Page 34 of My Boyfriend Bites

“I notice everything about you, Selene.” His gaze rose to meet hers.

“Not a creepy thing to say at all,” she uttered with a nervous laugh, discomfited by his intensity.

“Think of it as a compliment. No other woman has so quickly and thoroughly enchanted me before.”

“How can you say that when we’ve barely spent time together?”

“And how long should it take for me to know I am smitten? Isn’t the very definition because it comes about rapidly?”

Her lips parted in surprise, and her heart fluttered in pleasure before reality set in. “You probably say that to all the women you try to seduce.”

“Here’s the thing. I don’t have to try. This might sound crass, but they tend to throw themselves at me.”

“So the fact I didn’t is why you’re trying so hard,” she surmised.

“On the contrary. Usually, your aloofness would have led to me ignoring you. I’m not one to chase where I’m not wanted, but from the moment we spoke, your bold nature?—”

“Bold?” she interrupted him. “I just about had a panic attack going to dinner.”

“And? You aren’t comfortable in large social situations. You’re still strong and confident. Why look at how well you recovered after your kidnapping and the deaths of those responsible.”

“Some would call me callous.”

“Not me. I’m not a soft-hearted man who thinks criminals deserve a second chance because they had a poor childhood or because they were never taught better. People know right from wrong, and as soon as the excuses start, I’m done listening.”

“You believe murderers are irredeemable?” What would Dante think if he knew what she’d done?

“Depends on why they killed. Self-defense? Completely justifiable. Had you taken out any or all of those thugs in thejungle, I would have applauded. If done in defense of another, also fine. Where I draw the line is murder for gain or for sadistic pleasure.”

“What about hunters?” She didn’t specify human or animal.

“So long as we’re not talking the trophy kind, then as a carnivore, I applaud those with the skill to catch and then eat their meat.”

“Meaning if I told you I’ve released and then trapped my own rabbits for stew…”

“I’d be mightily impressed,” he replied. “Most women would look at them as cute little creatures that shouldn’t be harmed, but in reality, they’ve been a source of food for thousands of years.”

It occurred to her in that moment she might be smitten as well. Dante might just be the type of man who would understand her lycan side, who wouldn’t be scared by the predator within.

Unless he ended up in bed with her wolf during an intimate encounter.

“You lost your smile. What’s wrong?”

Selene slid from the counter where she’d been conversing with him while he rubbed her feet. “Nothing. Just hungry,” she lied.

“Give me a moment and I’ll have that rectified.”

As she stood by the balcony door staring out, he used the phone in her room to order but very firmly stated any and all charges be put on his suite’s bill. She let him. There was something nice about having a man take charge. A man who claimed to be falling for her. Even if he lied, the woman in her enjoyed hearing it. Glowed at the thought of someone finding her special.

Surely a vampire wouldn’t have been so honest with her. Then again, he’d been out and about last night around the time she found the body.

She felt him behind her before he spoke. “Cloudy night,” he remarked.

“Foggy too. I didn’t realize that could happen at sea.”

He leaned in and nuzzled the hair over her ear while murmuring, “Guess it’s a good thing we chose to stay in.”

She turned and gazed at him, her heart racing, but her hands clammy with nervousness. “This is probably a good and bad time to tell you that I have trouble with intimacy.”

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