He looked pretty darn confident regardless. “There are still twenty-nine days left. Is it really worth it to you? Tossing and turning every night out of sheer sexual frustration, denying your body what it’s aching for until the need literally becomes painful…just to win a bet?”
“I don’t toss and turn at night!”
“You will tonight, sweetheart.” The vain smugness in his voice was maddening.
“I can pretty much guarantee you I’ll sleep like a baby,” she retorted, sounding a lot more certain of that than she felt.
“Sure you will. Like a baby - up every two hours. Well, if you find yourself unable to tolerate the ache anymore, you know where to find me, don’t you?”
CHAPTER SIX
At the sound of the rap on the door, Eva turned to give Julian one last anxious look. Her nerves were on edge over this prearranged meeting and having no idea what to expect made it so much worse.
He cupped her chin in his hand and smiled encouragingly. “Don’t be afraid, love. You know you’re safe with me. Now remember what we talked about. As little information as possible, right?”
Nodding, she clenched her fists and waited breathlessly while he opened the door.
“Julian Winter? Pleasure to meet you...Asher Reid.”
The glimpse she caught of the man from her spot behind Jules was enough to calm her jangled nerves, and she released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, feeling silly for having been so worried. A beast hadn’t entered their suite, just a man - well, yes, a vampire to be precise - but he certainly didn’t look like the wild-eyed caricature of Bela Lugosi she’d half expected. He was attractive, clean-cut, dressed casually but elegantly in khakis and a golf shirt. A mental image of Bela Lugosi swinging a nine iron on a fairway sprang absurdly into her mind.
Relax, Eva…
Then again, maybe she had a right to be on her guard. Especially when she stopped to consider Edan Guthrie. He’d seemed perfectly auspicious, too.
His blue eyes caught sight of her, and he hurried over to take her hand in his. “And this must be our new arrival!” To her surprise, he gallantly pressed his lips to her hand. “Miss Spencer. What a charming addition you’ll make to our group. I hope you’re adjusting well.”
“As well as can be expected, thank you. Won’t you come sit down?” She motioned to the sofa and love seat in the condo’s living room. “Can I get you a drink?”
“ That’s very considerate of you,” he said as he headed for the love seat. She noticed he carried a laptop under one arm. “But no, I wouldn’t care for anything, thank you. How are you finding your accommodations?”
“Oh, they’re lovely. But it really wasn’t necessary for you to cover our expenses,” she responded. Julian settled beside her on the sofa, watching their visitor warily. She could feel that he was tense, but didn’t understand why. Their host seemed normal enough. He’d already put her at ease.
Reid placed the laptop on the coffee table and waved his hand noncommittally before powering it up. “It’s nothing at all. We aren’t booked to capacity until next week. The majority of the spring breakers don’t arrive until mid-March. After that this place will be a madhouse.” He typed something on the keys, then smiled warmly. “Well…I’d like to begin by welcoming you both. I expect the two of you have plenty of questions and I’m fully prepared to answer them for you. But for the time being, why don’t we start with the basics. I’d like to get a little information from you if you don’t mind. We’ll start with you, sir. May I have your full name, please?”
“Julian Radley Winter.” Julian rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind Eva.
“Did you say Bradley? ”
“Radley. No ‘ B ’.”
“Is this your given name?”
“I have no aliases, if that’s what you want to know.”
Reid entered this information. “Age of
“I don’t toss and turn at night!”
“You will tonight, sweetheart.” The vain smugness in his voice was maddening.
“I can pretty much guarantee you I’ll sleep like a baby,” she retorted, sounding a lot more certain of that than she felt.
“Sure you will. Like a baby - up every two hours. Well, if you find yourself unable to tolerate the ache anymore, you know where to find me, don’t you?”
CHAPTER SIX
At the sound of the rap on the door, Eva turned to give Julian one last anxious look. Her nerves were on edge over this prearranged meeting and having no idea what to expect made it so much worse.
He cupped her chin in his hand and smiled encouragingly. “Don’t be afraid, love. You know you’re safe with me. Now remember what we talked about. As little information as possible, right?”
Nodding, she clenched her fists and waited breathlessly while he opened the door.
“Julian Winter? Pleasure to meet you...Asher Reid.”
The glimpse she caught of the man from her spot behind Jules was enough to calm her jangled nerves, and she released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, feeling silly for having been so worried. A beast hadn’t entered their suite, just a man - well, yes, a vampire to be precise - but he certainly didn’t look like the wild-eyed caricature of Bela Lugosi she’d half expected. He was attractive, clean-cut, dressed casually but elegantly in khakis and a golf shirt. A mental image of Bela Lugosi swinging a nine iron on a fairway sprang absurdly into her mind.
Relax, Eva…
Then again, maybe she had a right to be on her guard. Especially when she stopped to consider Edan Guthrie. He’d seemed perfectly auspicious, too.
His blue eyes caught sight of her, and he hurried over to take her hand in his. “And this must be our new arrival!” To her surprise, he gallantly pressed his lips to her hand. “Miss Spencer. What a charming addition you’ll make to our group. I hope you’re adjusting well.”
“As well as can be expected, thank you. Won’t you come sit down?” She motioned to the sofa and love seat in the condo’s living room. “Can I get you a drink?”
“ That’s very considerate of you,” he said as he headed for the love seat. She noticed he carried a laptop under one arm. “But no, I wouldn’t care for anything, thank you. How are you finding your accommodations?”
“Oh, they’re lovely. But it really wasn’t necessary for you to cover our expenses,” she responded. Julian settled beside her on the sofa, watching their visitor warily. She could feel that he was tense, but didn’t understand why. Their host seemed normal enough. He’d already put her at ease.
Reid placed the laptop on the coffee table and waved his hand noncommittally before powering it up. “It’s nothing at all. We aren’t booked to capacity until next week. The majority of the spring breakers don’t arrive until mid-March. After that this place will be a madhouse.” He typed something on the keys, then smiled warmly. “Well…I’d like to begin by welcoming you both. I expect the two of you have plenty of questions and I’m fully prepared to answer them for you. But for the time being, why don’t we start with the basics. I’d like to get a little information from you if you don’t mind. We’ll start with you, sir. May I have your full name, please?”
“Julian Radley Winter.” Julian rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind Eva.
“Did you say Bradley? ”
“Radley. No ‘ B ’.”
“Is this your given name?”
“I have no aliases, if that’s what you want to know.”
Reid entered this information. “Age of
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