Page 44 of Kentucky Nights
I gulp, licking my lips to wet them. “You—you want to kiss me?” I stammer, my nerves getting the best of me.
“I do,” he groans. “I really do.” His thumb tugs on my bottom lip, and the taste of his flesh mixed with syrup explodes across my tongue. “I want to kiss you until you forget how to breathe. I want to kiss you until your lips are swollen from how much I want you. And when I do kiss you, and I mean when,not if, I’m going to steal the breath from your lungs so the only air you need is mine. We will breathe each other in, get lost in time, memorize each other’s lips, and the way we move. They will be long, slow, and deep. I’m going to take my time imprinting my lips onto yours. I know one kiss from you will revive my humanity—something that has been numb for a number of years.”
Like a magnet, I’m leaning forward to start the long days of kissing him.
His fingers stop me, pressing against my lips. “Not yet. As much as I hate myself for saying that, not yet. There’s still a hintof fear you feel, and there’s so much you need to know before you go offering your kiss to me like that.”
“You don’t want to kiss me now?”
Faster than the speed of light, he is by my side, wrapping a hand around my throat to lift me closer to his mouth. My body responds, and I can’t hide the groan. I can’t hide the want of being handled this way. I know he can smell the lust pouring off me in waves.
“I don’t want to kiss you, Dru. Ineedto.” His tongue flicks across his bottom lip, those bright, flaming coals staring at my mouth. “It’s all I think about since meeting you. It consumes me—you consume me.” He lets me go, leaving me gasping for air. “Give me four days, Dru. Before you make any decision about going home, give me four days for you to fall in love with me, and then I’ll tell you everything. Meaning no calls to your friend or work. I know that’s bad, but I need the four days.”
“That’s it? I get no other information?”
He shakes his head. “No, Ma’am. That’s all I can offer at the moment.”
Four days?
That doesn’t seem so bad. I’ve already been gone for a few days. What’s a few more? The thought of leaving fills me with dread. I’m not ready to leave. Some type of force is keeping me here, and I plan on figuring out what it is.
Since I apparently have no survival instincts, I hold out my hand for a vampire to take. “Deal.”
With a gentle caress, he wraps his hand around my fingers and kisses the top of my knuckles again.
Did I just make a deal with the Devil?
“Just like that?”
Dru cuts a pancake that is soggy with syrup, basically slurping it into her mouth. “Just like what?” She washes her giant mouthful of food down with a sip of coffee.
I can’t help but be mesmerized by how she eats. She isn’t afraid of the mess she’s making. Syrup is on the countertop, on her cheeks and chin, and bacon crumbles are sticking to her. It’s adorable. I’ve always loved it when a woman has an appetite.
“I expected you to fight me on leaving. I would have understood too. You just agreed to stay with a stranger. I’m surprised. Unless you plan to stake me in my sleep, then I’d very much prefer if we talk out any issues you might be worried about.”
She snorts, a piece of hashbrown flying from her mouth, and it lands on my chin.
Dru slaps a hand over her mouth, her eyes so wide and unmoving. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I’m just a mess right now! I can’t believe I did that.”
I chuckle, plucking the piece of potato from my chin, then popping it into my mouth. I lick my finger, wanting to show her I will happily eat her food, whether it’s on a plate or not. “Still tastes good too.”
“Kentucky,” my name, shy and suggestive, falling from her sweet, syrup-coated lips.
“Don’t bother me none, Darlin’.” I curl my fingers around the handle of my mug. “I love a woman with an appetite.”
She wipes her mouth with a napkin. “I was hungrier than I thought and forgot where I was for a second.” She wipes the corners of her lips, placing the napkin on her lap. “And to answer your question, I don’t know why I’m not fighting you about leaving. I just know I can’t. Not yet. I would like to check in with my friend Carmen, though. I can tell her not to worry.”
“She won’t believe you. She will think you’re being held hostage.”
She lifts her fingers up and presses them together until they almost touch. “I am a little bit. Just a little, though.”
We fall into a comfortable silence while we finish our food, smiling and taking quick glances at each other when we think the other isn’t looking. My mind begins to drift to the plans I had of dying, a part of my soul still torn on the decision that needs to be made.
I’m unsure if I can damn Dru to forever since forever is an awfully long time to live. It might not be a big ask for most, I know. Some humans would kill to have this opportunity, to live for all eternity and build wealth so they can have anything and everything the world has to offer.
Humans, and I’m allowed to say this since I used to be one, have become greedy in nature. Nothing is enough. They alwayswant more, and sometimes, they will even kill to get it. Everyone thinks money is what makes the world go round. In my opinion, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s what is right in front of me that keeps my world spinning. I’ve been a poor man and I’ve been a wealthy man, but I’ve never been as rich as this.
