Page 15 of By the Pint

I decided to be honest. To a point. “I came to find you.”

Dima’s brows rose into his hairline, though he didn’t look particularly surprised.

“My master plans to start an enterprise. He wanted to pick your brains on the topic.”

Interesting choice of words,he thought, laughter lines ghosting his face.

My heart skipped a beat at hearing it. Was I finally figuring out how to break into his mind?You don’t say,I thought.

“And your master couldn’t come himself, ah, or herself, because …?”

I could’ve told him the truth, which was, I had no idea why Killian decided this whole trip was beneath him. A trip he insisted I did not return from empty-handed, or, in this case, empty-minded. A trip in which he promised me if I were to be successful, we could finally push forward on the one thing I’d been chasing since I was a kid.

“He’s too busy, unfortunately,” I said instead, keeping it vague.

“As vampires often are.”

“Part of me is half wondering if he just wanted me out of the house so he could throw his own bloodbath at home.”

Dima nodded. His gaze brushed over my lips, and I felt a thrill to my stomach. “And that’s not something you generally permit? You’re pretty formidable. For a familiar. No?”

Now I was laughing. Not crinkling my eyes, putting on a show, and pretending to laugh like I usually did, but genuine, belly-shaking laughter. “I guess I am.”

It felt … so damn good, like something deep inside had awoken. Like Dima had awoken it.

“So, you want my business secrets?”

I made a non-committal sort of noise. It was what I came for. What I wanted. What would help me transcend this poxy mortal realm. One step closer to my ultimate goal. But in that moment, something, and it was difficult to say what, was gnawing away at my titanium-plated certainty.

“There’s not much to tell you,” he said. “Business is one of those things where if you want something to happen, you make it happen, and that’s really all there is. I could tell you again. Find fifty new ways to say the same thing, but you either have the determination, or you don’t.”

Oh, I definitely had determination. Just not for entrepreneurship. “There has to be more to it than that.”

Before I realised what I was doing, I shifted closer to him on the bench. He didn’t move away, though there was plenty of space on the other side.

“I wish I could tell you what you want to hear,” Dima said, in that impossibly breathy voice. He scooted a little closer still, and the single foot of space between us became charged. Like the static electricity of a lightning storm. “But … I also think you don’t know what you want to hear. I reckon, right now, I could tell you anything and it wouldn’t change what you actually want. The real reason you’re here tonight.”

I swallowed. I was certain it was audible. Dima moved an inch closer. Having him so near to me was frying my thoughts. Scrambling them like eggs. Like he’d reached inside my brain and swished everything up with his fingers. Did I want to kiss him? Maybe. Did I want to know the cold press of his immortal lips against mine? How his tongue tasted? What his hair felt like beneath my fingertips? Yes, yes, yes. Did I care about hisbusiness secrets, or whatever the hell Killian had told me to find? Uh …

“So …” He fixed his red eyes on my mouth. “You tell me why you’re here tonight. Don’t tell me you want my business secrets. We can get back to that another time. Tell me why you’re on this bench right now. With me. Under the moonlight. Tell me why your breaths are coming out so fast. Why your heart is beating so loud I can hear it. Why you keep looking at my lips. And licking yours.”

“I …” I paused. The silence echoed around us like screaming. My hot breath pooled between us. Dima closed his eyes. His nostrils flared and his chest rose once as though he was sucking in my scent. His mouth parted, his sheathed fangs glinting in the moonlight.

“I was curious about you,” I admitted. And weirdly, I found it easy to be frank with him.

Another inch closer. “And?”

I didn’t care what anyone said about vampires not being able to breathe. Dima Black was breathless.

Focus, Casey. Concentrate on why you came here. On the end goal. Don’t look at his lips. Don’t look at the way they curve up at the corners even when resting. Don’t think about kissing him.

“Uh … You’re …”Fuck it, just be honest with him.“I’ve always had a bit of a crush—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Dima’s fingers plunged themselves into my hair, gripped the back of my head and pulled my lips down onto his.

I froze at the shock of the contact. At the firm, foreign coolness of his touch. I’d never kissed a vampire before, but it felt … right. It felt like this was what we were meant to be doing. Like every part of this weekend had been leading up to this one moment.

Dima hesitated too. His parted mouth grazed mine, waiting for my reaction. For my consent.

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