Murmuring " good‐bye," Elvi quickly followed.
They waited in line, bought the mirror, and drove home in silence, but by the time they
pulled into the driveway, Elvi couldn't stand it anymore and blurted, "I'm sorry."
Victor shut off the engine and turned to her with surprise. "What for?"
"For Louise, and for crying in Wal‐Mart."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "You're not responsible for what other people do, and it
didn't upset me that you were crying." He frowned. "Well, I mean I was upset that you
were upset, but… you can cry anywhere you want… if you want to," he finished,
obviously unused to dealing with such matters.
"Harry didn't like it when I got emotional in public," Elvi said suddenly. "Especially
crying. It embarrassed him."
"He was young," Victor said quietly. "After a century or two you learn there is very
little worth getting embarrassed about in life. Everyone does foolish things, everyone
makes mistakes, no one is perfect."
Elvi smiled faintly over the bit about Harry being young. He'd been the same age as
she. Fifty‐seven at the time of his death. Hardly young by mortal standards, but a babe
to an immortal over two thousand years old.
The brush of Victor's finger along her cheek drew her attention back as he asked, "Are
you all right? I didn't mean to bring up sad memories for you."
"I'm okay," Elvi said and gave a shrug. "Life can't always be cheesecake."
Victor grinned and reminded her, "You still haven't eaten that cheesecake you wanted
so desperately."
"No." She smiled, and then added with surprise, "In fact, I didn't even think to have
breakfast tonight before we left. I guess I've gotten out of the habit."
"Is that what it is?" Victor asked mildly. "I thought maybe you were just trying to avoid
being alone with me in the house for fear I'd start kissing you again."
Elvi sucked in a breath, her eyes widening at the challenge in his voice. The air in the
car was suddenly supercharged as they stared at each other. She didn't know what to
say or do, but couldn't seem to look away from him. Her eyes suddenly had an agenda
of their own and were focused on his mouth as she recalled the way they'd felt as they
claimed her.
"Would you have?" she asked finally, surprised at how husky her voice sounded.
"Most definitely," Victor growled.
Elvi nodded. "Would you now?"
The words came out of her mouth completely unbidden, startling her so much that she
almost bit her own tongue. If someone had told her that Victor had slipped into her
mind and influenced her to say the words, she wouldn't have had any trouble at all
believing it. In fact, she already half believed it now, but didn't care because it was
what she wanted. It's what she'd wanted ever since the episode in the kitchen, which
was the real reason she'd been avoiding being alone with him. Elvi had feared jumping
him herself and that just wasn't in her nature. However, the man was addictive, he was
a drug she was jonesing for, badly.
Much to her relief, Victor took up the invitation. Leaning forward, he unsnapped her
seat belt, letting it slip back into its holder as he kissed her. It was not tentative. There
was nothing uncertain in his approach. One moment they were seated on opposite
sides of the car, the next his mouth was on hers, her seat was dropping back, and he
was on top of her as his tongue slid between her lips.
It was as if he were just picking up from where he'd left off the other night. There was
no slow buildup, no coaxing. His mouth was hot and desperate, his tongue demanding,
and it spurred a similar response in her. Elvi was suddenly on fire. Slipping her arms
around his back, she clutched at his shirt, her body pushing upward, eager to press
itself against his as she let her own tongue join the fray.
"God, I want you," Victor muttered, tearing his mouth from hers and trailing kisses
across her cheek to the pulse point below her ear.
"Yes," Elvi breathed, one hand slipping around to run over his chest through the white
T‐shirt he wore. "Yes."
"I've never wanted anyone this badly." His teeth grazed against her throat as he spoke
and Elvi moaned and tipped her head to the side, and then back as his mouth moved
down the long column to her collarbone. She then gasped as he nudged the neckline of
her blouse lower and licked the upper curve of one breast.
"Oh yes," Elvi murmured. She was feeling exactly what he claimed to be feeling, but
couldn't seem to find the words to say so. " Yes" was apparently the only word in her
vocabulary at the moment. And she lost the ability to say even that when his hand