A Fire in the Blood(8)
Stomach aflutter with excitement, she drove to the theater, wondering if he would be there. After all, they’d had no contact in a week. For all she knew, he had forgotten all about her and their date.
After parking her car, she forced herself to walk sedately to the ticket window, but she couldn’t help smiling with pleasure—and relief—when she saw Andrei was already there, waiting for her. “You’re early,” she said.
“Guilty as charged. I confess, I couldn’t wait to see you again.”
“Just let me buy my ticket.”
“Already done,” he said with a wink.
“But . . .”
“Is there a problem?” He ushered her through the door, handed their tickets to the young woman waiting to take them.
“I hadn’t really thought of this as a date.”
“No? What did you think it was?”
“Well, we were just meeting. . . .” She felt her cheeks grow warm when she realized how foolish that sounded.
She trailed behind him as he went to the concession stand and bought a large popcorn. Glancing over his shoulder, he asked what she wanted to drink.
“Root beer, please.”
When they reached their seats, he handed her the popcorn bucket and the soda.
“Thank you.” She ate a few bites, then whispered, “Don’t you want any?”
“Not right now.”
“I can’t eat all this by myself.”
“Perhaps later.”
He settled back in his seat and, after a moment, so did Tessa.
The lights dimmed and after numerous trailers, the movie started. It was one Tessa had been anxious to see, yet she found herself more interested in the man beside her. Time and again, she found herself surreptitiously watching him instead of the screen. His profile was sharp and clean and strong, his lips firm, his hair thick and black.
She had never been so attracted to a complete stranger before. Of course, he was amazingly handsome but it was more than that. There was an air of mystery about him—even a veiled hint of danger—that intrigued her. Of course, if he was a vampire hunter, danger was likely a way of life.
With an effort, she forced herself to pay attention to the movie, although, at this point, she had no idea what was going on.
She nibbled on the popcorn, her thoughts turned inward. Maybe what she felt for Andrei was simply gratitude. After all, he had saved her life.
She glanced at him again, and found him staring back at her. At that moment, everything else fell away and there was just the two of them. His dark eyes seemed overly bright, almost hypnotic. Without conscious thought, she found herself leaning toward him. She moistened her lips with her tongue, closed her eyes as he lowered his head to hers.
His kiss was gentle, gradually growing deeper and more intense. His tongue swept over her lower lip, then dipped inside, sending heat sizzling straight to the core of her being. Feeling suddenly light-headed, she reached for him, the bucket of popcorn tumbling to the floor as her hands fisted in his shirtfront.
She was breathing as if she had just run a marathon when he drew back. For a brief moment, in the flickering light of the screen, his eyes seemed to take on a faint red glow.
* * *
“Did you enjoy the movie?” he asked as they left the theater.
“What? Oh, yes.” But not as much as I enjoyed your kiss.
“Would you care to go out for a drink?”
Tessa glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to five. It would be dark soon. But the thought of spending more time with Andrei was far too tempting to refuse. “All right,” she said, “but just a quick one.”
“There’s a little hole-in-the-wall club on the next block.”
Nodding, Tessa fell into step beside him. She knew the place he meant. She and Jilly had gone there once. “Have you lived here long?”
“For about fifteen years. It’s a nice town.”
She hadn’t lived here that long, but it seemed odd that she had never seen him before. It was, after all, a small town. “I used to think so, but lately I’ve been thinking of moving.”
“Oh, why?”
She looked at him as if he was one brick short of a load. “Because of all the vampire attacks, of course. I’m thinking of going back home.”
“Where’s that?” He opened the door for her, then followed her into the club.
“Ashland, Nebraska. I moved here after I graduated from college. Look. There’s a booth over there.”
He slid in beside her, his thigh brushing intimately against hers. “Why did you leave?”
“Have you ever been to Ashland?” Her parents still lived there. She called them every week; went to visit them during summer vacations and at Christmas.
“Not lately.” Nebraska hadn’t been a state the last time he’d been there. “But I’m pretty sure there are vampires wherever you go.”