"We just graduated," she said and gestured at her friends.
He glanced at where Jill and Mandy were standing by the bar; their heads close together as they kept glancing at them. It was amusing, but he wished he could have some time with her away from the prying eyes of friends and family.
"What are you going to do now that you've graduated?" he asked.
Emma shrugged as she twirled her glass on the table. "That's a good question, and I'm not sure of the answer."
The strange sense of calm she brought to him was back again, and he welcomed it as he watched the setting sun play over her hair and skin. It added a glow to her that made her seem almost angelic in the growing twilight.
"You've got plenty of time to find the answer," he told her.
"I guess. What about you, what do you do?"
"Not college," he said with a laugh.
She was aware it wasn't much of an answer, but she didn't press it further. He lifted the bottle to his mouth and took a long swallow. His skin glistened with a thin sheen of sweat as he lowered the bottle again. Something about his gaze made her stomach feel like a thousand butterflies flitted around in it. Her hand fisted as she fought the urge to run her finger over his chin; she was dying to know what his skin felt like.
His head tilted to the side in a way that made her think he was trying to see inside her, trying to understand her, but she didn't know what he was looking for. Feeling a little self-conscious, she fiddled with a strand of her hair.
"Where are you from, Emma?" he asked.
"Upstate New York, but I went to college in Pennsylvania. What about you?"
"Oregon."
"I've never been there, but I've heard it's beautiful."
"It is."
He moved closer and placed the bottle on the table. He carried the subtle scent of male and something enticing that brought to mind springtime and sex as it tickled her nostrils. Her fingers clenched on her thighs as her body quickened. What was wrong with her? She never felt this way around men; not even Tristan had made her feel this turned on, and she'd stupidly thought she might be in love with the pathetic ass.
Unclenching her fingers, she pushed back a strand of hair and grabbed her drink. She could feel his eyes on her as she took a sip. The door opened, and three men stepped into the bar. Emma barely glanced at them, but Ethan's casual attitude vanished as he straightened in the chair and the smile slid from his face. At the bar, Stefan rose from his stool and moved to stand in front of Isabelle.
Ethan prepared himself to launch to his feet if it became necessary when the three vampires entered. He didn't smell the foul stench of garbage on them that would indicate they were killers. It was something he hadn't realized only he and his siblings could smell on the more murderous vampires until Stefan came into their lives.
Ethan had assumed everyone could detect the stench, but it appeared only purebred vampires could do so. It was a handy ability to know if a vampire was a killer or not, but even if he didn't detect the scent on them, he couldn't relax—not with them being in such proximity to Isabelle and Emma.
Isabelle touched Stefan's arm and shook her head no. Though he relaxed slightly, he didn't return to his seat. Ethan tried to appear casual, but he couldn't turn his gaze away from the men. Attacking Ethan or any member of his family would be a stupid mistake for these men to make, Stefan was old and powerful, and he and Isabelle weren't anything to mess with either.
Emma frowned as she glanced from the men to Ethan then over to his family. The men didn't seem like much of a threat. One of them was blond and could easily be a horse jockey given his small stature, the other was also blond and maybe weighed a hundred and forty pounds soaking wet, and the third was average height and weight with reddish colored hair. The men looked Ethan and Stefan over before moving to the other end of the bar.
"Where are you staying?" Ethan asked. He was still trying to sound casual, but he heard the strain in his voice.
Emma continued to stare at the men before turning her attention back to him. "We're renting a house down the road," she told him. He nodded, but his eyes remained on the men. The skinny one was talking to Mandy who didn't look at all impressed as she turned away from him. "And you?"
His attention came back to her. "Stefan rented a home at the end of the road for a month."
"Nice," she said, but she was more interested in his reaction to the gang of three trying to chat up her friend. "Do you know those men?"
"No, I don't."
Emma frowned as she studied the contours of Ethan's profile. "You don't seem to like them much for people you don't know."
"No, it's not..." he shook his head before giving her a rakish grin that made her smile in return. "I thought I recognized one of them, but I was wrong."
"Oh," she said as Mandy and Jill turned away from the bar and walked over to join them again.
"We thought we'd check out the bar down the road. You coming with us, Emma?" Mandy asked.
She glanced over at Ethan. She didn't want to leave him, but she didn't feel comfortable staying here with a man she barely knew.
"There will be dancing," Jill coaxed with a smile.
"Dancing sounds like fun," Ethan said to her. "I'm sure Isabelle and Stefan will probably come too."
Emma blinked in surprise as he rose beside her. Did he intend to come with them?
She wasn't sure how she felt about that. He affected
