Page 15 of Every Bite You Take (Midnight Siren Supernatural Cruises #1)

CHAPTER 15

KYLIE

T he red and purple lights at the Danger Zone lit up the club while Morphine’s “Honey White” echoed around me. I poured a whiskey mule for a regular and slid it over with a somewhat forced smile. It had been two weeks since I’d returned from the cruise, and every day I questioned if I’d made a mistake.

It was a Saturday night, which was great for tips, and the business kept me moving. I hoped the distraction would keep my mind off Damien, but he crept in whenever I least expected.

At closing, Gianna leaned against the bar, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders. “What’s going on, Kylie?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, glancing up briefly as I put glasses on the shelves.

“You seem different since you’ve come back from your trip. You said you had a great time, but something’s off. Did something happen on the cruise?”

I grabbed a rag and rubbed the bar top with vigor, even though I’d already cleaned it. “It was great. Great,” I repeated mechanically while avoiding eye contact. “Spectacular scenery, lots of food.”

“And?” she prompted.

“And what?”

“What happened?”

I sighed as my plan to tuck away memories of Damien and file them as a happy vacation memory crumbled. How could that happen when I thought about him nonstop? Wondered if he’d forgotten about me and found someone new to entertain him on the next sailing.

I sighed. “I met someone.”

Gianna clasped her hands together. “I knew it!”

I grunted in response, not as enthusiastic.

“Tell me more,” she insisted, tapping my forearm with a light brush of her long fingers.

I took a deep breath as I let images of Damien flood my mind—the way he looked at me from his intense green eyes, the way he sang in his deep, soulful voice, the way he touched me… “Someone very considerate.”

“And…hot?” Gianna’s eyes widened.

A smile tugged at my lips, breaking through my moping. “Incendiary.”

“Oh, hell yes.” She leaned closer. “I’m listening.”

“He’s a musician—a guitarist for a band on the ship.”

“Definitely sounds hot.” She fanned herself.

I grinned, shaking my head. “And he’s a vampire.”

She stared at me, her mouth agape. “A vampire?” She turned her hand upward, as in disbelief. “No way. You and your blood thing?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, you should hear how we met.” When I pictured the gruesome encounter with the blood bag outside the ladies' room, I chuckled. It felt good to laugh again, and I gave her a brief rundown of our short time together while we finished up. Gianna poured us each a glass of prosecco, and then we sat at the bar, the opposite side of where I usually spent my time there.

I took a big sip of my drink, and the bubbles popped on my tongue before I continued. I shared the story about my dad—both falling for a vampire and becoming one—and the horrifying incident of catching them in bed.

“Guess you now know how that feels like,” she said with a sage nod.

“Eww. Let’s not go there.” I shook my head to get rid of any weird psychoanalytical explanations before delving into them.

“Okay, fine, but don’t forget to share the good parts.” She raised her index finger to emphasize her point.

“Gianna,” I said in a lower voice and tipped my head.

“What?” She widened her eyes with feigned innocence. “Anyway, I’m glad you seem to be over your squeamishness with blood—at least in some aspects. And hopefully, this hot vamp had you screaming instead of squeaming.”

“Oh my god, I don’t think that’s even a word.” I released a playful groan. “I should have known what I was getting into by telling you.”

Gianna was the most uninhibited person I knew and never shied away from talking about anything sexual.

“So was this a two-ships-sailing-in-the-night kind of encounter?” She moved her hands by each other. “Or do you have plans to see each other again?”

My smile vanished. “Ships have sailed. Meaning he’s still on one and I’m…not.”

“It’s better that way,” she reassured me. “You have a little fun on vacation, no strings attached.”

I bit my lower lip and didn’t say anything.

“Kylie?” she prompted.

“He asked me to stay longer,” I admitted.

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. “What?”

“Yeah.” I turned away and exhaled. “And clearly, I said no.”

“I sense there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

I nodded, my throat tightening with emotions I wasn’t sure I could express. “Yes.” In a smaller voice, I added, “Now that I’m back, I wonder if I made a terrible mistake.”

“You wish you stayed?”

“Right.”

“Huh,” she responded and was silent for several seconds. “Why did you say no?”

I pushed my hair out of my eye in frustration. “Because I can’t just up and leave my life.”

She blinked at me. “Why not?” She shrugged. “You’re young. Now’s the time to try new things. Visit new places.” She motioned around us. “Before you have things like mortgages and bills and deep roots.”

I huffed a breath. She was right. “Okay, but it’s more than that. I can’t just up and leave— for a guy. And for what? Another week onboard before it ends? I mean, he offered to pay for another week, but neither of us are rich. ”

She pierced me with a probing look. “Were you at all tempted?”

“Of course I was. He’d mentioned a job and I wondered if they’d hire me to bartend. I know people who work on cruises work their asses off, but they also get to visit some spectacular places.” I turned one hand palm up and then the other. “You know, pluses and minuses.”

“So you wouldn’t necessarily be doing it for a guy then.”

“What do you mean?”

She motioned at me. “You’d be doing it for you.”

The realization hit like an anchor being dropped overboard. All that wondering and yearning and that strange itch before I’d left. I’d found something. Too bad I’d thrown it away.

And ruined a chance for any future with Damien.

“You’re right, Gianna.” I exhaled with a low whoosh. “I blew it.”