Page 82 of Twilight Destiny

As always, he knew what she was thinking. She could see it in his eyes, those dark, all-knowing eyes that saw way too much.

Silence stretched between them. He was waiting, she thought, waiting for her to make a decision. He knew before she did what the answer was.

“How was your day?” he asked, dropping down on the chair beside the sofa.

She shrugged. “I stayed in. Watched TV. Took a nap. Called room service for dinner.”

Jake raked his fingers through his hair. He needed to feed, but he was reluctant to leave her alone, even for a few minutes. His gaze slid to her throat, to the pulse throbbing there, slow and steady. The beat of her heart, the enticing scent of her blood, called to him.

He stood abruptly and turned his back to her.

Rosa stared at him. He was so tense, every muscle in his back and arms were starkly defined. She frowned, and then she knew what the problem was. “Go,” she said. “I’ll be all right until you get back.”

He shook his head. How could he leave her when Rhinehart was in the hotel?

“I’ll go with you.”

He turned to face her. “Are you sure?”

“I can’t let you starve,” she said with a wry grin.

“Rosa.” Drawing her into his arms, he held her close, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, the unique, feminine scent that was hers alone.

They left the hotel ten minutes later. Jake had pulled on a long-sleeved black tee shirt and his cowboy boots. Rosa had changed into jeans, a navy blue sweater and a pair of sneakers.

Outside, Jake slipped his arm around her waist and transported them to a small town in Montana that housed little more than a gas station, a seedy motel, and a ramshackle nightclub.

Rosa shivered as they waited in the shadows. How did he do this night after night? How did any of them do it? Did it ever bother Sofia or Holly? Somehow, it seemed more nauseating for a woman than a man.

“Stay here,” Jake whispered.

Rosa clenched her hands as she watched him approach his prey. She had gone with him once before, but it wasn’t any easier to watch this time.

The woman he’d chosen was middle-aged and she smiled when she saw him. Rosa grunted softly. What woman wouldn’t smile when Jake looked at her like that? He said something to the woman, took her by the hand, and led her behind a parked car near where Rosa waited.

She glanced away as he bent his head to the woman’s throat. But morbid curiosity drew her attention and she watched as he cradled the woman in his arms and bent his head to her neck.

It was over in a matter of moments. Jake released the woman from his thrall and she walked to her car and drove away as if nothing had happened.

“You okay?” Jake asked, returning to her side. “It’s not the first time you’ve come with me.”

“I know.” She made a vague gesture with her hand. “It’s just … I don’t know. Hard to imagine doing that night after night. Have you ever fed on the same person twice?”

He shook his head as he wrapped his arm around her. “Not to my knowledge.”

“How do you know their blood is safe? I mean, what if they’re sick with something contagious? Or their blood is tainted in some way?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “We’re pretty much impervious to disease.”

She mulled that over as he transported them back to the hotel.

In their room again, Rosa curled up in a corner of the sofa. “Remember when you said I could ask you anything, any time?”

He nodded as he settled beside her.

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