Page 9 of Love Bites
He didn’t return the smile. Instead, he looked at her with concern. “Ms. Meyers,” he whispered. “Are you well?”
Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes darted down for a moment. When she answered, it was in a less than convincing whisper, “I’m fine.” Then, she cleared her throat and looked back at him more determinedly. “It’s nothing.”
But Ignacio wasn’t assured at all. “If it were nothing you wouldn’t be crying, Ms. Meyers.”
She stilled a moment then sighed. “I know,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to talk about it, to be honest.”
He didn’t press the issue. If she wanted to talk about it, she would when she was ready. Even though it worried him, he let it go. “As you wish, Ms. Meyers.”
Katheryn made a face at him. “Don’t call me Ms. Meyers,” she said. “It sounds so formal. Call me Katheryn; I don’t mind.”
He smiled. “Katheryn.”
Her name tasted sweet as it escaped his lips. It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, yet it still rang like music to his ears. It was the enchanting melody of his grand piano notes strewn together. And he had never known a more precious sound.
“Then you may call me Ignacio, without the formalities.”
“I was planning on it.” She smirked, all traces of sadness seeming to disappear in an instant. It eased the ache in his soul.
“Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you following me or something?” She raised accusing eyebrows at him.
While he could feel the banter beneath the words, Ignacio still panicked. He hadn’t been following her around, but hehadbeen looking for her. He had been so distressed, feeling her emotions as if it were his own that he hadn’t really thought about how this situation would look. Now, she’d think he was a stalker when he wasn’t. Was he? And how was he supposed to answer her? With honesty?Yeah, I had a dream about you then felt your distress, and I had to find you!Somehow, he thought that wouldn’t go down too well.
She wasn’t a vampire and he didn’t think she would understand the importance of what she was, what she wouldbeto him.
“I live around here.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it really wasn’t a lie either. “I just came out for a stroll when I saw you.” Okay, that part was a lie, but he didn’t want to scare her away with the truth.
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Really?” There was a bit of trepidation in her tone.
He couldn't stand the suspicion in her gaze. It prompted him to add, “Honestly. I just woke up and thought I’d—”
“Youjustwoke up?” she interrupted. “What are you, avampire?”
The tone of accusation in her voice had his mind instantly rewinding back to his dream. The dream where she was in his arms, engulfed in flames of passion. They were kissing and touching and practically devouring each other. Ignacio had wanted to devour Katheryn, when he had asked her to bare her neck for him, and she had, he couldn’t help himself. He had to have a nibble, had to have a taste of her blood. But when she’d realized what he was doing, she had screamed. Just like that, she’d been gone, disappearing from his dream like smoke out a window.
He stared at her now, at her horrified expression and heard the accusing tone in her voice. He wondered, briefly, if she’d had the same dream as he’d had. If she had, what did that mean? Of course, it was a completely rhetorical question. Every vampire knew what that meant. They knew what the signs were, some even waited impatiently for them, while others went around searching. Ignacio hadn’t given it a thought until now, hadn’t paused for a moment to think about what all of those signs could mean.
The static, the fire, the dreams, her emotions flowing through his own body as if they were his own...the strange pull he felt toward her, as if a chord in his heart was being struck repeatedly, only grew stronger in her presence. He wanted to fight it. He had tried to fight it the first moment he saw her. He had wanted to barely spare her a glance, to take in her beauty for a mere moment, but he’d found his legs moving toward her, felt as if she were a magnet, and he was beyond attracted to her.
And he could see her now. He could see the fear in her eyes as she uttered the wordsvampire,could feel her emotions, her astonishment. Deep beneath that, there it was: a dream identical to his. He sensed it there,readit on her mind.
And that’s how he knew.
He knew he had found the one.
The virus in his body had recognized Katheryn’s DNA the moment he’d touched her. It had marked her as his, as the one he was to be matched with for the rest of his life.
Soul Mate.
The realization of it struck his heart, had him gasping for breath and staring at her, inhaling every detail. Hair that was red and orange and golden and as steady as a flame. Eyes that were dark blue, the color of midnight and twinkled brightly like stars. A face dotted with hundreds of orange and brown freckles across a small, round and prominent nose.
Realizing he was staring with his mouth agape and that she still waited for his answer, he cleared his throat. But what would he say? ”Yeah, I am”? Judging by the expression on her face, she would run for the hills. But could he lie? Could he stare his Soul Mate in the eyes and lie to her about his origin? He didn’t like dishonesty. His mother had drilled honesty into him as an important virtue since childhood, and he wouldn’t turn from that path now.
He found himself in a dilemma, so he decided to change the subject. As if laughing off what she’d said, he leaned forward on his forearms. “So, where all have you traveled?”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Ignacio spread his hands against the surface of the table and tapped his fingers. He observed her,reallyobserved her. Her whole body was wound tight and ready to spring at the first sign of trouble. He didn’t want to lie to her but he knew if he was honest, she would run screaming.
