Page 38 of Loving A Vampire Is Total Chaos

Dead puppies. Tom in his underwear. Pineapples.

My breath whooshes out of me, and when I finally feel composed enough and confident my fangs won’t come out, I head toward the parking exit.

The drive isn’t too far, and we make small talk on the way to our stop. If I had the capability of sweating, I would be, but I try to keep my expression as smooth as possible.

“Willis Tower?” Celine questions as soon as she sees the sign.

There’s incredulity in her voice and I’m sure it’s because the tower isn’t anything special when she’s lived in Chicago all her life. Sure, it’s an amazing sight but doesn’t hold the sparkle like it does for tourists.

Grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it, her eyes snap to mine. “Trust me.” She melts a little under the gesture and I head out to open her car door.

“Thank you,” she mutters when I tuck her under my arm. There’s stiffness for a second before she lets herself settle into my warmth. Her tiny body fits perfectly, dwarfed by mine, and the urge to protect her from everything bad in the world rides me hard. I can tell she’s been dealt a shitty hand in life and can handle herself but that doesn’t mean I can’t try my best to keep her away from it in the future.

Remnant puddles litter the streets and the last thing I want is Celine falling as we make our way to the front door of the tower. It also serves as the perfect way to slow my steps and hold her as long as possible. Strands of her hair blow in my face and I soak in the sensation before she pulls it away in apology.

“Did you get everything squared away for your case you were investigating?” I question.

“For now. I passed off my findings to the detective who’s going to continue investigating since it’s not my main case but…” she trails off.

“You’re too deep in it now?” I muse.

“How could you tell?” Celine chuckles. “There’s just something nagging at me about it all. I’ll tell Detective Waters to keep me in the loop on what happens.”

She smooths out the windblown ends of her ponytail to sit on her shoulder and picks a few fly aways that have stuck to her lip gloss. The shimmery pink color accentuates the natural pigmentof her lips, and I’d love to have it smeared all over both her mouth and mine.

She gives a slight shiver, and I use it as an excuse to tug her closer. “Come on, small fry. I can’t have you freezing out here before our date really begins.”

“Small fry? What are these nicknames?” She shakes her head, lips curling in amusement.

I drag her toward the front door and tamper down my excitement. I can't wait to show her my surprise. Even with the date timetable moved up, I easily pulled off what will soon be the date of the century. It’s amazing the things you can pull off with an unlimited budget. Sure, if Celine knew how much this had cost me she might go into cardiac arrest which would be unfortunate, but my girl deserves the best.

The wind is picking up and I smell rain in the air, a storm coming in no doubt.

As we enter the building it greets us with an open, modern, and slightly industrial looking lobby. There are lots of benches to sit at and large windows throughout the space to highlight different floors. I don’t let us linger too long and we take the escalator down to filter through the expedited entry lane. I already handled everything with my contact’s help and rented out the tower so it would only be us. I see her wide-eyed expression as we walk through without anyone intercepting us, but Celine continues to blindly follow me as I lead her.

“Have you been here before?” She breaks the silence with a question.

When I turn to look at her my glasses slip lower on my face. I make a move to adjust them when her delicate hand comes out of nowhere and pushes them up for me. To say I’m shocked would be an understatement and she giggles before walking ahead and observing the exhibit we’re now walking through.

“Uh no, actually.” My sheepish admission has her backtracking to me in surprise.

“Never?”

I shake my head. “I don’t get out much.”

She narrows her gaze on me, head cocked to the side. “Zav, be for real. You have like twenty odd jobs.”

I laugh. “Those are jobs. Usually, I’m just at home by myself.”

You know, if I’m not out killing people who deserve it.

Her eyes scan the train exhibit as we continue to walk through the long hallway. Simulated windows showcase different Chicago scenes as we stroll, and the lights reflect off her skin like little fireflies. Our hands are so close right now they could touch, and I strain my pinky to brush hers before stopping myself from grabbing her hand. Celine’s lips tilt like she knows what’s happening but doesn’t comment. Good. I want her to know what she does to me.

“Are you a true Chicagoan if you haven’t come here once?” A light touch has me glancing down to see her pinky wrapped around mine.

Ahh. Oh fuck. She’s touching me again.

“Skydeck is this way,” she says with a little hop, using my pinky to tug me along.

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