Sara draped her coat over the back of one of the chairs before sitting down. “How was your day?”
“Quiet as a tomb.” He signaled a passing waiter and ordered a glass of red wine. “How was yours?”
“Terrific! Tomorrow morning I’ll be ordering a ton of supplies.” She shook her head. “It’s funny. The first few days I was there, I had maybe three customers. The last few days, business has really picked up. I guess changing my hours was a good idea. It’s odd, though, that so few people are out and about during the day.” She frowned. “You know, I don’t think I’ve seen more than one or two men on the streets before dark.”
“There’s aren’t many employment opportunities in Susandale,” Travis pointed out. “I’m sure they all work out of town.”
Sara nodded. She had thought the very same thing. “I guess you’re right, although I’ve never see any of them come home, either.”
He could have explained it to her but, all things considered, it didn’t seem like the right time. But then, he doubted there would ever be a right time.
Following her gaze to the dance floor, he said, “Shall we?”
“All right.” Lifting her glass, Sara finished her drink, then let him lead her onto the floor. She felt a rush of mingled anticipation and apprehension as he took her in his arms. A first dance was like a first kiss. Sometimes magic happened.
And sometimes it didn’t.
But this time it definitely did. There was no denying the quick rush of attraction that arced between them as soon as he took her in his arms. Sara had no trouble following his lead. It was almost as if they had danced together many times before. He wasn’t much taller than she, but she detected a strength in him she hadn’t expected. A kind of … of … restrained power. He was incredibly light on his feet, making it seem as if he was floating just above the floor.
When she glanced up, she found him gazing down at her. His eyes were a dark, dark brown, fathomless, hypnotic, filled with an emotion she didn’t recognize. She felt suddenly weightless, as if she were drifting through crimson clouds. When he lowered his head to her neck, she closed her eyes, sighed as a wave of almost sensual pleasure washed over her. Was she dreaming?
She looked up when Travis murmured her name.
Feeling a little disoriented, she blinked several times, trying to clear her head. What had just happened? Why did she feel so strange?
“The music’s stopped.”
Sara glanced around. Couples were leaving the floor. “I … I think I must have finished my drink too quickly,” she said, feeling her cheeks grow hot. “It seems to have gone right to my head.”
“It happens. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you game to go again?” he asked when the band began to play something soft and slow.
“I guess so.”
Taking her in his arms, he twirled her around the floor until she burst out laughing.
“What do you do for a living?” Sara asked when they returned to their table.
“I’m unemployed at the moment.”
“Oh. What kind of work did you do?”
Travis hesitated a moment. He could hardly tell her the truth. A partial lie would have to suffice. “I was a bounty hunter.”
“Seriously? Like in the Old West?”
“Sort of. I found people and collected the bounty on their heads.”
“What kind of people?”
“Oh, you know,” he said, making it up as he went along. “Fathers who were behind on their alimony payments. People who skipped out on bail bonds. Felons.” Vampires.
“Sounds dangerous.”
“It can be.”
“Why did you quit?”
“Circumstances change. I decided it was time to get out of the business. So, have you always wanted to have your own store?”
“Not really. This is my first real job. I saw an ad in the paper for the shop and …” She shrugged. “I like it so far. I do love being my own boss, setting my own hours, having no one to answer to.” Like her bossy mother or her domineering father.
Reaching across the table for her hand, he said, “I’m glad you’re here.”
Warmth suffused her at his touch. “So am I.”
They talked and danced for hours, slowly getting to know each other. It was near one a.m. when Sara yawned behind her napkin. “Sorry.”
“It’s late,” he said, although it was still early for him. “We should probably go.”
“I had a good time.”
“Me, too. Any chance of seeing you again tomorrow night?”
“I think that can be arranged.”
Travis left enough money on the table to cover their drinks and a tip for the waitress, held Sara’s coat for her, then walked her to her car. “Goodnight, Sara.”
“Goodnight, Mr … Travis.”
His gaze searched hers and then, giving her time to refuse, he slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her lightly.
At the touch of his lips on hers, Sara’s toes curled inside her shoes. First dance, first kiss, on the same night. And both were earth-shattering.
She couldn’t stop smiling as she drove through the dark, deserted streets of the city toward Susandale—until her car died three blocks from home, right in the middle of a construction zone.
Rummaging in her evening bag, Sara reached for her cell phone, gasped when her door was wrenched open and a man in a long black coat reached inside. He ripped her seatbelt in half as if it was made of paper, grabbed a handful of her hair, and yanked her out of the car.
Fear trapped the scream in her throat, but it didn’t keep her from fighting back. She gouged and kicked for all she was worth, but her attacker only laughed in her face as he backed her up against the front fender.
Terror took over when she looked into his eyes—glowing red eyes that shone in the dark, like a cat’s. Her blood ran cold when his lips pulled back in a feral grin, revealing a pair of fangs.
Fangs!
The strength went out of her legs. The world around her seemed to
