Page 37 of Taste of Forever
I was still for exactly one heart beat, then jumped into action.
“On my way!”
I started my bike and sped down the road toward the club like my ass was on fire.
Chapter 10
Heather
Laith walked through the door less than five minutes after Skye, the bartender, put down the phone and told me he was on his way.
He spotted me sitting at the bar and started toward me, grinning so broadly that it made my stomach do a little flip. He still looked a little feral and sharp, his cheek bones almost as sharp as his fangs, but I wasn’t put off or scared. No one had ever looked so joyful at justseeingme.Not even Justin’s face had lit up like that when he and I first got together.
“You came back,” Laith said when he reached me, his tone softly jubilant.
“I was thinking about what you said last time.”
His gaze focused intently. “About being blood mates?”
“That, and what you said about taking it slow. Getting to know each other.” I clasped my hands together to stop my fidgeting. “I’d like to talk more about that.”
Laith’s face lit up and then his features smoothed just as quickly, like he was trying to keep his excitement in check. “Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Do you want to talk somewhere quieter, maybe?”
He held a hand out toward the loft overlooking the ground floor.
“Yeah, okay.” I slid from the barstool and headed for the stairs off the dance floor with Laith at my side. I thought he might touch me, but he kept his hands to himself and a respectful few inches of distance between us.
“Did you order a drink? They’ll send it up if you did.” He kept pace with me up the steps, even though his long legs could clear three of them easily.
“No, not yet.”
“You can order one from up here too, if you want.”
I couldn’t deny it was tempting. A shot or two of something would be great to take the edge off. I was all swirling nerves and conflicted feelings, but I wanted to keep my head straight and stay sober. The only thing clear to me was Soren’s promise.
Three months of gathering intelligence on the vampires and he would leave me alone for good. And, while I felt bad for using Laith in this way, what other choice did I have? Soren didn’t seem like a guy who made empty threats, and I didn’t want to test that theory.
Now if only I could shove down how much all this secrecy and deception felt intensely, painfully disloyal to Justin.
“I’ll just have some water for now, thanks,” I said as we reached the loft.
“Of course. Make yourself comfortable, please.” Laith gestured to the low couch piled with plush cushions as he crossed the loft to the miniature bar on the far side.
It was surprisingly quieter up here, the music from the lower floor sounding farther away.
I took a seat and he returned with two large glasses—one filled with ice cubes, the other filled with water.
“I wasn’t sure if you’re one of those humans who likes a glacier’s worth of ice in their water,” he said a bit sheepishly,placing both down on the coffee table in front of us. “So, I made sure you have options.”
“Thank you.” It was a small gesture, but I was touched all the same. It made me feel even worse for deceiving him. “I’m a moderate ice person. Not quite a glacier’s worth, more like a small hail storm.”
He chuckled while I carefully added some ice to my water glass. “So, I take it you’re a free woman now?”
I sipped my water while I considered my answer. “No, not exactly. I’m still with my boyfriend.”
Laith’s face fell and I hated myself for making him look so sad. “So you’re stillnotinterested in being my blood mate.”
“I didn’t say that.” I set my drink down, angling myself on the couch to face him. “Justin and I aren’t over yet but…things have been strained for several months. Almost a year, actually.”
