my lesson.
The entire time we talked, the vampire watched me.
At first, I didn’t think too much of it. He had a direct stare, but I attributed it to his watchfulness and the presence of the bodyguard. But as the night went on, I began to grow more and more uneasy at his tightly controlled motions and the dead, emotionless expression on his face. Even when he smiled, it didn’t reach his cold, cold eyes.
I felt like prey.
For the first time since working at the dating agency, I was uncomfortable in the presence of a supernatural. And I began to see what Josh had been warning me about.
This man didn’t want a date. He wanted a diversion. At best, he wanted an easy meal. At worst, he wanted someone he could easily bury in the backyard.
I suffered through two hours of the date before calling it done. Even then, I felt his gaze watching me as I left. We were only two blocks from the dating agency, but I didn’t trust him enough to make the walk alone. I called a taxi and hid in the restroom until it arrived.
Another lesson learned.
When I got back to the agency, Josh was there, waiting in my seat.
He was chatting with Ryder but got to his feet when I entered the door. A sexy smile curved his mouth at the sight of me, and he pulled out an enormous box of chocolates with a big ribbon on the top. He held the chocolates out toward me and pulled out my seat, inviting me to sit down. “Peace offering?”
I glanced at the chocolates, then back at his too-innocent face. “Are you going to interrupt one of my dates again?”
“It depends,” he said easily. “Is another man going to offer to give you the shocker?”
“Do
“No,” I hissed, yanking the chocolates out of Josh’s hand and dropping them on the desk. “Can we please change the subject? I’m still mad at you, Josh. What you did is unforgivable.”
Josh looked nonplussed. “So I should have left you there and let that guy manhandle you? Say disgusting things to you? Perhaps let him demonstrate his moves on you?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “You should have. Are we dating? No, we’re not. Therefore, not your business.”
Josh’s face grew hard. “Well, then, I’m sorry if I took up your time, Marie. It won’t happen again.”
My chest began to have this funny ache, but I said nothing when he stormed out the front door, making the bell clang loudly against the glass.
Ryder stared at it. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Josh mad.”
It was the first time for me, too. I’d pushed him too far. Instead of being indignant about the whole thing, I just felt . . . awful. Like I’d screwed up. He’d only been trying to help me. He’d been protecting me, been a friend. And I’d been nasty to him. He’d come to apologize and I’d chased him away again.
I chased everyone away.
Suddenly weary to the core, I laid my head on my desk and felt like crying.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ryder asked softly.
“No.”
“Do you have someone else you want to talk about it with?”
I had only one other friend besides my coworkers. And he’d just stormed out the door because I’d been awful to him. I sat up and pressed my face in my hands. “Why am I so bad with people, Ryder?”
“It’s a gift,” she said lightly.
“Thanks.”
“I don’t know Josh as well as you,” she said thoughtfully, toying with the glittery ruler on her desk. “But unless I miss my guess, it’s hard to get him angry, and it’s probably harder to keep him angry. Maybe you should . . . gee, I don’t know, try apologizing?”
I stared at the box of chocolates on my desk. I’d turned down his flowers and his coffee, and yet he’d kept trying. He was determined to break through my icy shell and get to the real me inside, the one I hid away from everyone. Why? Was it the challenge of trying to score with me? Was he fascinated because I turned him down? Or was Josh simply being the nice white knight to me like he was to Carol?
Either way, after tonight, I doubted he was going to flirt with me ever again.
Maybe it was the exhaustion, or my disease, but I was tired of pushing everyone away. “Ryder—”
“Red Bull run? Sounds great,” she said. “Pick one up for me, will ya?”
“You’re the best.”
She grinned. “I know.”
I hurried out to the parking lot, thinking for a moment. I could text him . . . or I could swing by the diner and see if this was one of Carol’s nights.
Sure enough, I caught Josh as he was tucking Carol into the passenger side of his car. I threw mine into park and jumped out, racing over to his side. “Josh, can we talk?”
He gave me a cool look as he calmly closed Carol’s door, then turned away from me. “I’m pretty sure we’ve both said enough tonight.”
“I think there’s more to be said,” I added quickly.
“I don’t.” He began to walk around the other side of the car.
“Josh,” I began.
He didn’t turn around.
“Josh,” I said again, louder, trying to get his attention.
He opened his car door, as if he was about to drive away.
“Will you please pay attention to me?” I snapped. “I’m trying to apologize to you.”
He paused, then leaned against the side of the car. His eyes flashed like a cougar’s, and I knew he was still angry about my words earlier.
“Doesn’t sound much like an apology so far,” he told me.
“That’s because you’re not making this easy,” I said, stalking toward him. I moved directly in front of him, and when his gaze grew even more direct, I dropped my eyes. “And I’m not good at apologizing.”
I felt his hand go to my waist, and a shiver ripped through me.
“Nor am I good at letting people in,” I admitted. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I can’t stand the thought of you being mad at me.”
His hand reached up and brushed my cheek. “Marie,” he said, so softly I could barely hear it. “I don’t know what’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours. I don’t know why you’re determined to visit every vampire in this territory and see if he wants to sleep with you. I can’t begin to imagine what this is.” His beautiful eyes studied me. “Some sort of personal challenge?”
“Something like that,” I told him. Seemed safest.
His thumb stroked across my lower lip. “What do you have to prove? I know that you are beautiful. And sexy. And you drive me crazy. You know that, too.”
My eyes widened.
“And if you want a one-night stand with a supernatural,” he said, leaning in so close that his breath brushed against my cheek, “I’ll break out my fangs, lick you for hours, and then ride you so hard that you’ll be bowlegged the next day.”
And he kissed me. Hot. Wet. Possessive. His mouth swooped over mine and his tongue thrust against mine in a move that was a decided claim. And then he pulled away, leaving me dazed and wanting.
“So you think about that,” he whispered.
He got in the car, buckled his seat belt, and drove away with Carol.
I thought about his hard, possessive kiss. Josh was so laid-back and easygoing, yet he’d grown fierce on vampire Lonnie when he’d felt I’d been threatened. He’d grown even more possessive when he’d kissed me. He constantly touched me and complimented me. I felt branded. Claimed by him.
This . . . was going to be a problem.
And yet I toyed with the idea of taking what Josh was promising. Not as a solution to my problem—if he
