Page 17

There is a lamp directly behind him casting a perfect golden glow around his head giving him the illusion of a halo. He really is absurdly attractive, especially when I’m the sole focus of his attention.

He looks different in his everyday clothes, more relaxed, more…

normal. His work clothes are always a costume, even the ones that aren’t actual costumes.

In his dark blue jeans and emerald green tee shirt made of soft, worn in cotton, it’s like I’m getting to see another side of him.

The real him. I can already feel the knowledge fanning the already perilous flames of this crush.

I’m not the only one that notices how attractive he is.

Someone is literally leaning out of their booth to perv on him.

I frown at them, not that they even notice I’m here.

The subtle reminder of the differences between Kai and me is enough to put a pin in any silly date fantasies I’ve been entertaining.

It’s ridiculous, honestly. At least now that my head is straight, I can relax and just enjoy being with Kai.

Except, then I look at him and have to fight against the pull of his smile as it threatens to drag me right under again.

“Uh, yeah, not a problem. I got here early because of the bus. But it’s fine.

I got us this table and—” I wave a hand around the tiny enclosed space.

There is barely enough room for me on the couch, let alone the both of us.

My cheeks flame with heat as I realise we are going to have to sit really close.

I scoot as far as I can into the corner. “Here, sit, sorry. I’m being rude. ”

Kai’s chuckle does ridiculous things to my insides, and I very pointedly refuse to look at his face, knowing that devastating smile is only spreading wider.

As he gets himself settled, his knee presses against mine and he makes no effort to remove it.

Actually, he presses in closer, swallowing up the space to make himself comfortable, legs spread wide.

He leans forward to grab a menu from the coffee table, his chest brushing against my arm and, Gods just open the ground and let me fall into the ether, because that sweet, sweet innocent contact sends a lightning bolt of lust to my balls.

I rubbed one out real quick in the shower, hoping that it would help me keep myself under control, but it was pointless apparently. I’m weak when it comes to Kai.

“You came on the bus? No shit, sorry. I’ll give you a ride home.” He eases back onto the couch, keeping his body angled towards me.

Keeping up my pointless ruse of looking at the menu, I don’t dare look up at him. “It’s okay, it’s probably out of your way, I’m happy to catch the bus.”

Kai rests his hand on my thigh; it’s only casual, to get my attention, but my eyes snap to those fingers and then up to his face in a panic.

“I want to.” Gods, he is looking me right in the eye and those words are coming back to haunt my every fantasy about him. His fingers tighten, squeezing my thigh before letting go entirely. “Besides, being a vamp doesn’t make you invincible. It’s still unsafe to be out alone at that time of night.”

It’s a stretch, I mean, vampires roaming the night is kind of our whole thing. I don’t argue though, because it means more time with Kai and I’m selfish and greedy enough to snap up whatever opportunities I can .

“So what are you thinking?” Kai changes the subject, picking up the second menu on the table.

“Uh.” My pointless staring at the laminated sheet has come to bite me on the ass because I have no idea what’s on there.

There are a few blood infused drinks and even some blood based food.

I’m nowhere near far enough along in my transition to tolerate food just yet, so I check the drinks menu again. “Just a hot chocolate, maybe?”

“Aw, yes. Their hot chocolates are good shit. We’ll get them with the catuvezo. It’s like magic, man. Seriously.” Kai does a wiggling type of happy dance in his seat in his excitement.

My eyes flare slightly at the price—it’s to be expected, catuvezo’s are a rare human-feline being from Hedrana—but I’ve never seen Kai so enthused.

It’s kinda… dorky. And that’s usually my thing.

A laugh slips out of me including my embarrassing snort.

But he doesn’t snicker. His smile deepens just a little, his fang peeking out.

The waitress swings by and takes our order and then Kai turns on the couch to face me, throwing his arm along the back to get comfortable.

“Thanks for coming.” His boot taps my shoe under the table. I try to copy him and get comfortable on the couch, but I can’t do it without basically ending up in his lap.

“Not a problem. Thanks for inviting me out. This place is awesome.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Like I said, the drinks are good. It can be hard to find places that aren’t just about the food. It was one of the harder things to adjust to after, you know?”

“Gods, tell me about it.” I ease back into the couch, letting myself relax the tiniest bit.

“I swear in those first few weeks, I missed chewing so badly. It was so strange. Then I caved and ordered a raw steak. I thought it would be fine, because of the blood, you know? But it made me so sick. I’ve never felt that awful in my entire life. ”

Shuddering at the memory of crippling stomach cramps, I almost miss Kai’s furrowed brow. His thumb brushes over the nape of my neck. It’s so faint I barely feel it. It’s a whisper of a touch.

“Didn’t your maker stop you?”

The question takes away all of the happy feelings his soft, feathery touches are sending through me. I try rolling my shoulders to get rid of the tension that has suddenly gripped them, but all it does is make Kai stop touching me.

“Uh, no. He wasn’t there.”

“But didn’t he tell you not to eat? That’s like, one of the first things they share.”

Where is that waitress with the drinks? I wonder, flicking my eyes to the gap in the makeshift booth wall. Licking my lips, I take a breath that is just moving my chest by reflex rather than taking in air.

“I actually lost my maker the morning after I was turned. I woke up on my own. Pretty much been that way ever since.” The confession rushes out of me, the words tripping over themselves on my tongue.

I don’t want to look at Kai, keeping my eyes focused on the gold flecks on the dark wood of the table, unsure whether I dread seeing the pity or the horror more.

His fingers return to the base of my neck.

The touch isn’t gentle now, though. It’s firm, his thumb rubbing a reassuring circle where my hair meets my skin.

They work their way across my neck until his fingers exert a gentle pressure on the side of my jaw, encouraging me to turn to face him.

Swallowing hard, I let him turn my face.

“I’m sorry, Finn. That is really, really shit. No being should be left like that.” Kai’s absolute sincerity takes the edge off the sadness in his eyes .

My smile is a tight line, more of a grimace, and I bob my head in agreement. “Yeah, it wasn’t great. I mean, learning how to do the whole vampire thing while also figuring out how to get home without frying in the sun wasn’t exactly a high point of my life. But it’s okay.”

“My parents helped. I was allowed to stay with them for the first week, so long as we had regular visits from the nurses at the local senior shifter’s home to check I was okay.

The nurse probably told me about the food thing, but there was so much information I couldn’t really take it all in, and by the time the craving got too bad I was here in Osneau on my own. ”

We would have been really screwed without the nurses. None of us had any idea about, well, anything. Blood, feeding and the incredible hunger of the freshly turned were all well beyond us. Usually your maker teaches you that sort of thing, but obviously, mine couldn’t.

Kai tsks sympathetically. It’s not an uncomfortable, pitying sound. He gets it. “That’s so shit. You shouldn’t have been all alone like that.”

“Probably not. But at least I had my parents when I was back in Twin Heads. They did most of the paperwork to get me registered and my new records set up. There was extra because I needed them for here and Ulydessia and back in Carconnois and then I needed a new passport and license too. I didn’t know how much there was until I saw Mum at the table with Dad one evening filling them out. And I’m here now, so it’s not all bad.”

Kai’s eyes search my face and then he smiles softly. “Well, I am very glad you’re here.”

He squeezes my neck again, sending a really inconvenient electric pulse through me. Then his hand drops back to the couch, letting go of me. I am very close to begging him to put it back; the constant pressure of his knee against my leg is the only thing holding me back.

“Same. Very glad. ”

Our waitress seems to have the world’s worst timing, choosing to interrupt the magnetic moment of eye contact rather than the awkward word vomit. Rude.

The drinks do look awesome, big mugs of blood infused with chocolate topped with bloody pink whipped cream.

There’s even special vamp-safe sprinkles.

We ooh and ahh over them for a second and Kai makes an absolute show of scooping up a spoonful of the cream and licking it off in a way that has my cock and my teeth aching.

I have to shift around a little on the tiny confines of the couch to cover myself.

“It’s good that your parents were so keen to help. They supportive?” He asks after our first sips, not even letting the delicious chocolatey blood taste truly sink into my senses.

“Yeah. I mean, I couldn’t have stopped them from doing the paperwork if I tried—they did it during the day—but like, they are trying. It’s just not what they expected for my life.” I huff a bitter laugh. “Not exactly what I expected either.”

“What did you expect?” The question is caring, the intensity of his eyes on me making my skin prickle.