"Sometimes he doesn't. But it's like Cherise says, the hardest ones to love are always the ones who need it most."
He scoffed at her blind optimism. On the one hand, he admired it, on the other . . . she was too kindhearted. "Do you really believe that?"
She smiled up at him. "Absolutely. I love you, don't I? And the gods know you are definitely not easy to deal with." She stood up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on his cheek before she flounced over to the next table to stack chairs.
How could one comment both warm and offend him at the same time?
But then she was good at that. "Thanks, Aim. By the way I still have a tiny bit of confidence left. Please make sure you stomp on it too while you're at it. Gods forbid it should actually grow into something called self-esteem." Fang continued pulling up chairs.
Aimee laughed as she mopped the floor. "Anytime, wolf. Vane told me I'm not supposed to let you get too big a head."
Papa Roach kicked on next to play.
"Interesting mix you got going there."
"Just wait. Debbie Gibson's on there too."
He froze to look at her as she sang along to the song. "You are joking, right?"
"Nope. I like a wide variety of tunes."
He let out a deep breath. "You've found a whole new way to torture me. Damn, and I thought Misery was bad."
Laughing, she danced with her mop while he admired the fluid way her body moved. It awoke the wolf inside him and made it howl.
How could he be hard again?
This was getting annoying. Trying to distract himself, he looked around the empty bar. Apparently, they were the only two left down here.
"Where's everybody?"
"We never work the humans past 2:00 A.M. just in case something really weird happens the last couple of hours of the night. As for my family, the guys always bail as soon as they can. They think it's funny to leave me here to clean up by myself."
"Why do you?"
"I don't want to hear Maman complain. She comes in like a drill sergeant and white-gloves the place every morning."
The jukebox switched to Badfinger's "Day After Day." Fang paused at a song he hadn't heard in forever. He'd always liked it for some reason.
Aimee danced around while she worked, singing to it.
Enchanted, Fang lost himself in her graceful movements. Before he even realized what he'd done, he was in front of her, holding his hand out for her to dance with him.
Putting the mop aside, she smiled before she accepted. He twirled her into his arms and held her close as they swayed while the music floated around them. They were in perfect synchronization. Her arms felt so good around him as her scent filled his head.
She placed one gentle hand to his cheek. "I give my love to you," she sang, her voice bringing a swell of emotion high in his throat.
He laid his cheek against hers so that he could savor the feel of her in his arms. This was what had gotten him through the hell of the Nether Realm. Her warmth and tenderness.
Her scent.
Aimee twirled her fingers in his hair. "I like your hair longer. It suits you."
He didn't answer as he picked her hand up and led it to his mouth so that he could nibble her fingers. "I want to make love to you so badly I can taste it."
She dipped her hand down to cup him. "Me too."
His cock twitched, demanding she touch him without the denim barrier. It also reminded him of the fact that he had no right to her. That they couldn't be together, no matter how much he ached to have her as his own.