Nathan touched one of the roses in the centerpiece, absently stroking a petal. “Frankie has provided us with some leads, but so far only one has panned out. Kiefer and I tracked down and cornered one of the missing creatures and it…well, it was not reasonable.”
Jessica raised her eyebrows.
“It was uninterested in trying to turn back. In fact, it was uninterested in anything but trying to kill us. We had to put it down.”
Jessica gulped. Okay, maybe changing the subject to feral vampires hadn’t been the greatest idea after all.
Sure enough, Nathan’s expression turned stormy. He said, “You see, Jessica? My world is inherently violent. It is no proper place for a human being.”
“You’ve been spending time around Lucy and Aaron, and Dara and Jason,” she pointed out. “They’re human.”
“Aaron and Jason are still enhanced. They can protect themselves. And the women are their responsibilities. It is their choice whether or not to endanger them.”
“Oh, I see,” Jessica said, not a little bitterly. “I’m all alone, with no super-powered man to look out for me, so I just have to sit at home and eat worms, is that it?”
Nathan looked into her eyes. “I will always be there for you if you need me.”
Jessica’s heart twisted. “But we won’t be hanging out or anything. That’s what you’re saying.”
Pain and darkness flooded his eyes, a look of such misery and longing it made Jessica’s soul ache. “I am sorry,” he said, his voice all ragged edges. “You have no idea how sorry. But my conscience will not allow me to indulge in a relationship with you. I could not live with myself if any harm were to befall you as a result of it.”
Fresh tears pricked at Jessica’s eyes. “You said I was ideal,” she sniffled, knowing how pitiful she sounded now and not caring, “in more ways than one.”
“You are,” he said, still with that heartbreaking look on his face. “Which is all the more reason for me to stay away from you.” He pushed back his chair, preparing to stand. “Congratulations, Jessica. I am happy for your success here tonight—and very proud of you.” His voice transformed into a husky growl. “And may I add, you look extraordinarily beautiful tonight.” He stroked the back of his hand down her cheek, touching the tip of her chin for a moment. “Truly...the most gorgeous creature I have ever beheld.” And then, before she could fully register the feel of his fingers against her skin, he was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I can live without him, Jessica told herself. Of course I can.
She had gotten along just fine for ages without a man. She could continue just fine without one. Even one as ideal as her vampire neighbor. She would not let his rejection destroy her. And she certainly wouldn’t go begging to Nathan, trying to get him to hang out with her anymore. She was not that pathetic. She wasn’t.
Her resolve lasted nearly a week. Then, almost before she realized what she was doing, she was tip-toeing to Nathan’s apartment one morning and slipping a note under his door. That evening, just after sunset, she made her way to the Dos Lunas Café, settled into a booth, and waited.
Maybe five minutes had passed before Nathan strode through the door and over to her. At the sight of him, her nervous system shifted into overdrive, making her pulse spike and her eyes widen, but she tried to play it cool.
“Hey, stranger,” she said, smiling up at him. “Can I order something for you?”
“No, I never drink…coffee.” But he sat down anyway, on the same side of the booth as her. He slid his arm along the back of her seat, resting it behind her shoulders. She took that as a good sign. “And I thought you were trying to cut back on caffeine?” he asked.
She looked at him quizzically.
“Lucy mentioned it one day in training.”
Her heart danced at the idea he would remember such a trivial fact, that he had been listening for news about her. “I am,” she admitted, “but I didn’t want to ask you out to dinner. I was worried you wouldn’t come. You know, because you can’t eat much. And because it would be too much like a date.”
“I should not have come,” he said, but it didn’t sound all that convincing, especially with his arm practically draped around her, and that smile now hovering around his mouth.
She grinned, having even more difficulty controlling her excitement. She hadn’t said anything in her note to him other than the truth: that she missed him and wanted to see him again. She hadn’t pretended it was any sort of emergency. “And yet here you are.”
He rubbed the light shadow of stubble along his jaw, eyeing her with a mixture of aggravation and amusement. “What are you trying to do to me, Jessica?” he asked, his voice too low and sultry for him to really be mad at her.
She held up her hands. “Nothing bad. Just trying to be your friend. We don’t have to take it beyond that if you don’t want to, I promise.”
“My friend,” he grunted, the words soaked in uncertainty.
“Yeah, you kind of seem like you could use one. Other than just Kiefer, that is.”
Nathan closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He murmured, “I do not know that it is possible for you and I to only be friends.”
“Why? You don’t think I can keep my hands off you?”
He opened his eyes, fixing his gaze on her. “No. It is not you I am worried about.”
Blood rushed to Jessica’s
