard.
He was also smart enough to keep his satisfaction to himself.
Smoothing his hand down her hair, he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. “I didn’t mean to upset you, querida.”
She gave a snort of disbelief, her eyes narrowing. “And what about you?”