Page 41 of Tempting the Dhampir

I take out my mental notepad and jot that down.

Keeping with the theme, I throw her another softball. “Favorite food?”

Her smile is wide and uninhibited. She’s positively radiant like this. “Steak. You going to keep them this easy?”

I grin at her. “Yup. Fa—”

“My, my. Don’t you two look all cozy here,” Alexandra intones.

The evil woman stands next to our table, looking down at us with a sneer marring her harsh features. I was so wrapped up in the conversation that I wasn’t paying attention to anything outside of Sadie. Again.

“What the fuck are you doing here? I told you you’re not welcome in this building,” I whisper yell at her, craning my neck to look for one of my hotel’s discreet security guards.

The restaurant has such a calm atmosphere that I don’t want to disturb any of the patrons with the drama that seems to follow Alexandra everywhere.

Alexandra tuts. “No need to get your panties in a twist. I was merely passing through and thought I’d say hi.” She shrugs like it’s not a big deal that she’s trespassing.

My anger roils in my gut, threatening to spill over into a verbal lashing. Clenching my teeth to keep my fury contained, I grit out, “You don’t just pass through my hotel. What are you really doing here?”

“I was just leaving,” Alexandra says faux sweetly, turning and taking a step away. Holding a finger up, she stops and pivots to face us. “Oh, by the way, your father sends his regards. Enjoy your dinner, lovebirds,” she singsongs as she walks away with a wave of her fingers.

“I’m so sorry. I’m going to get this sorted out. Tonight. I’ll ask the staff to keep an eye out for her from now on,” I apologize to Sadie.

Sadie shakes her head and places her hand on mine on the table. “It’s okay. I’m more sorry for you. What can I do to help?”

I turn my hand to lace our fingers together. “I appreciate you, but there’s nothing to do right now. I’ll sort this out after dinner. For now, let’s maybe try to get back to our game. I’d much rather be thinking about you than whatever scheme my father is cooking up.”

I can feel my anger dissipating as I look into Sadie’s beautiful eyes. Something about her calms me and excites me at the same time, something that makes my heart beat faster. I’m turning into such a sap for her, and I don’t mind it one bit.

“You know, there are other ways to distract you too,” Sadie says seductively, a playful smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

“Let me guess, I’ve just got to ‘beg’ for it first?”

Sadie laughs. “Dammit, you knew where I was going with that.”

Deciding to get us back on track, I admit, “I’m starting to read you pretty well. Now, favorite music?”

“I mostly listen to pop, but I like anything I can dance to.” Sadie shimmies her shoulders to an imaginary beat, causing a huge smile to spread across my face.

My tongue toys with one of my canines. “I’d love to see some of your moves. Favorite drink?”

“For cocktails, I love a good piña colada. I also like white wine. I want to like red, but I think my taste buds are not quite sophisticated enough for that yet.”

That makes me laugh. Her honesty is refreshing, even with the slight self-deprecation there at the end.

“Fair enough. I like that you know your preferences so well and can be honest about it. Final question. What do you look for in a male?”

“First of all, I don’t go out looking for males. But if I had a preference, I’d say if you hit me with good banter, indulge my love for sparkly things, and give me some good D, I’ll be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

I choke on my water and hit my chest with my fist, trying to process what she said.

“You thought I’d veto that question, didn’t you?” A self-satisfied smile is firmly in place on her full lips.

“I underestimated the size of your lady balls. My bad,” I croak out and take another sip of water. “You want your five questions?”

Sadie narrows her eyes at me as I anticipate her first question. “Favorite flower?”

I laugh again, and she joins in. My heart does a funny skip, and my stomach suddenly feels all weird. Is this what they mean when they say you’ve got butterflies?

---