“Some immortals can’t handle caffeine.”
“They can’t?” she asked with surprise.
Teddy shook his head. “Victor does all right on it, and DJ can handle a cup or two, but Alessandro is wired when he drinks it. Starts going ninety like he’s on some kind of vampire speed or crack, and then passes out.”
“I know DJ is Uncle Victor’s friend, but who is Alessandro?” Katricia asked curiously before downing the rest of her drink.
“Alessandro Cipriano,” Teddy explained. “He’s another immortal who lives in Port Henry.”
“Ah.” She nodded, but had twisted to peer toward the coffee pot on the counter. In the next instant, she was on her feet and snatching up both their cups.
Teddy just shook his head and continued eating his soup, but his gaze was on her as she crossed the room to pour them both a fresh cup, specifically on her behind. The woman might be over a century old, but she had the body of a sweet young thing and the tightest little behind he’d ever seen. She definitely didn’t have any panties on under those leotards of hers, he thought as he watched her butt cheeks shift with each step. If he peeled the leotards off, he was sure he’d find nothing but her pale, perfect flesh.
“Unless you’re ready to show me your gun, you should really stop looking at me like that.”
Teddy forced his eyes from Katricia’s behind and up to find her peering at him over her shoulder. He flushed first at being caught staring so rudely at her butt, then reddened further as her words sank in. Damn, that definitely sounded like a proposition. The problem was he didn’t have a damned clue how to respond to it, and suspected he’d stutter like a schoolboy if he tried. The women he knew just weren’t so . . . er . . . forward . . . or comely, for that matter. Not that there weren’t attractive women in Port Henry. He’d been attracted to plenty of women there, many of them his own age. But it had been a while . . . and there was just something about Katricia that— Well, basically, his gun was loaded and half-cocked just from looking at her . . . and wasn’t that the saddest thing in the world? If he took her up on what he suspected was an offer, he’d probably empty his barrel before he even took aim . . . so to speak.
“My gun’s in the drawer there if you want to see it,” he said finally, turning his gaze to his soup as she started back across the room. “So is my badge.”
She let him get away with pretending to misunderstand and simply set his coffee cup in front of him and settled on the floor across from him to fix her own. But the thought was in his head now, and he couldn’t look at her without his mind running along rather X-rated lines, starting with peeling off those damned leotards and running his hands over the firm flesh beneath. His hands, his lips, his tongue . . . Hell, he’d never been a biter, but Teddy had a sudden urge to nip one of the round cheeks and see if it was as firm as it looked, and then—
A sudden ache between his legs brought Teddy’s attention to the fact that he was no longer just half-cocked. He now sported a full-fledged erection that was pressing against his jeans, begging to be released. Christ. He was reacting like a twelve-year-old boy who just found his dad’s stash of porn magazines . . . and the woman was fully clothed, for God’s sake. How pathetic was that? Obviously, he needed to keep a tight rein on his eyes and his thoughts, Teddy decided grimly. In fact, since she was immortal and could read his thoughts if she wanted, he should have been doing it already. The realization made him glance warily to her expression. Katricia was smiling slightly, not looking offended. She hadn’t read his mind, he decided with relief. Still, he determined not to even look at her again while he finished his soup and second cup of coffee.
The fire was dying down by the time they finished and carried their dishes to the kitchen sink. Teddy then returned to add several logs to the blaze and rearrange them in the flames for maximum benefit. He then considered the logs left in the dwindling stack beside the fireplace and moved