“You have to get him out of here,” Rick said to one of the guys and pointed at the groom. “He can’t stay here in that condition.”
“Can we have a couple of drinks first?” one of them slurred.
“Don’t serve them,” Rick said to Kyle.
“Sorry, guys, that’s it for the night,” Kyle told them.
There were a few drunken grumblings, but they all turned and wandered away. When a couple of them waved at Cassidy, Dante stiffened beside her. They may be human, and he’d vowed never to hurt a human, but he would gladly pummel them into the ground.
Cassidy gave a small wave in return as Dante’s hostility vibrated against her back. A couple of women went out the door with them, but the others broke away and returned to their seats. Two of the men lifted the groom from the booth and dragged him out of the bar.
Dante relaxed when the door closed behind them. After the events of last night, he never wanted to be involved in another bar fight.
Cassidy finished her beer and set the glass down. She glanced at the clock to discover it was already after midnight. “I should get my things; the bar’s going to close soon.”
Dante reluctantly lowered his hand from her hip and watched as she weaved her way through the crowd with elegant, mesmerizing grace. Lifting his glass, Dante ignored Julian and Aida’s stares as he sipped his beer.
“Excuse me,” he said to them as he set his beer down. “I’ll be back.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
He ignored the women who turned to watch him, but realized one of them was Tammy when she called his name and waved at him. He gave a brief wave back before stepping into the hallway Cassidy had entered.
Dante strode past the two bathrooms while following her scent to the door at the end. He was almost to the room when Cassidy stepped into the doorway. She looked up, and her mouth parted before a knowing smile curved her luscious lips.
His heart battered his ribs as his erection strained against his jeans. Before he could stop himself, he stalked toward her, slid his hand into her hair, and pulled her head back so he could claim her mouth.
She tasted of beer and smelled like cherries; it was the most enticing mixture he’d ever encountered. He didn’t know what it was about her that enthralled him so much, but he couldn’t get enough of touching her, tasting her, and being around her.
For years, his existence was one of loneliness. He believed he would spend an eternity alone, but Cassidy gave him hope for a different future. For the first time since becoming a vampire, he thought maybe, just maybe, he could have love, happiness, and a family again.
He was getting way too ahead of himself with that kind of thinking; they barely knew each other, but she was a bright light in his otherwise bleak world.
All of this was a little too fast and overwhelming, but Cassidy couldn’t bring herself to care. She wanted to experience the elation his kiss evoked and the warmth of his arms enveloping her.
She didn’t realize they were in the employee room until her back pressed against the cool metal of a locker. The bar was closing soon; employees would be coming back here, and she didn’t care.
She slipped her arms around Dante’s neck and drew him closer as her body melded to his. Everywhere they touched, her skin heated until she felt like she was going to erupt into flames. The sensation should be uncomfortable—no one wanted to catch on fire after all—but she found herself yearning for more as his fingers pushed up the bottom of her shirt.
When his hands touched her bare flesh, she almost groaned in relief. Her skin was on fire, but his touch was like diving into the ocean on a hot August day.
Dante should end this before things went too far, but he couldn’t get enough of her. He would stop soon, but he’d never felt skin so silky or a body so warm and inviting.
He ran his hands up her rib cage and around to the delicate swell of her breasts. When she lowered her hand to cup his erection through his jeans, he nearly came. With a low growl, he pulled her closer and nipped her bottom lip before gripping the button of her jeans. This was a bad idea, but though his pulse thundered in his head, he was pretty sure all his blood now filled his dick, so reasonable thought wasn’t an option.
He unbuttoned her jeans and, pulling them open, slid his hand inside. When his fingers skimmed her lacy underwear and slipped between her legs to touch upon her wetness, his fangs sprang free.
He’d never lost control in such a way before, but it took everything he had not to sink them into her plump bottom lip while her hips found the rhythm of his hand. She was this wet for him, and her body was begging for release, a release he could give her.
He couldn’t take her here.
He couldn’t stop.
He wouldn’t stop unless she told him no, but those words weren’t coming from her as she unbuttoned his jeans. Dante was close to tearing her clothes off and sinking himself inside her as he delved a finger into her. Her delicious gasp reverberated in his ears as her hips swayed toward him and she followed the rhythm of his hand.
Cassidy enclosed her hand around his shaft and gave it a long stroke that caused him to shudder against her. He was thick in her hand, but his skin was like silk as it stretched over his flesh. She could barely think as a coiling, almost painful tension spread out from where he was doing amazing things with his finger and hand.
She was so close she couldn’t breathe, and her heart thundered in anticipation. Then he moved in such a way that his finger
