Page 29 of Forsworn By The Vampire
"Come back to my place with me."
I laughed. "All of a sudden you want me around?"
"I think we need to talk."
Surely, my expression reflected the level of disbelief I felt at that statement. And apparently, it did. Because a second later he dropped his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck before glancing up at me again. He sucked in his full bottom lip and seemed to consider things.
"Look, you were right. Okay?" he finally said, though he didn't sound happy about it. "And I think we need to talk about what's happening here."
Unexpected relief flooded through me, making me sway on my feet again. But it wasn't because I was all desperate for a boyfriend, I could have one of those whenever I wanted. I wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but the feeling was there. I reached out to take his hand, but he jumped back out of my reach so fast it was like he'd moved between one blink and the next. He closed his eyes tight for a second before focusing on me again. "You can't touch me right now."
I frowned. "Why not?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, he threw my own look of disbelief back at me, glanced down at his still-hard cock, and then back up at me.
Ah. I see. "Okay." I put both hands up in surrender. "I won't touch you."
But his voice had lowered a few octaves when he said, "So, you'll come home with me?"
I thought about it. Was I ready for this? But it didn't really matter if I was ready or not. This mating had happened. And now we needed to figure out how to live with it, because the last thing in the world I wanted was to see this beautiful male wink out of existence. I could be a bitch at times, but I wasn't completely heartless. And hey, I'd be totally down for some amazing vampire sex in the process. At least that was what I told myself. The real reason I was so gung ho about this teased the edges of my brain, but I pushed it away.
"Okay." Picking up my coat, I put it on and then grabbed my bag. Remembering I had a compact mirror, I pulled it out and checked the damage. Not as bad as I'd thought. I fixed my lipstick with a wave of my hand, Jamal watching me the entire time, closed the compact, and dropped them both back into my bag. "Let's go."
"Sure. Soon as you clean up the mess you made out there." He lifted his chin in the direction of the stage, then turned and walked away. "I'll get dressed and meet you out there." Leaving the door open, he left me alone in the office.
And after the view he'd just given me, I couldn't even be mad. Besides, it would take me all of two seconds.
Chapter 17
Jamal
Igot Leeloo through the courtyard and back to my place without anyone seeing her. Or, at least I hope I did. I had enough to worry about right now without getting my balls busted by the guys.
Inside, I took her coat and laid it over the back of the chair. When I turned back toward her, I stilled, my heartbeat in my ears as I looked at her. This woman standing in my home for the second time, was a little surreal to me. Mostly because she was way out of my league. Her scent quickly filled the room as it had the last time she was here, and I clenched my jaw hard, holding my breath and trying to suppress the urge to let my fangs come out to play. "Would you like something to drink? I've got water or tea, both hot and cold."
She looked surprised. "I didn't think you drank anything but blood."
"Personally, I usually don't. I can, but I don't. But Lizzy comes over here sometimes. The tea and shit is for her."
"Oh." Something I couldn't quite read flitted across her pretty face. But it was there and gone before I could read it. "Um, some hot tea would be nice. Thanks. Whatever you've got."
"Sure thing." Grabbing a cup and a teabag from the cabinet, I ran hot water through the single cup coffee maker. "I don't have any cream or sugar or anything..."
"Black is fine."
The tension in the air racketed up when I took the cup to her, her fingers brushing mine as she took it from me. "Thank you," she said softly.
"You're welcome." I stayed where I was, caught in her cat-like stare.
"You wanted to talk?" The innocence of the question was betrayed by the husky quality of her voice and the earthy scent of her rising desire. My own need responded in kind, my dick hardening until it pressed painfully into the zipper of my jeans and my fangs busted through, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. Overwhelming thirst burned the back of my throat, and I took a few quick steps back.
Angel watched me closely the entire time, but though she cocked her head with a look of curiosity, she didn't comment on my sudden retreat.
When I thought I had myself under control, I took a deep breath. Yes. Better. "Do you wanna sit?" I gestured toward the couch.
"Yeah, thanks." She took her tea and sat down on the edge of the cushion on the far end, her hot tea cupped in her hands. They were trembling.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, Leeloo."
