rusty, so I decided to give you a little push."
"Well, what if she hadn't wanted--"
"Not a chance, dude. I read her thoughts. Dudette was way hot for you." He shook his head. "Even I--despite being the reprobate that I am--was almost moved to blush at the thoughts she was having."
"Really?" Etienne asked.
"Oh, yeah." He grinned widely, then arched an eyebrow. "But why the flak now? You didn't say anything when I delivered the blood to your house. Is there trouble in paradise already?"
"No." Etienne glanced toward Rachel, his eyes devouring her body in its blue gown with both heat and knowledge. Then he turned to his cousin again and added, "I would have ragged you about it the day you brought the blood and we were locked out, but I wasn't really in any shape."
"No, I guess you weren't," Thomas agreed. "You were pretty drained. In more ways than one." He burst out laughing, then walked away, leaving Etienne with a scowl.
"You should cut in."
Etienne turned to find his mother, a soft smile playing about her lips. He temporarily ignored the advice and commented, "You look happy."
"I am," she agreed. "The first of my babies is married and settling down. Finally."
Etienne chuckled at the emphasis. He'd heard humans complain about their children taking forever to marry and settle down. They didn't have a clue.
"So, are you going to cut in or not?" Marguerite asked. "She wants you to."
"Does she?"
Marguerite concentrated for a moment, a smile curving her lips, then she nodded and said softly, "Oh yes, son. Rachel enjoyed dinner and is having a nice time but would definitely rather be in your arms. She'd rather dance with you. Bastien knows it too, and his ego is suffering for it. You should go save him."
Etienne let his gaze drift out to Rachel again, nodding. "Thank you." Without another word, he crossed the dance floor to the slowly moving couple.
"Brother." Bastien greeted Etienne solemnly as he reached their side, then he released Rachel, gave her a polite, courtly bow, and left the dance floor.
"Hi," Rachel said softly.
"Hi." Etienne opened his arms in invitation and released a breath when she stepped into his embrace. It was where she belonged. He could feel it. In three hundred years no other woman had felt so right. He'd made the right choice in turning Rachel. She was meant for him.
"You look absolutely breathtaking," he murmured by her ear. "I've never seen a more beautiful woman in all my days."
He caught her blush out of the corner of his eye, then she cuddled closer against him and said, "I find that hard to believe, Etienne. You've seen a lot of women."
"But none of them were as lovely to me," he assured her solemnly. "Even as a blonde."
Rachel stopped dancing and peered into his face as if doubting him. Smiling softly, she simply said, "Thank you." Then she grinned and added, "You're pretty hot yourself."
"You think so?" Etienne asked.
"Oh, yes," Rachel assured him. "You're very handsome. Sexy as hell, really. You have wicked eyes, a mischievous smile, and you're very intelligent. I've always had a weakness for intelligent men, Etienne."
"Yeah?" He grinned. "You like smart guys, huh?"
"Mmm." She nodded, amusement curving her lips. "Intelligence turns me on."
"Yeah?" Etienne raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. "Onomatopoeia."
Rachel blinked.
"Enkephalin."
Rachel's bewilderment grew. What was Etienne doing? Thanks to her medical background, she knew that Enkephalin was a substance similar to morphine that could be found in the brain and was thought to help control pain response. But she had no clue why he spouted it. Before she could ask, he added, "Oxymoron."
"Er... what are you doing?" she asked.
"Spouting big words to impress you with my intelligence." Grinning, he asked, "Are you turned on yet?"
Rachel was so taken aback, a loud burst of laughter slipped from her lips, drawing the attention of those around them.
Etienne smiled and nodded at the other dancers, then turned back to her. He gave a sniff and feigned a scowl. "You aren't supposed to laugh at a guy when he's trying to woo you."
"Is that what you're doing?" she asked.
"Yes. Is it working?"
Rachel chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm not sure. Maybe. Why don't you try a couple more big words?
"More, huh?" He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Hmm... let's see. Ginormous. Dunnock."
"What's that?" Rachel lifted her head to ask. It was the first word she hadn't known.
"A hedge sparrow."
"Ah."
"Shall I continue?" he asked.
"Please don't."
Both Rachel and Etienne straightened in surprise at that