Page 19 of Her Vampire

I gasp.

“Jesus, I want that too,” I whisper. “I thought I might be crazy, thinking that so quickly.”

He kisses my forehead and I can feel the smiling shape his lips make.

“There’s no such thing as crazy or too fast where we’re concerned,” he says. “We’re destined for each other. Of all the humans I’ve ever scented, none have ever made me feel what you have, Tammy. You’re one in a million, a billion, a goddamn trillion. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of and I can’t wait to put my seed in your virgin womb. But first, let me take you on a date. Let’s pretend to be civilized for an evening.”

A warm shiver moves through me.

A date with my man, the future father of my children …

How the heck can I resist that?

“But what about Chipper?” I ask.

“It’s up to you,” he says. “I can hire a professional dog sitter. Or we can take him with us. Whatever you like.”

“I think a dog sitter would work best,” I murmur, leaning down and stroking Chipper behind the ears, his favorite place to be tickled. “Sometimes he can get a little antsy around crowds.”

Chipper grins, reflecting the contentment moving through my body, and I can’t help but let a goofy grin of my own rise to my lips.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” I whisper.

Torsten envelops me in his arms, his body a solid certainty against mine.

“It’s the first of many,” he whispers close into my ear.Chapter NineTorstenI place my hand on her back as I walk with her through the restaurant, the light of the chandeliers glinting all around us. A Jazz band plays softly in a corner and I have to concentrate with every ounce of will I possess not to light the place up like a blood promise.

Tammy looks like something out of a fever dream.

In a dress, the purple of a long-awaited sunset, inset with jewels that glitter as brightly as her smile, her body claims the material. Her curves touch every part of it, creating an outline that causes my manhood to ache and tremble with withheld desire.

Her oaken hair has been piled artfully atop her head by the stylist, leaving the vivacious character of her face to shine through.

She turns to me with a cute as hell grin.

I lean in, brushing my lips against hers, an unstoppable instinct.

We sit at a private corner table, a single candle flickering artfully in a silver holder.

“This place is beautiful,” she whispers. “But I just realized something. Are you going to be able to eat?”

“Yes,” I tell her. “I just won’t taste it. And it won’t give me any sustenance. But I can chew and mime and watch you, watch you every single moment.”

“Maybe that should creep me out,” she giggles, tossing me a sassy look to end all sassy looks. “This big scary mythical creature staring me down.”

“Maybe,” I say, a savage undertone to my voice. “But it doesn’t.”

The waiter approaches, cutting off all talk of vampires and myth. I delight in making Tammy laugh as the waiter – a proper-looking man reminding me of a Russian noble – turns to me and asks me what I would like.

“I’ll have whatever she’s having, my good man,” I say, tossing her a wink.

She smiles but then a blush creeps into her cheeks.

Her heartbeat begins to beat faster, almost frantically, as her eyes roam over the menu.

“Could we have some more time to decide, please?” I say, speaking to the waiter but keeping my eyes on Tammy.

“I thought you were having whatever I’m having, hmm?” she sasses.

Or she tries to sass.

But beneath her words, I can hear a note of anxiety.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“How do you know something’s wrong, hmm?”

“Why do you keep saying hmm?” I mutter, smirking despite myself.

There’s just something about this woman, and by something, I mean that she’s life-changing, paradigm-shifting, that she’s the only person either in this time or at any time I’ve lived through who has made me want to enter the world of mortals again.

“Because it’s what you say,” she giggles. “Every now and then, you’ll just go hmm, like you’re the biggest badass in the world and you’re too important to say any actual words.”

“I do not,” I say, though I know she’s right.

Bantering with her is just too damn fun.

“You do too,” she laughs.

“Tammy,” I say, reaching across the table and taking her hand in mine. I feel her flinch slightly at the coldness I have to envelop myself with if I’m not going to light up this restaurant like a goddamn fireworks display. “You can tell me if something’s wrong, always. I’ll never judge you.”

“It’s just … I’m supposed to be on a diet, you know?”

I can’t help it. My mouth splits open and a savage laugh escapes my throat, causing several people to turn and look at me.

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