Page 18 of Resurrecting His Soul
Lisandra crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her friend. “I don’t suppose you’ve come to your senses and decided to stick with Ricardo and myself when we go into town?”
Allison raised her eyebrows and slightly shook her head. “Nice change of subject, Lis.” Allison chuckled. “I’m not going to let Melina take my life away from me. I’ve seen what it looks like for someone to live in fear, afraid to make a move on their own.” She paused, and Lisandra felt her un-beating heart squeeze tight in her chest. She knew that Allison’s comments were aimed at her. Not in a hurtful way, but she had given up living because she was afraid once upon a time, refusing to listen to Allison when she offered her a safe way out, time and again. Allison was reminding her of her own words when she finally found the courage to get away from Jameson before he hurt her one final time.
With her teeth ground together, Lisandra sighed and nodded her head. “Fine, Allison. If you insist on going off on your own, I won’t fight you anymore, but you keep your phone on you so you have easy access. Call me if you so much as get a feeling you’re being watched, and we will be there in a flash. I know you’ve always been the brave one, but for once I need you not to be.”
She could tell Allison took a deep breath by the rise and fall of her chest, but she didn’t say anything.
“Allison, please. I need you to promise me you will call. That you won’t do anything to put yourself in additional danger.”
“Fine,” Allison finally said. “I promise, as long as you promise not to spend your whole night out worrying about me. I want you to have fun. You deserve it.”
Lisandra nodded. She wanted that too. As worried as she was about Allison, she couldn’t deny the part of her that was looking forward to a night out with Ricardo. It had been a long time since she’d been out on a date, even if they were just going to see a movie. Her ex didn’t take her out unless it was to show off for his friends. Ricardo wasn’t like that, and she believed he genuinely just wanted to spend time with her and help her get her mind off all the things that could go wrong if Melina decided not to change. For one night, she was going to try to push her worries from her mind and just enjoy a night out with the beautiful man beside her.
ChapterTwelve
Ricardo
Ricardo would never admit it out loud, but knowing that he was going to have Lisandra to himself most of the night made him want to literally jump for joy. He wouldn’t, of course, but he couldn’t hide the smile that took over his face from the moment Lisandra gave in to Allison and agreed to go out with him without her friend tagging along. That probably made him an asshole, but it was hard not to be selfish when it came to spending time with Lisandra. His smile only grew when he found himself sitting in a dark movie theatre next to the most beautiful woman he’d known in all of eternity. Being a vampire might have some major downfalls, but it also had many advantages, and the power of persuasion was among his favorites. He’d made quick work of convincing any patron of the theater that they did not want to waste their money on watching the movie Lisandra had chosen —Jumanji.This meant the two of them had the theatre all to themselves.
A few minutes after the movie started, Lisandra sat up from her reclined position in her seat in the center of the theater and looked around the dark room. “I can’t believe we’re the only ones in here. This is supposed to be a good movie.”
He smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
She turned to him with her eyes narrowed. “This was you, wasn’t it?”
“I said I wanted to take you out. Not that I wanted to share you with a packed theater.”
Lisandra sat back in her seat but turned her body so she was facing him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He wanted to kiss her there. Well, to start by kissing her there at least. It was the first hint of a smile he’d seen on her face since Melina had ruined their new, albeit young, life together. She ran her hand down the side of her hair and shifted a bit in her seat, which only made him want to kiss her more. She was nervous. He liked what that suggested about her growing feelings for him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked a moment later.
Ricardo tilted his head, further taking her in. He couldn’t find any part of her that wasn’t perfect, from her beautiful face and body, to her even more beautiful heart. She was beauty and grace combined with strength and intelligence and was more loyal to the people in her life that mattered than he’d ever known in a person before her. He knew it was impossible, but he could swear his heart leapt every time he looked at her, heard her voice, or so much as recognized her scent in his home. The nervous way she was looking at him in that moment made him feel like his heart was clamoring to beat a hole through his chest from the inside out.
“How am I looking at you?” he asked.
“Like I’m the most fascinating person you’ve ever seen. That or the weirdest. I haven’t completely decided.”
He cocked his brow. “It was most definitely the latter,” he managed to get out before laughing.
Lisandra’s laugh immediately became his new favorite thing in the world. The force with which she punched him in the shoulder, not so much.
“Sorry,” she said when he rubbed the spot her fist had connected with. “I feel like I’m never going to get used to this new strength.”
“You will. You’ve already shown so much more restraint than any other young vampire I’ve known. Actually, you have more control than many seasoned vampires too.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better. I appreciate it, but you don’t have to pretend. I feel like I’m living on the edge right now. Teetering between what I know is right and clobbering every person in this building.”
Without hesitation, he took Lisandra’s face in his hands and moved so close he could feel electricity from her proximity coursing throughout his entire body. He waited until she met his eyes and he held her attention. “You have no idea how remarkable you are, but I vow to remind you just how amazing you are every single day until you know it to be the truth.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but before he had the chance to move and catch the first tear that spilled over onto her cheek, Lisandra’s hands clenched his shirt. She pulled him in, closing the small space he had left between them, and planted a kiss on him so deep he felt it all the way down in the deepest parts of him. Her kiss was so powerful he felt a flicker of light in a deep part of himself he thought had died when he was a young vampire. He could barely believe it, but the feeling made his need for her grow exponentially. With one kiss she had managed to reach his long-buried soul. Though it was only the first flicker of life he’d felt in that part of himself in centuries, something told him that if he let her all the way in, she would bring his dead soul back to life, brighter than it had ever been in this life or his previous human existence.
Ricardo allowed her to control the kiss at first, but when she parted her lips and darted her tongue out, running the tip across his bottom lip, he lost control. He opened his mouth to her, and their tongues became a dueling crescendo of caressing and moaning. Every sigh that escaped Lisandra’s mouth sent his body on high alert, lightning shooting through him until he needed more. In an instant, he wrapped his hands beneath her thighs and lifted her, twisting in his seat until she was in his lap, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her skirt was hiked up with her thighs straddling his legs tightly in the confines of the movie auditorium seating. It was a good thing they were alone in the auditorium because his animalistic nature would have gone ballistic if anyone else saw her in that state. She was panting, her heavy breaths caressing his lips as they continued to devour each other’s mouths, and he could practically feel her body vibrating with the charge that was building between them. He could have stayed like that forever. He didn’t need to breathe, or to rest. The only thing he needed was her.
It was when she ran her hands down his chest and traced her fingers beneath his shirt that they were interrupted by the sound of the metal auditorium doors being thrown open and then a pre-pubescent teen shined a flashlight right on them. Without any concern for hiding his true identity from the human boy, Ricardo moved with the speed of light, standing so that he was positioned in front of Lisandra, her skirt back in place as he moved her behind him. He clenched his fists and was unable to stop the growl that rumbled up his throat knowing the boy had just seen Lisandra in such a compromising position.
“Uh, uh, my b’boss said you have to le-leave,” the boy mumbled.
Ricardo didn’t move. He kept himself firmly planted between the boy and Lisandra until she stepped around him and gripped his hand to pull him behind her.
