Page 42 of Taste of Forever
“Yes,” she said with a fervent nod. “You do need to feed on a regular basis, right?”
“Yeah, two to three times a week is ideal.”
“And it can only be from me.”
“That’s right, unless I want to feel violently ill and slowly starve to death. Which I don’t.”
She shrugged as if that answer settled it. “When should I come next?”
You should come all the time. And you should never leave.
“How about three nights from now?” I counted on my fingers. “Sunday night.”
“Same time and place?”
“Yeah, that’ll work.”
“Okay.” She paused for a moment before shifting around on the couch and then shouldering her purse. “Well, goodnight, Laith.”
“Here, I’ll walk you out.” I stood, letting her go in front of me as we headed for the stairs.
Heather took the steps down slowly, like she didn’t really want to go. Or maybe that was just my wishful thinking. I wanted to put my hand on her lower back, to reassure her with a steadying, guiding touch. The impulse was so strong and felt like such the right thing to do, I had to ball my fist at my side to stop myself.
We reached the ground floor and went to the front door together. I saw Thorne and Rhain at the main bar, their eyesfollowing us curiously. But I kept my focus on Heather, pushing the door open for her.
She turned to me on the landing. “I’m good from here, thanks.”
“You don’t want me to walk you to your car?”
“No, that’s okay. I’m good.”
I stood in the door, halfway in and out of the building. Another impulse hit me—to kiss her goodbye. It felt so natural, I even started to lean down and had to force myself to stop.
“Goodnight then, Heather,” I said. “Be careful.”
She nodded, casting a glance at me over her shoulder as she started down the street. “See you Sunday.”
I watched her go until she was out of sight, then retreated back into the club. Like a man on a mission I cut across the floor, heading straight for the rear entrance.
“Hey Laith,” someone called out, but I ignored them.
With the firm push of another door, I was outside again. I bypassed the dumpsters, stacked pallets, and mountains of crushed cardboard boxes to where several motorcycles were parked together in a small, private lot.
I sat on my bike and fired up the engine, the way to Heather’s apartment clear in my mind.
I caughtup to Heather’s car using some old, overgrown forest service roads that straddled the border between her world and mine. The roads probably hadn’t been used by humans since the bygone logging boom days of the early twentieth century. But they were getting plenty of use from me lately.
Since Heather had seen my bike when I first showed up at her place, I made sure to stay a few cars behind. In the dark, she wouldn’t be able to tell me apart from any other motorcyclist.
When she turned in to her apartment complex, I pulled into a gas station on the corner and loitered in an empty space, pretending to check my phone. After following her from home to work a few times, I knew Heather sometimes parked on the street or a spot far away from her unit due to lack of space. She didn’t need to see me while circling her complex. Not until I was sure she’d leap into my arms with joy and leave that boyfriend in the dust.
I gave it a little over five minutes, paying close attention to her distant heartbeat that somehow stood apart from all the others around me. It was getting easier to pinpoint hers, probably because I had more of her blood in my system.
After five minutes passed with no odd spikes in her heartbeat, I drove slowly through the complex’s entrance, making my way to Heather’s unit. Her car sat dark and empty in a space not far from her front door. She got lucky on parking tonight.
I left my motorcycle in the darkest, shadowy corner I could find and killed the engine, waiting a few more minutes. It was late and, as daytime creatures, humans might investigate a strange noise.
Nothing stirred as I listened, so I walked through the well-lit sidewalks to where my blood mate lived. Rather than go to the front door, I went around the exterior and peeked through the windows.
