was an admission of feelings for him, something she had been surer of before meeting Christian last night.
Boy I blew that one . I finally meet the one man I have been dreaming about for the last six months and I manage to get thrown out of his club, all in the space of about ten minutes. Amanda had replayed their brief conversation on and off all day, especially the part where he described seducing someone to drink their blood. The effect is like being pulled into a dark chasm that has no return yet you go willingly.
Though she was having trouble believing he was a vampire or a rare book dealer, she understood what he was saying about being seduced by something that was potentially dangerous or life-threatening. In a strange way, her brother’s murder had taken control of her life. It was as horrific as it was beguiling, and now she had met one of the cast of characters: Christian. Although he seemed staid and polite, he was dark and alluring as well. She felt drawn to him like a magnet.
Something made her turn around as if Christian were nearby. She scanned the crowd but saw only Thomas approaching her.
“Sorry about that.” He appeared sheepish as he sat down.
“So, she wants to know when you’re coming home, huh?”
He could not make eye contact with her.
“Thomas, you aren’t married, are you? I don’t—”
He smiled at her and she suddenly noticed how beautiful he was in the dim light of the bar.
“Would that make a difference?” He pulled her closer.
“The woman who has been calling you …?”
He shrugged and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “A girlfriend from back home. She misses me terribly.”
Amanda searched his eyes, not sure if he was telling the truth.
Amanda smiled. “And do you miss her?”
“It’s only you and me tonight.” Something about the way he said it made her heart speed up, and suddenly she was kissing him. Never one for public displays of affection, she melted as he pulled her closer.
His breath felt warm against her ear. “Let me prove it to you Amanda.”
She searched his eyes and found only desire there.
“Let me go to the bathroom, okay?” She smiled and grabbed her purse. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll get a cab.” He gestured towards the door. “Meet me out front.”
She followed a group of women heading down the black carpeted steps to the bathrooms. At the bottom of the stairs, Amanda noticed private rooms off the hallway leading toward the bathrooms. Conscious of someone waiting for her, she made record time in the spacious ladies’ room. She was headed back down the hallway when her cell phone buzzed.
Still unsure of whether she should go home with Thomas, she paused to read a text message from Bethany, who was sitting in a movie theatre with her boyfriend, Jeff. He had dragged her to a horror film that she hated, so she had decided to check in on her best friend. Amanda followed the flow of traffic while she texted Bethany back and explained that she was leaving the club with Thomas.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, walking right into someone as she continued to text.
“Amanda?”
She looked up into a pair of familiar dark eyes surrounded by flowing blond hair. He wore a ripped and tattered long-sleeved white shirt, and a pair of black jeans. Amanda felt her heart skip a beat. The woman beside him was almost as tall, with long, flowing dark hair that she had parted on the side; her black strapless dress contrasted against her white skin perfectly.
She tried not to stare at the beautiful woman as she forced a smile and dropped her phone in her purse.
“What a surprise. Hello Christian.”
She could feel herself blushing. The woman wrapped her arm in his as if to say, “He’s mine,” and Amanda guessed that they were lovers. She was as beautiful as he was handsome.
Christian kept his gaze on Amanda, and she wished she had just left the bar with Thomas. Oh, shit, Thomas.
“Eve, this is Amanda.”
Amanda nodded, faking a
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