Page 20 of Unhallowed Murder
“Most likely, but I won’t try.”
“I believe you. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do.”
She took the last bite of the final steak, and put her fork down. “That was an exceptional dinner. Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome. Do you wish for dessert?”
Chapter Eleven
He’d challenged her, earlier, when he’d said she wasn’t a coward. In truth, when it came to these kinds of situations, Ronnie was terrified, but was she a coward?
She liked him, and she couldn’t remember the last man outside of law enforcement she’d been interested in just sitting and talking to. College, maybe? Nearly a decade ago.Wow.
Josef showed her whispers of something she’d thought out of her reach. He was right about the spark between them. Was she brave enough to give it energy and see what grew?
The dancing glow of the candlelight made him look dangerous — not because he was a scary vampire, but because it made him so damned attractive. She wantedthose strong lips on hers, and she double-checked her thoughts to be sure they were hers. They were.
He rose, offered his hand, and the human wanted to stand without help, but the tiger put her hand in his.
Damned cat.
Music played downstairs, and Josef drew her to him in a little dance on their way to the double chaise in the shape of a wave.
Shadows played on Josef’s face, letting her imagination see the vampire. Dangerous, but so damned sexy.
She’d considered calling Nathan to ask about Josef, but she wanted to do this on her own. She wanted some privacy. Tigers are lone creatures by nature, and while she enjoyed the camaraderie at work, she also valued her time alone with nothing but a good book and a nice bottle of wine.
But tonight, she was enjoying Josef’s company, and she wasn’t a coward.
“You’re nervous and I don’t know why.” He spoke so softly, a human wouldn’t have heard.
“Am I? Yes, I suppose I am. I don’t really date. I mean, I went to high school and college, so it isn’t like I’m a virgin or anything, but…” She shrugged. “I’m a little out of my element.”
“And you’ve had a long day. As it happens, I brought massage oil up with hopes of seducing you, but I’m thinking perhaps a nice foot massage might be in order, instead. Can I convince you to remove your sexy boots,Bellula?”
“If I’m beauty, does that make you the beast? Or perhapsI’mboth? Depending on whether I’m human or tiger?”
“I think the human with the broken nose would describe you as a beast.” His smile told her he was joking, but he probably had a point.
“You’re kind of beautiful too, you know.” She felt her face go hot, and since he could no longer hear her thoughts, she felt obligated to explain. “I looked you up, saw your statues.”
Josef shook his head. “In that century, a large penis was synonymous with a fool, so everyone with power had a small one on their statues.” He shrugged. “There’s some science behind the theory, having to do with testosterone levels and how much time you think of sex versus how much time and effort you put towards more mundane pursuits like rhetoric and complex maths, but in the end, it’s more about promiscuity than penis size.”
“So, you’re assuring me the statue doesn’t show your actual dick size? Is that it?”
He chuckled. “I suppose I am.”
Ronnie sat on the edge of the chaise, hoping her feet didn’t smell after being in the boots, and breathed in relief when the server brought a huge pot of steaming water, settled it near the chaise, and left.
“It’s a Chinese custom,” Josef said while taking his suit jacket off, “soaking the feet in hot water before a massage. I find it helps one relax and prepare for their feet to be touched.”
He kneeled before her, finished unlacing her second boot, removed both socks, rolled her pant legs up, and moved the industrial sized pot so she’d be comfortable with her feet in the vessel.
“I told them one hundred and four degrees, is it to your liking?”
“It’s fine. Thank you.”
Josef put her totally at ease — the powerful vampire, kneeled at her feet, looking up — and then, when it was time for her to turn and lie back on the chaise, he managed to maintain the same energy, so she felt as if she were in control.
