The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,14

she assured him. "And Drina and I want to look our best in case we run into some hunky guys when she takes me to lunch."

"Lunch?" he asked with a frown.

"Oh." Stephanie frowned. "Well, she promised we'd go to lunch a er shopping, but that was when we were going by ourselves. I suppose that's out now," she added, her head lowering with disappointment.

"I'll take you both to lunch," Harper said quickly when her lower lip began to tremble.

"Really?" Stephanie brightened at once. Beaming happily, she gave him a hug. "Thank you, Harper. Here, you can push the cart while Drina and I throw clothes in. It will give you something to do. Come on, Drina. I need scads of clothes."

"Hmm," Harper mu ered, taking her place at the cart when she danced out in front of it to lead the way. He had the dis nct impression he'd been played here, an impression that only solidified when Drina chuckled "sucker" in a soft voice as she followed Stephanie into the aisles. Harper shook his head and followed the pair, sighing when he realized his eyes had seemed to fasten on Drina's behind and appeared unwilling to leave it. It was Stephanie's fault. That business about being naked and sweaty with Drina, ge ng it on, and her crawling in his lap, her breasts jiggling . . . Would he want to plunge his fangs into her? The girl's words had painted a picture in his head of the two of them entwined on the sheets of his bed, Drina straddling his lap facing him and his plunging more than just his fangs into her. It had been a rather invigora ng image that had le him hot, flushed, flustered, breathless, and damnably excited. And hell yes, he'd have wanted to sink his fangs in her, as well as other things. The thought had so startled Harper that he hadn't been able to get out of the car, and away from the image, fast enough. Unfortunately, the image was following him.

He supposed it didn't help that he'd accidentally seen just how round and full those jiggling breasts would be if she were to crawl naked into his lap. The image of her on her hands and knees on the snowy driveway, top gaping and revealing her lovely curves, now flashed into his mind again. Sighing, Harper forced his eyes from Drina's behind and up to her face with some effort as she paused to examine some item of clothing they'd approached. From the glimpse he'd got of her face in the rearview mirror, Drina hadn't looked nearly as affected by the image Stephanie had painted of them as he had. If anything, her expression as she'd peered toward Stephanie had been rather confused, though he wasn't sure why.

"What do you think, Harper?"

Blinking, he shi ed his a en on to Stephanie and raised an eyebrow uncertainly. "What do I think of what?"

"Of these," Stephanie said with a laugh, and held a pair of panties in front of Drina's groin. They were red silk with black lace trimming. "Do you think men would find her a rac ve in these? There's a matching bra too." She held that up in front of Drina's breasts next and peered at the effect with a lted head. "I think they're gorgeous, but Drina says the material of the bra is too flimsy and her nipples would show through when it's cold. Do men mind nipple bumps?"

"I - " Harper stared, his mind suddenly on hiatus as he imagined Drina in the ou it, her nipples erect and pressing the material outward. "Don't - "

"See, he said 'I don't.' I told you men don't mind nipple bumps," Stephanie said with a laugh, and tossed the bra and panties into the cart.

Harper stared helplessly at the scraps of material and shook his head. He hadn't meant he didn't mind nipple bumps. Hell, he wasn't sure what he'd meant. Please don't do this to me, maybe. The girl was . . . well, he didn't know what to think of Stephanie. She had been quiet and sad-looking when she'd first arrived in Port Henry, but had blossomed a bit under Elvi's and Mabel's a en on before they'd le . However, she appeared to have really come out of her shell with Drina's arrival and was being rather precocious. He didn't think she had a clue how her sugges ons and words were affec ng him, though.