Greg stopped kissing Lissianna long before they reached the restaurant; partially because kissing her and not being able to do anything else was terribly frustrating, and partly because he was starting to get a cramp from their confined positions. That was also the reason he rose up to sit on the backseat and said, "Hi, Mom."
There were several moments of surprised exclamation as Greg explained his presence there and introduced Lissianna, then they were arriving at the restaurant. As he'd expected, his mother seemed to like Lissianna on sight and chattered away to her happily, welcoming her as if she were family. John arrived shortly after they did, and Greg introduced Lissianna again. They had placed their orders and their drinks had been delivered when Lissianna excused herself to go visit the ladies' room.
Much to Greg's relief, Anne didn't chase after her this time and he began to relax, thinking she would be able to feed, when his mother turned a concerned expression his way and said, "She seems a lovely girl, son, but she's awfully pale. Are you sure she isn't sickening?"
"She'll be fine once she eats," Greg assured her honestly, then added the, "She's a touch hypoglycemic." It was probably the wrong thing to do.
Lissianna's steps were clipped and hurried as she pushed through the door to the bathroom, but they stopped abruptly when she was confronted with a row of empty stalls and a counter full of sinks that weren't being used. The bathroom was empty.
"I don't believe it," she muttered, then turned and walked back out, only to pause in the small hallway leading to the bathrooms. Lissianna was hungry. Painfully so, and didn't think she could keep up a happy façade for Greg's family much longer without feeding at least a little on someone. Damn! Why hadn't Anne followed her, she thought with irritation. Greg had said she could bite her. Not that it was probably a good idea to bite your boyfriend's sister the first time you met her, but…
Lissianna blinked at her own thoughts and leaned weakly against the wall. Her boyfriend's sister? Greg wasn't her boyfriend. She wished he was, but he wasn't. And wasn't that interesting? She wished he was her boyfriend? But it was true. She did wish he was her boyfriend, that she could lay that claim to him. She really liked him. And she liked kissing him, too, and had found herself wondering what it would be like for him to do much more than kiss her.
"Oh yeah, you're in trouble, girl," she muttered to herself and knew that it was true. She was a goner. Had it bad for the doctor and knew it. On the other hand, he seemed to like her, too. Lissianna had noticed the possessive way he'd put his hand on her shoulder while she'd been talking to the guy with the phone. He'd definitely been staking a claim. She smiled to herself, thinking that maybe it would be all right. Maybe he was her true life mate. She could imagine living out the rest of her days with him. They did have a lot in common, liked the same things, and—
"Hello there, beautiful."
Lissianna straightened away from the wall, her thoughts scattering at that seductively spoken greeting. A tall, dark-haired man in jeans and a leather jacket was standing before her in the small hallway. He was good-looking and obviously knew it, and he was eyeing her up and down like she was a tasty treat.
"Are you waiting for someone, pretty girl? 'Cause if you are, I'm available."
She stared at him with disbelief, wondering if he often approached women outside bathrooms, and if so, if his lines actually worked. She was about to tell him to take a hike when she recalled her hunger and the empty ladies' room.
"You'll do," Lissianna decided, and took his hand to lead him into the empty bathroom.
The man was grinning like an idiot as she led him straight into the farthest stall and closed and bolted the door behind them.
"Oh yeah. I knew you were a hot one the minute I saw you," he said, reaching for her the minute she'd closed and bolted the bathroom door and turned to face him.
Lissianna smiled and slid her hand to his head, catching him by the hair even as she probed his mind, then took control of his thoughts. The stupid I'm-a-sexy-dude-about-to-rock-your-world smile died abruptly, leaving a very good-looking man, and she thought it was