Hell. I owed the man an apology.
I went upstairs to get a quick drink from one of the blood bags in my fridge. It wasn’t satisfying, but it would keep me from ripping out the jugular of the first person to look at me sideways.
Not bothering with a sweater, I left the tattoo parlor. Xavier’s car was still parked by the curb, meaning he’d left on foot. He couldn’t have gone far.
I followed his scent of cedar and citrus down the sidewalk, and around the corner onto Main Street, past a florist and a bakery, until I reached The Watering Hole and the scents of greasy burgers and fries overpowered the orange and wood.
His scent didn’t go past this point. Yeah, that sounded about right. Xavier always did prefer to eat his feelings. Typical shapeshifter. I’d hated it when I was human, because if I tried to eat my feelings with him, I gained what felt like twenty pounds overnight, and he didn’t seem affected by the food in the slightest.
Now I just wished food sounded good to me at all.
I pulled open the door to The Watering Hole.
It was Cupid’s wet dream. Pink and red streamers dangled in loops from the ceiling, and cupid decals lined the walls. A large sign declared Couples Night and everywhere I looked, couples were canoodling and generally behaving terribly. There were way too many public displays of affection happening in this building. It had reached maximum capacity.
Even the servers and bartenders were paired up, walking together everywhere.
Disgusting.
One person was not matched up with anyone else, and that was the person I sought. Xavier sat at the bar, a pint glass half full of beer in his hand. As I made my way across the dining room, the double team of bartenders dropped a plate of fries in front of him, followed by a giant cheeseburger. I watched while Xavier lifted the burger and took a large bite. He chewed slowly, then his throat moved as he swallowed.
I salivated. Not because of the burger, but because of the tanned expanse of his throat.
I couldn’t believe what my life had come to. I wanted this man for his blood and for his body.
He didn’t look up when I sat next to him, which told me he’d known all along I was here.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He choked on his bite, and I patted his back automatically.
“What was that?” he said. “I must have heard you wrong. Or no...the demon’s back, and he’s possessed you this time.”
“Shut up,” I said. “I’m trying to be nice to you.” I wasn’t sorry for getting the banishing spell. It had made sense at the time—not only was he my bossy ex, but he was a vampire hunter, and, well, I was a vampire. But I was sorry for snapping at him, and for hiding things from him. So I simply let my apology stand.
“Well, fine, I guess,” he said.
“That’s not how we accept apologies, Xavier.”
His eyes darkened and he looked me over. “I’m not ready to accept an apology. I need to cool off.”
The dreamy notes of “At Last,” sung by Etta James, came through the jukebox. We used to croon this in the car at the tops of our lungs whenever we went on dates. I looked at Xavier. “You could cool off...or you could dance with me.”
He pulled his plate closer. “I’m not dancing.”
“Come on,” I said, standing and holding out my hand. “It’s our song.”
“Hardly.”
“Dude, dance with your girl!” a man called from the closest table. His partner nodded in encouragement. “Don’t leave her hanging, it’s couples night!”
Attracted by the hollers from that table, several other couples looked up from their meals, or from where they danced near the jukebox. “Let’s go! Your woman wants to dance, then bring her over!”
Waving at the people who’d called out, I started swaying my hips in time to the music. “Come on, farm boy,” I said. “Dance with me.”
He rolled his eyes, but I wasn’t imagining the heat in his gaze when he focused on me again. “As you wish.”
His tone was different from what it had been when he’d stormed out of the tattoo parlor. Anger still lingered in his expression, along with hurt.
His hand was warm on my lower back as he led me over to the jukebox. The other dancing couples nodded in encouragement and made room for us. Xavier wrapped his arms around me and tugged me close. He was all heat and muscle. He was a much better dancer than me, but it didn’t matter for this slow song, because all I had to do was lean into him and sway.
“You piss me off so much,” he murmured in my ear.
“I believe I can say the same about you,” I said, sliding my arms over his shoulders.
“Why do you have to be so infuriating? I’m trying to be the man you need, but you’re making it extremely difficult.”
“Yes, well, you’re difficult too, sir.”
“I just want to throw you over my shoulder, carry you back to your apartment, and—”
He stopped abruptly, and I raised my eyebrows at him. “Well, don’t stop the narrative on my account,” I said. “It was just getting good.”
He froze and stared intently into my eyes. “Kelly.”
“Xavier.”
Around us, the other couples continued swaying. One pair was full-on snogging on the dance floor, tongues tangling and hands groping.
“Take me home,” I whispered.
“As you fucking wish,” he said.
We passed the bar, and he dropped some cash next to his plate. Then he grabbed my hand and we were out the door into the cool night.
We paused when we reached the door to the tattoo parlor. His hands skimmed over my body, warm through my clothes, causing desire to flicker inside of me, white-hot. I couldn’t unlock the door to the shop fast enough, but somehow I managed before my body spontaneously combusted.
We were through the door, and I locked it up behind us. Partway up the stairs, he grabbed both my wrists and slammed
