Cody by Kimberly Raye Page B

hunger, he reminded himself. He hadn’t fed and so he wasn’t thinking clearly.
    It wasn’t her. Or the softness in her whiskey-colored eyes when she looked at him or the warmth of her body so close to his own. And it sure as hell wasn’t the methodical sound of her breaths that echoed in his head. Or the steady beat of her heart that sped up every time her gaze collided with his. Or the simple knowledge that someone was there and for the first time in his afterlife he didn’t feel so painfully alone.
    The thought struck and he stiffened. Since when did he give a rat’s ass about being alone? He liked it. No one to worry over. To disappoint. It’s who he was. Who he would always be.
    “You want to have sex with me,” he stated, suddenly desperate to hurry the encounter along. She wouldproposition him. He would say no. The end. “That’s it, right? That’s why you’re here?”
    “Not just any old sex. I want to have sex behind the bleachers at the football stadium. The gazebo in the town square. The history section of the library. The feed store. And a few others. See, there’s this list—”
    “Restroom Randy’s Hottest Sex Spots,” he cut in. “I know.”
    “But how—” she started, the words stalling as she shook her head. “Duh. You’re a vampire. You know everything about me.”
    “I know what you’re thinking at the moment you’re thinking it. But only if I stare into your eyes.”
    “So if I turn around?” She put her back to him. “You can’t read my mind?”
    “I can feel what you feel, but I can’t pick your brain.”
    “That’s a relief.”
    “And why is that?”
    “It’s not fair that it should be so one-sided. No one should know everything in a relationship. But then this isn’t an actual relationship. It’s business.” She turned back around. “If you agree to have sex with me in every spot on the list, that is.”
    Yes. The answer raged through him, but he clamped his lips shut. You’re already in too deep, buddy. Don’t make things worse. “So who came up with this list?” he asked instead.
    She shrugged. “Just this guy I used to know. He thought up this brilliant idea to write down the ten hottest places where he and I supposedly did it.”
    “Supposedly?”
    “We didn’t actually do anything. We went out once and he tried to feel me up. I turned him down. He got pissed off and made up the list.”
    “And people believed him?”
    “My name was Rivers, so it had to be true.”
    Because she came from a long line of women who had no qualms about stripping bare and getting it on in the middle of a football stadium, or any of the other nine spots.
    “So? Are you interested or not?”
    “Maybe.”
    “Meaning?”
    “First I want to know why you’re doing this.”
    “You’re the one with super vampire senses. Don’t you already know?”
    “Yes, but I want to see if you do.” He stared deep into her gaze and saw the desperation. Despite her words, she didn’t just want this. She needed it. To satisfy the wildness inside her. To calm the restlessness. To distract herself from the fact that she wasn’t nearly as satisfied with her life as she pretended to be. “You won’t ever get enough,” he pointed out, his voice deep and knowing. “Doing it once. Twice. Three times. You’ll just want more.”
    “Says you. You’re a vampire who feeds off sex. It’s different for me. I’ve spent too much time trying not to think about sex, really great, exciting, fulfilling sex. It only stands to reason that’s all I can think about now. I need to sow a few wild oats. Cut loose. Enjoy the moment. Then my curiosity will be satisfied.”
    Even more, you’ll be gone. No temptation. No fall from grace.
    Or so she desperately hoped.
    “So will you do it?” she added. “Eight encounters. Eight different places.”
    “If there are ten spots, then why just eight encounters?”
    “We already did the back alley. Granted, it was outside of a bar rather than a Piggly