the direction of the hall behind him. He turned to walk alongside her and glanced up to look into her green eyes. They definitely reminded him of Katrina’s, though he realized that they were paler somehow, almost washed out, and yet distinctive in their own way compared to a human’s.
“Our immediate destination is further back and to the left,” she explained, frowning slightly as she noted him observing her closely. He deliberately averted his gaze to avoid seeming rude.
Once Marla directed him to a few windows on two other sides of the building, he noticed that the city was quickly being covered by gray clouds, suggesting oncoming rain. She explained that sunny skies were hard to come by in London in the early spring and for him not to be too disappointed if it did rain quite a bit during their vacation. He sighed, and they returned to Alton’s office. Marla waited to shut the office door behind him before departing. Katrina turned to observe him from where she sat as he entered the office, and Alton gestured to the empty seat next to Katrina.
As he sat, she smirked at her mate and teased, “Welcome back, trouble-maker.”
“Hey, I was just standing there quietly minding my own business,” he retorted innocently.
“I’m sure you were,” she accepted diplomatically. “But then, you already have quite a track record for that sort of thing.”
“Oh sure,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes to the ceiling. Geez, how ridiculous. I can’t even walk down a hallway without being accosted by vampires.
“I’m just saying,” she teased gently. You’re so cute when you’re perturbed, my love.
He glanced up at her curiously. Sounds a lot like something Paige would say.
Alton curtailed a smile and interrupted the exchange. “Well, what do you think of my little office building?”
“Quite impressive, actually,” Caleb complimented. “And far from little.”
“I do hope my vampire associates didn’t alarm you too badly,” the vampire added with a twinkle in his hazel eyes.
“Rather intimidating, under the circumstances,” he replied. “But I’m sure they’re quite friendly once you get to know them.”
The corners of Alton’s mouth upturned slightly with amusement, but his eyes narrowed as he stared back at Caleb. “Friendly? Not even on their best days, young man,” he admonished mildly. “And Ms. Kendrick?”
“Very cordial and polite,” Caleb replied diplomatically and looked into Katrina’s eyes appraisingly. “But Kat has more beautiful green eyes.”
Her eyes glistened, and she spanned the distance between them in a blur to kiss him on the lips. You know just what to say.
He smiled back at her, even as he jolted slightly from the nearly instantaneous appearance of her face before his.
Alton changed the subject in stride. “Would you permit me to treat you to lunch? Are you hungry?”
Caleb thoughtfully considered his stomach for a moment and shrugged. “Sure, I could eat.”
“He can eat, all right,” Katrina retorted. “Most anytime, in fact.” It was amazing to her how his appetite was almost as resilient as a vampire’s constitution.
Caleb cast a withering look at his mate before adopting a solemn expression. “Sounds nice, actually. And it’s not like we can really explore the city until dark anyway. I presume you know somewhere close that’s daylight-friendly?”
Alton’s eyebrows rose. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
The restaurant he had in mind was located on the tenth floor of the office building. It was called Shakespeare’s and commanded a respectable view of London via the huge windows that extended from the high ceilings to within two feet of the floor. As with the fifteenth floor, the windows appeared to be coated with an ultraviolet-resistant material.
The dining room was nearly half full, the chatter inside presenting a lively atmosphere without seeming noisy. Most patrons wore typical office business attire, and none of them stood out as being vampires upon Caleb’s cursory glance, although he readily admitted that he was no expert in identifying vampires on sight.
The pressed white tablecloths were a notable quality of the elegantly decorated dining area. The lighting was bright but not distracting, and the finished wood floors added a sense of warmth to the otherwise polished appearance of the room.
They were promptly approached by a middle-aged man wearing a black suit, who appeared to be the maître d’. Caleb felt a little underdressed for his surroundings and glanced up at Katrina with an uncomfortable expression, and she did a double-take over the look on his face. He made a subtle gesture with his fingers as he pulled at his shirt slightly, to