With the final nail hammered into the coffin, Ashley shoots me one last look before turning on her heel. With how quickly Tess was able to deflate Ashley I wonder if it would possible to remain just friends. But no. The attraction would continue to grow.
“You’re seeing someone?” Tess asks once we’ve cleared the building.
“Well, I was looking at you while I said it, so it was truthful.”
“That’s a lie of omission.”
“And yet my problem is solved.”
She looks at me until I start to get uncomfortable. “You should have just been truthful.”
I breathe out heavily through my nose. It irks me that she’s right. A strong moral compass is another tick in her attraction column. Maybe I should have agreed to go with Ashley to get my mind off Tess. Except hers is the only face that is constantly on my mind.
“Thanks for the dating advice,” I reply abruptly, the words harsher than I intended them to sound. Softening my tone, I try to fight my growing attachment for her while still remaining civil. Unfortunately, the resulting mood swings makes me look unbalanced. “However, you are right. Next time I will be more conscientious.”
I can’t tell whether the answer appeased her, but a wide beam crosses her face. “I just realized it’s Friday!”
“Yes,” I say slowly, enjoying her enthusiasm.
“Friday night, movie night.”
“It’s your week to choose the movie.” I was originally planning to skip out in an effort to minimalize one-on-one time since Caleb and Leo will both be absent, but the excitement on her face is too cute. I can’t bring myself to curb her enthusiasm.
“That’s dangerous. What if I choose a rom-com?”
“What’s a rom-com?”
“A romantic-comedy.”
“If you make me sit through one of those at least make me popcorn.”
Her laugh carries in my mind until we’re seated in the family room, the promised popcorn in hand.
“Are you actually going to make me watch a romantic-comedy?”
“It could teach you a thing or two. And I’ve already made the popcorn.” Her grin lights up her face, increasing the beat of my heart as she stretches out on the couch.
Settling deeper into my recliner I fake grumble, “Fine. But don’t expect me to enjoy it.”
“Ha. As pleasant as watching you be tortured by a mere movie would be, I prefer to watch those by myself. Or with Eliza.”
“Is it because you cry?”
“Yup. And I can tell you, I’m not a pretty crier.”
I hardly believe that.
“So, it’s better to keep the embarrassing spectacle to a tight knit group,” she finishes, her eyes glued to the T.V. searching for her pick.
Settling on some gritty detective movie, she covers herself with a blanket she nabbed from her room. Taking time to get comfortable, she props a pillow against the side of the armrest before nuzzling her head against it like a cat. The smallest sigh escapes her lips and I forcefully look toward the T.V., kicking myself for getting in this situation. I should be working. Or upstairs. Anything besides sitting in the dark with this girl.
By eight minutes into the movie her eyes are closed and her breathing evens out. I try to focus on the action occurring on the television but my attention keeps wandering back to the person consuming all my thoughts. Tess’s lips are slightly parted, her breath blowing a strand of hair in rhythm. I wonder if her hair feels as silky as it looks.
No. Telling myself to get a grip, I turn off the movie, plunging the room into complete darkness. The sooner we separate the better it will be for me. Putting the bowl of untouched popcorn to the side, I rise from the recliner with the intention of going straight to my room. Her soft breathing fills the space and I find myself standing in front of her. She would sleep more comfortably in her bed.
Before I can think too hard about it, I lift her still form into my arms where she curls into my body. The delicate scent of rose suffuses the air around me. It’s her scent.
“Crap.”
Filling my head with random trivia knowledge during the walk to her room seems to help. I picked this spare room specifically because it was the farthest from mine at the back of the house. But now whenever I get in or out of my car, my eyes automatically trail up to her window. Setting her on the bed, I readjust the blanket to cover her better and add an extra one. It’s becoming harder and harder to think of her in a platonic way, especially with the word mate floating around my head. Maybe it’s time to take a vacation.
My phone rings and I answer it before the noise wakes her, leaving the room before speaking.
“Parker, it’s Gabe. Listen, I found something that might interest you.”
I sent Gabe what little information I found out about the Bulgarian vampires, wanting to know anything and everything he could find.
“It looks like there has been increased activity from Istanbul all the way over to Sarajevo and everything in-between. I’m still waiting for some reports coming from Romania, but if it’s anything like what I’m currently seeing, they’ll be the same.”
“Is that unusual?” I ask, closing the door to the office.
“For that area, yes. The vampires who occupy Eastern Europe are old and well established. There hasn’t been a shift in powers for hundreds of years.”
“Then what would be valuable enough to branch out?”
“When looking at patterns of vampires, the only thing they are constantly in the market for is power. So, whatever the reason for this movement, you can be sure it involves a power grab.”
Jumping on my computer I pinpoint various locations of vampires Gabe’s intel has discovered in a two-hundred-mile radius. I’ll need to do more digging to see if they’re the vampires I’m looking for. After talking for several more minutes about work and the new office in Maine I end
