Chapter One
Buffy swirled around Aidan’s ankles and meowed more plaintively than usual. He bent and gave her a scratch between the ears. “You can sleep on my feet tonight. Promise.”
The brown cat head-butted the takeaway bag, then sauntered down the concrete steps. Probably to the park to torment the dogs. That was how he’d found her, as a scrap of kitten left for dead. He wasn’t a cat person. He wasn’t a pet person. He didn’t need an animal reminding him how quickly time slipped past—people did that.
Yet somehow he’d ended up taking her home after the vet had patched her up. Six months later he’d taken the vet home. Thinking of Lilith brought a smile to his lips. With dark hair, blue eyes and a heart that cared too much about her furry patients, she was everything he hadn’t known he was missing and now couldn’t live without.
He opened the front door, his stomach a ball of nerves pulled too tight, hoping dinner would make up for him not coming home last night. Tomorrow night they’d go somewhere special—assuming tonight went well. He couldn’t ask Lil to marry him without telling her what he was. And while he’d bought the ring, he still hadn’t found the right words to tell Lil he was Vampire.
“Lil?” His voice rolled through the terrace house as he shut the front door.
She was here. He could hear her heart beating faster than usual. She didn’t answer.
“Lil?” Aidan walked into the kitchen and dropped the takeaway bag on the table. He’d bought her favorite. Indian. The English version was nothing like the curries served in Madras, but it was passable flavor-wise. Nutritionally, it didn’t have what he required. The meat was too well cooked and the vegetables not fresh enough to contain the etheric he needed to survive. While blood was optional, etheric wasn’t.
As he moved through the kitchen, he saw her, leaning against the window frame in the lounge-room. She would’ve seen him come up the stairs. How long had she been waiting for him to return, staring out of the window?
She didn’t usually wait…was she pissed with him for staying out? He wasn’t going to tell her the truth if she wasn’t in the mood to listen. He didn’t want to screw up what he had with Lil by rushing. He was going to do it right this time—no secrets. Aidan swallowed the words burning his tongue. He could wait, but would there ever a perfect time to tell Lil Vampires existed and he was one of them? The engagement ring in his pocket grew heavy. And once she knew would she still want to be with him?
He took a breath. One obstacle at a time. “Hey, Lil. Want to have some dinner with me?”
“In a bit.” She walked toward him with a faint smile on her lips. “I didn’t think you’d be this late.”
Lil slid her arms around his neck. Her fingers were warm against his skin as she pressed against him. He trailed his hand up the curve of her back, relived she wasn’t annoyed with his late return.
“Neither did I.” The song had taken over and they’d all stayed until it was complete.
He kissed her gently, hoping she wouldn’t feel the ring box in his jacket pocket. He would’ve been home sooner if he hadn’t stopped to pick it up. He hoped he’d get a chance to give it to her.
Lil’s hands skimmed over his shoulders and pushed his jacket off. The ring fell silently into the folds of fabric on the floor. Hidden for the moment. He relaxed, happy to let dinner grow cold since Lil was also keen on the delay. He traced the contour of her lips with his tongue, ignoring the rising pressure in his jaw as his fangs wanted to descend.
Soon, but not yet.
He hated lying to Lil about what he was. What held him back was the uncertainty of how she’d react to the truth. He didn’t want to destroy what they had, yet he knew it couldn’t last if he wasn’t honest.
Her mouth opened, inviting a taste, but he couldn’t risk that intimate contact. Lil finding a fang by accident would be
Buffy swirled around Aidan’s ankles and meowed more plaintively than usual. He bent and gave her a scratch between the ears. “You can sleep on my feet tonight. Promise.”
The brown cat head-butted the takeaway bag, then sauntered down the concrete steps. Probably to the park to torment the dogs. That was how he’d found her, as a scrap of kitten left for dead. He wasn’t a cat person. He wasn’t a pet person. He didn’t need an animal reminding him how quickly time slipped past—people did that.
Yet somehow he’d ended up taking her home after the vet had patched her up. Six months later he’d taken the vet home. Thinking of Lilith brought a smile to his lips. With dark hair, blue eyes and a heart that cared too much about her furry patients, she was everything he hadn’t known he was missing and now couldn’t live without.
He opened the front door, his stomach a ball of nerves pulled too tight, hoping dinner would make up for him not coming home last night. Tomorrow night they’d go somewhere special—assuming tonight went well. He couldn’t ask Lil to marry him without telling her what he was. And while he’d bought the ring, he still hadn’t found the right words to tell Lil he was Vampire.
“Lil?” His voice rolled through the terrace house as he shut the front door.
She was here. He could hear her heart beating faster than usual. She didn’t answer.
“Lil?” Aidan walked into the kitchen and dropped the takeaway bag on the table. He’d bought her favorite. Indian. The English version was nothing like the curries served in Madras, but it was passable flavor-wise. Nutritionally, it didn’t have what he required. The meat was too well cooked and the vegetables not fresh enough to contain the etheric he needed to survive. While blood was optional, etheric wasn’t.
As he moved through the kitchen, he saw her, leaning against the window frame in the lounge-room. She would’ve seen him come up the stairs. How long had she been waiting for him to return, staring out of the window?
She didn’t usually wait…was she pissed with him for staying out? He wasn’t going to tell her the truth if she wasn’t in the mood to listen. He didn’t want to screw up what he had with Lil by rushing. He was going to do it right this time—no secrets. Aidan swallowed the words burning his tongue. He could wait, but would there ever a perfect time to tell Lil Vampires existed and he was one of them? The engagement ring in his pocket grew heavy. And once she knew would she still want to be with him?
He took a breath. One obstacle at a time. “Hey, Lil. Want to have some dinner with me?”
“In a bit.” She walked toward him with a faint smile on her lips. “I didn’t think you’d be this late.”
Lil slid her arms around his neck. Her fingers were warm against his skin as she pressed against him. He trailed his hand up the curve of her back, relived she wasn’t annoyed with his late return.
“Neither did I.” The song had taken over and they’d all stayed until it was complete.
He kissed her gently, hoping she wouldn’t feel the ring box in his jacket pocket. He would’ve been home sooner if he hadn’t stopped to pick it up. He hoped he’d get a chance to give it to her.
Lil’s hands skimmed over his shoulders and pushed his jacket off. The ring fell silently into the folds of fabric on the floor. Hidden for the moment. He relaxed, happy to let dinner grow cold since Lil was also keen on the delay. He traced the contour of her lips with his tongue, ignoring the rising pressure in his jaw as his fangs wanted to descend.
Soon, but not yet.
He hated lying to Lil about what he was. What held him back was the uncertainty of how she’d react to the truth. He didn’t want to destroy what they had, yet he knew it couldn’t last if he wasn’t honest.
Her mouth opened, inviting a taste, but he couldn’t risk that intimate contact. Lil finding a fang by accident would be
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