Page 34 of The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee

As the dishes were cleared away, the waiter offered me another glass of wine which I happily accepted, though Connor refused. I raised an eyebrow. ‘So I can drive you home,’ he explained. His smile had a sad edge to it; he didn’t want me to go home. I reached for his hand. I didn’t want to go either but it seemed a bit forward to tell him that I wanted to stay.

I heard a heavy door close in the distance and realised we were finally alone: the chef and wait staff had gone. Excitement and nerves warred in my gut. ‘You did a fabulous job taking me to the city,’ I said. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’m not done.’

My eyebrows shot up. ‘There’s more?’ I said incredulously.

He smiled. ‘There’s more.’

Chapter 20

He stood and held out a hand and I let myself be pulled up. He led me through the dining room, down a corridor where one of the doors was being guarded by an armed vampire. Okay, so not totally alone with Connor. My curiosity got the better of me. As Connor took me into another room I asked, ‘What’s the deal with the guard?’

‘That’s Cody. He’s on security rotation.’ Connor hesitated. ‘I have some valuable jewels here.’

‘Not cursed ones, right?’ I was only half-joking.

He grinned. ‘Just standard gems. I received a tip-off that someone was targeting them so I put extra security in place.’

‘Including Cody.’

‘Including Cody,’ he agreed.

I looked around the huge space. It was decorated like a club complete with booths, a disco ball, dim lighting and, after Connor punched something into a remote, loud club music. I whirled around and threw my arms round him in delight. A club! He’d made me a club! The one thing Portlock was missing was a place to dance!

‘This is so cool! Did you really have this room made for me?’

‘Yeah. You like it?’

‘I love it!’ Impulsively I kissed him, just a swipe of the lips, but then I couldn’t help but go back for more. The song changed to a sexy one full of bass and a slow, hip-gyrating rhythm. I pressed my lips to his and let my eyes close as he took what I freely offered.

His tongue plundered my mouth, making me moan again. This was even better than the chocolate mousse. Eventually he pulled back and I could feel that he was struggling with tight trousers again. I itched to help him, but we had all night and the music was calling me. This club needed some dancing.

I turned and leaned back against him as I swayed and writhed to the music. He gave a low appreciative groan. We stood like that for a few minutes as I teased him mercilessly. Then the music changed tempo to something we could really dance to.

I’d had ballroom-dance lessons as part of my ‘society’ education and wanting to learn the tango had been one of my earlier rebellions, much to the amusement of my dance teacher. Thankfully he’d agreed to teach me. He loved dance of all descriptions; having taught me everything on Mum’s list, he’d thrown in some extras.

I recognised the strains of Spanish guitar music and registered that the beat was one we could tango to. I took Connor’s hand and stepped back. He followed me, his eyes watching the line of my leg as I kicked it forward before drawing it slowly back. He drew me closer to him, masterfully leading me as music flowed around us.

His hands traced a path across my abdomen then swept down the sides of my body. He spun me away but kept pace with me, somehow keeping our bodies glued together. His lips were barely an inch from mine and I itched to close the distance, but before I could he’d spun me away again.

He directed me as we moved seamlessly together. Now his hands were holding my ribcage and brushing the underside of my breasts. I regretted teasing him moments before because he was definitely getting his own back. His hands moved up and down my body, never touching anywhere indecent, yet it felt like the most intimate thing I’d ever experienced.

The dance ended with a deep dip and I let my head fall back. My neck extended in open invitation and finally he took it. His lips scorched a path down my skin before ending teasingly at my collarbone.

I was so ready for more, but he pulled me back up. He lifted me, walked us a few steps back until we reached the wall, then lowered his lips to mine. I was lost, drowning in him. My hands tangled in his hair and then that damned zing hit harder than ever. I cried out at the force of it.

It was like a splash of iced water to the face.

I pulled back, chest heaving. ‘What is it?’ I asked insistently. ‘That zing. This thing between us. There’s chemistry – and then there’s whatever the fuck that is.’ I searched his eyes for an answer. I couldn’t describe the power of it; it was more than chemistry, more than electricity. A couple more zings like that and I’d be a puddle on the floor.

Connor pulled back and I was suddenly cold, bereft in more ways than one. His warmth and the dancing had left me hot and the sudden loss of his body chilled me. His eyes were regretful. Something clenched in my gut. I wasn’t going to like what was coming next and he knew it.

He pulled the remote from his back pocket and flicked off the music. I blew out a breath and met his eyes. ‘It’s bad, isn’t it?’

He smiled a crooked smile. ‘No, it’s not bad, but I expect it’ll take you a bit of time to wrap your head around it. That’s okay.’ He hesitated. ‘Can I have one more moment?’ he asked.

It seemed churlish to say no, so I nodded. He ran a thumb along my cheekbone and down my jaw and kissed me gently. This time it felt like farewell. But I didn’t want farewell! I wanted a horizontal mamba!

---