Fanged Love - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,57
of an ancient woman scratching herself. I should find a café table in the plaza, sip wine, and compliment the fashionable American tourists passing by and showing off their Must Have Tees. I should do anything but go to her.
“Boz?” she calls out again.
Against my will, I feel a smile curl on my lips, and my body turns. “Stella, you are awake.” What am I doing? Dammit, man. No!
Stella makes a little wave, and her face lights up with a smile. I am done for.
I stroll over, my resolve melting away like a piece of ice on a hot, sunny sidewalk.
“I think I slept too much on the plane, and now I’m wide awake. Join me?” She glances at the chair directly to her left. The ambiance is dark, cozy, and romantic. A couple sits closely in the corner, whispering very erotic words between them—vampire ears hear all. Three women and a man, wearing formal clothing, sit at the long mahogany bar, sipping a fine red port with notes of caramel and currants. I can smell it from here. But nothing is more delicious than the woman before me. Roses. Purity. My little virgin…
I take a seat next to her, and our eyes lock. My heart jars inside my chest. Dear gods. The beating in my chest feels even stronger now. It must be true that a vampire’s heart beats anew when they are with their one true love. She is my lobster, to quote my wise friend Phoebe.
But I cannot dine on my lobster.
“So, where did you come in from?” she asks. “I thought you were going to bed early.”
“I meant to, yes; however, I could not sleep. Went out for a stroll.”
“Oh. Maybe I should have done that. It’s just, I’m so nervous about tomorrow. Everything’s riding on this competition.”
Why must she say the word “riding”? An image of her doing just that hits me like a spike to the brain and lodges there: Her creamy soft skin glowing with the light of a crackling fireplace, her hair wild and loose down her back, her pert young breasts bobbing as her hips rock while she rides my cock and—
I clear my throat, feeling my shaft press uncomfortably against my trousers. “I am confident our wine will do well in the competition.”
“You’re just saying that to be nice.”
“I would not put my eight hundred years of winemaking reputation on the line if I did not feel it was worthy.”
Stella tilts her head to one side. “Eight hundred years?”
“I meant my family’s reputation. I come from a very long line of Romanian winemakers.”
“Oh wow. Is that where your family is originally from?”
The beating sound in my chest is so loud I can hardly hear her words, and the stiffness in my cock is not helping my listening abilities.
I nod. “Yes. We are from Romania, as is our wine. The vines we grow today are from the same seeds I planted—I mean my great-grandfather-many-times-over planted.”
“That’s fascinating. And it explains why your wines are so delicious.” She reaches out and sets her hand over mine, her lips dancing with a seductive smile. “Just like the winemaker.”
A jolt of electricity surges through me, and I jerk my hand away.
The look of shame on her face is instant. “Oh God. I’m so sorry. It’s just that Neli said—I just thought that—never mind.”
“No. Please do not misunderstand me.” I lower my voice so only she can hear. “You are a very beautiful woman. But I am a very complicated man with a very complicated life. I do not wish to embroil you in it.”
Stella gazes down at her nearly empty glass of wine. Why she is drinking the house wine, I do not know. “Allow me to get you another glass of wine, and then I shall see you to your—”
“No. I’m good.” She smiles, but I see the corners of her lips struggle to remain lifted. She is upset. “I should go.”
I catch her wrist as she stands, and the electricity that was just now buzzing through me gives her a jolt.
Her eyes go wide. “Ohmygod, Boz. What was that?”
My face contorts awkwardly. “Static electricity?”
I think my secret is out. She knows there is magic between us.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Stella
I stare at the spot on my wrist where Boz is touching me. My entire body hums with an odd current that amplifies right as it passes over my—
Whoa! I pull my wrist away. Did he just reach all the way down to my magic button? There’s