ever so slightly below her lip line. She closed the distance to him quickly, and he felt her lips at his neck. For a split second, he felt her fangs press against the soft flesh of his neck, and then retract. He took a sharp intake of breath, and held it, waiting to see what she would do. But she merely kissed him and sat back to regard him with a predatory smile.
“I love you, and I shall have you tonight,” she issued as part challenge, part promise.
He caught sight of glasses in his peripheral vision and glanced up to see their waitress placing mixed drinks on the table. Cindy smiled down at Caleb, but her eyes quickly darted to Katrina, and her expression became more reserved. A wary expression, he realized.
“Just give a wave when you’re ready for me again,” she offered to Caleb intently, as if she were concentrating on keeping her eyes on him alone. She departed into the crowd, although at a faster pace than one might normally expect.
“You spooked her, I think,” he whispered, realizing that Katrina could hear him as clearly as if they were speaking in a quiet room sitting next to her.
They picked up their drinks and sipped, and she smiled at him and leaned towards him.
“Cindy senses a predator,” she answered simply. “Some humans are more perceptive than others. She’s more sensitive to such things. In a baser setting, she might be a survivor.”
“Survival of the fittest?” he asked.
“Exactly.”
“Whereas I would be caught,” he quipped with a grin.
She appeared smug and countered, “You already have been; you just haven’t realized it yet.”
He cast a wide-eyed smirk back at her and sipped his drink again. It tasted wonderful. I’m happy to be caught by her. He considered the revelation about his forgotten encounter with Katrina as a child, followed by the disagreement he had with her over Devon. But instead of a resurgence of resentment, anger, or aggravation, he felt a satisfaction that she was his mate and that he was hers. And while he might still be concerned about those topics, he suddenly realized his love for her was stronger than those issues, and it made him feel a surge of combined happiness and relief.
“Happiness for me is loving you and being loved in return,” he whispered as he lovingly gazed into her eyes.
She looked up suddenly from sipping her drink, and a bright smile formed as she stared back at him. “Thank you,” she mouthed silently.
Gil and Paige appeared at the table, though he appeared slightly out of breath while she seemed perky and energetic. Paige slipped into the booth at Caleb’s right and swept up her drink in one fluid motion. Her lips sipped at the edge of her glass delicately, and she smirked at Caleb.
“Having fun, kiddo?” she asked with a sparkle in her eyes. She had discreetly noted the interaction between him and Katrina from across the room and divined the exchange between them. She also easily recognized the signals Katrina was giving off. Stalking the poor kid.
“Oh yeah,” he replied emphatically with a grin and a nod as “Ava Adore,” by Smashing Pumpkins, played.
“Man, this place is slammin’!” Gil exclaimed before taking a swig of his drink.
Paige rolled her eyes and looked at Caleb with renewed vigor, almost like a kid with a new toy. The blonde-haired vampire’s eyes darted over to Katrina’s for a mere second, and she saw Katrina’s imperceptible nod that only a vampire’s quick vision would catch.
She challenged Caleb, “Come on, you big overgrown Muppet. Let’s dance!”
Caleb laughed and allowed her to drag him by the hand through the crowd until they reached nearly the center of the dance floor. Katy Perry’s “Firework” began to play as Paige bopped to the music. Caleb relaxed his body and subtly shadowed her movements. She grinned brightly at him, and he smiled back, fully appreciating the happiness emanating from her. Fortunately, the music was easy to dance to.
He admired Paige’s fluid movements, marveling at how the beautiful woman before him was such an instinctive dancer. A brief pang of guilt ran through him as he also admired how sexy she looked, her red dress accenting her shapely form. I’m supposed to think of her as a close friend or an adopted sister.
He moved closer to her and said, “It’s great to see you so happy.”
She smirked appreciatively. “It’s definitely the company.”