“What has happened? Why are you crying?”
A gasp escaped Jessica’s lips as she jerked up her head. She blinked to clear her vision of tears, and to reassure herself she was really seeing what she thought she was: Nathan in his usual jeans and t-shirt, lowering himself into the chair next to hers. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes—she had the feeling he was questioning who he might need to murder for making her sad.
Jessica sniffled. “I…I thought you weren’t coming.” Then she realized how pathetic that sounded, and she forced a smile, trying to laugh at herself. Another tear slipped from her eye, and Nathan’s hand came up again, gently swiping it away.
He looked devastated. “Is that why you are upset? Because of me?”
Jessica hurriedly shook her head. “Pssh. No, of course not. That would be dumb, wouldn’t it? When everything else has gone so well tonight?” She grabbed her champagne flute and gulped down a hearty swallow.
Nathan’s expression cleared a bit. His lips curved in a placid smile. “Yes. I ran into the Donovans on my way in. They said the evening had been a resounding success for you.”
Jessica’s smile became more genuine. “It did seem to rock everyone’s socks off. We sold a ton of books, and lots of people said they couldn’t wait for the store to reopen so they can start shopping there again.”
“I am happy for you,” he said with sincerity.
“Thanks,” she said. “And thanks for coming.”
He continued to smile, but she saw uncertainty flicker in his eyes. “I debated whether or not I should,” he admitted.
Her heart sank. “Because you don’t want to be with me, do you? I knew it. That’s why you had Kiefer put me to sleep that night, so you wouldn’t even have to say goodbye to me.” So you wouldn’t have to kiss me, she added silently.
Distress flared in his eyes. “I did not want to say goodbye to you, Jessica. I did not trust myself to simply walk away and was worried what would happen if I tried. That is why I asked Kiefer to put you to sleep. To remove any…temptations for me.”
“Oh,” she said. Well, that sounded a whole lot better.
“Despite how much I would like to be with you,” he continued, “I am afraid it is impossible. There are certain things I simply cannot give you.”
“Oh,” Jessica’s eyes widened. “Are you not able…I mean, can vampires even…” She rolled her hand in the air.
Nathan, catching on to her insinuation, seemed appalled. He drew himself up and said, a bit louder than necessary, “Yes, I guarantee you I can give you that.”
Jessica lowered her lashes. She smiled as she fiddled with the edge of her plate. “Oh. Cool. I assumed you could, but I didn’t know. That little detail wasn’t exactly covered when we went over Vampire Facts.”
“Hmph,” he grunted. “It is not such a ‘little’ detail, I assure you.” She broke into a giggle. He looked amused, too, but didn’t seem content to leave it at that. Leaning forward, he gazed at her with heat in his eyes. “I could satisfy you,” he promised with a growl in his voice. “Thoroughly. And I would take immense pleasure in doing so, believe me.”
Jessica felt an answering heat blossom below her waist. “Okay,” she said, aware she sounded like she was accepting an invitation.
“I only meant that I cannot give you a normal relationship,” he explained. “That much should be obvious, given what I am.”
She reached out and took his hand. It was cold, but not frighteningly, or even uncomfortably, so. She liked the way it felt in hers. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said. “I’ll bet we could make it work.”
His gaze cut to the A Prince at Midnight postcard propped up on the table, next to a bouquet of black silk roses. “Perhaps if we were in a book,” he said, “but this is real life.” To Jessica’s dismay, he withdrew his hand from hers.
“I know you’re worried about me,” she said, not ready to give up yet. “You think it isn’t safe for me to be around you. But nothing’s happened to your family, has it? All that ruckus that went on with Celia and Dorian, and yet there hasn’t been a peep from Marta, right?” She was sure she’d have heard from Lucy and Aaron, who’d been hanging around with Kiefer and Nathan the past few days, if something like that had happened.
Nathan’s brows gathered. He seemed discomfited to hear Jessica even say his master’s name. “No, but that does not mean she will not still strike. She could just be biding her time. And you mentioned Dorian. We still do not know who he is or what he wants, only that he was highly interested in me. I do not doubt he will be back to create more trouble for me in the future.”
Jessica clenched her jaw for a second, and then decided to change tactics. “Speaking of Dorian,” she said. “How’s it going, anyway, trying to round up the vampires he set loose in the city?”
She knew from talking to Lucy that Nathan and Kiefer had assembled a task force of sorts, including Lucy, Aaron, Jason, Dara, and even the security guard, Frankie, to try and tie up the potentially lethal loose ends Dorian had left hanging over the city after Celia had kicked the bucket. Lucy had said Kiefer was training both Aaron and Jason in fighting techniques, and teaching them how to control their lingering vampiric powers, while Lucy and Dara had been studying some of the sorcerer’s magic books. It might be a while before the team was ready to go up against another vampire, but they all knew it needed to
