Immortal Flame

Eternal Mates

Book 1

Author JF Holland

Editor Maria Lazarou

Copyright © 2017 J F Holland

The moral right of the Author has been asserted.

All characters and events within the story, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

All rights reserved.

No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission, in writing of the Author and owner of the publication. Nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

Also by JF Holland

Contemporary Romance

Dennison Property Story Series:

The Only One 

This Time 

Second Chance  

Full Circle (coming 2017)

Single Titles

Blue Christmas

Date Night

Paranormal Romance

The Bound Series:

Moon Sworn June

Bound by The Moon

Fire in the Moon

Light up The Moon

Eternal Mates (The Bound Series Spin off)

Immortal Flame

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I always acknowledge my children as they are the ones who must deal with mother being in her own head as I write. My poor husband - as always has to deal with picking up the slack when he comes home from a long day at work. He shops and cooks so that I can quieten the voices in my head and get them down and out.

Then you the reader, your response and appreciation makes the long hours of writing, restructuring, editing and proofing worthwhile.

Lastly, I need to thank Graham, part of my friend; and fellow writer Trace’s gang. He helped me out of a pickle when I couldn’t think of a word, and google wasn’t playing. So, thanks Graham.

Dedication: -

Maria, this one is for you. You wear many hats; Editor, Super-star trailer maker and cheerleader, but most importantly, you’re my friend. You’re the one who’s always at the end of a message at stupid o’clock with something positive to spur me on. So, thank you. I couldn’t do it without you.

Immortal Flame

Eternal Mates

Book 1

Prologue

Looking for that special someone. Someone made, just for you? Then look no further. Here, at ‘Eternal Mates,’ we can match you to your Soulmate. That certain special someone, guaranteed to complement you through eternities’ trials. Also, if you are unhappy with your chosen date, we offer you a no quibble, money back guarantee. So, what do you have to lose?

“Ooh Jill look, this site looks promising,” Amanda giggled as she read the information on the screen of her tablet while she sipped her white wine. Jill rolled her eyes and flopped back against the sofa, cupped hands dropping into her lap, as she morosely cradled her own untouched glass. She was already depressed; and horny, she didn’t need reminding that her love life was a joke. “Come on Jill, what harm could it do?”

“How about, me not being matched to a single eligible male within five-hundred-miles.

“Don’t exaggerate…”

“No, I tell you, I’m sick of dating sites, they never

produce what they promise,” Jill sniped. Amanda rolled her own eyes as she took another sip of her drink, staring at the screen before her, reading through the details.

“Lies, what about Giles?” Jill crossed her eyes, stuck out her top teeth and Amanda snorted, eyes lifting above the screen. “Philip?” Jill tucked her chin into her chest and squinted,” again Amanda snorted. “Lance was okay, right?”

“Sure, if you didn’t mind sharing him with his wife and boyfriend,” she shrugged.

“Boyfriend?”

“Oh yes, Lance was already in a ménage relationship. Apparently, the boy wanted to add a little spice to it.” Amanda just blinked, then frowned and Jill rolled her eyes yet again as she could well imagine what was going through her friend’s mind. She watched as she put the tablet in her lap, glass in hand as she moved her head from side to side and squinted. She would be trying to imagine exactly what went on in their bedroom. Well, she could tell her that herself, without her having to pop an aneurism as she tried to work it out.

It was also nothing she was interested in being a party to, if that’s what they were doing. Nothing of interest. She had no interest whatsoever in sharing, none, zilch, zip.

Was it so wrong to just want a nice guy? She thought dismally, one that wasn’t too good looking, nor too arrogant or full of himself. She’d also like it if he could be faithful, that would be a definite bonus. The last wanker she’d dated probably had frost bite on his balls his pants were off so often. She’d also like a man who was under forty but over twenty-five, therefore not looking for a mummy substitute.

I mean, was it too much to ask? she didn’t think so, but it was like searching for the holy, fucking grail, trying to find an unattached, half decent male.

B.O.B. would be getting a work out later, again, she thought, sulkily.

Twenty-eight-years-old and she was still on the bloody shelf.

Now, how depressing was that? It was alright for Amanda, she had Polly, she didn’t have a clue how hard it was to find a semi-decent, unattached male.

Maybe she should look for her own Polly? Then Jill shook her head at the thought. Not that she had a problem with it, no, not at all, it was just that she already had her own vagina, where was the fun in playing with another. Then there was the monthly hormone overload, two women in one house, nope. It just didn’t do it for her.

She looked up again as Amanda shook her head, obviously deciding that she didn’t like the idea of a ménage or more, especially with males. Jill snickered at this one, imagining Amanda trying to figure out what to do with a penis that had a male attached to it.

“What’s so funny?” Amanda looked up.

“I was just trying to imagine you with a man.”

“And that would be funny, how?” she prickled.

“Because it would be a male at the end of the penis you’d be sitting on, and not Polly.” Jill burst out laughing as Amanda shuddered. “See, so not your thing.”

“No, they have body hair and weird odours. So, no, it’s most definitely not, but it’s yours. Now, come on grumpy pants, if you want a penis with a male attached and not long-life batteries, fill in the damn form,” Amanda growled, holding up the tablet and glaring.

“Fine, but if he turns out to be yet another loser, you can date him yourself.”

Amanda squealed, jumping up from the sofa, wine and tablet in hand, then plonked herself down on the floor between Jill’s knees.

“This is going to be fine, you’ll see. We’ll find you a perfect mate,” she snickered, and sighing, Jill downed her wine in one gulp. Then leaning forward, began to read through the questions so Amanda could input her information. Seeing the first question about what she wanted in her perfect mate, she groaned and leaned back.

“I just need a man who knows how to give me a tongue lashing,” Jill mumbled.

“Ha-de-ha-ha, I take it you mean in the literal and not the proverbial sense, because I can’t imagine you wanting a man who’s going to give you grief?” Amanda laughed as she went through the questions.

“How about a man who’s mute, but knows how to use his tongue. That would be a definite bonus,” Jill grumbled, eyeing the ceiling.

“I’m not sure there’s a box on the form for that,” Amanda told her dryly. “How about I fill it out and you just wait for the replies?”

“Good idea, that way I can just be surprised, instead of disappointed,” Jill sighed.

“I’ll find the perfect man for you, you wait and see.”

“Yeah, you do that, how about another drink?” Jill asked, leaning over and grabbing the bottle of sauvignon blanc from the end table.

“Fill it up, I’ve got my work cut out for me,” Amanda laughed, holding her glass out as she read through the questions on the tablet.

Chapter One

L eonard Smyth had come up to Upper Lunaton, from the smaller village of Lower Lunaton, and was just making his way out of the coroner’s office at Lunaton General. Jaden Matthews; a black jaguar shifter had needed him to pay a visit to the coroner’s office. One of the shifters sons had been killed recently by a psychotic witch on a power trip. The kid had been a brown bear who hadn’t even had his first shift. He’d needed to make sure the paperwork went through quickly, without any hold ups or questions asked. His parents wanted to bury him, and if the police or hospital thought there was any foul play it would hold that up. It could also cause the immortals in general a few problems if people found out they existed. With him being a vampire, he had the capabilities of reading minds and altering perceptions. His job today had been to help the coroner; Phillip James, who was a Lynx Shifter, to smooth the way. It had gone off without a hitch and had only required a little whammy, nothing major. The problems were caused by a local reporter sticking his nose in and sniffing around for a story. Now it was done, he could go back and let Michael’s parents know that it was all set, they could bury their son.

His jaw ticked at the thought of Michael. He’d only been fifteen-years-old, a baby really, and one who’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. All Michael had been doing was picking wildflowers for his mother’s birthday, but he’d come across Maisie; the black witch’s, hide-out. The psychotic bitch had taken Balin, a Jaguar shifter; and brother to Jaden, and had him captive in an old underground cavern. Michael had been searching for flowers nearby, he hadn’t known that she was holding and torturing Balin there. When he’d come across him in one of his searches for Maisie himself, it had torn him up to have to take his body back. Especially, when he’d had to stand by and watch his father fall apart.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, hands in pockets as he walked up yet another corridor. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts; he’d not noticed a door opening to his left.

“Damn, it’s fine,” a woman told him as she bent down and began picking paper files up off the floor, which she’d dropped.

“Here, let me help you, my fault. I should have been looking where I was going.”

“No, it’s mine, honestly, but thank you,” the brunette told him as she collected her files and straightened up. Then holding them to her chest, she thanked him again and turned, walking off up the corridor in the direction he’d just come from.

Leonard watched her walk away with a frown on his face. The woman had not paid him any attention, not even a look, just walked off leaving an evocative sweet scent in her wake. He wasn’t being arrogant or anything, but being a vampire came with a huge drawback, glamour. They had a natural glamour that attracted people to them - whether they wanted them to be or not. And yes, he’d admit it; if only to himself, it could also be fun and useful. I mean if he was out and needed a light snack from a donor with an available vein it made it easier. Easier because they didn’t have to go looking for a donor, they came to them. Only this small brunette who had just disappeared into the coroner’s office he’d just left, hadn’t even looked in his direction. It was unusual to say the least, but even more unusual was that he’d also not heard a single thought coming from her. Nothing, complete radio silence. He at least normally heard surface thoughts, like ‘god I hate my job, or my boss is an arsehole.’ Though with her, he’d not heard one.

Curious, he looked at the door she’d just come out of and read the name plate.

Dr. Thomas Stevens, Surgical Consultant.

Interesting, he thought as he walked on. Maybe when it wasn’t so hectic, and he had more time, he’d come back and hunt out the little brunette. Maybe she’d be worth a second look, her arse sure had been.

Chapter Two

L eonard walked up the stairs behind his old friend Luc, who still hated his guts. Sighing, he tried to ignore the icy indifference with which Luc treated him. After all, he should be used to it by now. I mean, he’d not spoken to him properly in over three-hundred years.

Knocking on the bedroom door, he waited for Balin to tell them it was okay to enter. Balin had recently been captured, and tortured, by the date Leonard had set Luc up with on that fateful night when their friendship had hit the shitter. Maisie; the psychotic bitch, and witch, the one who’d cursed Luc to becoming a statue in daylight, had also been the one who’d captured and tortured Balin. God, if only he’d known her true capabilities all those years ago, he’d never have tried to set Luc up with her and cause the events that had unfolded. If he’d just left well enough alone, Luc and he would have still been the best of friends. Which in turn would mean that Luc would never have treated him to the stony, silent treatment; to match his curse, for all these years.

On hearing Balin’s response to his tap, Leonard shook off his bleak thoughts, straightened his back and pushed through the door.

“Only us. Just checking you’ve still got your balls,” Leonard airily replied as he stepped into the room. He needed to check that Balin was on the mend, but didn’t need him knowing that.

“Well, as you had an up-close-in-person view of them in the shower, I’d say, yes.” Balin, dryly replied to his jest.

“I didn’t look,” Leonard grinned, as he went over to the window sill and leaned back, legs and arms crossed. His stomach rolled at the thought of the state Balin had been in when they’d finally found and rescued him. Once they’d gotten Balin back, he’d helped them to clean him up in the shower. God, he’d looked like he’d been on the front line in a battle. His stomach had been ripped open, he was battered, bruised and she’d even smashed his lower legs. He’d also been left chained for the duration of his captivity. Chains specifically made to stop him from escaping or healing himself as they were attached to be-spelled manacles. With Balin being a jaguar shifter, if he could have shifted, it would have helped the healing process. However, the manacles she’d put on him had been be-spelled specifically to stop him from being able to shift, therefore heal and escape. The bitch had tried to use him as bait to get her hands on his mate, Lana, her blood she’d wanted to aid in her insatiable greed for power.

Clearing his thoughts, Leonard looked up as Luc put Balin’s tea down on the bedside cabinet beside him so he could reach from where he sat. Leonard ground his jaw as Luc then took a seat on the other side of the bed, as far away from him as it was possible while in the same room.

“What is it with you two, can you not kiss and make up?” Balin asked as he sat there in his bed.

“That would be down to Luc,” Leonard informed him with a shrug - just a slight lifting of his shoulders. He tried to look nonchalant about it, but his tension gave him away. God, he’d missed their friendship, and had purposely distanced himself from others ever since then, so that he didn’t have to lose anyone else. He’d grieved for the loss of the camaraderie and closeness he’d once shared with Luc. Balin spoke up, and his attention was once again captured because his words made him suspicious.

“Luc, surely there’s something Leonard could do to make this up to you?” Balin winked, and Luc frowned until Balin raised his chin towards his mobile phone which was plugged in, charging at the back of the dressing table near the door. Luc smirked, then getting up of the chair, pulled his own phone out of his pocket.

“You’d do whatever it took to make it right between us, oui?” Luc asked, sitting back down opening his e-mails.

“Of course. After all, it’s my fault you turn all stony during the day,” Leonard replied.

They were up to something, but what?

He was just about to question them when Luc spoke up, his attention now on him. 

“Check your e-mail,” Luc told him and not understanding what was going on, he pulled his phone out of the inside pocket of his jacket. Lifting the phone, he opened his e-mail and blinked, eyes widening.

“No,” he swore.

“You just said you’d do anything to heal the rift in your friendship,” Balin reminded him.

“But this, this… this… it’s childish,” Leonard scoffed.

“No, it’s payback,” Luc informed him.

“You seriously signed me up to a... dating site.” Leonard spat with distaste. He looked down at his phone again, then coughed, his mouth kicking up. “Eternal Mates, is that a piss take or what?”

Surely, it was a joke?

A dating site, him?

He snorted again, looking down at the link.

“John’s mother owned it.” Leonard felt a pang at the mention of John’s mother. The white tiger-shifter had been tortured and murdered by Maisie a few weeks back. That bitch Maisie had a lot to answer for, but it wouldn’t do him any good to let the others know that he let things affect him. He didn’t want to be left open again to anything.

“Seriously?” Leonard asked, head popping up before dropping again as he checked the e-mail, opening the website. He blinked. “It’s an immortal dating site,” he grinned.

Now this could be fun, two birds one stone so to speak. He could get laid and heal his friendship with Luc, a win, win as far as he was concerned, the thought of a brunette in a hospital hallway intruded, but he quickly brushed it away. Then, he looked through the profile properly and stared incredulously, his eyebrow rose even further. “Enjoys walking and reading,” man, you really did want payback,” Leonard grinned. “All I did was try to get you laid, but you’re trying to bore me to death,” he informed Luc dryly. He couldn’t believe they’d put that he enjoyed walking and reading. He did in fact enjoy both these things, but he wasn’t letting on, or they’d change it to something he truly hated, like gardening or some shit. He enjoyed reading material that most men would never own up to enjoying, so he’d keep quiet on that front. He spotted a message in the inbox and his face dropped as he held out the phone. “I’ve had a hit,” he informed them, “it says we have a ninety-six-percent compatibility rating.” He’d not minded being set up, he’d thought it a joke, but now he’d gotten matched to someone it meant he’d have to go through with it.

Shit. 

“Give me the phone,” Luc said, hand out. Too stunned to think, Leonard moved towards the bed, dropped on the edge and handed his old friend his phone. 

Luc opened the e-mail, then grinning handed it to Balin who laughed, sobering as he winced, the movement pulling on his wounds. He handed it back, and shuffled about trying to get comfortable again.

“You have a date tomorrow evening at 8pm, Upper Lunaton, Dragon’s Arms.” Luc informed Leonard, handing him back his phone.

Leonard took it back and looked down at the woman’s profile, no bloody picture, brilliant. The name of the pub chosen did not bode well, with no picture maybe she’d chosen the pub as it represented her looks. He then looked down at what she did for a living, hoping for some kind of clue.

“A secretary, are you kidding me…” he sputtered, staring at his phone, lost for words. Shit, Luc, she’s human.”

“Oui, there’s also a clause on my forgiveness.”

“Fine, what is it?” He could deal, I mean, a human was a piece of cake, so easy to manipulate.

“Five dates…”

“I can do that, absolutely,” Leonard jumped in, not hard to have a woman fawn over him for a couple of dates. It may be fun, she could be his sex toy for a couple of nights, they wouldn’t even have to talk. He could get into this, new playthings, no ties, maybe he’d keep the profile open afterwards, he thought as Luc spoke up again. He allowed the fantasies to run around in his head as he looked to him and his mouth dropped open at his next words.

Fuck.

“No sex,” Luc carried on, grinning at the look of horror on Leonards face as he sputtered. 

“No sex? Five-dates and no sex. Are you yanking my fucking chain here or what? I mean, that even goes beyond the third date rule on sex; which is archaic these days.”

What was he meant to do with a human female if he wasn’t allowed to screw her?

“Take it or leave it,” Luc informed him impassively with a shrug.

“Fine, I’ll take it.” Leonard ground out, I mean what Luc didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. After all, rules were made to be broken.

“Oh, and just so you know, I’ll be checking that you’ve not gotten it on with her.”

“Oh, come on, for fuck sake, don’t you trust me,” Leonard whined. Man, he couldn’t believe he was going to make him date a woman and then cock block him. I mean, he didn’t date, not ever.

“Non,” Luc informed him dryly.

“Fine, you have a deal,” Leonard grumbled, taking back his phone from a grinning Luc. He was pissed, maybe he could just sit her in a corner as he flirted with other women. He said he couldn’t have sex with her, he’d not said he couldn’t have sex with others while he was with her. Maybe she’d like to watch, he thought, then looking up caught the smug look on Luc’s face.

“Jackass.”

“Imbecile,” Luc spat, clicking his tongue.

“I’ve missed this,” Leonard told him with a wry grin. He and Luc were interacting. Granted, it was more taking pot shots at each other, but he’d take it. It beat hands down the no interaction they’d previously had going on since the curse.

“If you begin painting each other’s nails, I’m revoking your man cards,” Balin told them with a shudder. He and Luc laughed at the look on Balin’s face, he looked pained as they bickered, and not from his injuries.

“Hi, I brought you food,” Lana said, stepping into the room with a tray, Sam on her heels.

Leonard blocked them out as they did the lovey dovey shit that seemed to be on overload around here these days.

“Leonard has a date,” Balin announced and he tuned back in, especially as Sam stared at him as if he’d grown another head.

He was capable of dating; he was, he just chose not to.

“Leonard?” Sam asked, incredulously. “No, not possible. You do not date, you bang and bail,” Sam informed him. “Shit, is he ill? Do I need to get him checked over when Thomas returns later?”

At the mention of Thomas’s name, the brunette in the corridor coming out of his office arose once again in his mind. Her softly spoken voice, the delicate shell of her ear as she’d bent to retrieve her folders, her nicely shaped arse and calves as she’d tottered off up the corridor. Their bickering interrupted his musings and the image vanished, making him sigh. It didn’t look like he’d get around her hunting her down anytime soon. He’d get there though, maybe after these dates. They carried on calling him, but he ignored it as he wasn't sure if he should feel offended.

They all spoke about him as if he wasn’t here, like he was some kind of weird, rare creature. Arseholes, he wasn’t unusual in his choices. There was nothing wrong with not dating, he enjoyed the variety he had in his life. Then thought about the nights he had no-one, the long, lonely nights he’d spent when he’d not had a woman in his bed. The nights he’d sat on his own before the trouble, in the form of Maisie and company. Okay, he’d admit it; if only to himself, Immortality could get lonely.

“No,” Balin grinned. “Luc set him up on a dating site.”

“Really?” Lana asked curiously, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Yes, Luc’s idea, a way to let the past between them go.”

“Oh dude, you got off lightly after the whole hocus pocus shit Luc got handed.” Lana told him and he grunted, he was not going to dignify that with an answer. His personal life was not up for discussion.

“He has to go on five-dates and he’s not allowed to have sex with her in that time.” Balin informed Lana with a wide, evil grin. Lana blinked, then turning and catching the look of distaste and horror that crossed Leonard’s face, she began laughing.

“I’m heading back downstairs. I think I’ve given enough entertainment value for one evening,” Leonard sniffed, before heading out of the room.

He’d had enough, he’d leave them to it. Now he knew Balin was a little better and no longer at death’s door, he had to try to figure out what he was meant to do with a human female. Shit. It’s a good job he had internet, because he was at a loss. Maybe he’d do a little digging into Thomas’s life too, see if he could find that little brunette in it anywhere. He’d recognise her scent anywhere, the subtle, but natural sweet smell of honeysuckle that had clung to her skin.

Chapter Three

L eonard couldn’t believe he’d agreed to this shit date. I mean a secretary, a human one at that. This had disaster written all over it.

He could see it now, his glamour working overtime and him spending five-dates fighting her off as he wasn’t allowed to have fuck her.

Now what kind of torture was that?

To be offered sex up on a plate, and he’d have to refuse, this made his teeth grind in annoyance. God, his knackers were going to be bigger than bowling balls by the end of this.

Vindictive bastards.

Yes, okay, it was only a temporary thing, and Luc had dealt with his curse for… well, way too many years to keep track of, but all he’d done was try to get the guy laid.

Okay, yes, he’d heard the rumours about Maisie. But, come on, who’d have believed she’d turn out to be a real-life psychotic, murdering bitch?

He’d thought he was doing Luc a favour, offering him up a sure thing while he got busy with a nymph.

Man, nymphs were his weakness, they were the absolute best in the sack. Gymnasts in fact, I mean who said no to a gymnast in the sack?

Sighing, he stared at his reflection, and yes, vampires have reflections. Humans were always spewing completely ludicrous shit about his kind.

Soulless, couldn’t go into churches and were allergic to sunlight and garlic.

He snorted at the thought. The only problem he had with garlic was it gave you horses arse breath after you’d eaten it. It had absolutely nothing to do with it doing them harm. As for the sun… I mean, come on, he had a great tan and enjoyed lying on the beach as much as the next person. As for churches, the only problem he had was the long-arsed sermons, definitely enough to bore you to death, and it took a lot to kill an immortal.

Grumbling under his breath, he tied his long black hair back and checked that the collar of his shirt was neat, over his jacket. With a last dismissive look in the full-length mirror, he exited his walk-in wardrobe. Grabbing his wallet and phone off his bedside drawer, left his bedroom.

Better get it over with, he had an hour to get to Upper Lunaton. His date was meeting him at some wine bar called ‘The Snail and Cabbage.’

Why she’d had to change the bar he had no idea. He’d even settle for the ‘Dragon’s Arms,’ which had been their original meet up place, but no, she’d changed it to the fucking slug.

I mean, what kind of a name was that for a ‘trendy’ bistro type wine bar? Sounded delightful.

God, give him strength. Bring back the ‘Wench in Hand,’ now that had been a bar, good times had been had in there. He’d spent many a pleasant night drinking and debauching in there and places like that, he thought with fondness.

Now, it was all pretentiousness, new money, ‘C’ list stars, and the ‘in place’ to be seen. The world had gone mad. Fucking selfies and social media had become the bane of his existence, constantly ducking so he wasn’t captured in photographs. No immortal worth their salt wanted unsolicited pictures floating around. They lived for a long time; if not forever, who wanted physical evidence of that. They’d end up in a laboratory somewhere being dissected so humans could gain understanding over their longevity. Obviously, they did everything in their power to stop that from happening and covering up their existence. Therefore, selfies, were not on the cards.

Making his way out, he locked up and set the alarm. Then, clicking the fob, he opened the door to his ride, because tonight he’d have to take a car. He didn’t drive often, being around his own kind he’d gotten used to being able to go on foot - and at speed. Obviously, with the bloody date being a human female, he’d had to go out and lease a vehicle. This Jane, Janel… whatever the hell she was called had better appreciate the effort he’d gone to. Christ, he didn’t even have a clue what she looked like, never mind what her name was. The site didn’t hold photographs as they based matches on personality and not looks. All he’d gotten was a name, and he’d forgotten it, not that it mattered. Apparently, he’d recognise her as she’d be wearing a red silk shirt and would meet him at the bar. He figured he wouldn’t have to worry, she’d come to him once his glamour took over. Once the queue of women; and the odd male made themselves known to him, he’d just read minds and figure out which one she was.

Piece of cake. The thought didn’t please him though, it filled him with dread. He was bored by the whole thing. Why the hell couldn’t he find a woman that was a challenge. I mean, he liked sex as much as the next person. Well, actually, he loved sex, but sometimes it would be nice if he had to work for it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever had to do that, if ever.

He’d had to leave the others back in Lower Lunaton taking care of a dead delivery driver and an unconscious, ripped up shifter. Why they thought it was more important for him to come on this date, he didn’t know. Apart from Sam Nelson’s assurance that his slow torture and blue knackers would cheer his son up; his son being Balin. Well, his adopted son, as Sam had rescued and brought him up after his family had been murdered. Balin’s own life then had been uncertain for a while when he was a young child also due to his injuries. Weirdly enough, Maisie had been behind killing his parents, and trying to kill him as a child too. Man, she was a real piece of work, and the sooner they found and ended the psycho’s immortal life, the better for everyone.

He’d much rather be out there looking for her, than heading out on a stupid date with a human he didn’t know and couldn’t fuck. Grumbling under his breath, he slid into the driver’s seat of the Maserati he’d hired for the week, closed the door and turned over the engine. Smiling at the purring of the car, he took off down his driveway and through the electric gates of his home.

Chapter Four

A manda was an interfering bitch, Jill huffed as she got ready for her date. Standing in nothing but her underwear, she snorted at the thought as she pulled more clothes out of her wardrobe. The pile on her bed was growing as she tried to decide what to wear. She couldn’t believe she’d let Amanda talk her into this. I mean, she’d been happy wallowing in self misery and spending time with B.O.B. She did not need a man, had, in fact, given up trying to find one. As far as she was concerned if the right one was out there, he’d find her without her being tortured on yet another crappy date.

Well, eventually, right?

Red, dark-red, maroon, burgundy or scarlet? She eyed the blouses on her bed with contempt, then sighing, dropped down on the side of it, head in hands.

Why had she agreed to this again?

Oh, yes, she wanted a penis that didn’t need batteries. One that was attached to a male that occasionally talked shit back to her. Then, after yet another round of disappointing sex, would roll over, fart and snore like a thunder storm.

Man, she wanted the dream, she chuckled.

“Bollocks,” she huffed, throwing herself backwards on the bed and staring at the ceiling, morosely.

Was she really going to put herself through this, again?

Just then her mobile phone rang on her bedside drawer. Rolling onto her side, she reached out an arm and turned it, so that she could see the screen.

Get dressed already and stop fucking about, Amanda x

Yes, it seemed she was doing this. Otherwise, Amanda would appear at her door and frog march her to the meet up place.

Looking down her body, she stared at the tiny, lace red thong and matching uplifting bra and scowled.

“Should have put on a pair of big girl panties,” she groaned. Then rolling over, pushed herself back up. Her phone beeped again just as she’d opened the top drawer in her bedside chest of drawers. Her hand was inside, reaching for her big knickers; her go to comfort, when another message popped up on the screen. She stared at it, mouth pinched, then pulled out her tongue, removed her empty hand and slammed the drawer shut again.

Damn, that woman knew her too well.

Leave on the sexy undies! I swear, if you put on your grannie knickers, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life. Now, hustle your arse, go out, flirt, drink and have fun. Oh, and phone me to let me have all the gory details. Amanda x

Fuck.

She stomped to her bigger chest of drawers under the window and pulled out her favourite skinny jeans. Then thrust them back inside, remembering that the trendy bar didn’t allow denim. Back to her wardrobe, she pulled out two hangers, then closed her eyes, trying to decide whether to go with dress pants or a skirt. Deciding that she couldn’t be bothered with stockings she put the skirt back and took the black dress pants to her bed. Laying them across the top, she then tried each blouse against them. Undecided, she growled, then did the old, eeny, meenie, miny, mo, until her hand landed on the scarlet blouse. Quickly, she pulled it on, and stepped into the pants, fastening them before slipping her feet into her three-inch black heels. She put all the other blouses back in her wardrobe; along with the hangar from her pants, and moved over to her dressing table.

Sitting on the stool, she quickly applied her make-up. A bit of powder, a dusting of tan shadow, some mascara on her eyes, and applied some red to her lips. Staring at her wavy brown hair, she decided on an up do, to make her look more sophisticated. Once up, she pulled a few strands down to frame her face, and a dab of her favourite perfume, between the girls - down the neck of her blouse. She looked at her bare ear lobes, and grabbed her dropped pearl earrings, finishing off the look.

Her phone beeped again, so pushing up from the stool, she walked over to it, finding a text from the taxi company to tell her the taxi was outside waiting for her. Just then it beeped again.

Move it already, the taxi has the address. Remember, play nice and I want details. Amanda x

“Fine, I’m going,” she mumbled, grabbing her bag and jacket on her way out of the door, before she could change her mind. Rooting through the contents of her bag for her purse and finding it there, she dropped her phone inside with her keys; after locking her front door.

Chapter Five

J ill paid the taxi and got out. Taking a breath, she straightened her jacket, slung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the entrance. The doorman opened the door for her, and the over loud sounds of the interior rushed out to greet her in a raucous crescendo. Glass on glass sounded as people drank, loud chattering and laughter, all mixed together over the background sound of ear splitting music.

Why had she let Amanda talk her into changing the meet up place from her local?

Smiling her thanks at the burly man, Jill stepped inside, then slowly wound her way between groups and tables to get to the bar in the far back corner of the room. Looking at the clock above the bar, she realised that she was late – only ten-minutes – but late, was still late. She found an empty bar stool and made herself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be in the circumstances. Finally perched there, giggles to her right caught her attention.

In the middle of a gaggle of females, all fluttering their lashes and pushing out their pumped-up breasts, stood an imposing, gorgeous figure. Jet-black hair, wearing a dark fitted suit, that fit him to perfection. He’d teemed it with a crisp, white shirt, the top few buttons undone, bringing attention to his lightly tanned throat and a few dark chest hairs peeking through the gap. One of the women leaned over and said something. She didn’t catch what she said over the noise, but she did hear his rumble of husky laughter. His head tipped back and the sound vibrated through her, eliciting a flutter of interest in her stomach. When his amusement died down, his chin dipped, his eyes seemed to catch and hold her own, making Jill’s breath catch in her throat. His eyes were purple, or so it seemed. Surely not, purple was not a natural eye colour. Then she shook her head, the movement breaking their connection and she rolled her own eyes as she turned her back on him and his entourage. Obviously, he must be wearing contacts. Although, surely, he was old enough to not need something so pretentious to garner attention. He also didn’t seem lacking in confidence, not from the little she’d seen, and not surprising really. I mean, he was built, and very easy on the eye, tall and muscular, but not to bodybuilder proportions. There was just enough to fill out his suit nicely, making the expensive looking material hug a bicep as he lifted a hand to sweep back his hair. It was longer than it looked because as he’d laughed it had fallen forward and into his face. His finely chiselled face.

“Get a grip,” she mumbled to herself. Deciding she was no better than the crowd of simpering females presently surrounding him.

Jill ordered a vodka and tonic to take her mind off him and his dark good looks. A twinge of guilt hit her. While she waited on her order she looked around, trying to figure out where – or who – her date was? She quite liked that the dating site didn’t allow photographs, and phone numbers were against their rules also. I mean, she was thrilled, because it meant that people were matched on likes and dislikes, and not on an image; a false one in most cases. Especially one taken with filters or where they were photo shopped to within an inch; or a few extra inches added in some cases, well the ones below the belt anyway. It also stopped them from using pictures of celebrities in their stead also. I mean, as if anyone would fall for that one. One idiot; on a previous site, had used an ‘A’ lister’s photograph as his picture and details. As if a multiple six figure earner would need to use a cheap dating site, please. So, as far as she was concerned, the no picture rule was a wonderful touch. It also took the pressure off as it hopefully gave you common ground and something you could build on. Not just coming across a picture and thinking, ooh, isn’t he; or she fit, a general knee jerk reaction to a good-looking person. Which meant you ended up dating someone completely unsuitable, but you kept going back because they were good to look at. It was just a pity that Amanda had put down that she enjoyed walking and poetry. Because, damn, she hated walking, and as for exercise, getting up and going to work was as far as she was willing to go in that department. I mean, it took a huge amount of energy to get up and go to do a job she was bored of each day. As for poetry, yes, it had its merits, and she’d admit there was some beautiful poetry around, but the closest she’d gotten to writing or reading it recently was on the inside of a birthday card. Now reading, that she loved, but only trashy romance novels, and only if no one was watching as they were her guilty pleasure. They were to be guarded like a teen with his precious, and well-worn porn stash.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the bartender arrived with her drink. Paying and tipping, Jill took a fortifying sip with a sigh, Dutch courage at its finest. She just hoped it wouldn’t be needed, as she again looked around her, then realised that her jacket was covering her blouse. Putting her drink back down, she removed her jacket and folded it on her lap with her bag, before once more, curiously looking around her. She didn't have a clue who she was looking for, so tried to figure out if anyone was paying her any attention. Hopefully, a male who seemed to be looking for someone, and not in a stalkerish-axe-murderer kind of manner.

Her eyes once again fell on the good-looking hunk with the long, tied back black hair and lilac eyes. I mean, come on shoot her, he was good to look at and her date hadn’t seemed to have shown. Maybe he’d decided that he couldn’t make it, which was fine. It would have been nice to have known before she’d gotten out of her pyjamas and slippers though. She’d definitely been ditched, because she could not find one male around her that screamed geeky book nerd to her.

Snorting as a skinny blonde yet again pawed the black-haired guy, basically rubbing her double, damn, false breasts against his arms. Because, really, nothing real had that kind of levitation capabilities on a chest, not unless you had a bra with extra scaffolding to hold them up. She should know, because she’d often looked at those bras with envy when she was buying her own ‘B’ for basic cup bras, with pretty lace to cheer herself up over her own lack of mammaries. Plus, the girl was so slim they looked like someone had superglued over inflated balloons to her chest. Damn, her back must hurt like a son-of-a-bitch carrying those suckers around. Especially with nothing but that tiny strap digging into her shoulder, which was presently visible under her skin-tight belt. Well, it was a dress really, but come on, it was so short if she bent forward you’d be able to see what she had for lunch.

Again, turning around on her stool and ignoring the girls gone wild scene going on before her, Jill rooted in her bag, pulling her phone out and checking her e-mail. Nothing, skank bastard hadn’t even had the decency to let her know she’d been ditched, figured. Sighing, she tapped out a message to Amanda.

No show so far. 10 more minutes of watching girls gone bad and I’m out of here. I’ve got a Friends re-run and a hot chocolate with my name on, it waiting at home. Jill x

Leonard once again ground his teeth as the blonde rubbed herself against his arm. If he had to read one more time about how good he’d look on her arm at her brother’s wedding, he’d bash his own skull in. I mean, the girl didn’t seem to have a thought in her head. The brunette to her right, just wanted to know if his pecker was as big as his bank balance, if his watch and designer clothing were anything to go by. I mean, he’d give her kudos for knowing her designers, but how tacky to wonder if his dick was as big as his bank balance. His eyes were

once again drawn to the brunette sitting on the bar stool as she looked around. He kept trying to catch her eye, but damn it, she kept bypassing him. Why wasn’t she at this minute sidling up to him and offering her body up for his use? To his utter dismay, he watched her remove her jacket and blinked as he spotted the red blouse she was wearing.

Fuck, his date, he’d found his date, and man she was pretty, and not interested in him, which in itself was an aphrodisiac. And idiot that he was, he couldn’t remember her bloody name, maybe he could slip into her mind and extract it.

Looking towards her again, he realised she’d looked towards him just as Barbie groped him again. He watched her shake her head and smirk, before messing in her purse and pulling out her phone.

“Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve ignored my date long enough for one evening. Barman, please, a round of drinks for the ladies, on me, and my apologies,” he bowed as he stepped around them.

I mean, yes, they were boring, but it was pointless pissing them off, he never knew when he’d bump into them again. And yes, he could make them forget being pissed off with him, but why bother when he could just soft soap them now and save himself future hassle. Now, if he could just remember his dates name he’d be fine. Yes, he could just pull it out of her head, or better yet, read if off the end of her text, he realised as he watched her type her name in and a kiss at the end. He wasn’t quick enough to read who she was kissing as she closed it down and put it back in her bag.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Jill mumbled, her hand grabbing the arm of the black-haired hottie, who was now before her for some reason. She looked towards the girls gone bad gang, who were all presently looking as if they not only wanted to kill her, but her future children and her parents too.

Wow, animosity, much.

“I’m Leonard, are you Jill?”

“I’m sorry, did you say you were Leonard?” Obviously, her hearing was off, because I mean, damn, he did not look like a book nerd.

“I am, forgive me. I was kind of swamped when you arrived and you didn’t remove your jacket,” Leonard informed her. Although, he doubted he’d convinced her, not if the look of scepticism she presently wore was anything to go by. “How about we find a table and get to know each other?” He held out an arm and had to blank his face, because she looked at him as if she didn’t trust him. Damn that was a nice feeling, to not have someone; especially a female, jump all over him as if he was either the answer to her prayers - or at least his bank account was.

“Sure, I’ll just grab another drink and be right over,” she replied. Still staring at him as if he’d grown another head.

“No need. Barman, the same again for myself and the lady, at our table,” Leonard told him as he again held his arm out.

Jill would give him kudos, old fashioned manners from a man, now they were a dying breed - much like good sitcoms. She thought sadly about missing out on her Friends re-run waiting at home.

“Sure,” she replied, pushing herself off her stool, and grabbing onto his arm like a lifeline when she nearly fell on her face.

Super cool! Jill, the dork strikes again, she thought. Smiling through her teeth at her own innate sense of shit balance and uncouthness.

Oh, look, what shiny teeth you have Mr Wolf, she thought hysterically as she was nearly blinded by his pearly whites. Shit, his canines were sharp, as in razor blade sharp. Maybe she’d fallen into her own fairy-tale, and the good witch had turned her prince charming into Mr Slimy-Arsehole, the modern-day version of ‘the beast’.

Hey, it could happen, she thought with a snort of hysteria as he helped her upright, threading her arm through the crook of his own.

Oh, god, be still my heart, Mr, pearly-toothed-arsehole-womanising-slime-ball had really-good manners.

Maybe that’s how he did it. Maybe he was a superhero and his superpower - knickers vanished at the drop of a bow or show of old world - courtly manners. Or maybe, those incisors were so sharp that when he smiled the elastic snapped on them. She snorted at that thought, and had to roll her lips inwards to stop the hysteria from bubbling up and leaving her mouth.

“Are you okay?” Leonard asked, watching her shoulders shake.

“Yes,” she squeaked, not looking at him, but he heard her clear her throat a few times.

Chapter Six

L eonard held out the seat for Jill, the only female in the room who hadn’t seemed to hit on him since he’d walked in. Weird, because now he didn’t know how to behave around her, or what to talk about. To be honest, he was a little rusty. Okay, fuck it, he was so totally out of his depth, he wasn’t even paddling. But, come on, I mean, he was a vampire, he didn’t normally need to entertain a date; or have them for that matter, just being in the room was normally enough. The whole glamour kicked in and wham, he could bang and bail without even telling them his name. Sexually transmitted diseases weren’t an issue, him being an immortal and all, plus, only mates had babies. Yep, even vampires were stuck with that clause, but at least it stopped the worry of leaving kids dotted around the country, or world, if he’d gotten really bored and had taken to travelling again. Plus, eww, he always used protection, not all his choices were good ones, some were just expedient. A way to pay for the snack he needed as he’d forgotten to pack a flask. Vampires needed blood, it was that simple and if they didn’t get it. Let’s just say that Dracula looked like child’s play against a real-life vampire when they needed blood and couldn’t get it. It had the whole screaming and running, blood, mayhem, madness thing going on. Yeah, the ripper murders were not a human. Please, as if a human could disappear that way, nope, that was a vampire. The whole cutting up was just a way for shits and giggles and probably to hide the original bite site. The eyes gave it away, I mean, they used their eyes to hypnotise, hence messing with the eyes of the victims. It was lucky that the human police were not aware of them, otherwise they’d have all been on the shit list.

“Thank you.”

“Sorry, miles away,” he replied to Jill as she took her seat. Slowly, he rose to his full height realizing he was leaning into her and sniffing her neck.

Yes, that didn’t look weird at all.

“Leonard… may I ask you something?” Jill asked as he sat down, she wouldn’t meet his enquiring gaze though.

“Sure, I’m an open book.”

“Are they contacts?” she asked, chin lifting towards his eyes.

“You want to know if I wear contacts?” he asked confused. Out of all the questions he could have been asked that was an easy one.

“No, I have perfect vision, better than twenty-twenty. Why, what made you think I wore contacts?” he asked, sitting back in his own chair as the waiter placed their drinks down before them.

“The colour. I’ve never seen eyes that particular colour before, not unless either photo shopped or they wore purple contacts.”

“Lilac eyes are a race thing,” he informed her.

“Race?”

“Yeah, all vampires have lilac eyes,” he grinned, flashing a fang. He didn’t know why he did it, but he wanted a reaction from her, she was too cool around him; too dismissive.

“So contacts, and you do role play?”

“No, both my own, and my eye colour is a family trait, my father has purple eyes also, as does his father and so on.”

“The dental work?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink as she watched him. No fear, just mild curiosity as she gazed into his eyes.

“Hi, I’m Samantha, may I get your number,” asked the tall black-haired woman who’d stopped by their table.

“I’m sorry, but I’m with someone, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to be left alone,” Leonard replied patiently, hoping she’d take the hint.

“Okay, as I said, I’m Samantha, and this is where you can get hold of me. Just call, you know, when you’re free,” she sighed, dropping a business card on the table beside his drink.

“As you were saying?” Jill asked, taking another sip of her drink, not even paying attention to the woman who’d just left their table. Maybe his glamour worked on her a little subtler than others, so that although she wasn’t pawing him, he could basically do what he liked and get away with it.

An intriguing thought.

“Yes, lilac eyes are a family thing, for the males in my family; extended too.” Most vampires were related in some way or another, so the eyes gave them away, or there’d be all kinds of weird interbreeding going on. I mean, some of them had enough shit to deal with this day and age with modern technology. They did not need to be worrying over their children being born with six fingers and other abnormalities also.

“Oh, that’s cool, so the dental work?”

“Family trait also,” he informed her.

“They grow that way?” she asked, her eyes flicking to his mouth once more and he couldn’t help himself, he had to flash her his fangs yet again.

“Yes, they are a natural occurrence in my family, no control over them,” he explained with a shrug.

“You’ve never thought about getting them… I don’t know… Capped, to hide most of the… erm… differences?” she cleared her throat. But he could have sworn she’d mentioned creepy arse vamp thing, and his lips twitched.

“I do not belong to a weird fan fiction group,” he told her with distaste. “The so called ‘modern day vampires’ sleeping in coffins, scared of sunlight and churches. I like the sun, I also wear a cross,” he showed her the silver one he wore around his neck, a gift from his mother blessed by the pope on one of her trips. She’d gotten a real kick out of it, her weird sense of humour at a vampire not only being in a church, but being blessed by the pope himself.

“Plus, do I look anaemic and lifeless? I assure you I have a pulse,” he held his hand out to her. “Do you want to check for my pulse?” he grinned, again flashing his incisors. Enjoying himself as she now eyed him more like an enigma, something to work out, rather than just your everyday weirdo.

“Sooo, have you ever… erm… used them… shit, I’m really sorry, but they look so damn Count Dracula.” She clamped her mouth shut and dipped her chin, her lips again rolling inwards, as if trying to hold back her laughter; or questions.

“I have,” Leonard told her, sitting back with a grin as her chin lifted and her startled eyes jumped to his. He picked his tainted wine up, taking a sip to hold back the moan at the thought of sinking them into her throat, or maybe the top of her thigh. He watched her as he drank his pink coloured wine. A hip flask came in handy sometimes, especially when used with sleight of hand. Only another immortal would have caught the moment that he’d tipped blood into his wine, as it was done much too quickly for a human to see. It was the one thing he allowed his normal reflexes free rein over. He could use his flask and have it put back in his pocket and out of sight in a fraction of a nanosecond. Much too fast for the human eye to track. All he needed was his partner to blink, and it was done and away again before they ever realised he’d moved. A neat trick, and handy in this day and age. Even a camera would struggle to pick it up, unless it was slowed down to the rate of watching a plant grow, and there wasn’t much use for that kind of camera in a pub.

“Are you offering me the use of a vein?” Leonard rumbled. He heard her heart rate pick up, her respiration increase and her pupils expanded; ever so slightly. His nostrils flared at the scent of her interest, and he licked over the tip of a fang and crossed his legs at the thought.

Damn, a boner.

Not something he’d expected, but it had been a while since he’d drank from source. Nothing could quite match the excitement and feel of a woman in your arms as your incisors pierced their sweetly scented flesh. The snug fit as they sank further in, the warmth, taste and texture of her, the way her thoughts grew sluggish as her heart rate and breathing sped up. Then, there was the way they moved against you so sensually, and the sounds they made as they were thrown into orgasm. He took another drink, breaking eye contact before she noticed the change. His eyes darkening to a deeper lilac, more deep purple, glowing and swirling as his arousal made itself known. Not something he normally dealt with in a public place, and certainly not something he couldn’t normally control.

It was a pity they couldn’t self-induce orgasms with a self-inflicted bite; especially when he was hard as steel, but it didn’t work. Yes, he’d tried. I mean, he had been a teenager himself once, of course he had. Every teenager; no matter whether human or immortal, is a mass of hormones and excessive testosterone, so of course they wanted to hump everything and feel the ultimate pleasure. Unfortunately, as it was their own system that carried Oxytocin; excreted through their fangs when they bit, it didn’t affect them. After all, it was their own pudenal gland in their sex organs which produced it, flooding their system with it on demand - and not just when turned on like a human male or female. Then again, it could be a little embarrassing if every time their fangs readied, they spilled in their pants due to it being in their system. Not a pleasant thought. Who wanted a wet patch in their pants, so not something he wanted to explain to his dry cleaner either. So nope, they were not affected by their own system. It was a by-product of their needs, nature’s way of stopping their donors from feeling the pain of the bite. I mean, their incisors were not needle thin, it would be painful and therefore unacceptable to bite if they didn’t have the trade-off to offer. The pleasure was a way to not only keep them calm; and pain free, but a gift of sorts. A way of paying for the blood. To them it was more than life sustaining, it also allowed the accelerated cell regeneration they needed. It gave them their immorality, strength and speed. Therefore, it was only right that their donors were paid in some small way. The after effects of the oxytocin also helped to dull their donor’s minds - once they came down after their release when it left them slightly sluggish, their minds slow. But, unlike an everyday orgasm, when given by a vampire, it also gave them an opportunity to slip into their mind and alter their perceptions or plant false memories. With a normal orgasm, it was only women which had that blank bit just after release. A split second of complete blankness where they became uninhibited and lost control, but with a vampire induced one it affected both men and women the same. They could also alter memories without biting if the human was susceptible to them when they concentrated; and only a very few weren’t. All it took was them zeroing in on the hypothalamus and they could extract or alter information. The bite induced orgasm was just easier, they received sustenance and it took little thought on their part.

“So, Leonard, what do you do for a living?” Jill asked, changing the subject, as fascinating as his eyes and teeth were.

“I work in the financial sector.”

“Banking?”

“No, I buy and sell shares.”

“Sounds interesting,” she replied, taking another sip of her drink.

“What do you do for a living?” Leonard asked, taking his cues from Jill on small talk.

“I work as a personal secretary at Upper Lunaton General.”

“Do you know Thomas Stevens?”

“I do, he’s who I work for. You know him?” Jill asked, surprised.

“Yes, I do, he works in orthopaedics I believe.”

“Yes, he does. Small world huh,” Jill said with a smile relaxing a little. I mean, if he turned out to be a psycho, she could rat him out to her boss. Or maybe she could pump him for some information on her date.

Leonard looked at her, wondering if she’d been the one whom he’d bumped into outside Thomas’s office. His eyes moved to her hair, trying to figure out if it was the same colour. Unfortunately, due to the scent she wore, although nice, it overpowered his senses to work out if she had the same natural honeysuckle scent he’d picked up on, in the corridor. Plus, that woman’s hair was down. He was about to ask her if someone had knocked into her in the corridor recently, when they were interrupted.

“Hi, I’m Hayley, I couldn’t help but notice you. Could I invite you to join our table?”

Jill blinked, open mouthed as a willowy blonde stood by their table, eyes practically undressing Leonard. She closed her mouth and pretended to be interested in something on the other side of the room.

“Thank you for the kind offer, maybe another time,” Leonard told her, cursing his glamour. He watched Jill out of the corner of his eye, she seemed to be interested in something on the other side of the room. He looked at the blonde again, his eyes sweeping over her trim figure and pretty face. He gave her a charming smile and tried to dismiss her politely.

“How about your number then, that way I can call you and we could make arrangements for another night.”

Jill began to recite the alphabet in her head, then began concentrating on her breathing to keep calm.

“I’m sorry, I don’t give out my number,” Leonard informed her, but she persisted, a hand running down her own body as she watched him, a pout on her red lips. She then leaned over, showing her cleavage to him as she pulled a pen out of her bag and wrote her name and number on Leonard’s napkin.

“How about you call me when you have time. I’ll be waiting,” she winked, before straightening up, a sway to her hips as she walked, and a flip of her hair.

Leonard watched her saunter off, admiring the way her hips rolled, then shook his head, his attention returning to Jill.

“What were we discussing, oh yes, your job. What exactly is it you do for Thomas?” He took a sip of his wine, waiting for her to give him her attention.

“Sorry, miles away,” she smiled at him. “I write up letters, enter his findings, the normal administrative duties of a secretary.”

“Do you enjoy what you do?”

“I’m not sure,” she shrugged.

“Is it not what you wanted to do?”

“I wanted to be a teacher originally, but as I’m not very good with children, that kind of wrote that one off.”

“Arrgh, yes I could see that causing a few issues in the classroom,” he smiled wryly.

“Do you enjoy what you do?” Jill asked, keeping up the pretence and wondering how soon she could leave. She’d had enough of sitting here now, watching women come up to him and him eyeing them up as they left. Her temper was fraying around the edges. He was a perfect example of why she had not wanted to date a good-looking man. Maybe that no picture clause on the dating site wasn’t such a good idea after all. If she’d seen his picture, she’d have given him probably a second and third look, but she would not have agreed to a date.

“I do, who doesn’t enjoy playing with money. I also like the whole exhilaration of it.”

“Exhilaration?” Jill tuned back in, intrigued by his choice of words. His answer could be quite telling of his personality.

“Yes, you must figure out what stock is going to go up, or down, and you then have a split second in some cases to make your decision. So yes, it can be exhilarating. You can make or lose thousands or more with a split-second decision.”

“Do you often lose?”

“No,” he laughed. “I do the research; I normally only look for stock these days that I either know or have heard about.”

“Must be nice to be able to have the resources to pick and choose when you work.”

“It has its merits,” he told her dryly. “It’s also a job I can do from anywhere, so I can travel when I feel like it. All I need is a phone or tablet and an internet connection.”

“Now that sounds like fun, you could work from the beach.”

“I have done.”

They spent a few more minutes on general chatter, discussing recent films, and favourite foods. Neither of them touching on the topic of books or exercise, which was weird as it had been the one thing they’d had in common. Jill excused herself and made her way to the lady’s room as Leonard ordered another drink. She’d admit to being slightly intrigued by him. There was something appealing about him, although she knew she would not be seeing him again after this evening. He garnered way too much attention, and yet another woman had been by their table to introduce herself, she’d never seen anything like it.

Chapter Seven

J ill watched in fascination as yet another young woman walked up to their table. This one a slim brunette, she held a penis sponge in her hand and had a veil pinned to the back of her head. Jill looked to Leonard as he stopped mid-sentence, as the woman stood nervously beside him and introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Beckie, it’s my hen weekend, could you sign my penis please?”

“Ermm, sure,” Leonard replied, smirking as he took the pink sponge phallus and pen from her. Grinning, he turned it in his large hands, trying to find a space. “Maybe next time, find a bigger one,” he told her with a wink. After writing on it, he then handed the phallus and pen back to her,” blinking as she waved the pink sponge in the air like a trophy. With a woohoo, she took off, back to her friends.

Jill shook her head, her eyes following the woman’s progress. She then jumped as Leonard leaned over the table, and with a long finger, gently closed her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the woman giggle and nearly trip over a chair as she waved the sponge around, showing her friends she’d gotten his signature. Her attention then turned back to Leonard suspiciously.

“Are you a movie star or something?”

“No.”

“Then… why did she want you to sign her penis?”

“Apart from that sounding just wrong, I don’t have a clue,” he shrugged as he picked up his wine. She’d noticed he’d been drinking a rose, if the colour was anything to go by.

Just as she was about to ask him another question, yet another woman stopped by their table, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger as she gazed adoringly at him.

“So, hi, I’m Lorna, could I get your number?”

Jill raised a brow as she sat back and picked up her vodka tonic, watching as Leonard smiled politely at the woman. She then watched his eyes slowly roam over her figure, before he shook his head and frowned. Jill rolled her eyes, put down her now empty glass, picked her coat up off the back of the chair and pulled it on.

Leonard looked towards the blonde before him, concentrated on her forehead and sighed. She’d was way too easy to read; then ignoring her, turned his attention back in time to catch Jill, putting on her jacket.

“Erm, Jill, are you going somewhere?” Leonard asked, watching the brunette on the other side of the table pull on her short jacket. Admiring the curves the fit showed off to perfection as she settled it over her form. 

“Yes, I’m going home. Thanks for the entertainment

though,” Jill replied, dryly. 

“Entertainment?” Leonard asked, perplexed. Completely dumbfounded by her. She’d not seemed to have bothered before now about the number of women that had stopped by. Now though she was looking at him as if he were a bug needing squashing. Which was the only way he could describe how she was presently glaring at him. It wasn’t something he’d ever come across before, they usually looked towards him with lust, not loathing.

“Yes, you know, drink and a show. As in the line of women that have stopped by our table in the last hour or so, asking for or handing you their numbers.”

“But we have a date,” he replied, not understanding.

 “Look, Mr Tall, Dark and Popular. If I’d have realised that I would have to queue to speak to my date, I’d 

have stayed home and dialled an orgasm instead.” 

With that, she walked off, then turned back. Leonard grinned, the smug look spreading as she stepped back to the table. Eyebrow rising, he sat back and waited for an apology, but she just dropped a ten pound note on the table.

“My share for the drinks,” she told him, then turned away again and walked off, this time not stopping.

He’d been dumped, Leonard blinked, speechless. His glamour hadn’t touched her, not even a little as he’d thought earlier. She’d obviously just been sat there stewing as the women had paraded before him. Grinning, his smile widening, he pushed, then realised that the blonde was still stood by their table. Leonard’s eyes once again turned to her, watching as she stood there, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. He rolled his eyes as her tongue came out and ran over her bottom lip, staring at him as if he was breakfast, lunch and dinner all rolled into one.

“So, I guess you’re free?”

“No, not for the foreseeable future,” Leonard told her with relish, looking forward to the chase about to come. When the annoying woman’s mouth before him opened to speak again, he stared at her and her face smoothed out. He listened to her thoughts about riding him with cowboy boots on and her boyfriend watching while tied to a chair. He shuddered, then with a little bit of whammy from him, he found her hypothalamus. She obediently turned around and walked away, back to her own table and her practically vibrating boyfriend who was presently sitting there, not tied.

“Now, why didn’t I think of doing that earlier?” Leonard sighed, watching the petite brunette who’d just given him his marching orders disappear through the entrance.

Picking up the money she’d dropped on the table, he slipped it into his suit jacket pocket, and headed to the bar to pay their bill. He handed over his gold card, adding a generous tip, then followed on her heels. A bit of speed and misdirection on his part, and he was leaning against the wall; outside the ladies’ room, when she came out.

Why did women always head to the toilets before they left a place? That and always going in 2’s? Just a few of the great mysteries in life that men didn’t know the reasoning behind. He could probably read her to find out, but did he want to know if she’d just been for a number one or a number two? Then there was the whole, did she wash her hands afterwards? Some things you just didn’t need, nor want to know.

“What do you want?” Jill growled as Leonard straightened up as she stepped out of the ladies’ room. She’d gone to the toilet to pee, but had just washed her hands in the end as there was a bloody queue to use the facilities. She’d then stood drying her hands and had been listening to a couple of women discussing Leonard and all the things they wanted to do to him. It had not helped her temper in the slightest.

“We have a date, it’s not very good manners to walk out and leave me when I’ve done nothing wrong,” Leonard informed her, feeling quite disgruntled over having to chase her down. Okay, he’d admit that it was quite exhilarating to have to chase a woman, but on the other hand, he’d never had to do it before.

“I told you the date was over, we are not suited,” Jill hissed, turning and heading outside. “Thank you,” she murmured, tightly smiling at the doorman who held the door open for them. 

“You’re welcome, and here’s my number, call me,” the big man with the cropped blond hair replied.”

“Oh, erm…” Jill wasn’t sure what to say, she was flattered, then she stomped her foot as the guy handed the card over to Leonard with a wink. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, are you sprinkled with fairy dust or something,” she sputtered as she stormed out of the place and off up the street.

Leonard laughed as he followed on Jill’s heels, she was adorable when she was pissed off. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling and her bad temper practically flowed off her in waves.

God, he was turned on.

Then he ground his teeth as he remembered he couldn’t touch her.

“Bollocks,” he mumbled under his breath as he pushed his hands in his suit jacket pockets. “Jill, hold up, we haven’t eaten yet, do you want to grab something to eat?”

“No,” she threw over her shoulder not stopping her clipped walk, then entered a local chip shop and he laughed.

“I thought you said you weren’t hungry.”

“No, I said I didn’t want to grab something to eat with you,” she hissed as she moved towards the counter.

“Aww, don’t be so mean, I can’t help it if women find me irresistible.”

“Bite me,” she hissed. Leonard actually licked a fang at that one, before snapping his teeth at her, chuckling when she growled at him. Then her annoyance was replaced with a sly smirk. “Don’t forget the doorman,” she told him gleefully, her smirk transforming into a shit eating grin when he shuddered. Sighing, her shoulders drooped as she looked to him. “Look Leo, you and me, not going to happen, you are not my type.”

“Ooh, sugar, you are so my type,” replied the middle-aged woman behind the counter.

“See,” Jill growled again, glaring at him. Her hand moving between him and the woman waiting to take their order; whose eyes were roving over Leonard as if she’d rather have him than anything on the menu. “Do you have some kind of pheromone that you spray on before you leave the house, or do you fart attractant or something?” Jill hissed again and he full out laughed. He couldn’t help it; it was just so unexpected. She was blunt to the point of rudeness, not something he’d ever dealt with before. Well, he had, but that was the women who were mated to the jaguars, they were all feisty. Jill was like a cute, harmless kitten, hissing and spitting at him, and he’d not had so much fun in ages.

“Look, Leo, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I do not want to compete with the rest of humanity to have a conversation with my date. For just once in my life I’d like to find a man who has eyes only for me. I’ve had enough of men that can’t keep it in their pants, and you  well, I’m not sure if you keep it in your pants or not  but you have a roving eye, constantly checking out anything with a pulse. So, have a nice life,” she waved. “Now, can I have a large portion of chips with lots of salt please,” she told the middle-aged woman as she turned to her. The woman completely ignored her though, now busy fluttering her eyelashes at Leonard.

Leonard didn’t like the way she’d just described him. He also didn’t like the idea of her constantly being left feeling as though she wasn’t enough. He didn’t know her, not yet, but weirdly enough he found that he’d like to. A concept unheard of where he was concerned and, it confused the hell out of him.

“Please, can you get my date her chips, and I’ll have the same,” Leonard told the woman who was still staring at him. Sighing, he stepped closer to the counter. He put his front to Jill’s back as he stared back at the woman behind the counter. From here, Jill wouldn’t be able to see what he was up to. He slammed the whammy on the woman and bingo, her mind became an open book. It was as easy to slip into her thoughts as a knife went through butter. She snapped out of her glamour trance and became professional, their order now wrapped and on the counter with a polite smile.

“Can I have a can of fizzy orange too, please,” Jill said, rooting in her bag for her purse.

Leonard leaned over and handed the woman a ten-pound-note.

“I can pay for my own,” Jill told him, snappily.

“You are, this is what you left on the table back at the pub. I covered the drinks, so you are now buying me supper,” Leonard told her, nudging her with his shoulder. “Now play nice Jill, you’ll give yourself indigestion,” he told her as he took the change, slipping it into her jacket pocket and picking up the wrapped chips and can of fizzy pop off the counter. “Here,” he said, stepping back and as she turned, he handed her the can. He refused to drink that stuff. He’d manage to have a snifter out of his flask; to wash down the grease in the paper, once they’d found somewhere to sit and eat.

Chapter Eight

L eonard watched Jill out of the corner of his eye as she sat on the bench eating her chips. Her face thoughtful as she chewed, but every now and again a frown would crease her brow.

“What exactly are we doing here?” Leonard asked, clearing his throat, uncomfortable with the silence.

“People watching,” Jill replied, popping another chip into her mouth.

“And you do this why?”

“It’s interesting,” she informed him with a shrug, before popping another slither of greasy fried potato into her mouth and chewing.

“Why?” Leonard asked, nearly rolling his eyes because only recently he’d told Lara; one of the phoenix, off for using that particular word. Yet, only a few days later, and he himself was here asking questions exactly like a three-year-old, no articulation.

Jill pulled her feet beneath her and leaned back on the bench, wiping her hands on a paper napkin, before throwing her chip wrapper and napkin into the waste bin beside them. “I find people fascinating, I try to figure out when I see a couple together what drew them to each other in the first place.”

“How so?” Leonard asked, finding himself interested in her views.

“That couple over there,” she said, pointing to a couple walking along holding hands. He was tall, slim, cropped blond hair, she was short, stocky with a pretty face and long red hair. “When I see a couple together that are so different, I wonder what it was that they saw in each other to begin with. What their story is, how they met, whether they were friends, colleagues?” she murmured with a shrug, pulling her knees up beneath her chin, eyes still on the couple.

Just then, the woman turned, grabbed the tall blond by the back of the head and dragged his mouth down to her own. She then set about kissing him as if she was trying to remove his tonsils with her tongue. All while she stroked him through his pants and rode his thigh, and in the middle of the pavement. Jill sputtered, her knees dropping, feet hitting the floor, until she sat bolt upright on the bench, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“I’d say he likes how demure she is,” Leonard laughed, popping a greasy chip into his own mouth, chewing, then grimacing as he swallowed.

Why she couldn’t have gone to a decent restaurant was beyond him, he thought as the taste of the old oil coated his mouth. His enjoyment of her reaction to lust at work as he finished off his own chips was ruined as he thought about his own lack of finesse. He closed his eyes in annoyance, disgusted with his own inability to charm her.

Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut.

He was nearly five-hundred-years-old for god sake; he should be able to control himself. But no, he’d had to take a pop shot and make light of her genuine interest in humans and their mating habits. He was old, cynical and lacked the ability to feel the softer emotions. Yes, he could feel compassion, but romantic love, no, not in his vocabulary. Yes, he loved his parents and his sister, and was even fond of his new circle of friends whom he’d become close to recently. But that was about it though. He’d never come across a woman yet he could not walk away from. Nor did he find himself willing to spend more than a few hours swapping bodily fluids. Maybe he just wasn’t meant to be in a relationship.

He watched Jill again out of the corner of his eye and something about her niggled him, some familiarity as her head tilted, but whatever it was he couldn’t fathom it. Unfortunately, due to his faux pas, she now sat beside him as stiff as a board, indignation pouring off her. The tension was back between them. Add in the fact that he couldn’t control her, and he found it both disconcerting and intriguing, especially with that niggle about her. Wiping his hands on his own napkin, he turned his head, and quickly slipped his flask out of his pocket. He took a sip of the soothing blood; to help settle his stomach and remove the taste of grease, before putting it back in his pocket. All this was done before Jill had even finished her sigh.

Jill sat on the bench beside the black-haired hunk, trying to figure out his angle. She’d watched the way women behaved around him. I mean, at least six of them had come up to the table as she’d sat with him, then the doorman, and the woman in the chippy.

So, what was he doing here with her?

Was it the challenge thing?

Was it because she’d not fallen at his feet, fluttering her eyelashes and opening her legs, offering up her body for his use?

“Damn it all to hell, why hadn’t they allowed pictures to be uploaded on that damn site,” she groaned.

“What are you talking about?” Leonard asked, trying to follow as she seemed to switch topics.

“The dating site,” she murmured, not looking at him.

“You wished they’d allowed photographs on the dating site, why?” Now he was confused. Obviously, as it was an immortal dating site, photographs would not be used, due to the whole immortality and trying not to leave evidence of that. In Jill’s case, she didn’t know that, because even though he’d told her he was a vampire, she just thought he was just yanking her chain.

“Why, because then I’d still be at home, sitting in my favourite pyjamas, drinking hot chocolate and watching a Friend’s re-run on the television.”

“You’d rather be at home now than here with me?” he felt truly insulted.

“I would never have chosen someone who looked like you in the first place,” she sighed.

“Why, what’s wrong with the way I look?” he asked, frowning.

“Nothing, you’re practically perfect.”

He preened at this, then saw her drooped shoulders and turned towards her, sitting sideways on the cold wooden bench so he could not only hear but see her. She gave a lot away with her very pretty face. Her eyes were a beautiful deep brown, threaded with gold and green. She had a cute nose, with a very slight uplift at the tip, her mouth was something else though. Her bottom lip fuller, thicker, biteable. He even liked her hair, although he’d prefer the multi toned brown and gold tresses down because her slim neck was a temptation. Especially as he watched the pulse flickering like a beacon, just beneath her delicate skin.

“I take it I’m really not your type?”

“Look Leo, you are a handsome man, great body, impeccable dress sense.”

“There’s a but in there, I can hear it.”

“You’re too perfect,” she told him.

“How so?”

“You attract too much attention. I’m just your average female. I work a nine-to-five job I hate, to pay the rent on a house not big enough to swing a cat. I have simple tastes. I enjoy an evening spent talking to friends, slobbing around the house and eating ice cream out of the carton. I don’t wear designer clothes or eat out at fancy restaurants. Well, unless you class George as a designer label.”

“Do you mean Giorgio Armani?” Leonard was even more confused now, Armani was a superb designer, his absolute favourite, he loved the cut and style.

“No, George by Asda, the superstore,” she told him dryly.

“Oh, okay,” he’d not heard of either, not that he’d admit to it. “And this is a problem, why?”

“You are out of my league. I would never be able to compete with someone who looks or dresses the way you do.”

“Oh, my god, you are a snob.”

“I am not,” she sputtered. “I’m a girl who was brought up on a rough council estate and went to the local comprehensive high school. I didn’t even attend college; how does that make me a snob?”

“You’re a snob, you’re biased. You are labelling me as unacceptable because I come from a different background to you. You are a snob.”

“I am not, I’m realistic. We come from different worlds Leo, we have absolutely nothing in common. I bet you’ve never bought your clothes off the rack or worried if you had enough money left in the bank to buy a loaf of bread.”

“No, I can’t say that I have. But then again, I’m not the one who’s holding that against you, now, am I?”

“I’m, grrrr,” she groaned, closing her eyes in frustration as he just looked at her. “You are taking it the wrong way; I am the one who is not good enough. I am never good enough or enough full stop,” she whispered sadly. With that, she pushed up from the bench and shoulders drooped, bag slung over them, walked away.

Leonard sat there, staring at her, dumbfounded. Swallowing at the desolation and hurt he heard in her words. The hollowness of her loneliness resonated with him. They may come from different worlds; in more than just class, but they were both alone - even in a roomful of people. He could not let her walk away, no matter how much she wanted to, and not just because it would mean he’d renege on the rules that Luc had set for this farce. He didn’t want her to. He was now convinced that she was in fact the woman he’d bumped into outside Thomas’s office. She was the woman he’d been interested in pursuing before this had begun. Her walk was now exactly the same, down to the way her shoulders rolled inwards in her hurry.

He was now in unknown territory, a first for him. He found that he wanted to show her that she was valued, that she meant something and was good enough. He just had to remember that he had to keep his pants zipped for five dates while doing it, or he may well get the girl. But in doing so, he’d lose any chance whatsoever in repairing his friendship with Luc.

“Bollocks,” he moaned, as he pushed up and went after her retreating, dejected figure.

Chapter Nine

J ill left Leonard sitting on the bench and took off up the road. She needed to find a bus stop, because she couldn’t afford a taxi, it had been more than she’d expected on her way here. She knew she should not have come. Now, she felt even more lonely and undesirable than she had before she’d set out for the evening. The way Leonard had attracted attention had been truly astounding. She’d thought some of her previous dates had been disasters, but they’d been positively joyful compared to tonight. It wasn’t that he was a terrible person, or bad company, no. It was because the man drew women like flies to shit. They swarmed around him as if he were the light to their moth. Not that she could blame them. Hell, he was something else to look at. He had an untouchable quality about him, but at the same time it invited you closer, like a magnet. It was as if he had an invisible aura that whispered and seduced. His eyes were beautiful, especially, the deep clear purple colour, but surrounded by those thick, black sooty lashes, they were spectacular. His face looked sculptured, the planes and angles utterly masculine, but beautifully symmetrical. He had that dip in his chin that invited your tongue to taste after sucking on that plump, sensual bottom lip. Then there was his hair. Well, what could she say about that, it was thick and so black it had shone blue in the interior lights of the bar. Her fingers had practically itched to bury themselves in it and tug, holding him as she ravaged his mouth. The shock of the instant desire she’d felt for him had shaken her. Then there was his voice, now that in itself had made you think of sex, due to the sinfully, husky quality to it. It had evoked all kinds of thoughts, mostly of sweaty entwined limbs, tangled sheets and moans of pleasure. It had sent tingles down her spine when he’d spoken to her, his full attention trained on her now and again. It had then been as if he’d stroked a talented fingertip down her aroused flesh. Her stomach had fluttered and her heart rate had sped up. Then he’d began to joke with her about his incisors, offering to bite her, and oh my god, she’d grown instantly wet at the thought.

What in the hell had happened to her?

Then the spell had been broken by yet another female parading before him. His eyes would shift from her, and her senses would return.

She’d been shocked when he’d been outside the toilets waiting for her though.

Why had he done that?

That’s the bit that baffled her, why had he not just stayed at the table, because he’d have had willing company in seconds.

But no, he’d come after her, why?

Was it the whole challenge thing?

Was he the kind of man that just played games?

Her head hurt as it went around in circles, trying to figure out what his angle was, when she felt heat at her back. Then the buzz of arousal hit her as the scent of heat and sex filled her nostrils.

“Leo, I’m going home. I’m going to crawl into bed and pretend that this evening didn’t happen,” she said over her shoulder.

“You’re inviting me into your bed? A little presumptuous of you don’t you think,” he grinned, stepping to her side and keep pace. Jill growled and he nudged her again with his shoulder, a playful tap. “Where are we going?” he asked, curiously, stepping around a couple who were busy sucking face outside a closed hair salon. 

“I told you I’m going home,” Jill mumbled, grumpily.

“This is the way to your home?”

“No, this is the way to the bus stop,” she clarified, as she stopped before the bus shelter, with the broken glass on one side.

“If you want to go home, I will take you,” Leonard informed her. Then taking hold of her arm, he turned her around, pulling her back the way they’d come.

“Leo, I don’t know you from Adam, I’m not getting in a car with you.”

“Ring your boss, he’ll tell you that I’m not a serial killer,” he informed her as he tugged on her arm to get her moving. “Go on, if you don’t trust me, ring Thomas, he’ll vouch for me. Ask him if he’s thinking of visiting Essex again any time soon while you’re at it.”

“Why?” she asked, giving in and walking back with him towards the ‘Snail and Cabbage’ pub’s car park.

“He’ll understand, it will also let him know that I am who I say I am.” He was not going to explain to her that Thomas, was in fact a lion shifter, and that in an inebriated moment, had shifted while out drinking in Essex. He’d then been snapped by a holidaying couple and the picture had been plastered all over the papers, causing a man-hunt. He himself had been called in to alter a few perceptions and it had all blown over.

“Oh, okay,” Jill stopped and turned to him, frowning, her mind completely blank. Leonard looked down at her, his just over six-foot frame towering over her at only five-foot-six in her three-inch heels. Giving her head a shake, Jill tried to remember what she was meant to be doing, but her eyes once again lifted to his.

Leonard gazed into her wide, confused melted chocolate eyes, her brow furrowed and her pulse beat wildly in her throat. Someone walked passed, nudging into them and Jill fell against him. Leonards hands automatically went to the tops of her arms to steady her. He froze as her heat and scent invaded his senses, then picked up on the overloud sound drumming in his ears as her heart rate sped up. His eyes dropped to her throat at hearing the accelerated rate, and watched in fascination as the pulse in Jill’s throat fluttered wildly. Eyes dropping lower, he saw her chest rise and fall quickly as respiration increased. Satisfaction thrumming through him at all the signs of her own body’s chemical reaction to him. Leisurely, his eyes once again lifted, where he caught and held hers as his hands rubbed up and down her arms; as if to warm or sooth. He then slid them up, one to the back of her neck, staying her, and the other went to her throat. He then rubbed the pad of his thumb over her hammering pulse.

“Ermm, Leo, what are you doing?” Jill whispered, her throat working beneath his palm. He didn’t answer, held immobile, entranced by her. His head lowered, lips lightly brushing over her own, making her gasp as his tongue stroked over her bottom lip. A slight taste before he dipped inside, their tongues now twining and duelling, before he slid it out again, his lips finally settling more fully over hers. Deepening the kiss, her took everything she offered, but needed more. Moving the hand from the back of her neck, upwards, Leonard cradled the back of her head, moving her where he needed. She moved restlessly against him and he hissed at the sensation, now feeding from her, ravenous, his lips crushing hers beneath them. The tasted blood hit his tongue, the sweet copper tang flooding his system, warming and filling him. Gasping, he pulled back, breaking their connection.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he whispered. His thumb gently stroking over the nick he’d caused on her bottom lip with his fang. Her eyelashes finally flickered, lifting, then blinking, her unfocused gaze met his own lilac one. “I was careless with you, I’m sorry.” He leaned forward, tongue stroking over her lip, cleaning up the evidence of his carelessness, before he stepped back. He dropped his hand from her throat and instantly missed her erratic pulse beating beneath his flesh. The hand he’d been cradling her head with dropped around her shoulders. He turned, pulling her into his side as he again began walking, keeping her tucked beside him.

Once in the pubs car park, Leonard hit the fob on his keys for the jet-black Maserati. The headlights flashed and the interior lights came on, illuminating the interior as the internal lights came on as the car doors unlocked.

“Figures,” Jill smiled, rolling her eyes as he helped her to slide into the passenger seat.

“What figures?” Leonard asked, leaning over her as he fastened her seat belt.

“You and a flash car,” Jill grinned, lovingly stroking the soft cream leather of the seat. “Who’d have thought it,” she mock gasped, batting her eyes lashes.

“Jill?”

“Yeah?”

“Be quiet,” Leonard mumbled, kissing the end of her nose. He then closed the door on her shocked face, before moving around to the driver’s side and slipping into his own seat. He’d shocked the hell out of himself also with that move, he was not into public displays of affection. He’d never felt the need to do so either. Yet, twice now tonight, he’d done so with Jill.

What in the hell was happening to him?

“Any music preference?” he asked as he turned the engine over.

“Erm…” Jill cleared her throat, still confused over the way Leonard had not only kissed the ever-loving life out of her in the street, but had also treated her tenderly afterwards. Then, just now had shown her affection. The man was a mass of contradictions. “Jazz or rock, which do you prefer?” she asked.

“Rock, so long as it’s soft rock. I can’t abide the ones that scream,” his lip curled on scream and she chuckled as she moved through the radio stations.

The drive to her little house was quiet. Leonard only spoke to ask for directions; not that she minded, as they both seemed lost in their own thoughts. Jill was replaying the events of the evening and the weird reaction people seemed to have to him. Leonard, well, he had a poker face, nothing showed.

In the passenger seat, Jill watched him silently from beneath her lashes. His hair was held back with a loose tie, some kind of thin leather. She couldn’t tell how long it was as it had gotten caught in the collar of his suit jacket. He had a wide forehead, smooth and wrinkle free. Dark, nicely shaped eyebrows which looked as if he’d had them professionally done. A slim, aquiline nose, with a flared tip and a drool worthy square jaw. He now sported a little jet-black, short stubble, but on Leonard, even that looked designer. It was all nice and neat, no ragged or stray hairs.

I mean, as if it would dare to grow untidily.

It looked as if someone had taken a trimmer to it. Sharp angles under his high cheekbones and down over his chin before it moved up the sides of that kissable mouth, ending under his nose. She was so lost in her observations that she didn’t realise the car was idling by the kerb.

“Jill, are you okay?” Leonard asked turning to her and she blinked, her startled eyes staring through the windscreen.

“Sorry, miles away. Thank you for the lift and company,” she murmured, blushing at getting caught staring at him.

“My pleasure. Are you free tomorrow evening?” Leonard had decided that as he had to take her on five-dates, it was better to just get them over and done with. That way it should be easier for him to keep his hands to himself. Once the dates were out of the way, she was his, as he’d have kept to his end of the bargain with Luc.

“I am,” Jill replied, hand on the car door.

“How do you feel about the ballet?”

“To be honest, I’ve never been,” she told him, and he raised a brow, silently waiting. “Thank you, I would love to go to the ballet with you,” she replied and his mouth lifted at one corner, a twinkle in his eyes.

“I’ll be here at seven tomorrow evening.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. Oh, and Leonard, I may be showing my ignorance, but is there a dress code?”

“Just smart casual, but I don’t think it’s as rigid as it once was,” he informed her.

“See you tomorrow, goodnight.”

Jill pushed open the door and closed it behind her. Leonard waited until she disappeared inside her home, before driving away.

Chapter Ten

L eonard had gotten up this morning, rung the theatre and reserved the box. Then he’d booked a table at Romano’s; his favourite restaurant. Romano’s was a little highbrow, but the food was second to none, plus, it was situated not far from the theatre, in Upper Lunaton. His favourite corner table; which offered a modicum of privacy, was now reserved for them after the ballet finished this evening. Once everything was organised, he’d put in a couple of hours work in his den, checking over his shares, selling those that had run their time, and buying a few thousand shares of a new fledgling company that had real potential. Satisfied; and a few thousand pounds richer, he’d headed over to the house where Balin was still healing. After spending a little time with him, and taken a bit of ribbing; due to having to date a human, he’d been satisfied that he was on the mend. They’d been worried for a while there, especially after the set-back he’d had earlier in the week when he’d tried to tear into his own stomach. The psycho bitch, Maisie; the black witch who’d captured and tortured Balin, had actually placed a be-spelled rune-stone inside of him. She’d done it purposely to stop him from shifting and healing. Luckily for them, Sophia; a white witch, and the one his old friend Luc seemed to have the hots for, had worked it out. Now, after it had been removed, he was not only on the mend, but could once again shift into his black jaguar form and speed up the process. Everyone was now breathing a little easier. Well, where Balin was concerned anyway. Unfortunately, the psycho bitch was still out there.

Leonard had gone out to help in the search for her, something they’d been doing in shifts for a while now as they tried to locate her. She had to be stopped before she brought their kind to the attention of the authorities with her indiscriminate killings, of humans and immortals alike. There was already a reporter nosing around - slimy little bastard was causing them a few problems with their searches as he kept popping up. The sooner Maisie was found and taken care of, the better for everyone. If humans ever realised that there were immortals walking amongst them, there would be mass hysteria, and they’d be hunted like mindless animals. They’d be studied, and analysed, their brains and bodies dissected as scientist experimented until they could understand them. Now that, they couldn’t allow, which was why the authorities hadn’t been notified or involved. If anything, they wanted to keep them far away from it. Which meant he also had to go to the main police station in Upper Lunaton tomorrow morning with Jaden, just in case he was needed.

It was all such a mess. The bitch had killed a human delivery driver. As he had a pregnant fiancé and young child they couldn’t dispose of the body and change perceptions; which they’d normally do. They were unsure how him meddling with her mind would affect her pregnancy, and he would not have the possibility of doing harm to an unborn child on his conscience. So, tomorrow, his job was to make sure that the authorities were kept in the dark by changing a few perceptions. Plus, the authorities wouldn’t be of any help to them as a human would have no chance against an immortal. They were faster, stronger, and lived, well, indefinitely. Some could shift into animals, some; like him, drank blood. There were witches who could wield magic, both good and bad, and so many more. Basically, most creatures written about in fairy tales or whispered about via a myth had some basis. As the saying goes, ‘there’s no smoke without fire’. Therefore, Maisie was a threat to everybody, humans and immortals alike. As she was lethal and had no conscience in her thirst for greater power; she also threatened their very existence. They could not keep covering up her killings because at some point, they’d miss someone, and then their kind would be out in the open. That’s when the nightmare would truly begin, because the pitchforks would be sharpened and the torches lit as the humans began their hunt.

Several unsuccessful hours later, he’d headed home, foul tempered and frustrated at how successfully the bitch had one again managed to cover her tracks. All he’d wanted to do at that point was go out to find a willing woman to lose himself in. Only he couldn’t do that as Luc had cock blocked him due to the terms he’d put on healing the rift in their friendship. If he had sex with another woman while dating Jill, he’d renege on their bargain. If he didn’t take Jill on 5-dates, he’d renege on their bargain. But the real kicker was that he couldn’t even screw Jill, whom he’d be more than happy to. Because, yes, you guessed it, if he did have sex with her before their fifth date, he’d renege on their bargain. Basically, he was screwed any which way he turned, without being screwed.

Oh, the irony.

Luc had his hands and his pants zipper tied, because he was desperate to heal their friendship. The guilt for his part of Luc’s curse had ate at him. So much so, that he’d even followed Luc to Lower Lunaton when he’d moved here a few centuries ago. He’d had his home built on the next plot of land so that he could try to watch over his friend when he couldn’t take care of himself. His curse meant that during daylight he turned to stone, a caricature gargoyle, complete with claws.

Leonard paced around his den, frustration and anger eating at him. He needed to chill out, but was limited on what was available to him, so opted for a shower. Like it or not, he still had a date tonight.

Once clean, he began to feel a little better and again found himself looking forward to his evening. He was interested in witnessing Jill’s first impressions of the ballet. It added to the whole experience, especially with a ballet virgin.

Bad choice of words Leonard realised, as he pulled up outside Jill’s house and found her closing and locking her front door. As the Maserati was fitted with tinted windows, it gave him a chance to observe her without detection. His eyes began with her hair, which she wore in chic chignon. A few wispy tendrils of her deep caramel hair loose and framing her pretty face. They dropped down her body in an appreciative, leisurely perusal. She wore a little black sheath dress and his eyes swept from the sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves, to the hem, which stopped just above her knees. It was tastefully fitted to her curvy frame, just offering a tantalising hint of the shapely body beneath. Leonard found it much more sensual than some of the overtly snug and sexual clothing he’d seen many women wearing. She’d teamed it with a pair of moderately heeled black pumps, showcasing her surprisingly long legs. Instead of a necklace or beads, Jill had opted for a jaunty, slim red scarf, which hung loosely from her throat and ended, mid chest. It showed off, not only the length of her neck, but also her pert breasts, as it nestled between them. As she dropped her keys into her bag and tucked it beneath her arm, his eyes were drawn to her legs again. He then began to wonder if the sheer black nylons she wore were tights or stockings. He visualised running a hand up her leg to find out which it was, and the mental image of his fingers moving from silk to silky smooth skin elicited a moan being dragged from deep in his throat. His dick twitched at the idea of touching her so intimately, and he licked a fang as he tried to adjust himself in his seat.

Leonard watched as she closed her gate. Then his innate good manners kicked in and he alighted the car, with a slight wince. Straightening his charcoal pinstriped suit jacket, he tugged it down over his groin and moved around the bonnet to the passenger side.

“Good evening Jill, I hope you’ve had a pleasant day,” Leonard murmured, holding out a hand. When she accepted, placing her own in his, he pulled her in and bending forward brushed a light kiss over her cheek. 

“Hi Leo, you look very dapper,” Jill smiled brightly, and his eyes dropped to her plump red lips.

“Thank you, you look very beautiful,” he told her. Then, stepping back, opened the passenger door and used the hand he still held to help her in, settling her into her seat. Once the seatbelt was fastened; and door closed, he moved around the car and got back into the driver’s seat.

“Some classical music to help get you in the mood for our evenings entertainment,” Leonard told Jill. He then set the volume on the cd player and started the car, indicating, he pulled out. The soothing sounds of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake filled the car as he moved through the light, evening traffic.

“Do you enjoy the ballet?” Jill asked, as Leonard turned right, entering the heavier, main flow of traffic leading into the centre of town.

“I used to enjoy it very much. At one time, it was a grand affair going to the theatre to watch the ballet. Women dripping in expensive jewellery, and showcasing fashion designer’s creations in the way of elaborate ball gowns. There was always a strict dress code, and their partners were not allowed in unless dressed in a tuxedo. Then again, few would dare try, because it was all a lead up to the after parties where they got to mix with the rich and famous,” he told her drolly.

“What was the first ballet you attended?” Jill asked, easily imagining Leonard rubbing shoulders with societies elite.

“The ballet was in 1581, I believe, ‘Le ballet Comique De La Reine,’ inspired by Homers ‘Odyssey.’ It was performed in the ballroom adjacent to the Louvre Palace in Paris. Catherine De’ Medici, the French queen at the time, arranged the performance to celebrate her sister’s wedding. It was a very grand affair, and guests in their thousands attended. The queen herself, as well as a lot of her court, also took part in the performance. Then again, Queen Catherine was well known for throwing very expensive and elaborate parties. Although, there are theories that there were other ballets before it, it’s the earliest that I can remember,” Leonard informed her with a shrug.

“No, you misunderstand, Leo. Which was your first ballet, because I’m pretty sure you weren’t around in 1581,” Jill laughed.

“Silly me, my apologies, Swan Lake.” Leonard gave a hearty chuckle, followed by an exasperated shake of his head, giving the impression of his error. Mentally, he castigated himself for yet another slip around her. He needed to be more careful, but found he was so comfortable in her company that it was becoming natural to share with her. A dangerous thing for an immortal with a human, especially one who knew nothing of their kind. He would have to weigh up his words more carefully, from now on. After all, it was not just his own life he was guarding, but that of all immortals. A slip in front of the wrong person could cause a man hunt, and devastation for many families, who would find themselves fighting for their very survival.

Chapter Eleven

J ill looked around her curiously as Leonard handed her into her seat, before taking his own on her left. She’d been shocked to find herself in one of the boxes, that were suspended over the lower seating. The stage was to their right, and from her rather comfortable seat, all of the stage was visible. She felt very self-conscious in the opulent surroundings, wearing her chain-store dress.

“Here you go,” Leonard murmured, handing her a programme and a tiny pair of ornate silver binoculars with a little grip handle. “To help you see better,” he explained, chin nodding towards the stage.

“I can see everything from here,” Jill told him with a smile, placing the binoculars on the arm of her chair as she put her bag on the floor. “I feel like I’ve stepped into a movie,” she whispered, and he frowned. “A rom-com about a billionaire paying for a hooker’s time. He took her to the theatre, and they sat in a box; very much like this one, only she was dripping in diamonds with a designer gown. Very much like your earlier description,” she laughed.

“Why would a billionaire need to take a hooker on a date?” he asked her, seeming perplexed.

“I didn’t say it made sense,” she grinned. “I think it was meant to be a spin on the modern-day Cinderella.”

“If I remember correctly, Cinderella was downtrodden, abused by her stepmother and forced into servitude. As part of her duties were scrubbing fireplaces, they nicknamed her Cinders,” he frowned, obviously not getting it.

“Scrubber, hooker, tomato, toe-ma-toe,” Jill chuckled and Leonard blinked, a frown appearing. She waited, her brow raised, then his face cleared before he let out a deep guffaw.

“Scrubber is a play on hooker,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Would you like a drink?”

“Yes please.”

“Red or white wine?”

“Red would be lovely, thank you.”

“Excuse me a moment,” he told her, standing again before he left through the curtain at the back of their box.

Jill watched him disappear, then let out a sigh. He looked gorgeous in yet another suit, which looked like it had been made especially for him. If the fit was anything to go by, it probably had been. The man had a very nice body, wide shoulders, trim waist and long legs. The dark slate and grey pinstripe made the lilac of his eyes brighter, almost neon in their intensity. He’d teemed it with a crisp, snow white shirt, and the tie he wore was the exact same colour as the pinstripe in his suit. He certainly knew how to dress, and his clear, husky voice was always so eloquent, that even when he swore it sounded like a pleasantry instead of vulgarity. Edging forward in her seat, Jill rested her elbows on the edge of the waist height solid barrier at the front of the box. While Leonard was away, she took the opportunity to study her surroundings. The seats were filling up below, only a few spaces left now, then she heard voices to her left. Looking over, she watched a young statuesque blonde, take her seat. She wore a tight red dress, shoestring straps and her hair swept up, tiny ringlets around her forehead and neck. She had diamonds dripping from her ears and neck, the strands dangling over the globes of her breasts, barely covered by the top of her dress. Jill averted her gaze as her companion took his seat beside her, a man in his mid-forties; by her estimation. Good looking, although a slight paunch was visible around his middle.

Maybe her father, Jill thought, until out of the corner of her eye she watched him turn, lecherously staring at the young blonde’s breasts, practically salivating. Movement below caught her attention and she looked down to find that the orchestra had begun settling into their seats, shuffling sheet music and readying their instruments. The loud chattering of the patrons died down and the classical music that had been piped into the theatre was switched off. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the lecherous old bastard from the next box over’s hand land on the younger woman’s knee, before slipping beneath the hem of her dress. Jill shuddered in revulsion. But then, thankfully, the lights dimmed, making it impossible to see what was going on, over in blue movie central next door. Chin resting on her folded arms, she avidly watched the way the curtains fluttered and moved as the dancers obviously took up their spots on stage. A hushed expectancy fell over the room, conversations dropped to muffled sounds and palpable excitement filled the air.

“Here, you go,” Leonard murmured from her left, startling her.

“Thank you,” Jill smiled, moving to sit back in her seat as she took the glass from him, as he slipped into his own seat.

“Are you okay?” Leonard asked, and she nearly jumped out of her skin because he’d spoken the words next to her ear. His breath stirred the hair that she’d purposely left out of her chignon.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Jill replied, pasting on a smile as she looked to him, before her eyes once again went to the curtain, which had begun to rise.

Jill took a sip of her wine, her eyes now glued to the stage as the first half of the ballet began. She gasped as the dancers twisted and turned on stage, their skill and elegance staggering. She finished her wine, and again moved towards the barrier, leaning her arms on it so she could get closer. Mesmerised by the performance, she tried not to blink, scared of missing anything as the story unfolded before her, through music and dance. She was awed by their capabilities as they stood on their toes, dancing, twirling and being lifted in the air. The chorus were perfectly synchronised in their movement, each dancers’ arms or legs, moving precisely in time, utter perfection.

Leonard sat back watching Jill as the curtain rose and the performance began. Her face was lit with wonder, her eyes following them as they moved across the stage, as if scared of missing anything. The pulse in her throat fluttered, her respiration and heartbeat increasing with emotion as she watched. In profile, her eyes became wide and luminous, glued to the stage as the story was played out in dance. She was beautiful and her enjoyment tangible, but to him she was the most mesmerising thing about the evening. She was so intent on the stage that for the first time that he could remember, he could truly relax. She was so engrossed in the performance his presence didn’t register. She intrigued him, she could be brash and forward but she also had an innate sense of poise and self-containment about her. He watched the elegant tilt of her head as she became thoroughly absorbed in the story. A rare find was a woman who did not require him to endlessly flatter and fawn over her. Well, for him anyway. He remembered the last time he’d come to a performance, his date for the evening; and that’s all she had been, just for the evening. She’d spend the evening touching him, and expecting him to pay her more attention than the performance. Obviously, he’d just slipped into her thoughts to still her, so that he could enjoy the performance in peace, but with Jill none of that was required, and he found that he didn’t even want to try to slip into her thoughts. He just sat back in his seat, an arm resting across the back of her chair, a leg crossed with a resting on his knee. He sipped his doctored wine, after he’d slipped blood into it from the flask he kept in his suit jacket pocket. He just sat and observed her, but she didn’t turn to him once after she’d finished her wine. She just quietly sat forward, so that she could lean on the barrier and watch. He should probably feel insulted, but he didn’t. Being able to share in the experience of her palpable enjoyment had given greater depth to his evening.

Chapter Twelve

L eonard helped Jill up from her seat after the final curtain came down.

“What did you think?”

“I’m surprised.”

“Surprised, good or bad?” Leonard asked, interested in her views as he ushered her up the aisle towards the stairs that led to the lobby.

“Good. It was fabulous, but to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it.” Jill admitted, giving him a tentative smile.

“Why?”

“I’ve always thought of the ballet as a class thing.”

“Seriously, you are such a snob,” Leonard growled, tucking her arm into the crook of his, as they moved down the stairs. He matched his steps to hers, taking his time so as not to rush and risk her falling. He didn’t release her arm as they moved through the lobby, towards the exit.

“I’m not a snob, I’m…”

“Hi, I couldn’t help but notice you earlier. I’m Selena, this is my number, call me,” the blonde who’d been in the box next to theirs told Leonard with a purr, before touching his arm. She then folded a piece of paper into his hand; the one that wasn’t presently holding onto Jill. Leonard blinked in shock. He was astounded, because with being with Jill, his glamour had completely slipped his mind as he’d sat through the performance. If he’d have been thinking he’d have stayed behind in their seats a little longer giving the theatre time to empty. He had a table booked though, so time was of the essence, plus, it wouldn’t have guaranteed that he’d have slipped by unnoticed. Some lingered after a performance to discuss it and make plans.

Recently, he’d been spending so much time around the other immortals - the mated ones - that the whole hassle of the attraction his kind caused had slipped his mind. Then there was Jill. Being around her didn’t help him remember, as she herself never appeared to be affected by him. Yes, she was attracted to him; and that wasn’t vanity on his part, but it was a natural attraction. It didn’t seem to have anything at all to do with his vampire glamour. Maybe Agatha; one of the local white witches back in lower Lunaton, would be able to make him up a spell. One that would dampen down his own natural glamour, thus save him future hassle. The thought surprised him, because he’d found that he truly enjoyed being with Jill, and was now looking forward to spending more time with her. She was witty and snarky, but he could also talk to her because she didn’t paw or stare at him with stars in her eyes.

“I’m sure he’ll be calling you real soon,” Jill ground out. Then pulling Leonard out of his own head, she tugged her arm free of his, and stomped off towards the exit.

“Bollocks,” Leonard ran a hand around the back of his neck, and the blonde stepped closer. Her nearly naked breasts now brushing along the sleeve of his suit jacket.

“So, you’re free now?” she asked him huskily, her cloud of oppressive perfume heavy and cloying to his senses.

“No, Christ, go away,” Leonard hissed, handing her back her number and glaring at her. She went to argue, but he put the whammy on her, sighing as her mouth closed and her face smoothed out. Then as he concentrated, she finally turned and walked away, moving to the side of an older gentleman who stood waiting for their coats. Leonard watched his arm distractedly go around her waist, dropping to stroke over her bottom, which again was barely covered in the short dress she wore. Shaking his head in wonder that he’d truly forgotten his glamour his eyes once again sought out Jill. He watched, as her fine arse disappeared with an angry sashay around the corner as she headed for the front entrance.

“Give me strength,” Leonard grumbled, as he took off after her. All he ever seemed to do was chase her when he was hit on and she walked off in a strop. Although he’d admit to enjoying how her hips swished so enticingly with her annoyance, just the right amount of bounce to her arse as she stomped.

“Jill, hold up,” he called out just as he got to the corner as she walked through the doors.

He could have reached her in a second; if he put on a burst of his pre-natural speed, but the problem was, he didn’t want to garner any further attention. Head down, he pulled up the lapels of his jacket; hoping not to gain any more admirers, as he quickened his pace. He caught up with her as she waited by the kerb outside, her arms were crossed as she shivered by the side of the road. Her back was rigid as she eyed the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the lights to change.

“Why am I always having to chase after you?” Leonard sighed, taking off his jacket, and placing it around her. Hands, still on her shoulders, he gently spun her to face him, then pulled her into him, sharing his body heat. His hands dropped to her arms, rubbing up and down, hoping the friction would warm her as she shivered against him. He didn’t seem to feel the cold, but Jill shook with it. Not surprising really, as she hadn’t brought a jacket, just the lightweight black dress and nylons, that had brought about his earlier fantasies. She stood stiff before him, arms still crossed, with her bag tucked there. Stepping back, Leonard slipped the bag out from under her arm and placed it between his knees. He then unfolded her arms and helped her to slip them into his jacket sleeves. Using a slight of hand, to remove his flask from his jacket, he shoved it into his trouser pocket. Everything was done as he pulled the lapels together to help warm her, before pulling her bag out from between his knees and tucking it once again beneath her arm.

“Thank you, but Leo, I…”

Her words were cut off as his mouth lightly brushed hers, taking care not to catch the skin of her plump lip with this fangs.

“You’re welcome,” he told her, pulling back. He then turned her around and once again took her arm as he led her away from the road. They walked down the side of the theatre and entered the underground car park and his car.

Once he had her inside, he turned on the engine, switching the heater to high. “Now, would you like to explain to me what that was about?” Leonard asked, turning to Jill in the confines of the car.

“Leo, we are not suited. I don’t know why you persist with these dates. I can’t compete with the kind of women that you attract,” Jill replied, not meeting his gaze. She didn’t like to admit it, but it was beginning to get to her, these women who just threw themselves at him as if she wasn’t even there. It was insulting as hell, and the weirdest thing she’d ever seen.

“Have I flirted with any of these women?” he asked, and her brow rose. “Okay, fine, I was at fault for at least some of it on Monday, but tonight, I’d done nothing. All I’d done was enjoy the ballet and the company, I was not at fault.”

“No, I know that, but…”

“Jill, I wouldn’t hold it against you if men began hitting on you,” he told her and she snorted.

“As if,” she mumbled.

“You are a beautiful woman; I’m amazed it hasn’t happened already.”

“Thank you, but, to be honest, I think it’s just in your nature to be kind.”

“You really don’t know me very well. I do not tell lies, even if sometimes I should.”

“That’s the problem, we don’t know each other Leo, and it’s not exactly easy to get to know you. It’s like trying to get to know a movie star, the way women flock to you. Are you sure you’re not famous?”

“No, I’ve already told you, I’m a nobody. Just an average vampire,” he told her with a grin.

“Ha-ha, you are so funny,” Jill smiled.

“No, as I’ve already told you, just honest. Okay, how about food?”

“Yes, thank you, that would be nice.”

“Wonderful, but my choice tonight.”

“Well, so long as it has a dark corner, I can live with that.”

“I’ll make sure of it, if it makes you happy, because I don’t think I could handle another chippy.” He told her dryly, putting the car into gear and leaving the parking lot.

Jill laughed as she sat back in the seat as Leonard drove them to supper. If she kept eating so late in the evening, she was going to have a few issues fitting into her clothing.

Chapter Thirteen

T he restaurant was a little higher class than Jill had expected; or used to. She was eternally grateful that her mother had drummed into her the importance of always having at least one little black dress with matching heels tucked away in your wardrobe. If not for that, she’d have been on panic mode when Leonard had suggested taking her to the ballet. Therefore, she had one thing to thank her mother for because the ballet been truly spectacular. Absolute visual perfection. Their movements had been so in tune; it had seemed as if one person had danced all the parts. She’d been in awe, as the chorus of swans had glided and turned together on stage, mesmerised by the beauty of their synchronised movements. She’d also been shocked too, as it wasn’t something she’d ever thought she’d enjoy, but she had, thoroughly. Not only had she’d been to the ballet, but now, here she was in a restaurant that would probably cost her a week’s wages for just one meal. However, she didn’t care, it was worth it just for the experience and the aesthetical beauty of the room. Everywhere you looked men were in expensive suits. Some, schmoozing business acquaintances around tables laden with designer wines. Some were just couples, the women pampered, dressed to the nines in elegantly cut clothing, with perfectly coiffed hair and professional styled makeup. Then there was the jewellery they wore, some dripping in it, the sparkle from it blinding as it caught the light from the candles. Subconsciously, Jill’s hand went to her naked earlobes, and the little scarf she’d teemed with her black dress. It may not be expensive, but it was a gift from Amanda and Polly, and she loved it. She felt very out of place though, as even the diamond cut glassware was probably worth more than she earned in a month. Her hand dropped to the cutlery placed on the folded linen napkin, and she swallowed. Her finger stroked over the gleaming silverware in appreciation. The fleur de leaf design stunning in its simplicity - something else that was worth more than she earned. Her eyes once again found Leonard who sat across from her, and for the hundredth time, she wondered what he was doing with her. His head was bent, the jet-black strands looking neon blue in the lighting as he read through the menu. Even the menu was exquisite, bound leather with gold leaf detailing, no laminated card for ‘Romano’s’.

Her hands fell to her lap, feeling very out of place in her cheap store clothing and short un-manicured nails, when Leonard’s gorgeous eyes suddenly lifted to her. Her stomach fluttered as he smiled at her. A genuine smile, one that was broadcasted in the light that suddenly came into them. They seemed to glow as they roamed over her face. Blushing, she looked down, pretending interest in her own menu, unable to hold his gaze. The one thing she was glad of was that he’d booked a secluded alcove, and therefore had his back to the room. She appreciated the effort he’d gone to, but quite frankly she was more interested in his secret. I mean, he was good looking, but then again, she’d also seen other good looking men out with women. Men whom other women didn’t seem to constantly hit on in front of the ones they were with.

So, what was it about Leonard that made him different?

“Are you ready to order?” came a nasally male voice to her right, making her mind snap out of her own thoughts, and back to her opulent surroundings.

“Jill?” Leonard enquired, putting his menu down and waiting on her.

“Sorry, miles away, could I just have a main, I don’t think I could manage a starter, I’m not very hungry. Can I just have the steak well done, with seasonal vegetables, duchess potatoes and the beef jus stock please.

“Very good madam, and for sir,” the penguin to their right asked. Honest to god, the man had on a full-on tuxedo, with a tailed coat and bow tie. He even had a pristine white cloth draped over his arm and white gloves on. He looked like he belonged at the palace, and her eyes dropped once again, biting her lip as hysteria rose. She had a habit of laughing in inappropriate situations, especially when she felt out of her depth, and this was the most surreal environment she’d ever been in. She was so far out of her depth just now, that she was sinking fast and her inbuilt safety mechanism was kicking in, her shoulders shaking.

“I’ll take the same as my companion, but make my steak rare, very rare,” Leonard informed the waiter.

“Of course, Mr Smyth. And would you like your usual burgundy to go with your meal?”

“Jill, are you okay with red wine?” Leonard asked, and she was shocked out of her bubble of hysteria as she realised he was obviously a regular here. Especially if they knew him by name.

“Sure,” she cleared her throat. “May I have a glass of water as well, please?”

“Of course madam,” and with that, the man collected their bound menu’s, bowed and stepped away.

“Come on, out with it, what’s wrong?” Leonard asked sitting back in his chair and watching Jill closely. He was floundering here, because as her head had been bowed he’d tried again to read her and got absolutely nothing. She was complete radio silence, a first for him so he now found himself in unknown territory. He’d have to talk to her to find out what was going on.

“Look around you Leo. I am not meant for somewhere like this,” she whispered, leaning over the table.

“I’ll admit to it being a little pretentious, and outdated, but the food is superb.”

“And there lies our problem,” Jill sighed.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, frowning, not following her at all.

“You use words like pretentious, you also have a posh accent and strange old fashioned turn of phrases. I’m so far out of my depth right now I can’t even see the bottom. I feel like I’m in the middle of a play and no one’s given me my lines. I keep thinking I’m in the middle of a production of the prince and the showgirl for god sake.

“Jill, it’s just a restaurant, I chose it only on the quality of their food. If you are not happy here, then we won’t come again. Just give it a chance. I told you, stop being a snob.” With that he reached over the table and stayed her hand with his own, which had again come off her lap and was messing with her cutlery. She was in such a state; she’d not even realised she’d moved it from her lap.

“I know that I do, but Leo, I don’t earn enough in a week to pay for a meal here.”

“I don’t understand?”

“I can’t afford to pay my half of the bill,” she hissed in embarrassment.

Frowning, Leonard sat back, watching her broodingly. He stroked the back of her hand, unconsciously, before turning it over and rubbing over the pulse in her wrist to soothe her.

“I don’t expect you to pay for your meal,” he told her, really not sure what was going on here.

Why would she think he’d expect her to pay, when he’d brought her?

“Leo, it’s the twenty-first-century, women pay their own way.”

“But I invited you?” He couldn’t grasp what her problem was.

“Yes you did, but I’d still like to go halves with the bill, it makes me feel like I’m contributing.

“You can buy next time,” he told her with a smile. “You can, choose,” he swallowed at that one and he watched her eyes light with laughter.

“I can so see you happy sat in the local Chinese with a family sharing platter,” she laughed.

“Stop being a snob,” he growled. Her eyebrow rose at this, her head taking in the room around them and his shoulders dropped.

“Fine, it’s pretentious, but I like the food, so shoot me,” he pouted.

“Okay, posh boy, I’ll eat my meal.” She relented, but when he grinned at winning she added on. “Don’t forget, I get to choose next time.”

“Good,” he told her, squeezing her hand, happy now he’d gotten her to relax. Then he released her hand and sat back as their waiter arrived bottle in hand, waiting for him to inspect the label. Jill rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, deciding to enjoy the one-off experience at being among the rich at play.

“Very good, thank you,” Leonard told the waiter with a nod, putting his glass down after taking a sip. The waiter then went on to fill up both glasses and left the bottle on the table. Jill looked at his retreating back and then the bottle on the table, a frown on her face.

“Leo?”

“Yes,” he asked, taking another sip with a sigh.

“Where’s the ice bucket?”

“It’s red wine,” he replied, twirling the dark liquid in his glass. His right hand going to his pocket to grab his flask, but, bollocks, his pocket was empty.

“And that makes a difference?”

“Yes,” he told her distractedly as he tried to think about where it could be. “Red wine is served at room temperature; especially a full-bodied burgundy, or it spoils the taste.”

Jill tried not to feel stupid for not knowing how you drank different wines. She distracted herself by watching Leo, her brow wrinkling as he pushed his chair back and began searching the floor around the table.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s fine, I just thought I’d dropped something,” Leonard told her, with wry smile as he tried to figure out where his hip flask of blood could have gone.

He’d had it on him at the theatre, while they’d watched the ballet. He’d also had it as he’d handed Jill into the car, but he wasn’t sure if it had still been in there as he’d driven off.

He was an idiot.

Why had he not checked? Especially as he’d had wine and was about to eat. Granted, he’d ordered raw steak, or nearly raw anyway, but it wouldn’t suffice. His stomach was already beginning to cramp, so he knew he wouldn’t last without blood. He’d have to bite a donor, it was the only way, but Jill’s next words pulled him out of his own panicked thoughts. Then he realised that if he took a donor; while she was around, she’d take it as a snub. Especially if she saw a female draped over him in the throes of an orgasm. Bollocks, this had disaster written all over it.

What was he going to do?

“Are you sure you’re okay, is there anything I can do to help?”

Leonards eyes jumped to Jill’s, then dropped to her neck, the carotid artery there, positively pulsing beneath her skin. His fangs throbbed at the thought of piercing it, especially as he listened to her heartbeat speed up. As his eyes slowly roamed over her body, her breathing became faster, her chest rising and falling noticeably. Then he thought about the sound she’d make as she came with his teeth embedded in her neck.

Fuck, he was instantly hard.

“How about a bite,” he grinned, flashing his fangs.

Jill, rolled her eyes. “Really, Leo, you need to drop the whole Dracula act. I know it’s a family trait, so you can’t fool me,” he grinned at her, but it cost him, the cramps becoming uncomfortable. “What I would really like to know is why women find you irresistible?”

“You don’t find me irresistible,” Leonard pouted. He played it up trying to cover his discomfort as he acted as if he was mentally wounded by her words.

“You are a very good looking man…”

“Why thank you,” he told her fluttering his lashes with a grin.

 “Yeah, pretend modesty doesn’t work. What I don’t understand is why women flock to you though, it’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” Leonard sat back in his chair and decided to see if he could work this to his advantage.

“Maybe it’s the orgasms,” he murmured with a smirk, mouth kicking up at one side.

“Excuse me, did you just say, orgasms,” Jill whispered, leaning over the table. “As in, plural?”

Leonard groaned low in his throat as he heard Jill’s heart rate pick up and her breathing change. As he watched, her cheeks flushed with colour as the blood rushed through her veins.

“As in plural, yes.”

“Not all the time, surely?”

“Every time,” he enunciated, picking his glass up and taking a sip as he watched her over the top.

“But that…”

“It is possible, I can assure you.”

“But not all women can…”

“They do with me,” he informed her, savouring the bouquet of not only his wine, but the ripening of Jill’s own natural scent. It was so heady now, it was as if fresh rain had fallen on honeysuckle and then the sun had come out warming it, the fragrance thick in the air. His nostrils flared and he dropped his lashes, trying to hide the way his pupils would swirl as his own arousal made itself know. That was one of the reasons he always took his women from behind, he’d never made love to a woman face to face. With Jill, the idea intrigued him.” Then his face fell as he remembered the terms of the deal that Luc had set out.

Bollocks, no sex.

This was only their second date, he had to take her out 5-times before he could lose himself in her body. Was he considering seeing her after the terms had been met? And to his utter shock, he found that yes, he was.

After his sulk fest, this afternoon, he’d found himself doing a search of possible venues for dates; which was something he’d never done before. There were so many places he wanted to take her, so many things he wanted to show her. He wanted to spend more time with her and really get to know her. She intrigued him. He found it exhilarating to spend time with her and not have to listen to her internal thoughts and fears constantly being broadcasted to him.

“How?”

“How what?” he asked.

“How can you guarantee it?” Jill asked, and he raised a brow making her blush. Putting down his wine glass, Leonard pushed back his chair and slowly stood, circling the table and then taking a seat beside her.

The waiter arrived, and Leonard spoke without breaking eye contact with Jill.

“Can you just give us a minute, please?”

“Of course sir,” the penguin murmured, discreetly leaving them alone.

“Leo, what are you doing?” Jill whispered, looking around her nervously.

“Eyes on me,” Leonard told her. “No one is interested in what we are doing,” he informed her, lifting a hand and stroking over her throat.

“Leo, what are you doing?” she whispered, breathlessly, you can’t mean to…”

He nodded with a raise of his brow, holding her gaze and letting her see his eyes darken to purple. His pupils expand and her breath hitched.

“But…”

“I can make you cum with just my mouth on your neck,” he told her. “Although I’d love nothing more than taking my time undressing you before you I fucked you on a bed, I’m not really into exhibitionism. For now, I can relax you enough to enjoy your meal and prove my point. All with nothing more than my mouth on your neck,” he informed her. He breathed the words against her ear, his tongue stroking over the lobe. His teeth nipped and her chest rose, a flush rising up her skin as her breathing became harsher.

“I can make you feel so good, and no one will know. May I, Jill, will you let me show you?” His other hand dropped to her hands that were presently twisting in agitation in her lap. Threading his fingers with hers, his thumb drew circles on her thigh, a growl rumbling from his throat as he felt her tremble beneath his light caress. He trailed kisses from her ear to the corner of her mouth, delicately nipping her, but being careful not to nick her with his fangs. His tongue stroking over her bottom lip, but not penetrating and devouring her mouth how he wanted. He would not put a show on for the other diners, this was private, she was his. The thought should shock him, but just now, he was more interested in obtaining what he needed, but at the same time it would allow him to offer her pleasure. Weirdly enough, doing that was more important to him than the unpleasant cramping in his stomach. He turned himself slightly, his back blocking out what the other diners would be able to see. Now, to an onlooker, it would just look as if they were having an intimate conversation. Their table was in the corner, the alcove offering some seclusion and privacy. There was also a pillar, and as this table was at the far end of the restaurant; with nothing but an emergency exit, no one needed to pass them. If he brought a companion, he usually chose a more central table, as this was his respite one. Over the many years he’d dined here, this was the place he chose to sit when he wanted to eat in peace.

 “Leo, what are you doing?” Jill mumbled, against his lips.

“Obviously, not doing it right if you can still speak,” he drawled. “Now relax for me. Close your eyes and just feel, I give you my word that you are safe, no one will notice a thing.” Leonard murmured the words against her mouth, his breath making the delicate skin tingle. He gave her one last chaste kiss to her lips, then moved to the tip of her nose, and each eyelid, making sure they were closed. Satisfied, he trailed his lips across her forehead. His hand moving from her throat to the back of her head, removing the clips and loosening her chignon. Groaning as her hair unravelled and dropped down over his hand, stopping just below her shoulders in a curtain of caramel and dark chocolate silk. He sifted his fingers through the shiny stands, brushing it back off her throat as his lips moved to her ear. “Relax,” he breathed against the shell of her ear.

The sounds of the diners eating around them faded as Leonard heard Jill’s breathing hitch. His senses now tuning to hers, he was aware of when her chest rose and fell as her fears overtook her. The harsh movement pushing her breasts against his chest, her nipples so tight; he could feel the distended tips through the material of his shirt and her dress. “If we weren’t here I’d undress you and feast on your breasts before I took your throat. A little bite adds to the pleasure, especially when performed on a sensitive nipple” he told her, groaning as her scent intensified. Her arousal strengthened her natural scent, giving the honeysuckle a smoky undertone. Her fingers reflexively tightened on his own, as if to hold him to her and curiosity won out as he pulled back slightly to watch her. His eyes roaming over her face, taking in the changes in her features. She had shadows beneath her eyes caused from where her lashes feathered over her cheek bones in the candlelight.

Arousal brought a delicate pink flush to her skin, up the length of her neck and into her face, giving it a natural glow. He watched the way her chest inflated with each breath she took, the sound overloud to his sensitive hearing. He threaded his hands into her hair, gripping and holding her still as he took a calming breath, leaning into her. First, he kissed her throat, then licked up its length, circular motions, moving closer to his target. Once he reached the carotid artery, he felt the vein beating double time. Beneath the pressure of his tongue, he felt how it matched her respiration, a rapid tattoo like a heartbeat. Without further thought, he bit down, his fangs breaking through the surface. Groaning against her skin, Leonard savoured the way it gave way and then snugly fit over his incisors, cocooning them as they sank into that life-giving vein. Her hand tightened on his own, her nails digging into the skin of his, where they lay entwined on her thigh.

She gasped, her breath leaving her in a rush, her heart stuttered for a beat, then began to speed up to a rapid tattoo. Her moan low and throaty as Leonard sucked on her skin, taking more blood. He quickly let go of her hair and brought his hand up around the back, over her throat to her mouth, covering it with his palm. Turning further, his shoulders curled inwards, protecting and keeping her out of sight of the others as her orgasm hit. He heard her suck in a harsh breath, then another moan left her, the sound sending a frisson of heat down the length of his spine. She hissed from between her clenched teeth, the rush of air tingling the skin of his palm where he covered her mouth.

Sucking stronger at her vein, Leonard took more from her, easing the cramps in his stomach. Her legs trembled beneath their clasped hands as her orgasm continued, making her undulate beneath him, her hips rising. He held her, giving her hand a warning squeeze to hold still as he slowly pulled back his head; extracting his teeth. He didn’t want her moving, because if she did he’d cause damage to her neck. Stroking his tongue over the area to remove any trail of blood, before sucking and sealing the wound. He then took his hand from over her mouth, moving it to the back of her head, cradling her shaking body with his own as she came down, her shaking lessening.

“I’ve got you,” Leonard whispered against Jill’s hair. Chin resting on her head as he waited for her to come down, a hand stroking up and down her back. His teeth ground together as his erection throbbed, pushing painfully against the fly of his suit pants, making sitting uncomfortable. He needed to readjust himself, but a little discomfort was such a small price to pay for the gift he’d just received.

Jill leaned weakly against Leonard, trying to get her breath back.

“I’m… erm…”

“Hey, are you okay?” Leonard asked pushing himself back, holding her at arm’s length, but she wouldn’t meet his enquiring gaze. “Jill, come on, look at me,” Leonard coaxed, a finger beneath her chin.

Eyes squeezed tightly shut, she blew out an embarrassed breath before slowly opening them. His concern, obvious, by the frown he presently wore.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm, yes… that was…”

His frown cleared, a smug grin taking its place. She growled, with a combination of embarrassment and annoyance as she pushed him back from her, hoping to wipe that smug look from his face.

“Okay, yes, you have a talented mouth, kudos to you. Now, I see why you are so popular,” her lips twisted in derision.

“I think I’m offended.”

“Why?”

“You don’t look very happy,” he frowned, watching the way her eyes bounced around. Her, high, flushed colour vanishing, as she turned white, losing all colour as he scrutinised her.

“You just made me c….” she cleared her throat and one of his eyebrows rose as he silently waited.

“Use your words Jill. Come on, I know you can,” he murmured playfully, a smile playing around his mouth, beautiful eyes alight with mischief in silence.

“Fine,” she hissed in annoyance. you just made me cum in a restaurant full of people. Christ, I feel so stupid,” she hissed, shaking her head.

“Hey, what are you talking about?” his humour turned to concern as he stared at her.

“I’m no better than those bloody bimbo’s that follow you around like puppies,” she growled in disgust.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m exactly like your little cheerleading squad, a push over. I can’t believe I allowed you to do that. Anyone could have seen me,” her horrified eyes quickly darting around to the other diners.

“No one saw a thing, I covered you,” but she ignored Leonard assurance and kept ranting.

“I feel such an idiot. Just another conquest to add to your collection. God, it must be getting very full now,” she spat bitterly, with a shake of her head.

“What are you talking about?” Leonard asked, perplexed and unable to follow her rambling.

“Your bedpost,” she sneered. “It must be really scratched up with all your conquests.”

“Now, I think I am offended,” he ground out. “I did not take you to bed. I didn’t even fuck you,” he sneered. “Therefore, I didn’t get off. So, please, if anyone should be pissed off here, it should be me.” Leonard told her, pushing up angrily and moving back around the table.

“Oh, stupid me,” Jill smacked herself in the forehead with a palm. “How inconsiderate of me. Come on,” she stood now, making to move around the table.

“What are you doing now?” Leonard ground out from his seat, picking up his glass and taking a swallow of his wine.

“If you follow me to the bathroom, I’ll return the favour. You know, use my mouth. I’m not sure it will work on your neck, but I’m pretty sure that if I use it on your dick it will have the desired effect,” then her eyes slit and she took a step back. “Actually, we don’t need the bathroom. I can just crawl under the table and do it here,” she told him, nodding as if the idea should have been simple. Then moved to lift the linens and prove her point.

“Sit down,” Leonard growled. “Do not cheapen yourself. You are not a two-bit hooker, and I will not have you acting that way.”

“Oh right, I forgot. I should be breathlessly, hanging on your every word, fawning over you like the others. I’m sure I could do that while I perform? I’m sure I could. After all, I took drama at school. Just hang on,” she told him, closing her eyes, as she took a deep breath. Then flipping open, her angry brown eyes met his incredulous ones. She held a finger up, “just give me a minute to get into the roll.”

“Jesus, Jill. Just sit the hell down and be quiet, you’re making a scene,” Leonard angrily hissed, voice lowering.

“Shit,” Jill grumbled, the wind leaving her sails as she dropped back into her seat. Groaning in mortification, as she looked around her and spotted the waiter baring down on them.

“Are you ready for your meal now, Sir, Madam?”

“Excellent timing, I think my dates blood sugar levels have dropped,” Leonard told the waiter dryly. He then sat back and waited for his plate to be placed before him.

“Thank you,” Jill quietly told the waiter as he set her meal before her, then discreetly left the table, not a word or look gave his feelings away.

“Do you think we can forget the last couple of minutes?” Leonard murmured, shaking his napkin and placing it over his lap. His hard-on now a thing of the past due to Jill’s ruffled feathers. She confused the hell out of him, and he found himself at a loss at what to do. He’d never had to deal with a female’s temper before, well yes, his mother and sister now and again, but never a date. The only dates he had were normally just a prelude to sex, and afterwards he walked away. So, this whole thing with Jill was new territory for him, and he was working blind.

“Leo?”

“Hmm?” he queried, not trusting himself to speak without upsetting her again. He was unhappy, and not used to being put on the defensive.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, her hand coming over the table and touching the back of his, and that quickly his bad mood vanished.

“It’s okay, eat your meal,” he told her, lifting his glass. “To, getting to know each other,” he said, waiting for her to lift her own glass.

“Maybe not so thoroughly next time,” Jill told him with a wrinkle of her nose and he laughed as he clinked his glass with hers.

“For future reference, don’t dare me if you aren’t prepared for the consequences. I may be many things; including cynical, but I don’t lie,” he told her.

“Okay, that’s good to know,” she told him with a wry smile. “I’ll remember that,” she said as she put down her glass and shook out her own napkin, putting it across her lap. Then she took her cue from Leonard to figure out which knife and fork she needed to use from the massive array before her on the table. “How much cutlery do you need for a meal,” she grumbled as she cut into her steak.

“It’s a little overboard,” he admitted. “Just wait until you taste the food though, it’s sublime,” he told her cutting into his own steak.

“Oh my god, it’s bleeding, did they not cook it?” Jill asked Leonard, staring dubiously at the red pool on his plate as he put his fork into his mouth. Her nose wrinkling in distaste as he pulled the dripping meat from the tines, before chewing with a moan.

“It’s cooked to perfection,” he told her, after swallowing, wiping his mouth on his napkin. Then he placed it back on his lap before cutting off another section of the nearly raw meat.

“Eww, did you just ask them to remove the horns and wipe its arse, that’s gross,” Jill murmured with a shudder, her lips pursing. Leonard dropped his cutlery, eyes jumping to Jill’s, then he burst out laughing at the look of disgust on her face.

That quickly, the tension between them eased and they carried on eating.

Chapter Fourteen

J ill couldn’t believe that she’d allowed Leonard to do that to her in the middle of a restaurant. A very high class one at that. She was mortified that she’d lost control in such a public place, and so easily. She was still confused as to how he’d done it though. Her hand went to her neck, a finger rubbing along the spot to see if there was anything there. Then mentally, she rolled her eyes as her hand dropped away, before picking up her knife and fork once more. She was being stupid, looking for a reason to explain her own behaviour. Obviously, it would be easier to explain away her response to him on the supernatural, and more palatable than thinking about how many women he’d have to have been with to figure out that he had that particular talent. She was reaching for the impossible to explain it away. There was no way that he’d bitten her and then drank her blood. That was just a preposterous thought. I mean, yes, he’d told her he was a vampire, but he was just yanking her chain and taking a pot shot at himself for his family’s peculiar dental anomaly. There was no such thing as vampires, they were a myth. Plus, he was eating food, albeit very rare steak, and again she shuddered at the pool of blood on his plate beneath his food. It was impossible for him to be a vampire. I mean, hello, his cutlery was silver and he wore a cross on a silver chain around his neck for god’s sake. He also had a reflection, she’d seen it often enough in the bar mirror the first evening they’d met. He also didn’t sparkle, and was definitely not cold to the touch. Nor was he pale, his skin was a lovely golden tan colour. Actually, he had a nice flush at present, she was just being ridiculous.

“You okay now?” Leonard asked, looking at her over his wine glass as he took a sip.

“I am, thank you, and you’re correct, the meal is divine,” she informed him, still unable to meet his gaze. I mean, he’d seen her ‘O’ face, and she flushed at the thought. Still amazed that he’d managed to give her the best orgasm of her life, with nothing but his mouth on her neck.

“Tell me something about yourself?”

“Hmm, where to start,” she replied, cutting a piece of her steak and fresh, crisp carrot, rubbing it through the very savoury beef Jus sauce. “I have a fondness for Chick flicks,” she informed him after she’d swallowed her food. “I also read, but there is no way I’m admitting to what kind of books,” her nose wrinkled at that one.

“Didn’t your profile say that you enjoyed poetry and long walks?” Leonard asked, again picking up his knife and fork. Jill spluttered, and covering her mouth, coughed, Leonard put down his fork and passed her a glass of water. “Are you okay?” he asked and she nodded, banging her own chest to dislodge the food.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure,” he replied, waving his fork, before continuing to eat now that her colour had returned to normal.

“I didn’t fill in the profile on the site, my friend Amanda did,” she told him.

“Seriously?”

“Hmm, I don’t read poetry, not that it isn’t beautiful,” she rushed to assure him, then her shoulders slumped. “I’m afraid the closest I get to poetry is in a card shop,” she admitted and he laughed. “What’s funny?” she asked, watching his eyes sparkle as he chewed.

“I didn’t fill mine in either. To be quite honest, I knew nothing about it until I’d already been matched with you.”

“Get out of here. That makes sense though,” she nodded, taking a mouthful of her duchess potato with a crisp, buttery parsnip, her eyes closing at the taste and texture.

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t figure out why someone who looks like you would need to join a dating site,” she told him, her fork moving over him.

“I could say the same for you. Why a dating site?”

“Amanda.”

“What about Amanda?”

“I’ve used dating sites before,” Jill admitted.

“Why though?” Leonard asked, his eyes roaming her features and wondering what was wrong with the human male population.

“I’ve never had much luck where men are concerned. There’s always some deep, dark secret they hide,” she told him with a shrug. “Amanda; in her infinite wisdom, decided that I needed to put some sedate past times.”

“Why?”

“She was hoping that by putting poetry and walking as my interests, it would weed out the crazies.”

“Crazies?”

“Oh yes, you would not believe it, and I’m not talking about normal crazies either. I had one man who was married, but also had a boyfriend. He’d joined the site with his wife’s blessing as they wanted to spice up their sex life.”

“I do hope they had a very large bed otherwise it would have been awfully cramped,” Leonard replied dryly.

“See, you get me. When I told them no, that I didn’t want to join their little flesh fest and that the bed would be cramped they didn’t understand my reticence.”

“Lucky escape,” Leonard told her with a snort.

“Okay, now you, who filled in your profile?”

“Luc,” Leonard told her, finishing his steak and dabbing at his mouth.

“Who’s Luc?”

“A very old friend,” Leonard replied.

“Can’t be that old, you’re what, thirty-two, three,” Jill told him taking in his features and still jet-black hair.

“I’m older than you think.”

“Okay, Mr Tall Dark and Mysterious, I won’t push for your age, but who’s Luc?”

“Luc is an old friend who decided that it was time I dated.”

“You needed help to find a date?” Jill asked him incredulously.

“No, Luc decided that I needed a date that had sedentary pastimes. Hence, why I’m now here with you,” he grinned.

“Oops, give Luc my apologies,” Jill grinned. “I read, but only,” she looked around as if to check they weren’t overheard. Then she leaned forward, “I only read trashy novels,” she mouthed and Leonard blinked, then grinned.

“Really?”

“Yes, my absolute weakness,” Jill admitted with a soft sigh.

“Mine too,” Leonard replied with a laugh.

“No,” Jill, looked at him, her fork landing on her plate.

“Yes, but I’ll deny all knowledge if you ever breathe a word.”

“Cross my heart,” Jill told him, making the sign of the cross on her chest. “As for exercise, I’m afraid getting out of bed is my limit. Gyms are not my idea of fun, sweaty grunting men, posing in mirrors is…” she wrinkled her nose, and Leonard chuckled.

“I can’t say I’ve ever spent any time in a gym, but I do enjoy walking or running occasionally,” he told her, topping up his wine glass after offering to do the same with Jill’s.

“I do like to visit cemeteries,” she admitted. Then finishing off her meal, she put her cutlery down, wiping her mouth on her napkin.

“The history,” Leonard nodded.

“Yes,” Jill replied excitedly, happy someone finally understood her love of going around cemeteries. “Then of course, there’s the people watching, trying to figure out their story.”

“Yes, I can’t say I’ve ever thought of it before, but I have found myself looking at couples since the other night. You are right, some seem to fit, and others look like complete opposites.”

“See, I told you, it’s interesting,” she smiled.

“May I remove your plates?” the waiter appeared by their table again.

“Of course, thank you,” Leonard replied.

“My compliments to the chef,” Jill told him.

“Thank you madam, I’ll be sure to pass that on,” the man bowed as he cleared their table.

“Do you want a dessert?” Leonard asked. “They do a divine black forest gateau with fresh cream?”

“I’m not sure I have room,” she told him, sounding morose.

“May we have the black forest, to share.” Leonard told the waiter, who’d turned back to them now after putting their plates and cutlery on a trolley.

“Of course sir, I’ll be back momentarily.”

“Right, so tell me about this Amanda?” Leonard asked Jill as they waited for their dessert.

“Amanda is lovely, and to be honest, I’m a little jealous about her relationship,” she admitted.

“You have a thing for her boyfriend?” Leonard asked, feeling something sour in his stomach, but Jill laughed.

“No, Polly is lovely too, but definitely not for me.”

“Polly, oh…”

“Yes, oh. Amanda and Polly have been together for about 8-years now. I was their maid of honour when they had their civil ceremony 4-years ago. They are so happy it is positively sickening, they even seem to know what the other is thinking,” she sighed.

“I know a few couples like that,” Leonard told her dryly thinking about the shifters who were mated with their ability for telepathic communication with their mates.

“So what’s Luc like?” Jill asked

“Luc and I shared an abode once upon a time,” Leonard told her.

“You and he…”

“Good god, no…” Leonard replied horrified.

“I’m yanking your chain Leo, don’t sweat it.” Jill laughed at the horror on his face.

“Very funny,” he told her dryly.

“Come on what’s he like?”

“He’s a good man, he will help anyone out. He’s a much better man than me, he’s selfless and honest,” Leonard sighed. “He had a bad experience with a female a while back and…”

“And?” Jill asked as Leonard frowned, seeming lost in thought and uncomfortable.

“It was my fault, I set him up with her. A double date of sorts.” There was no way he was going to explain to Jill that he’d just wanted to screw a nymph. One she wouldn’t understand about nymphs and immortals, and two, he really didn’t want her looking at him as if he was a letch. “Due to my… interference, Luc has been cursed ever since, and now turns to stone,” he sighed. Jill frowned at him, then her face cleared.

“I know a bad date can seem like a curse at the time, but he’ll get over it. When he’s ready he’ll warm to you again, honestly. Plus, given time, he’ll loosen up over dating and be ready to dip his toe in again.” She told him, patting his hand and making sympathetic noises.

The waiter arrived at their table with dessert before Leonard could make any more mistakes. He’d become so comfortable with Jill; he’d just blurted out about Luc’s curse. Of course, she’d thought he’d meant Luc froze at the idea of dating, and not that he’d literally meant cursed, but it was just lucky on his part. He would need to think carefully and weigh up his words before he spoke around Jill from now on. This was one of the reasons he didn’t mix with humans, too many things to remember and not normally worth the hassle.

He moved around the table and sat beside Jill so that they could share the desert. Each of them with a spoon, but Leonard ended up feeding her off his, finding that he enjoyed that even more than the sweet dessert. The downside was he found himself rock hard once again as he watched the way her lips wrapped around the spoon, as she took the sweet mixture from it.

He couldn’t remember when he’d enjoyed an evening more. Jill was good company, very down to earth and witty, but sadly, it was time to call it a night. He had to get her home, and his stomach was beginning to cramp again, he needed blood.

“Would you like anything else?”

“No, I’m fit to burst, thank you Leo,” Jill smiled. He found himself staring into her eyes, trapped by her soft gaze. His eyes dropped to her smiling mouth, tempted to taste her once again, but then a discreet cough broke him out of his contemplation. He smiled wryly at Jill, before his attention turned to the waiter.

“Will there be anything else, Sir?”

“No, I think we are done, thank you.”

“Very good, Sir, a pleasure to see you as always,” and with that he cleared away the empty dessert plate and cutlery, then left the table.

“Do we pay on our way out?” Jill asked in confusion as Leonard helped her up. Once again, he settled his suit jacket over her shoulders to keep her warm. He then placed his hand in the small of her back to see her to the door of the restaurant.

“They will just invoice me,” Leonard assured her.

“Do restaurants do that?” Jill asked.

“In some cases they do,” he assured her. He was not about to inform her that his family owned the restaurant, just one of the concerns his father had kept over the years. He paid for his meals, including a twenty percent tip, it was just invoiced to him. The chef; a Leopard shifter, was a dear friend of his father’s. Although Jill, also didn’t need to know that little titbit of information.

Chapter Fifteen

L eonard ushered Jill to his car, opening the door and settling her into the passenger seat. She removed his jacket and passed it to him with a smile as he closed the door. Getting into the driver’s seat, Leonard hung his jacket from the little peg above the back-passenger seat behind him. He then let out a sigh of relief as he spotted his blood flask in the gap between the door and his seat. Very quickly; as Jill was busily fussing with her seat belt and finding a station on the radio, he took a quick sip. He slid it back down beside him, stomach settling as soon as the blood hit his system.

A soft rock tune filtered into the car as the hum of the engine began.

“You enjoy rock music?” he enquired as he pulled out of the car park.

“I do, I’ve seen this band play live.”

“Any good?” he asked hitting the indicator and turning onto the main road.

“Vocally, they are just as good live.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a live performance,” he informed her.

“It’s a few years since I’ve been. Then again, it’s also been a year or two since I’ve been to the cinema. I was meant to have gone up to Amanda and Polly’s last weekend in Scotland. We were all going to see a new rom-com that had just been released, but I had a tummy bug so couldn’t go.” Jill told him, eyes closed as she leaned her head back against the headrest.

Leonard filed the information away for when he reached home. He’d search the listings to see which rom-com was showing in the cinema’s and take her.

Jill was sleepy, she’d had a wonderful evening, the ballet had been an eye opener for her. The bit in the lobby afterwards, not so much. Then the restaurant, well, the meal had been a revelation. It was amazing how some could make a few food ingredients taste so out of this world. As for herself, she had a very small repertoire of meals that she could cook well, and none of them anywhere near as well as what she’d eaten tonight. Yawning, she covered her mouth, stretching and blinking. The purring of the engine, and the comfort of the seat, added to her full stomach, the warmth of the car interior and that of the plush seating, lulled her. Her eyes slowly slid shut.

“Hey sleepyhead, we’ve reached your home,” Leonard told Jill, pulling up outside her little townhouse. He turned off the engine and alighted his side, going around and opening her door for her. He then helped her out and closed the door again, before ushering her up the small path to her front door.

“I’m so sorry, how rude of me to fall to sleep on you.”

“It’s fine, have you got your keys?” he asked, and she rooted in her bag for them. Taking them from her, Leonard opened her door for her and then handed her them back.

“Would you like a coffee?” Jill asked, moving from foot to foot, but not meeting his gaze.

“I’ll take a rain check on that,” Leonard told her, not trusting himself around her in the privacy of her home. Putting a finger beneath her chin, he tilted her face up so he could see her. “You’re tired,” he murmured, his finger tracing the slight bruising beneath her eyes and tutting. “Now, here’s my phone, key in your number and I’ll phone you tomorrow to arrange something.”

“Oh right, that would be lovely,” Jill replied, relieved that he wasn’t upset over her none too enthusiast offer of a drink. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, she did. It was just that she had work in the morning and she was dreadfully tired. So, quickly she entered her mobile number and handed it back to him. He entered her name into his phone book, then hit dial and Jill’s phone vibrated in her purse.

“You now have my number also,” he informed her with a slight bow. “Sleep well, Jill,” Leonard told her, chastely brushing his lips across her own, before stepping back. He was tempted to do more as he felt the soft cushion of her mouth beneath his own, but he pulled back. She was a temptation, but he also had to fulfil the bargain that Luc had set for him.

Blinking, as he stepped back, Jill smiled up at him. Then pushed open her door and stepped inside, closing and locking it behind her. She stood there, her back against the door, listening to his footsteps retreating down her path. She heard his car start up again, the purr of the engine fading as he drove away. Sighing, she kicked off her shoes, and put them in the small shoe rack below the table as she dropped her bag on the table top.

“Hey Moby, I’m home. Have you missed mummy?” She asked, as she moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out the milk to warm some in the microwave.

Chapter Sixteen

Y awning, Jill cradled her coffee as she sat behind her desk, staring sightlessly at her computer screen.

“Late night?” Thomas, her boss asked, as he stepped into the room wearing green theatre scrubs.

“Ballet and a restaurant,” Jill mumbled, sighing as she took a mouthful of the sweet, strong coffee. “Can I get you one,” she mumbled, holding her cup up towards him.

“Yes please, I have some notes to go over, then I’m due in theatre within the hour,” he told her.

“Here you go,” Jill said, passing him the top file from the pile on her desk by her elbow. Thomas put the file by his hip as he leaned on the corner of her desk.

“So, who did you go to the ballet with?” he asked, as she moved to the drinks machine in the corner of the office and quickly set it, to pour extra strong coffee into his cup.

“I believe you know him?” Jill replied, her back to him as she stirred a sugar into the dark, strong brew.

“Really, who is he?”

“Leonard, Leonard Smyth,” Jill replied, turning and handing him his coffee before moving back around her desk and slipping back into her seat.

“Leonard, you’re the date from Eternal Mates?” He asked, turning slightly so he could see her while cradling his own cup.

“You know about it?” Jill asked, taking another sip of her coffee.

“Yes, he was not best pleased to begin with from what I gather.”

“Hmm, Luc filled in the details for him I believe,” Jill told him dryly.

“Leonard told you about Luc?”

“Yes, something to do with Luc and him having a few problems due to a date Leonard had set him up with years ago. He also told me Luc’s now cursed where dating is concerned,” she shrugged.

“Yes, Luc hasn’t had the best of luck,” Thomas replied carefully, blowing on his coffee as his amber eyes watched her.

“What? Have I got something on my face or something?” She asked self-consciously, running a hand over her face.

“No, I’m just trying to picture you and Leonard together, that’s all.” He watched her bristle under his inquisitive gaze. “I’m not being rude Jill, it’s just that Leonard doesn’t…”

“Date, yes I know, he told me that too.”

“Really?” he asked, seemingly surprised when she nodded, if the widening of his eyes were anything to go by.

“It can be quite disconcerting being with him,” she added on a sigh.

“Why so?” Thomas asked, still watching her.

“He’s like a… magnet to women,” it was the only word she could find to describe his effect on them, and the odd man. “It’s quite strange,” she admitted, frowning, and then taking another sip of her coffee.

“He’s not a magnet to you?” Thomas queried.

“He’s a good-looking man, I’ll admit to that. He’s also funny and charming, but no, I would not throw myself at him,” she shrugged with a wrinkle of her nose. Thomas’s eyebrow rose, and smiling, he finally took his gaze from her, took a sip of his own coffee and then got up.

“What, no warning for me to stay away from him?” she asked. He moved towards his office door, folder now under his arm, cup in hand.

“No, I think you and he will be fine,” he told her, turning to look at her over his shoulder as he stood in his office doorway. “You may be just what he needs,” he winked. Then, with a grin, he walked into his office, closing the door behind him. 

Jill sat at her desk, frowning at Thomas’s closed office door, trying to figure out what had just happened. Her phone vibrated in her bag, so putting down her cup, she pulled it out.

I’ll pick you up at eight, this evening. It’s a surprise, Leonard.

Smiling, Jill closed her phone and put it away before picking up her coffee again. Sighing, she stared at her computer screen, then turned and glared at all the files piled at the edge of her desk. Oh, well, work wasn’t going to sort itself, she needed to get to it. There were files to update with results, and as Thomas had been taking the odd hour off here and there over the last week, she also had some appointments to reschedule. However, she at least now had something to look forward to this evening.

She enjoyed working for Thomas, it was just that she spent most of the day tucked away in his office; which was the downside to the job. She got lonely with no interaction apart from the occasional phone call, or when she needed to take files back to the central files office. Being alone gave her way too much time to think and obsess over her own insecurities. She’d spent far too many hours wondering what was wrong with her, and why she always seemed to attract the wrong men. Yes, she had found Leonard, and they seemed to have some things in common; now they’d both opened-up a little. But there was still that niggle at the back of her mind that told her that the other shoe was going to drop at some point. Paranoia on her part, probably, but she couldn’t help worrying that there was something he wasn’t telling her.

Thomas appeared again at his office door, brushing his strawberry blond mane off his forehead, distractedly.

“You need to fit in a haircut,” Jill said, turning to him. “What do you need?”

“Apart from that haircut, I need at least another twelve hours in a day,” he scowled. “Have you got Mr Phillips’ blood results back yet, I can’t seem to find them in his file.”

“I’ll check the system for them now and bring them through.”

“Great, if his white cell count hasn’t dropped, I’m going to have to reschedule his knee replacement surgery and change his antibiotics.” With that, he disappeared inside and shut his door again.

“No rest for the wicked,” Jill mumbled, keying in the details she needed to check his results and print them off.

It was only 9:15, she had a few hours to put in before she could call it a day and get home.

As she waited for the printer, she mentally went through her meagre wardrobe, trying to decide what she could wear this evening. He’d already seen her in her dress pants, and her little black dress, maybe she could teem her pants with a different top? She did have several blouses and lightweight jumpers.

That could work, she thought, leaning over and grabbing the sheet of results out of the printer. Happier now she knew what she was doing, she got up and took Thomas the information he’d need.

Her phone was beeping by the time she got back to her desk.

So, how’d the date go, have you had your wicked way with Mr. Tall dark and yummy yet? Amanda x

Jill read it and laughed, covering her mouth to stop Thomas from hearing.

No I have not. Jill x

Damn girl, what’s your problem? Go get him, it’s got to beat B.O.B with his long-life batteries! Amanda x

He’s a perfect gentleman, but he did give me a mind-blowing orgasm in the middle of a very posh restaurant. (google eyes) Jill x

Ring me when you get home, I want all the details, oh and Polly says, go get him tiger, lol xx

Jill put her phone away, with a shake of her head and went back to work. She’d deal with Amanda later, but she’d bet her last pound that she’d be phoning her as soon as she stepped through her door. That girl had a sixth sense where she was concerned, she always rang as soon as she got in from work, and normally when she needed cheering up. She’d take pictures of her clothes choice and get her views. Her heart ached missing having her friend, and having her close to hand to talk to. It was great that they kept in touch, but she missed her like crazy and the monthly visits and phone calls weren’t quite the same.

Sighing, she again began checking results on the hospital system and printing out the ones that Thomas required. Making sure she put the files he’d need to double check before she could re-schedule appointments.

Chapter Seventeen

L eonard walked out of his bathroom after his shower, rubbing his hair with a towel, another slung low around his hips. He’d been to visit Balin earlier, happy to see him on the mend, albeit still slowly, but he’d still not gotten over the fact that Luc seemed to have a thing for Sophia. She was lovely, but with her being a witch, she should be the last kind of immortal (even though technically still human as not mated), that Luc should tangle with. After all, it was a witch who’d cursed him to live as a caricature statue form of a gargoyle during daylight.

Shaking his head, Leonard sat on the end of his bed as he dried himself, thinking about Jill and how she worked for Thomas, especially as Thomas was a lion shifter. She was already part of the immortal world and didn’t know it. He smiled at the thought as he padded, naked back into the bathroom and threw his wet towels into the hamper beside the shower. He may have a cleaner, but there was no need to make the poor woman go searching for his dirty laundry. Especially as she was a troll, and he meant that in the literal form, not in ugly. Although trolls weren’t exactly pretty, both the men and women had beards; strange as hell to see, as you could only tell them apart as the women had breasts. Nora was okay though, so long as he didn’t annoy her, and her husband, Burt, was his gardener, so it worked out well for him. Plus, having immortals on his staff meant he could relax when he was at home. They also didn’t live on his property in the small bungalow; which he kept as a guest house, preferring to stay in their small home back in Lunaton Woods.

Back in his room, Leonard walked over to pick his watch up off his nightstand, when he noticed the message light on his phone. Picking it up, he sat back down on the bed and opened the message from Jill, and read it.

Sorry, can’t make tonight, I’ll call, Jill.

Blinking, Leonard re-read it, thinking he’d not understood. But, no, that was all she’d written, no reason, nothing. Just, can’t make it. His first instinct was to just let it go, her loss, not his. He’d planned to take her to the movies. Him, at the movies, in a room full of humans. Stuck in a confined space, overpowering scents, heartbeats, and no windows. The sacrifices he’d made for this woman, this human woman, who drove him fucking mental. He’d given her a mind-blowing orgasm last night in a restaurant, followed by a fabulous meal, but apparently, it’s not good enough. How does she repay him, with thanks and a nice evening together, no, she blows him off without a damn explanation?

He’d planned to sit through a chick flick because she’d wanted to see it, sacrificing his own feelings. He dropped the phone on the bed and stared at the wall with a scowl. He’d been dumped by her, again, what was it with her? Angrily, he picked the phone up again and re-read it, nope, nothing else had miraculously been added to the disgustingly short text. No deep and meaningful apology. No, the world has ended and that’s why I can’t go out with you tonight to see the movie that you were so graciously going to take me to watch.

Okay, technically, she didn’t know he’d planned on taking her to the movies, he’d told her it was a surprise, but that wasn’t the point. He hated chick flicks, loathed them in fact, but he’d swallowed his pride; and revulsion, and had booked god-damn tickets for it so they could have decent seats. He deserved at least a phone call with an explanation as to why he was being blown off.

He then flicked through his calls, checking to see if she’d left the message because he’d not heard his phone ringing over the water in his shower. No, nothing since he’d spoken to Jaden yesterday. Again, he dropped the phone distastefully and got up, pacing around his room. Then mouth twisting, he headed over to his walk-in wardrobe. Pulling out a pair of dark jeans and a woollen jumper, he quickly slipped them on before grabbing a pair of socks out of his drawer, and a pair of dark loafers off the shelf. Then, he took his favourite, black leather jacket off a hanger and made his way back to the bed. Sitting, he pulled on his socks, and slipped his feet into his shoes, then grabbing his brush off his bedside cabinet, quickly pulled it through his wet hair.

If she was going to blow him off, she could damn well do so to his face, he fumed, storming out of his room. He tucked his phone into his jacket pocket, grabbed his wallet and keys off the occasional table in the lobby as he left. Slamming the door, he locked it and set the alarm. Hitting the fob on his keys, he walked down the steps. Then, jumping into the Maserati, he turned over the engine and peeled out of his driveway.

Chapter Eighteen

J ill’s eyes were all red and puffy from crying. So, here she sat on her sofa with a cold wet cloth over them, trying to ease the ache and help take down the swelling. Sighing, she hiccupped, as, yet another tear escaped, soaking into the wet cloth as her chest ached with loss. Just then, her doorbell went, and mumbling under her breath, she removed the cloth, pushed herself up and shuffled to answer it. She so wasn’t in the mood for company, so hopefully the sight of her swollen, bloodshot eyes, red snotty nose and blotchy complexion would scare off whoever had decided to interrupt her mourning.

Pulling the door open, she stepped back with a frown.

“Leo, I sent you a text. I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood tonight,” she told him, her bottom lip wobbling.

“Are you okay?” he asked, ignoring her shortening of his name yet again as she moved back from the door. His earlier temper vanishing, as he looked at her sad face. She was not a pretty crier, but in that moment, her misery was more important to him than how rough she presently looked. He closed the door, and ushered her into her small front room, helping her take a seat on her sofa, and sitting beside her. “Now, tell me what’s upset you?” He picked up one of her hands which was twisting a tissue, and he held it between his own, trying to warm her.

“He’s gone. Oh, my god, I can’t believe he’s gone.” Jill wailed, taking her hand back from between his, and lifting them to cover her face as tears once again sprang from her eyes.

Normally at this point, Leonard would already have been out of the door, he didn’t do well with sentiment, especially not crying women. However, he couldn’t bear the thought of Jill being upset, another first for him, like the aberration of taking her temper tantrum last night in the restaurant. So, instead of disappearing, he shrugged out of his jacket, then leaning over, scooped her up and onto his lap. He then held her against his chest, stroking a hand up and down her back as he rocked her.

He rocked her until the tears stopped and she sighed, snuggling into him, then sniffing, turned her face into his chest, and wiped her nose on his Aaron jumper.

“Okay, now are you ready to talk?” he asked, trying not to shudder in revulsion after she pulled back and left a snot trail on his expensive lamb’s wool.

“He’s gone,” she hiccupped, her dark brown chocolate eyes, pools of red, puffy misery.

“Who’s gone, honey?”

“Moby,” she whispered on another hiccup, a tear trailing over her bottom lid and sliding down her cheek.

“Who’s Moby?” Leonard asked, confused, thinking it was a weird name for her father, uncle or brother, because surely this much heartbreak couldn’t be felt over just an acquaintance. She ugly cried as if her world had ended, and he felt a twinge of jealousy over her strong feelings towards another male.

“My goldfish,” Jill hiccupped.

“Excuse me?” Leonard asked, thinking he’d misheard.

“Moby was my goldfish, and he’s…” she burst into tears again and Leonard blinked.

All this over a fucking fish, seriously?

Was she mentally unstable?

Had he missed something, maybe that was the reason for the temper tantrum in the restaurant last night?

Maybe she’d not ticked a box on that dating site, sign up form?

Because, seriously, a fish was causing all this snot and tears?

He couldn’t believe she’d blown him off for a fucking fish.

He was stunned.

“I seem to be missing something here. You are heartbroken over a… fish,” He angrily stumbled over his words, incredulity in his tone.

“Moby wasn’t just a fish, he was my goldfish,” Jill hissed, snarling at him.

“My apologies. You’re heartbroken over a goldfish, seriously?” he clarified, mockingly questioning her.

“Not just any goldfish, he was mine. My best friend,” she wailed. Then glaring at him, she crawled off his lap like a scalded cat and huddled in the corner of her sofa, in a ball of misery.

Eyes closing, he leaned his head back and prayed for strength and understanding. He still had to take her on 3 more dates yet, and without sex as an incentive. He had his work cut out here because she was fucking mental, and just now he wasn’t sure gaining back Luc’s friendship was worth the torture.

“I think you should leave,” Jill whispered, around yet another sob, and one eye opening, Leonard looked to her and sighed.

Crap, she looked so lost and miserable.

Did it matter that it had only been a goldfish?

It had obviously been important to her. Sitting forward, he leaned over, elbows resting on his knees as he turned to her.

“Where is he?”

“Still in his bowl in the kitchen. I… I can’t bring myself to… bury him,” she sobbed.

Eyes closing once again, he sighed, dropped his head down and took a breath. Then lifting his head, he pushed up the sleeves of his jumper to his elbows and stood.

“Where are you going?” Jill asked him suspiciously, but with vulnerability showing in her meek tone. He couldn’t resist, he turned and dropped to the floor on his haunches before her, and placed his hands either side of her hips. She blinked at him, then wiped her eyes and blew her nose on the tissue she still held in her hand.

“I’ll bury him for you,” he told her, and she gazed at him. Her eyes were still puffy and nose still red, but instead of looking rough to him, she now just looked kind of lost, and his chest ached for her.

What was that about?

He frowned at the thought, trying to figure it out. She was a human, her lifespan just a blip, why had her feelings begun to matter to him? Like last night, he hated that he’d hurt her, even inadvertently.

“Thank you Leo,” she gave him a slight smile, her bottom lip wobbling. Then, whether he understood his feelings where she was concerned or not, he leaned in, touching his lips to hers. A mistake, they were no longer in the street or a packed restaurant. Now, they were in the privacy of her home, with a bedroom a bed, and no prying eyes. The kiss was just a light brush, but at the feel and now familiarity of her, his breath froze in his lungs. Lilac eyes held hers captive with his mouth against hers. He didn’t move, just watched her as their lips touched, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing and why he wasn’t running for the hills.

Jill flung her arms around Leonards’ neck, breaking the light caress of his mouth as she buried her face in his throat. Her cheek was still wet with tears, chilling his skin as she sighed against him. Sighing himself, he leaned against the sofa with his knees, wrapped his arms around her and held her to him again. Chin resting on her head, he let out a breath and on his next inhalation her scent swamped him, her sorrow burning his sinuses. The scent overlaid with her own natural scent of honeysuckle and clean rain. He’d noticed it about her before, she didn’t go in for expensive perfumes, he’d not liked the artificial stuff she’d worn on their first disastrous date. Being him, obviously, he’d told her, and since then she’d not worn it, for which he was grateful. But he was growing rather addictive to her own natural smell.

Confused, he pulled back, giving her a tight smile. Then pushing up, he stood, thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets.

“Where would you like me to put him, for you?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“I have a wall border in the back garden, could you place him in there, please?”

“Sure, show me the way,” he told her, removing his hands from his trouser pockets, and holding one out, to help her up. He tried to ignore the feel of her soft hand in his own as he threaded his fingers with hers and walked with her through the kitchen. He’d also began to enjoy when she held his hand, the way they fit so well, their fingers entwined and palms touching. He pulled her into his side; making it so that she couldn’t see the fish bowl, which was covered on the breakfast bar in the tiny room.

Blowing out a breath, Jill slipped her hand out of Leonard’s and opened the back door. She still couldn’t face him after the whole ‘Harry met Sally’ scene in the posh restaurant, but she was glad he was here now. She led him into her small courtyard back garden, the sensor light coming on as soon as they stepped onto the flagged patio. They passed the bistro table and chairs in the corner, stopping at the thigh-high border wall she’d had added by the back wall. It was on the left-hand side of the garden. It got the sun in the afternoon and her rose bushes seemed to like it there, they bloomed continually for her in the warmer weather. She examined the wall, looking for the exact spot that she wanted Moby to be laid to rest. Her eyes once again filled with tears and crossing her arms, she rubbed to ward off the chill and comfort herself. Just as she began to wallow again in self-pity, she felt Leonard’s heat behind her. He pulled her into him, his arms going around her waist and his chin resting on the top of her head.

“Is this the spot?” he asked, nodding towards the large, peach, blooming rose bush, the flowers as big as saucers, the scent delicate and sweet.

“Yes, it’s quiet, I like to sit out here when it’s warm and eat my meals.

“Somehow, the UK and warm are not synonymous,” he told her dryly, squeezing her waist. Then pulling back, he untangled her hands from around her waist, threading the fingers of one hand through hers, he pulled her around and back into the house. “Do you have something I can use to dig, and I need to know how deep I need to go?” Clearing his throat, he shoved other ramifications of that sentence away, so not appropriate just now.

“I have a trowel in the lock up,” Jill told him, disentangling her hand from his and stopping by the small waist height, plastic shed under her back window.

“Is there anything else I’m going to need? Only burying pets isn’t something I’m used to,” he told her.

“Did you not have pets?” Jill asked, her head in the shed as she rooted for what he’d need.

“No, there was the odd cat that lived in the outbuildings and the horses, but I wouldn’t class them as pets,” he shrugged.

“Outbuildings?”

“Yes, stables, garage, workshop. That sort of thing,” he waved away her query.

“Wow, you must have lived on a big property, a farm?” she asked, head now out of the little shed with trowel in hand.

“God, no, my parents wouldn’t get their hands dirty working the land, they had help for that sort of thing. My mother liked to give direction though, she’s sit in a recliner with a martini and point to where she wanted her plants,” he grinned. “So, I suppose you could say she’s good at delegating, and of course, she enjoys her lady’s lunches and charity events.”

“Where were you brought up?”

“Herefordshire, but they had estates in several counties, both here and abroad,” Leonard told her and Jill blinked.

“Estates?”

“Yes, my father is the 3rd-Duke of Herefordshire, some relation to the royal family, a distant cousin I think,” he waved it away and held out a hand for the trowel.

Jill stood there, mouth open, and tutting, Leonard used a long finger to close it as he took the trowel from her hand.

“Come on, you make drinks and I’ll sort out your pet,” he told her. Then he ushered her into the house, leaving the trowel on the bistro table for when he came out again.

“Leonard?” she asked, and frowning he turned to her.

“Leonard, you’ve been calling me Leo for the last few days, why the change?”

“You… you…” she blew out a frustrated breath. I mean, how did she explain that now she realised that he didn’t just have a posh accent, but actually came from royalty, it made her uncomfortable being around him. “But… you…”

“I’m still the same person I was ten-minutes ago Jill,” Leonard interrupted. “Surely money and title doesn’t change whom a person is?”

Frowning, she stared at him, silently. Then shrugging, no idea of what to say, she turned and went into the house.

“Okay, what do you want to drink?” she asked, her eyes kept returning to the covered fish bowl, he stepped around her and lifted it off the side. Carefully, he carried it outside and put it on the bistro table beside the trowel before going back into the kitchen.

“Thank you,” she smiled, her bottom lip wobbling again.

“Are you going to tell me the story behind your goldfish and why you are so attached?”

“I won him at the fairground when I was 12-years-old.” She told him with a sigh, turning and leaning back against the work surface, her hands clasped before her.

“Wow, how old are you?”

“I’m 28-years-old.”

“He was 16-years-old,” he whistled. “No wonder you were attached, you’ve had him a long time.”

“Yes…” she cleared her throat. “He was the last thing my father got for me before he left.”

“Oh, no, he died?”

“No, he ran off with his secretary,” she snorted and turned back around, filling the kettle up and flicking the switch to boil it. “Tea or coffee?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Tea, please, what about your mother?”

“Mum is in Australia, she moved there about 3-years-ago with husband number 3,” she rolled her eyes.

“Oh,” was all he had.

“Yes, oh. How about your parents, are they still together and alive?”

“Yes, they are still in Herefordshire, no it’s July, so they’ll be in their villa in Italy.”

“Nice,” she smiled, pulling cups out of the cupboard above the kettle and dropping tea bags into them. “Sugar?”

“2, please.”

“So Italy?”

“Yes, my mother enjoys attending opera in its country of birth.”

“I’ve never been to the opera,” she told him with a shrug, stirring the hot water, then leaving it to steep.

“It has its merits, it’s a love or hate kind of performance,” Leonard informed her.

“Do you have a favourite?” she asked, arms folded as she waited for their drinks.

“I remember the first performance in 1598, Daphne, I believe. My parents took me to the home of Jacopo Corsi, while vacationing in Florence. Obviously, back then, it was nowhere near as popular as it is today.”

“I’m sure you mean, 1998,” Jill smiled. “Unless of course you’ve found the fountain of youth?” her brow rose, smile spreading, reaching her eyes, then they dropped down his body. “Obviously, if you really did mean 1598, then of course I’d need the tip, because you look pretty damn good for very old man,” she winked.

Leonard, blinked at the look in her eyes as they travelled over his body. Then, realising what he’d said, gave her a tight smile, a false chuckle followed at his apparent faux pas. Man, he’d gotten so comfortable talking to her, he’d spoken without thinking, again. One of the other reasons he’d rather not be around humans, too hard trying to remember. Plus, they also only survived for such a short time, nothing more than the blink of an eye.

“How about I sort out your pet, while you finish our drinks?” Her playful smile vanished at the reminder, and he could have kicked himself. For a moment, his slip had made her forget, and he hated to see sorrow once again cloud her beautiful velvet, chocolate brown eyes.

“Thank you, I have a box somewhere,” she told him, frowning, as she searched around the galley kitchen.

“Have you lost something?”

“Apart from my mind, which I most definitely have. I put a box down earlier. I came across it and decided that it would make an excellent burial box for Moby,” she frowned. Just then Leonard spotted a gold gift box on top of the tall fridge freezer, to her right.

“This?” he asked, moving over and pulling it down. “Isn’t this a little big for a goldfish?” he queried, turning the box over in his hand. It was at least 10-inches long and about 6-inches, wide and deep. Far too big for a goldfish, if memory served him right.

“Moby wasn’t a little fish.”

“Really?”

“Fish tend to adapt to the environment that they live in. Up until recently, Moby was in a large 6-foot tank, but it cracked. The bowl was merely temporary accommodation for him. I had made plans to have a nice pond put in the garden for him,” she swallowed, dropping her gaze as her eyes once again filled with tears.

Unable to stand the look of sorrow that crossed her face, he put the box down and went over, pulling her into him and again stroking her back.

She leaned into him, rubbing her cheek against the softness of his woollen jumper. Sighing, as she relaxed and put her arms around his waist, taking comfort from his presence. Just then her stomach rumbled, and she felt the rumble of laughter beneath her ear.

“Okay, how about I feed you?”

“I’m not in the mood to go out.”

“How about take-out?”

“Pizza?” she queried, pushing back and looking up at him, hope on her face.

“You like pizza?”

“Oh god yes. There’s this little place around the corner and their pizzas are divine. I’ve never tasted anything like it, my dial an orgasm,” she told him blushing, then cleared her throat. “I could order?” she offered, hopefully, leaning back in his arms.

“Okay, but nothing fancy. Please, no pineapple,” he shuddered.

“Deal,” she laughed, and he kissed the tip of her nose and stepped back, giving her waist a last squeeze.

“I won’t be a moment,” he told her, lifting the box from the table again and heading into the back garden.

Time to lay her goldfish to rest, maybe once it was done she’d begin to feel a little better.

Chapter Nineteen

L eonard, sat on the sofa, Jill on the floor between his knees, eating another slice of what she called ‘dial an orgasm.’ Shaking his head at her, he reached into the flat box and took out a slice, sniffing at the tangy tomato, and rich mature cheese. It was just a plain margarita pizza, no extra toppings, a nice firm crust, with a generous coating. Deciding it smelt okay, he finally lifted the slice he held to his mouth and took a small, experimental bite.

“Oh, my god, this is sublime,” he groaned after swallowing. He then enthusiastically took another larger bite, chewing on the gooey goodness, savouring the tastes coating his tongue and mouth. Just the right amount of herbs, the sauce rich and tangy the cheese not too strong, but with a bit of a kick, and extremely stretchy.

“See, I told you,” Jill told him over her shoulder with a grin as she took another bite of her own. A satisfied moan leaving her throat as her taste buds sung, the stringy cheese snapping as she pulled the pizza away. She chewed, her finger scooping the stray cheese strands from her chin and popping it into her mouth. Watching her eat, Leonard’s head changed gear. The sounds of her enjoyment vibrating through him as she ate. God, it sounded like sex, and if she made that much noise eating, what would she sound like if he pushed her back and buried himself inside her. Eyes closing, he tried to block out the sounds and visual that went with it as he took another bite of his own, trying to stem one hunger with another. Jill didn’t make it easy though, not with the sounds she made. Then, there was the way her tongue kept sneaking out and running over her bottom lip. He had to bite back a whimper at one point as she began to suck sauce and cheese off her fingers. He was rock hard watching the way her cheeks hollowed out as she sucked on her index finger. Unable to tear his gaze away, he watched how she pulled it slowly back out of her mouth. However, it got worse because her tongue appeared, lapping at the digit before wrapping around it and sucking it back into her mouth on a moan.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Jill asked, wiping her fingers on a paper napkin.

“Yes, please,” he croaked, clearing his throat and trying to think about anything but the way she’d looked. “Why don’t I get it, if you just tell me where you keep it.” She pushed up until she was on her feet, then turned to him and nodded, waiting for him, only he had a problem. In his rush to leave after reading her text earlier, he’d not put on any underwear. If he stood up now, she’d know exactly how hard he was, because without form fitting boxers his crotch would bulge at the front. He presently looked like a pointer dog, he was so hard. Leading the way with his dick instead of his nose, as the material of his soft jeans hid absolutely nothing. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something that would help him deflate. The problem was, she chose that moment to bend over as her dirty napkin fell to the floor. Now, his erection was throbbing, practically trying to push its way through the material holding it captive and away from the prize it sought. His eyes ran over the cheeks of her arse, easily visible in the black leggings she wore. They looked like plump globes, dissected with a scrap of cloth, practically begging to be slapped or bitten.

Bollocks.

Now, his fangs throbbed too at the thought of piercing that succulent flesh and sinking into all that pert, firm, roundness. He thought back to how it had felt to drink from her throat last night in the restaurant and the way she’d shook.

Shit.

He was in trouble. If he moved, she’d know he was as horny as a college boy at his first lap bar, but if he didn’t get up she’d think he was a rude bastard.

Fuck, what should he do?

“It’s okay Leo, I’ll get it. Oh, and I should warn you, it won’t be an expensive one like we had with supper last night.” She turned to face him enquiringly, napkin now scrunched up in her hand and trying to hold a smile.

He was old enough to be able to pull this off without any awkwardness, surely? I mean, he was friggin ancient, this should be a walk in the park. With a sigh, he took a breath and pushed himself up from the sofa, masking a wince.

“Oh,” was all she said as her eyes dropped and stayed at groin level, blinking.

“Well, you did call it dial an orgasm,” he winked, trying to go for breezy and brush off any awkwardness. He smiled, but it obviously came out more grimace than charm as her startled eyes jumped to his. Her lips rolled inwards, dimples appearing in her cheeks as her eyes sparkled with mirth. Then, she let out a snort and turned, coughing as she headed towards her galley kitchen.

“Sit down Leo, before you poke yourself in the eye,” she giggled. Head shaking, she headed through the doorway to her kitchen, laughter floating out.

Groaning, Leonard dropped back onto the sofa, then winced again as his wood got crushed against the zipper of his jeans. His hand dropped, trying to move his hard-on to a more comfortable position, not that it worked and he cupped himself in frustration and swore.

Jill smiled as she pulled two wine glasses out of the cupboard over the sink. Leo seemed to have liked the pizza as much as she had. She blushed remembering how his erection had bulged against the material of his jeans. Then, she bit her lip, thinking of the pleasure he’d given her last night in the restaurant, with nothing but his mouth. Glasses on the side, she opened the fridge and took out a cheap Shabliz she had on the top shelf. She always tried to keep one in, just in case her money didn’t stretch to a bottle at the end of the month when Amanda came to visit. She’d moved out of the area 4-years ago when she’d married Polly and they now kept in touch via text and phone calls. But once a month Amanda drove the 3-hours from Edinburgh to visit. She’d spend the night and catch up on all the gossip and harass her to settle down.

Now, here she was with a man in her home who was everything she’d said she didn’t want, due to Amanda signing her up for ‘Eternal Mates’ on her last visit. She’d told Amanda she didn’t want a man that was too handsome or full of himself. Unfortunately, she’d gotten both with Leonard, Leo; she reminded herself. Although he could be a little arrogant, he was also kind and understanding and her eyes pricked with tears again as she thought about how he’d buried Moby for her. Not many men would have put up with her meltdown over her goldfish, and even fewer would have comforted her. Her thoughts in a whirl of indecision, she hovered, unsure what to do next, then let it go, for now.

She finally managed to get the cork out of the wine with a bit of a struggle, jumping and nearly dropping the bottle when it came out with a pop. Blowing her hair out of her face; where it had come undone from her scruffy topknot, she distractedly brushed at it as it flopped in her eye. Putting the cork on the side and the corkscrew back in the drawer, she picked up the glasses and carried them back into the front room with the now open bottle. She dragged her small occasional table over from the corner and put it before the sofa, placing the glasses on top and handing Leonard the bottle of wine. She nearly toppled it when his fingers brushed her own as he took it from her, her skin tingling where his hand touched.

“Can you do the honours?” she asked, dropping back onto the floor between his knees, not meeting his gaze.

“Sure, say when?”

“Just fill it up,” Jill told him absently. “Do you want to watch a film?”

“If you’d like. I was going to take you to the cinema to see that new rom-com you’d missed.”

“Oh, Leo, that’s so thoughtful,” she told him, turning her upper body and taking the full glass of wine he passed to her.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m sorry about your goldfish,” he murmured. “And choose whatever you want,” he told her.

“I can hear the strain in your voice, are you scared I’m going to make you suffer through something fluffy?” she laughed.

“Maybe, just a little,” he admitted.

“How about an action film?”

“You like action films?”

“I do, the next best thing to a rom-com,” she replied. Then taking a sip of her wine, she put it on the table and pushed over onto all fours, crawling over to her television.

Leonard groaned, and she stopped, looking at him enquiringly over her shoulder, noticing his eyes were squeezed tightly closed. His knuckles were also white where he held the stem of his glass so tightly.

“Are you okay? she asked, turning again and crawling back to him, pushing herself up between his knees. Concerned now, as he didn’t move. His hair was down, hanging in lose black waves past his shoulder, one eye covered by it. She’d not realised how long his hair was. She hadn’t even realised up until just now, that it was down. Then again, she’d been pre-occupied and upset when he’d first arrived. She’d also spent a large portion of the evening trying not to look at him. Not after the memories of what had happened at the restaurant had risen to the surface.

“Leonard?” she asked, a hand rising and brushing his hair behind his ear so she could see his face.

“Jill, not a good idea?” he ground out, putting his wine down on the table, before sitting back and closing his eyes again.

“Are you ill?”

“No,” he repeated through his gritted teeth.

“What can I do?” she asked kneeling between his knees.

“I think I should leave. I’m sorry,” he told her his eyes opening, but he looked straight ahead, not at her.

“Leo, what’s going on?” she asked him, confused.

Sighing, he tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling, grinding his teeth. She watched his nostrils flare as she leaned further into him, trying to see his face.

“Jill, really, you need to move back.”

“Leonard, you’re worrying me, what’s wro…”

Her words were cut off as his hands shot out and went around her waist. Before she could even blink, she was straddling his lap, her hands on his shoulders, and his gripping her waist. He’d moved so quickly she felt dizzy, but before she could utter another word his mouth swooped over her own, his tongue sweeping inside, tangling with hers. He kissed her until she felt as though there was no oxygen left in her lungs, but just as she began to feel light headed he pulled back. His lips moving over her cheek, nibbling on her ear, and she blinked, gasping for breath as her eyes slipped closed.

“Leo, I…”

“I need inside you so badly I can’t think,” he rumbled against her ear, his tongue flicking over the shell.

“I…”

“Feel what you do to me,” he groaned, holding her tightly against him as he lifted his hips, his erection pushing against her.

“Oh, I…”

“Exactly, you crawled away from me, your arse in the air,” he shook his head. “I’ve been sitting here, hard as steel, watching you eat fucking pizza and remembering how you sounded last night.”

“I… I,” Jill groaned, as he then sucked on her ear lobe.

“Let me pleasure you again. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. I’ll just do the same to you as I did last night, I just want to hear you come apart for me.”

Her only response was to turn her head and capture his lips with her own as she ground herself against him, pulling a long moan from his throat. The sound vibrated against her lips and she wound her arms around his neck. Her body now pressing him further back against the sofa. Unable to resist, one of her hands released his neck to tangle in his long hair.

“My bedroom’s not far,” she murmured against his lips and god, he was so tempted. Then groaning, he took her mouth, practically devouring her, as his tongue stroked over her own, needing to be inside her any way he could. She ground against him, kissing him back with more enthusiasm than finesse, and his fang nicked her lip, making him hiss as he caught the scent and taste. He grimaced, his system letting him know he was now in trouble.

Jill pulled back and found that his eyes were squeezed tightly closed. The tip of one of his pointed incisors, visible over his bottom lip.

“Leo?” she whispered. Then she rubbed at her bottom lip after noticing the drop of blood on the tip of his tooth.

“Just give me a minute,” he ground out, and she ran her tongue over her lip, removing the slight trace of blood there, not wanting him to feel bad.

He’d forgotten his blood flask as he’d stormed out of his house earlier in a temper. The effects of the pizza he’d eaten on top of the cup of tea, had now decided to let itself be known. His insides were cramping. The spasms becoming progressively more painful, meaning he had to concentrate to not double over in agony, breathing through his nose.

“Leo?” His eyes opened and she gasped, because the lilac of his irises were practically glowing. She pulled back a little, hesitating, but as he grimaced as if in pain, she felt the need to offer comfort. Unable to stand the thought of him being in pain, she couldn’t resist, stroking her hand over his cheek, trying to soothe him. “You okay?”

“Let... me just… pleasure you,” he managed to get out. He knew it was the only way the pain was going to stop; it would also stop him from hurting her. If the pains got too much, his system would take over in its search for sustenance and he didn’t want to hurt her or worse. It was his own fault that he’d forgotten his blood, he did not want her paying for his error.

“You’re in pain…”

“Of course I am,” he snapped. “I’ve had a hard-on for hours, what do you think? Just let me pleasure you.”

“But what about you?”

“It will help me giving you pleasure,” he managed to grit out. Then waggled his brows suggestively, trying not to grimace.

Hesitantly, Jill shuffled closer to him, again, her hands going back around his neck as she gently pressed her lips to his. Unsure this would work, but she’d try anything to stop him from feeling pain.

Her tongue flicked over one of his fangs and he undulated beneath her, the sensation so foreign to him. No one had ever done that before and he was shocked to realise that he’d felt it lower in his body also. It was as if she’d just licked up his length at the same time. Groaning, he fastened his mouth to hers, and took over the kiss, devouring her, his tongue pushing inside, entwining with hers. He then gentled his assault, teasing nips before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and stroking it with his tongue. He let her lip pop from between his as he moved on, kissing her chin, then down over her throat, moving lower, butterfly kisses until he was just below her ear. He took the skin over her carotid artery between his lips and licked it, hearing her gasp. She ground down against him and he began to move beneath her, rubbing his erection against her through her lightweight pants. As she pushed back, he struck, teeth sinking into her and she gasped, before a moan escaped her. The sharp pain giving way to unbearable pleasure as he began to feed, sucking on her neck. As he fed he continued to pull her over him, rubbing against her sex, undulating and rotating his hips as he continued to feast on her blood. Another long draw her on her and that fast she went rigid in his arms, shattering, his name leaving her lips on another gasp as she shook in his arms. Groaning, Leonard continued to feed and rub against her at the same time to keep her orgasm going. She whimpered and he took a last mouthful, his stomach now settling. He licked over the spot, then removed his teeth, licking and helping to heal and seal the wound. He rubbed her back, holding her boneless body against him as she sighed, her heart racing and her breathing ragged.

“How… do you do… that?” she managed to get out breathlessly.

“A secret,” he told her, pushing her upright so he could look at her face, check her colour and that he hadn’t taken too much. Her chocolate brown eyes were now dark and slumberous, her face, neck and chest above her t-shirt flushed with colour. He grinned, feeling much better now he’d fed a little from her, and that she was okay.

Jill’s eyes slit as she watched him and felt him still hard beneath her.

“You’re still hard,” she stated and he nodded, groaning as she rotated her hips, brushing herself over him. She did it again and his hips rose, head falling back as his hands dug into her waist, holding her more flush against him, increasing the pressure. “Leo, let go a minute.”

“Sorry,” he apologised, releasing his hold immediately, thinking he’d hurt her. Jill slithered off his lap and again dropped to kneel between his now spread thighs. “What are you doing?” he asked sulkily, a pout forming and making her smile.

“Returning the favour,” she told him, leaning over him and pushing up his jumper. Her lips teasing his stomach, making the muscles twitch. The top of his erection visible at the waistband of his jeans. Her tongue flicked over the slit in the tip and he hissed, his hips rising as his head dropped back against the sofa, loose on his neck. Her hands went to the waistband of his jeans and he groaned in relief as the last button came undone, the material parting and his erection finally freed.

Jill blinked and swallowed. He’d gone commando, which meant his erection now lay before her, long and thick, the tip touching his navel, the head glistening with pre-cum. Her eyes flicked up his body, taking in the sight of him spread before her like an offering. His jumper was pushed up near his chest, that sprinkling of black hair running over his pectoral muscles. The discs of his nipples dark brown, the tips as hard as his erection. Curious, one hand trailed up his chest, dragging a nail over the brown disc and his hips rose again. Her other hand circled his erection and she gave it an experimental stroke, eliciting another moan from him. Eyes watching his face, she stroked up his length with her tongue as she tightened her fist, her fingers not quite reaching. She teased under the bulbous tip, making him hiss, before she took him into her mouth, humming at the slightly salty taste of his skin. Flattening her tongue, so she could take more of him into her mouth. Then, she flicked her wrist so that her tongue massaged him as her hand moved up to meet her mouth.

Leonard groaned as she took him into her mouth, the hot, moist cavern, snug around his hard, sensitive skin. She flicked her tongue over him as she circled him with her hand and he nearly lost it. Sucking in a breath, his hands fisted as he thought of anything but what she was doing to him. She continued to torment him, and his balls tightened, pulling up tight to his body, the familiar tingle shooting up his spine as his legs began to quake. His hips began to move into her movements, rising and falling as she moved up and down his length with her mouth. She used the flat of her tongue to caress him as her hand tightened, twisting as her mouth and hand touched, covering him. Then she moved off him and he groaned, gnashing his teeth, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

“Leonard… Leo, is this okay?” All he had was a grunt, taking a breath through his nose. She must have been satisfied as she again took him into her mouth. He’d heard the hesitation over his name, but quite frankly, she could call him fucking Clarence at his point and he wouldn’t care as long as she kept sucking. Especially when she did that thing with her tongue, making his hips rise again. 

“Oh, god, do that again,” he rumbled, a hiss leaving him as she did. Her tongue rasped over the sensitive underside before flattening on her downward sweep. He opened his eyes and looked down his body and nearly came at the sight before him. It was just like watching her with the pizza earlier. Her cheeks hollowed as she swallowed him, making him gasp as she took him to the back of her throat and squeezed.

“Straddle my leg, and lift your top,” he rasped out as he kicked off his right shoe, manoeuvring his foot between her spread legs as she knelt there before him. He moved his foot until it was against her covered sex and she moaned around him. He ground his teeth as he watched her riding his leg, moaning around him as she gave him pleasure, her lashes feathered over her hollowed-out cheeks. Her lips glistened with moisture as they moved on him, her knuckles nearly white with the death grip she had on him.

“Lift your top,” he repeated, pushing against her sex where she was now riding his leg in abandon. He wanted to see her, so pulled his leg back and her lashes lifted, glazed eyes meeting his, pupils blown. She frowned, but didn’t stop sucking on him, just kept eye contact and waited. Hissing, Leonards hips rose, pushing himself further into her mouth, and she moaned, trying to rub herself on his leg again. “No Jill,” he moved his leg back as he gave his hips a slight bounce, pushing himself further into her mouth and shuddering at the tight, wet fit. “Lift your top, I want to see your breasts as I cum,” he ground out. He was now pumping himself into her mouth, her hand adding extra friction and he shuddered, another moan leaving his throat at the feel. He watched as her other hand dropped to the hem of her t-shirt as she wiggled to pull it up without releasing him. She continued to suck on him as she hooked it under her arms, but her bra was still in the way, he couldn’t see. “Pull the cups down,” he gritted out, giving another push with his hips, watching the way he disappeared into her mouth. Growling around him, Jill complied and he groaned as the sight of the tight beads of her ripe, red nipples and darker areolae were made visible to him. “So fucking hot,” Leonard hissed, his leg once again working her as she continued to suck him, moaning around his solid flesh. He didn’t know where to look as he continued to pump into her mouth as her breasts were now rubbing either side of his leg, bobbing, tempting him. He managed to drop a hand and tweaked one of her nipples, pinching and rolling it as he gave a little push with his hips. Her mouth stretching around him, her throat moving. Her movements on his leg got faster, her mouth tighter as she began to tremble and he tightened his hold on her nipple. He used a little more force, a bite of pain as he twisted slightly and thrust his hip, his other hand managing to grasp its twin as he slumped slightly forward. He was then able to roll them both between forefinger and thumb and she gave a keening cry, shuddering and moaning around his erection. He was done, the vibration of her release on him meant he had to let go of her breasts as his back bowed. His head fell back as his erection kicked up, releasing into her mouth as he continued to pump, little spurts hitting the back of her throat. He groaned, eyes squeezed tightly closed, panting as he called her name, his body shaking with the strength of his release. Jill slowly pulled her head back, stroking the head before she fell forward, collapsing over him. Her face was now in his lap as he fell sideways on the sofa, completely spent, eyes closed. Jill knelt there, panting as if she’d run a marathon and Leonard dropped a hand onto her shoulder kneading and stroking over her as he got his breath back. Then leaning over slightly, he hooked her under her arms and pulled her up and over him. They lay entwined, he pulled his legs up so that they were dangling over the arm of the sofa, his jumper under his arms and jeans undone around his hips. His flaccid dick now lay there, squashed between them as she lay over him, panting. He threw an arm over his eyes, knowing they’d be swirling and not wanting her to see.

Chapter Twenty

L eonard must have fallen to sleep, because he woke when Jill moved against him, sighing and snuggling into his chest. He rubbed his eyes, dropping his arm in front of his face, squinting at his watch, 12am. Yawning, he dropped his arm around her and pushed, until he sat up, holding her to him. She mumbled something in her sleep, nuzzling him, and shaking his head with a grin, Leonard managed to stand, lifting her into his arms at the same time.

Immortal strength came in handy sometimes.

He had to do a weird kind of crab walk to stop his jeans from falling around his ankles, as he made his way into the hallway and the stairs. Leaning Jill against the bannister, Leonard managed to pull them up, fastening the top button, then hefted her up again and continued upstairs. He found her room easily as the door was open and her scent of honeysuckle was the strongest in this one. Moving towards her bed, he smiled at the pattern printed on her bedding, honeysuckle blossom in powder pink, subtle and pretty against the cream background. He pushed the scatter cushions to the floor and pulled the duvet back, lowering her to the bed, her head on the pillow on the right-hand side of the double bed. He’d only known to put her there as she had an alarm clock placed on the white bedside drawer on this side. His brow rose as he pulled the covers over her, as that wasn’t the only item on the drawers. There was a small lamp, and plugged into the socket, charging, was a vibrator. A pink one, with a knobbly bit as well as the main head.

His Jill was a woman after his own heart, he shook his head, holding in a chuckle as she turned on her side. He had to step back as she nuzzled into the pillow and a frown lit her sleeping features. Her hand came out and patted around, as if searching for something. He tried to tiptoe out of the room, normally an easy task for an immortal to do without detection, but she called his name in her sleep and he froze. Sighing, his head fell back on his shoulders and he stared at the ceiling, as if looking for answers.

“Leo?” she whispered again, her hand still searching. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t walk out and leave her like this, not while she was unawares. He made his way back to the bed and moved around to the left-hand side, sitting, he put his hand under hers and she stilled. A smile lit her sleeping face and she sighed, moving further over towards him. He gave in, lying back on the bed as he toed off his shoes and socks, wriggling under the duvet with her. She snuggled into him, again, her head resting on his chest and her hand over his heart. Leonard, put his arm around her and pulled her tighter into him, closing his eyes once again. He put a hand over hers where it rested on his sternum and rubbed up and down her arm with the other. His eyes once again grew heavy, and although he only meant to stay long enough to settle her, he once again fell to sleep with her.

Jill blinked, her eyes slowly opening, and she wondered where she was at first, not recognising the pillow her head lay on. Looking up she found Leo, fast asleep, his sooty lashes fanning above his cheeks, lips slightly parted as he slept soundlessly beneath her. Her hand was under his on his chest and his other arm was around her back. She thought back, but couldn’t remember coming to bed, but blushed as she remembered what she’d been doing before she’d fallen asleep against him downstairs. Eyes squeezed tightly closed, as she remembered giving him a blow job after eating pizza.

Oh, my god, I’m a tart, she thought, as the whole event came flooding back to her. Looking down, she realised that her t-shirt was still up over her boobs, but at least only one of them was still out of her bra cup. At least she still had her leggings on she realised, as the discomfort of sleeping in clothes made itself known. She managed to pull her hand from beneath Leonards and lifted the duvet, sighing in relief as she realised his jeans were fastened.

“Why are you peeking?” his voice rumbled above her head.

“Shit, you scared me,” Jill squealed, her eyes jumping to his.

“Good morning,” Leonard murmured, his voice a little gravelly from sleep. He then pulled her into him and rolled onto his side, pushing her beneath him. His mouth lowered to hers and he kissed her. Jill was about to pull back, thinking about morning breath and paint peeling, but all thought fled her as his tongue swept into her mouth. After thoroughly ravishing her mouth he lifted his head, and she blinked her eyes open, panting.

“Well, good morning to you too,” he replied, just then he frowned, and groaned, his hand dropping to his stomach.

Bollocks, he needed blood.

He’d not had any since yesterday, and although he’d taken from Jill, he’d not taken much, just enough to keep him going until he got home.

Oh, well, only one thing for it.

His mouth once again took Jill’s, deepening the kiss, his hand moving from around her shoulder to the back of her neck holding her in place. He rolled her beneath him, his legs between hers, rubbing his erection against her. She groaned, her hands gripping the back of his jumper, tugging on it until she could get to skin. She ran her nails down his back and he bowed, hissing, his mouth released hers as he pushed himself into her, rolling his hips. His lips trailed across her cheek, nibbling her ear lobe, then nuzzling beneath. Licking up her carotid again as he continued with his press and release against her sex, through their clothing. Her hands came down his back, and went to the waistband of his jeans, tugging and trying to loosen them.

Fuck.

He’d given anything to just rip her leggings off and slide into her heat, but he’d promised Luc, and his word meant something to him. His eyes landed on the vibrator and he thought about grabbing it and using that as he fed from her, but it was still a form of sex. If he penetrated her with anything but his fangs he’d renege on their bargain. He pulled her hands from his back and threading his fingers through hers dragged them up. He then pinned them either side of her head on the pillow as he continued to grind against her through their clothing. The new position made her breasts brush against his jumper and she hissed. Leo felt the nub of her nipple dig into him and pulled back slightly, seeing her bare breast, where her t-shirt had risen, he changed tactics. His head now at her chest, he circled the dark areola with his tongue, before taking her hard nipple into his mouth and suckling strongly, pushing it against the roof of his mouth. Jill went still, and stopped trying to tug her hands from beneath Leonards, and instead wrapped her legs around his waist. Now she was riding him through their clothing, making him groan around the tight nubbin of flesh. Taking a breath around her plump flesh, he bit down, fangs embedding in her breast and began sucking.

Jill went rigid beneath him, her thighs tightening around his waist as she rode out her orgasm. Leonard fed, the blood trickling into his mouth and as he swallowed he groaned, the cramps in his stomach easing. Once he’d taken enough to get him home he licked over the wounds, sucking on them to heal them up as he continued to grind against her until she sighed.

“Wow, that works just as well there as it does on my neck,” she murmured.

“You’re obviously, just really responsive to me,” Leonard told her, not able to meet her slumberous gaze. He felt like a bastard and his dick throbbed where it pressed against his zipper.

“What about you?” Jill asked, a sleepy smile tugging at her lips. He closed his eyes groaning at the thought of either slipping into her body or mouth and gaining some relief, but he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. Not until he’d spoke to her, he had a feeling she would be extremely pissed off with him if he told her she’d had sex with a vampire. He didn’t know why it bothered him with her, but it did.

“I’m fine, I need to get going,” Leonard told her, his mouth brushing her lips before he pushed himself up off her and climbed out of her bed.

“Shit, I need to shower and get to work,” Jill told him, looking at the clock, hiding her embarrassment at being brushed off again.

“I have to get going,” Leonard repeated, bending down and picking up his socks. He then sat on the bed and pulled them on, standing again as he slipped his feet into his shoes. Then leaning over, he placed his hand on her pillow went to kiss her, but she turned her head so his lips just brushed her cheek. “I’ll let myself out,” he told, frowning as she wouldn’t look at him. She just lay there looking at the wall. Unsure how to deal with her, he straightened up and then headed out of her room and down the stairs. He grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the sofa, sighing as he stared at the seat, then shaking his head, moved towards the door.

“I’ll ring later. Jill, have a good day at work,” he shouted, but she didn’t respond. He opened the door and left before he didn’t. He’d give anything to crawl back in bed with her and take this to its natural conclusion, but he needed to get home. He had to shower and change. Jaden was meeting him at the main police station up the road from Jill’s in a couple of hours. If he’d brought a change of clothing, he would have had enough time to talk to her and figure out what the problem was, but he hadn’t. You did not spend time with a shifter smelling of sex, not unless you wanted to answer questions, and he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about Jill. He wasn’t sure what was going on between them himself yet, he still needed to take her on a couple of dates though, it would come to him. For now, he needed to get home, and clear his head. He’d need his wits about him at the police station in case he had to alter any perceptions. Then after that they got back from there, they needed to head back to Lower Lunaton, it was Michael’s funeral, he swallowed at the thought.

He was not looking forward to that one, he really wasn’t, he looked to Jill’s bedroom window as he climbed into his car.

***

Jill heard the front door shut behind Leonard and slammed her head into the pillow. Obviously, there was something wrong with her as he didn’t want to have sex with her. He seemed to like making her cum, but maybe it was just an ego thing because he’d certainly enjoyed himself last night. So, what was his problem?

Thomas had said he was single, so it must be something about her that he didn’t like, or maybe it was how easy she was that put him off. Her head turned and she looked at the clock again, her eyes falling on her vibrator that was charging.

“Brilliant,” she mumbled out loud.

Well, seeing B.O.B. would be enough to scare any bloke off, she sighed. Then pushing herself up, she got out of bed and stripped before picking her dirty clothes up and padding into her bathroom. Dropping them in the hamper, she took care of nature, how she’d gone so long without peeing was beyond her. Flushing the toilet, she next reached for her tooth brush and got rid of her furry tongue and teeth, because yup, there was definitely some funk going on.

Once she was minty fresh, a quick shower and hair washed helped her feel semi-human, then it was dress time. As she had just under an hour to get to work and the bus ride was nearly 20-minutes, she needed to get a wiggle on. Work pants and a white blouse, were her standard work attire, so dressed in them, she made her way downstairs. There, she sat on the bottom step and plugged in her hair dryer to give her hair a quick blast and remove most of the moisture. A brush, and a bobble sorted out the rest, then she padded into the kitchen, coffee, next on her agenda. Yawning, her eyes went to the empty spot where Moby had sat for the last few weeks. Her lip wobbled as she filled the kettle and put it on to boil.

Damn, she missed him, he’d been a part of her life for years. Ripping some kitchen roll off, she blew her nose as she spooned coffee and two sugars into a cup, then poured over the hot water and stirred. She hiccupped around another tear as she added a generous amount of milk to her drink from the fridge. Sunglasses were going to be needed, she realised as she saw her red puffy eyes in the reflection in the kettle. Quickly, she drank her coffee, then went searching for them and her bag. She was now running late, and would have to run for her bus on top of everything else.

Maybe she needed to cool it with Leonard, she’d seen far too much of him the last week. She did not want to get used to him being around and then he left her also. Everyone left her eventually, she realised as she locked her door, threw her bag over her shoulder and ran for her bus.

Chapter Twenty-One

L eonard walked with Jaden back to his car, which he’d parked in the police station car park.

“Well, that was fun,” Jaden mumbled, sarcastically as he made his way over to Leonard’s car.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

“How, Leonard?”

“You may have had to do it on your own,” Leonard informed him, remembering having to put the whammy on a couple of the officers. They’d been inclined to keep Jaden as his finger prints were the only ones they’d pulled off a body. Leonard heard him sigh as he lowered himself into the Maserati. If nothing else, there was entertainment value with watching the way Jaden had to contort to fit his bulk into it. Being a black jaguar shifter, he was a muscular and it amused the hell out of him as he watched him turn himself into a pretzel to fit in the passenger seat. Plus, cat shifters in general had a problem with cars, they all tended to ride motorbikes. Leonard had never seen the appeal, your hair got ruined either by the wind or the helmet.

“Thanks for your help, it was appreciated.”

“You’re welcome,” Leonard replied to Jaden as he got into the driver’s seat. He was always surprised when Jaden acted semi-human. The man had spent over a human lifespan on his own, so, was still adjusting to playing nice and talking to others.

“Could you not have hired a proper mode of transport?” Jaden grumbled.

And there he went, insulting bastard just because he was a wide load, it was not his problem he weighed a tonne.

“This is top of the range,” Leonard snarled, knuckles whitening on the steering wheel.

“Have I hit on a sore point?” Jaden asked, turning to him, a sardonic brow raised.

“A little,” Leonard sighed as the engine purred to life. He’d become kind of fond of it, especially the purr of the engine and the smooth ride. So much so, that he was thinking of purchasing one.

“Come on spill, it’ll take my mind off where we are heading now.”

 Now, that he could get on board with, not only was Jill on his mind, but also where they were heading.

“I got called a poser,” Leonard told him incredulously as he pulled out of the police station’s car park. It still stung that Jill tended to call him for his dress and mode of transport. I mean, she was the snob here, not him.

“Really?” Jaden drawled,” Leonard could hear incredulity in his tone, which meant he understood where he was coming from, his next response proving it. “Not a clue how anyone would think that about you,” he replied dryly. Leonard ignored the way he held onto the ‘oh shit’ bar, above his left shoulder. He was a cat after all, therefore didn’t do well inside of a vehicle.

I wonder if they see them as cat boxes?

He then shook his head, answering him. “Exactly, she has a bloody cheek. I mean, she should be impressed that I’m even trying with her.”

“Right, because, I mean, her views shouldn’t count. She should be kissing your feet for giving her the time of day.”

“Well, maybe not quite that. But, I mean, I’m courteous, good looking…”

“Modest,” Jaden interrupted.

“See, you get me,” Leonard told him earnestly. “This human, this, Jill person,” he sighed.

“Is this the one you’ve got to take on 5-dates?” Jaden asked, then added. “How’s the blue balls going?” he grinned, evilly. “You’ve taken her out once or twice now I believe?”

“Twice,” Leonard gritted out. “He was not counting last night as he’d been in her home, therefore not outside. His knuckles turning white on the steering wheel as he took a corner, remembering the way she’d turned her head as he’d tried to kiss her goodbye.

“So, I take it the no sex thing isn’t working for you,” Jaden smirked, trying to cover his mouth.

Fucker.

“There are ways around that,” Leonard grinned, he remembered the way she’d cum for him this morning. Then the way she’d taken him in her mouth.

“No, I do believe there was a no sex rule.”

“I can do things without full out penetrative sex,” Leonard informed him, then sighed. “Fuck, I’m not enjoying this at all.” He’d been desperate to slide into her body, but that fucking deal with Luc, he had to stick to it or he’d have no chance of gaining his forgiveness.

“Is she really not your type?”

“It’s not that,” Leonard sighed, pulling up beside the little church where Michael’s funeral was taking place.

“What’s the problem?” Jaden asked, turning to him.

“I like her too much, but at the same time, she annoys the arse off me,” Leonard scowled, shaking his head. The woman drove him up the wall, she was constantly arguing with him and trying to pay her way. He’d been brought up in a time when women expected to be taken care of. Modern women, although they had their good parts, had annoying habits, like independence and knowing their own minds. Letting the thoughts go, he turned the engine off and alighted, grabbing his coat out of the back and slipping into it. Jaden was a little slower, Maya appearing by the passenger door as he finally got out, straightening his own suit jacket, finger running around the collar of his shirt.

Leonard left them to do the lovey dovey, and made his way towards the others who were all waiting by the front of the small church. The hearse pulled up and jaw grinding he folded his arms before him and bowed his head. As the doors opened on the cars following, Cathy’s loud sobs could be heard and Leonard swallowed. This was wrong, they should not be burying a 15-year-old lad, he’d had no life at all, no chance to fall in love. His head came up at that word as he looked around the others, Maya leaning into Jaden, Sam with his arm around Helena and he blinked.

Bollocks, he was in trouble.

Chapter Twenty-Two

J ill kept checking her phone, but Leonard had gone on radio silence, even though he’d said he’d call.

Arsehole.

Well, she was not going to be the type of woman who waited around for a phone call. Then found herself picking it up and checking it was indeed switched on. Disgusted with herself, she put it in her back pocket and made her way into the kitchen. Her eyes once again moved to the empty spot on the counter and a lone tear trailed down her cheek. Brushing it away, she opened the fridge, and had her head in it, rooting through the contents for something to eat when her phone went.

“Ouch, son of a bitch,” she groaned, straightening up and rubbing her forehead as she pulled her phone out.

“Jill, you there?”

“Hi Amanda,” she sighed, slamming the fridge door and glaring at it as she left the kitchen and dropped onto the sofa.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. I was trying to figure out what to eat,” she told her.

“It’s nearly 9 in the evening. Why have you not eaten before now?” came Amanda’s rebuke and she sighed.

“I’m not hungry,” she told her, head dropping back on the sofa.

“I know Moby’s gone, but you must eat,” Amanda told her gently.”

“It was awful, coming in from work and him not at the front of his bowl to great me,” she sobbed.

“Oh, honey. I’m sorry I’m not close enough to give you a hug.”

“I know,” Jill sighed, blowing her nose and wiping her eyes. “How’s Polly?”

“She’s good, she sends her love.”

“Tell her, love her back.”

“Will do, now how’s that man of yours?”

“Pfft,” Jill replied.

“Uh, oh, is there trouble in paradise?”

“I don’t understand him, Amanda.” Jill sighed.

“I thought he was the best thing since sliced bread?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jill sighed.

“What’s he done?”

“It’s what he hasn’t done.”

“Spill, and hang on while I take a seat. I have a feeling this may take some time. Okay, I’m sitting, now tell me all about it,” she cooed.

“He won’t… he’s not…”

“He won’t, he’s not, what?”

“He won’t sleep with me,” Jill sighed.

“You’ve not slept with him?”

“Well, he’s slept with me, he’s just not…”

“The horizontal shuffle,” Amanda supplied. “But I thought he’d been giving you the big ‘O’?”

“Well, yes, but not through…”

“So the train hasn’t entered the station yet then?”

“Good analogy, and no. Maybe he doesn’t like me.”

“Don’t be silly, he’d be stupid not to like you, and from what you’ve told me he’s not stupid. Plus, he’s taken you to a posh restaurant and the ballet.”

“You’ve not seen the way women throw themselves at him Amanda, it’s bloody weird.”

“Please, do you not remember how it was with me and Polly in the beginning?”

“Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that.”

“Yeah, well I haven’t. It’s damn unsettling when you are eating a meal and people come over hitting on your date,” Amanda told her with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Jill sympathised.

“Anyway, how am I meant to compete with those women. I mean, I’m not exactly runway material.”

“Of course you are, just a pocket rocket version,” Amanda replied, making her laugh.

“Umpa lumpa proportions,” Jill replied dryly.

“No, just small and curvy. You have a woman’s figure, fifties pin up, you know hips.”

“Don’t I know it. It’s just a pity I didn’t get the boobs to go with them.”

“You have nice boobs, small and perky.”

“Eew, that sound wrong coming from you.”

“It did actually. I feel kind of skanky now, like eyeing up my sister.”

“Ha-ha-ha,” Jill laughed.

“So, are you okay now?”

“Yes, I will be.”

“Oh, and Jill, give him some time, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“Good, right I’m off, Polly’s waiting for me in the bathtub.”

“Lovely, visual, thanks for that,” Jill told her with a shudder.

“You’re welcome, love you Jilly-bobs, speak soon.”

“Love you too Amanda, have fun,” with that she pressed end on her friend’s assurance that she would be.

Sitting back, she stared at her now blank phone screen. Her finger hovered over the button to turn on her menu, but she held off. She knew he’d been to a funeral today, Thomas had told her in work. She’d felt dreadful, he’d not said a thing about it to her last night. No wonder he hadn’t understood her upset over the loss of her beloved goldfish, he’d known he was attending the funeral of a 15-year-old boy. Not any boy, but one he knew and had found, having to break the news to his parents. God, she’d felt dreadful all day.  She dropped her phone and pushed up off the sofa again, because her stomach was rumbling now, she needed sustenance.

Once again, she had her head in the fridge rooting through the contents, when the doorbell went.

“Motherfucker,” she groaned, banging her head again. Straightening up, before she shut the fridge door. This time she kicked it after glaring at it, and then hobbled to the front door.

Chapter Twenty-Three

L eonard had spent the day, trying not to give into the urge to ring Jill. Even going so far as to hand his housekeeper his phone and sending her home with it. However, he’d given in and drove to the woman’s house to pick it up again a couple of hours later. The middle-aged woman, had opened the door and slapped the phone into his outstretched hand with a “phone her,” growl, before shutting the door in his face.

Obviously, his foul mood as he’d stomped around his house had gotten on her nerves. Or, maybe it was the number of times he’d asked her advice on what women liked doing.

Now here he stood on Jill’s doorstep, Chinese take-out in hand, a bouquet of red roses and a box that was making mewling noises.

“I’ve lost the plot,” he mumbled, looking over his shoulder to check that no one could see him. Then rolled his eyes, turning back as he heard Jill hopping down the hallway and swearing up a storm.

“Motherfucker,” rather a strange greeting, don’t you think?” Leonard asked with amusement as she stood with the open door in her hand. She looked flushed, and there was a red lump on her forehead, he noticed as she blew her hair out of her eyes.

“Leonard, come in,” was all she said, then hobbled off up the hallway again and disappeared through the living room doorway.

Closing the front door, he went after her, finding her on the sofa cradling her right foot.

“What have you been doing?” he asked, putting the food, flowers and box on the floor beside the sofa and squatting before her.

“I had a fight with the fridge and it won,” she told him dryly, her hand over her big toe.

“Let me see,” he told her, reaching for her foot.

Sighing, she removed her hand and leaned back against the sofa, hissing as he prodded her foot.

“It’s just bruised, you are going to have one on your forehead too.”

“I know,” she mumbled, rubbing at the spot and sighing. “Motherfucker, gave as good as it got,” she told him dryly.

Laughing, he shook his head as he got up, and removed his long duster coat, placing it over the arm of the single armchair.

“What had the fridge done to you to deserve the beating it gave you?” he asked her laughingly as he picked up the flowers and handed them to her. “Here, for you,” he mumbled, sobering and moving from foot to foot.

“You bought me flowers,” Jill blinked, staring at him as he stood there, in yet another designer suit, looking uncomfortable. “Thank you, they’re beautiful,” she told him hiding a smile as she stuck her nose in the red roses and sniffed.

“I asked for unscented, so they don’t detract from your own scent of honeysuckle,” Leonard replied with a shrug.

“I have a scent,” Jill sniffed her armpit, trying to figure out if she smelt funky.

“Yes, you always smell of honeysuckle and clean rain,” he informed her, hands in his trouser pockets, as a hint of red stained his cheeks.

“Thank you,” Jill replied, shocked, he’d given her a compliment, but looked extremely uncomfortable while doing so. Then she sniffed, appreciatively, the smell of cooked food, noodles, beef and mushrooms and a few other things assaulted her senses. Her stomach rumbled and he looked at her, eyebrow raised.

“I was looking for something to eat, I banged my head twice and then the door went. I then kicked it for good measure,” she shrugged.

“Not a good idea to pick on something bigger than you,” he replied dryly, then leaned over and picked up the boxes.

“I brought supper, I believe you mentioned something about a banquet at the local Chinese. ‘Fu Young’s’ was the only one I could find when I drove around your neighbourhood,” he told her as he passed her the boxes.

“You brought me flowers and food?” Jill asked, speechless.

“Oh, and this,” he added, again bending and picking up the other box by the side of the sofa. He then carefully placed it on her knee and took the flowers and other boxes from her and retreated into the kitchen.

Jill watched his retreating back and then heard cupboard doors opening and him messing in there. A scuffling sound came from the box on her knee and her attention was drawn to it. There were holes cut into the top of the box, and she realised it was breathing holes. Curiously, she opened the lid, and a little black head popped out, bright blue eyes stared at her and a soft mewl left its mouth.

“You bought me a kitten?” Jill asked, swallowing as she lifted the small fluffy bundle from the box and held it against her chest, rubbing between the ears. It let out a loud contented purr, and she smiled, a tear sliding down her cheek.

“Did I do wrong? I thought it would be company for you after you lost Moby. I did think about getting you another goldfish, but it wouldn’t be the same, and felt a little like trying to replace what you’d lost.” He shrugged as he leaned against the door frame, one leg crossed over the other.

“She’s beautiful, thank you.” Jill replied, swallowing the lump in her throat at his thoughtfulness.

“It’s a he, and he’s called Fluffy,” Leonard told her with a slight smile, “Fluffy-Jay to be exact,” he told her, smile turning to a grin, his smile spreading as he eyed the jet-black kitten and held up a little red collar with a bell attached. “He’s called a Bombay, and is meant to have a very friendly disposition even though he looks a little like a miniature panther or black jaguar,” he informed her with a little glee. “His eyes may not stay blue; they may end up more of a golden amber as he’s only 8-weeks-old.”

“He’s beautiful,” she whispered, her chin rubbing between the cat’s ears.

“So you’ll keep him?”

“Oh yes, I will. I love Fluffy-Jay already,” she informed him, and he grinned again, before pushing off from the doorframe and heading back into the kitchen.

“Where do you keep your vases?” he asked appearing at the doorway again.

“I’m not sure I have any, but if I do it may be under the sink unit,” she told him, holding the kitten up to her face and rubbing her nose with his. Leonard grinned before going back into the kitchen.

“Two birds, one stone,” he mumbled to himself.

Smug bastard had taken the piss out of him this afternoon. He’d not realised until he’d gotten home and thought about their conversation as he’d been too lost in his own mixed up thoughts about Jill, and Michael’s death. Let’s see how Jaden likes it when he realises that Jill has a little black kitten called Fluffy-Jay, he chuckled gleefully, as he rooted for a vase.

Finding one right at the back, he moved things around and pulled it out. He closed the door and rinsed it under the tap before filling it with water, then used the scissors which he’d found in the drawer to cut the cellophane off the roses. He dropped them into the vase and gave up trying to be artistic, just made his way back into the front room with them. He put it on the little coffee table she kept pushed by the side of the sofa.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “They’re lovely, and he’s just so adorable. I hated coming in from work tonight and not finding Moby waiting at the front of his bowl to greet me,” she told him feeling stupid.

“You’re welcome, and I’m sorry you lost your pet.”

“Leonard?”

“Are we back to that?” he asked, brow raised.

“Fine, Leo,” she replied and he smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me you had to attend a funeral today?”

“Thomas has a big mouth,” he scowled. “To be honest I was not looking forward to it. There has been too much death just recently, and the loss of such a young cub was not only unexpected but heart wrenching,” he told her with a shrug. Jill frowned at his use of cub, but let it go, thinking it was just his way of talking about a teenager.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I will be, and I’m much better now I’m here with you. Now are you ready to eat?”

“I am, but what about Fluffy-Jay?” Jill asked, Leonard again eyed the kitten with amusement.

“I have a small cat bed, tray, food and other bits in the boot of the car. The breeder supplied me with everything you’d need for him. I’ve even set up a vet’s account for you for his injections and flea and worm treatment, and of course to have him neutered once he’s old enough. I’ll take him for that one if you’d rather not do it,” he informed her, hiding another grin as he made his way in the kitchen and began putting plates on the breakfast bar.

Chapter Twenty-Four

L eonard had spent the night with her, again refusing to have sex, trying every trick in the book not to; which she still couldn’t get her head around to be honest. He’d lay curled against her back, fitted black silk jersey boxers on, hard as steel, but had refused. She’d brought Fluffy-Jay up and he lay curled in his little sleeper that Leonard had bought, curled around a teddy, purring contentedly. He’d hissed at Leonard at one point as he’d removed him from her so she could eat. Leonard, being Leonard, had of course hissed back, flashing his own dental work, and the kitten had backed down. Obviously, she’d found him arguing with a kitten hilarious, so had laughed until her sides hurt. Leonard hadn’t taken kindly to it, so had sulked through the ribs course, but was back to talking to her by the time they’d gotten to the chow mein.

She found him confusing. He was sweet and kind, and charming, but she’d also found some of his answers to questions to be evasive. He was definitely hiding something from her, as he always seemed to weigh up his words before he spoke about his friends. It was if he was constantly on guard, in case he let something slip, but this only made her more determined to figure out what it was. She’d asked what Luc did, trying to garner more of his life away from her, but she’d ended up more confused than ever. He’d told her that he was an architect but that he flew. When she’d asked him if he flew to his job, he’d told her he flew everywhere, much easier when he had his own wings.

Now, what kind of an answer was that?

Was Luc ex-forces? She knew the air force classed themselves as having wings, or was it that he’d died? She worried her bottom lip at the idea, because Leonard didn’t talk about him as if he was no longer here. He confused the hell out of her sometimes. There were also certain words he used or turns of phrase that weren’t modern. He also spoke of events that had happened hundreds of years ago as if he’d been there, which was preposterous.

“Good morning, are you ready to break your fast?” he asked, sitting up and stretching.

See, such a weird turn of phrase.

“I am,” Jill replied, letting it go. Leonard leaned over, brushing a kiss across her lips, then slipped from the bed before she could deepen it. He kept his back to her, and she rolled her eyes, because seriously, did he think she’d missed the two man tent he had going on in his boxers. “I’ll nip down and put the kettle on, what do you fancy?” Jill asked, clambering out of the bed as elegantly as a baby hippo. Fridays may be the end of the work week for her, but after the week she’d had she was absolutely shattered. She’d had a rollercoaster of a week with a certain raven-haired man, who was presently on his tiptoes, trying to tuck himself away without trapping himself with his zipper. She shook her head at his antics. Then a thought struck her.

Was he a virgin?

She snorted at the absurdity of the idea. I mean, the man knew his way around a woman’s body.

It wasn’t possible, was it?

“Are you a virgin?” she blurted out. Her mouth working before she could engage her brain. He froze, and slowly turned towards her, blinking.

“Excuse me?”

“I said are you a virgin?”

“I know, I was just trying to figure out where in the hell you would come up with such an idea, have I not given you pleasure, several times?”

“Well, yes, but you balk at anything else. I mean, you’ve not even touched me below the wai…” her words trailed off as her eyes lit on him, slitting in accusation. “You’re gay aren’t you, I knew it. The manners, charm, dress sense, they are all much too good to belong to a straight man. It’s not a problem, I can deal, I have some fabulous gay friends. It’s just that, for once, I’d like to find a man that actually wants me,” she sputtered. Then throwing her hands up in the air, she stomped out of the bedroom and into the bathroom in her short legged, cotton pyjamas.

Leonard stood there in nothing but his boxers and trousers. The hard on from hell presently trying to suck all the blood from his brain, which she’d obviously seen.

How in the hell could she think he was gay?

He went through all he’d done to her over the last few days and blinked.

“Bollocks,” he swore, head falling back on his shoulders as he stared at the ceiling. Then, mouth slashing, he went over to the small chair in the corner of her tiny bedroom and picked up his phone. His walk-in closet was bigger than this room, he’d have to see if he could talk her into moving in with him, because this, this was not what he was used to. Yes, it was cozy, but he was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic in the tiny space. His phone switched on and quickly he sent a text.

Sorry, Luc, I’ve been good, I have. I’ve also been in immeasurable pain. But now I’m classing the 5-dates as done. I need to prove to Jill that I do want her, so if our friendship doesn’t survive this as I’ve not spoken to your first. Well, I’ll just continue to mourn its loss. Leonard.

With that, Leonard switched off his phone and dropped it on the bed. Stripping out of his trousers and boxers, he checked the time on the clock. He had about 40-minutes before they needed to leave to get Jill to work.

“Doable,” he muttered as he left the bedroom and stopped outside the bathroom door. Banging his fist against it, he turned the handle, the only warning he gave.

“Leo,” Jill sputtered, as he walked in as she stood there naked, her eyes wide as saucers as one hand dropped to cover her groin and the other went across her chest.

“A little late for modesty, don’t you think,” Leonard drawled, kicking the door shut and moving towards her.

“Now Leo, don’t be hasty here,” Jill held out a hand, then squeaked and covered her chest with it again as he advanced.

“Such modesty, I’ve been over every inch of you already,” he told her stopping before her. She frowned and shook her head. “Oh, yes, I have, maybe not in person, but in my mind, I’ve had you every way I can think of. In every room and piece of furniture in here. Then I moved onto my home, and that took a little longer, but not by much,” he told her, a hand lifting and stroking over her throat, eyes broodingly holding hers captive.

“But, I don’t understand, you… we…”

“Hmm, I made a promise to a friend or an old friend anyway. 5-dates, I had to take you on 5-dates without sex to appease him and heal our friendship.”

“But you… me…”

“I class sex as penetration. I’ve had to watch you cum over and over and not once have I been able to have you.”

“But you let me…”

“Hmm, I tried to put that one down as not counting, as it was you and not me that did that one. I’ve not allowed you to do so again though and god, have I paid for that since. The times in my mind that I have not only gone done down your throat, but that I’ve also had you spread out before me.” He whispered the words near her ear, his nose now running up the side of her throat, breathing in and humming.

“Leo, what are you doing?” she squeaked.

“Showing you I want you,” he told her licking up her neck.

“Arrgh, okay, I believe you,” Jill told him, trying to pull her head away.

“Oh no, not enough, now I’m going to show you. You many need to hold on though,” he informed her, pulling her hands away from her chest and groin and stepping back, holding them out from her body with his own.

“Mmm, where to start,” he murmured, eyes heatedly roaming over the length of her body. “You’re all nice and flushed,” he told her with a smirk. “All the blood has rushed to the surface,” smirk fading as he hummed, then licking a fang he groaned as he stared at her naked form before him. His eyes dropped to the little neat thatch of dark curls at the apex of her thighs and Jill moved from foot to foot, unsure what to do. He stepped closer, inhaling and her eyes dropped as she was nudged in the belly. Her eyes rising to his face when she realised his fangs weren’t the only things now visible. “I’ve been hard, all damn week,” he hissed, hands dropping hers as he held her face between his palms, head lowering to hers. He brushed a kiss across her eyelids and her cheeks, then settled on her mouth. “You taste so damn good, sweet, warm,” he breathed the words against her lips, then settled in more fully, drinking from her. Jill gasped, her mouth opening beneath his and he slid his tongue inside, sweeping the interior and twining with her own. Her hands went to his chest, her blunt nails digging for purchase, and he slowed the kiss before pulling back. Satisfied as he saw her swollen damp lips, a drop of blood from where his fang had caught her. His eyes took in the glazed look in her own as he used a thumb to wipe away the slight cut, sucking the evidence and humming at the taste. As he held eye contact, a hand stroking over the pulse in her throat. The other, he trailed the backs of his fingers down her chest, between her breasts. Then over her stomach, dipping into her navel, then over both hip bones before he moved down. He ran his fingers through the tight curls slipping between the folds, stroking over the little bundle of nerves, swollen, full of blood and she trembled. Slowly, he released her throat, still tormenting her with a hand, circling and pinching that little nubbin as he dropped to his knees before her. His lips now butterfly kissed her stomach, a fang dragging down her lower stomach, being careful not to cut her.

“Hold on,” he rasped, the only warning he gave her as he lifted her left leg, positioning it over his shoulder, opening her to his view. His eyes left hers, gazing at what he’d revealed and groaned. “So wet, Jill,” he blew across her glistening sex and she wobbled, his fingers left her to hold her hip and steady her. “Hold onto the sink,” he told her, then checking that her hand dropped, knuckles white as they gripped the edge, he went back to what he was doing. His tongue stroked through her folds, rubbing over that little pearl of sensitive flesh, circling with the tip, before he flattened and licked over it, rubbing and making her suck in a breath. Leonard continued to stroke and torment her with his tongue, one hand running up and down the inside of her thigh; feather light touches, making her hypersensitive. His other hand dropped to his erection, gripping and stroking, working himself, a hand running down and squeezing is balls before gripping his length again. Jill shook, her legs shaking so badly he again had to grip her hip, he so wanted to bite, just where his tongue stroked. Eyes flicking to her, watching her chest rise and fall, the flush to her skin, nipples tight, mouth open, he knew she was near. Another stroke up his own flesh, he again licked over her, swallowing what she gave, but his stomach chose that moment to cramp.

He blew out a breath and bit, his fangs sinking into the blood and nerve rich sensitive skin and she came. He swallowed, the blood sliding down his throat, coating his tongue as Jill gave a keening cry, his name leaving her throat on a moan. His eyes slid closed as he sucked, taking more flicking his tongue over her and making her shake, her thighs quaking. He had to pull back his teeth as she began to topple forward, a quick lick and he managed to shuffle back in the confined space so she fell onto his lap. Her wet flesh rubbed over his still hard length, making it throb. He moved her around, using the head to rub over her, then he lifted and dropped her over him. He pushed with his hips, her still spasming flesh gave way and he slipped into her, groaning as her internal muscles began to massage him. Her mouth against his shoulder he began to move her, lifting her up and down on him, she nuzzled into him, sighing and kissing his neck. The flush from her blood moving through his system, settling his stomach and as one appetite was appeased the other came screaming to life. He sped up, pushing and retracting as he moved her up and down on his length. Jill planted her feet on the floor, hands on his shoulders as she began to move with him. He felt the familiar tingle in his spine, as his balls tightened, drawing up to his body. He widened his thighs, giving him better leverage as he pounded into her body and she gasped, her internal muscles tightening, becoming a strangle hold. No way to move, he ground his teeth, desperate for release but her body held him fast. Then she dropped forward, her blunt teeth biting down into his shoulder and he went off like a rocket. His back bowing and his erection kicking up inside her as his release hit. Neck muscles straining, he turned his head and managed to take her mouth, kissing her as they both came down.

“So… you’re not gay, huh,” Jill mumbled, breaking their kiss and trying to catch her breath. 

Leonard laughed, then groaned as the movement pushed him against her, little aftershocks stroking over him.

“No, not gay, but you are going to be late for work if you don’t put on a wiggle,” he told her, a hand dropping and slapping her backside. She squeaked and jumped, again making him groan as he was once again stroked and squeezed. Jill’s eyes slit and she pulled back. “No, not happening,” she warned, as his hands went to her hips to move her.

“I’ll only take a minute, promise,” he cajoled as he again began to move her on him.

“Leo, not fair,” she groaned. “I need to shower; I’m going to be late.”

“No problem, hold on,” he told her, managing to push up and stand. Jill squeaked, her legs tightening around his back and her arms wrapping around his neck. “Turn on the water,” he ground out, heading into the shower cubicle.

“There’s no room.”

“Sure there is,” he grinned, leaning her against the wall as he again began to move in and out of her body.

“Where do you get your strength from?” Jill asked moaning as he rotated his hips on his upward stroke.

“Told you, vampire, super-human,” he winked, showing her his teeth. She laughed as she slapped out a hand and managed to turn on the shower, squealing as the cold water hit them. “Shit, that’s cold,” Leonard managed to grit out but still didn’t stop moving.

“It’s warming,” Jill sighed, but he chose that moment to rub his thumb over the top of her sex, and she shattered once again, and he followed her over.

“Good, clean sex, can’t beat it,” Leonard told her as he finally lifted her off him, making her hiss as his flaccid length stroked over-sensitized nerves.

Leonard reached around Jill as she leaned against the tiles, legs quaking. He grabbed the shower gel, squirting some into his hands and quickly set about washing her.

Jill didn’t have the energy to move, she felt completely boneless as he washed her. She hissed as he gently washed her, his hand stroking over her over used vagina, he quickly washed his hand and dropped to his knees. His mouth once again on her and she groaned.

“No, Leo, please, too much.” She felt faint, her legs struggling to hold her up, her hands on his shoulders as he leaned into her, his mouth back, sucking. With a final lick, he stood, then rinsing his mouth, he quickly washed his body then turning his back as he washed his length. Jill snorted, because really, he didn’t mind waving it about when it was up, but down, he had issues.

Typical man.

“Come on, let’s get you some orange juice,” Leonard murmured, stepping out of the shower and wrapping her in a towel. He put another around his waist, and then dried her, ushering her into the bedroom. He sat her on the bed and then dried himself, pulling on his clothing from yesterday. “Can you get dressed?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine, you just wore me out,” Jill assured him. “Coffee and I’ll be good to go,” she smiled.

“Okay, orange juice and coffee coming up,” Leonard told her heading out of the bedroom.

He grabbed the kitten, who again hissed at him, he hissed back and it turned its back on him and curled up once again in its covered bed. More a cat box really, but it was soft, with a mesh front. He berated himself all the way down the stairs. He’d made her bleed, couldn’t believe he’d been so lost in her body that he’d not sealed the wound he’d made on her.

“Idiot,” he mumbled as he made it into the kitchen, and put the kittens bed down on the floor. He flicked on the kettle, and opened the kittens mesh door, ushering it towards the litter box he’d placed beside the back door. “Go do your business, Fluffy-Jay,” he murmured to the kitten with a grin. He laughed as it finally came out of its bed, little bell jingling as it went over to the litter tray. “Maybe I should ask Maya if Jaden’s tray is bigger,” he chuckled as the cat scratched around in the litter. His attention then went back to trying to get Jill’s blood up. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a carton of orange and poured her a large glass, set it on the breakfast bar and went about making coffee. She needed a machine, he wasn’t used to jarred coffee, but just now, it would suffice.              

“Thank you,” Jill murmured, finally dressed for the office, she pulled out a stool and sat at the breakfast bar. Yawning, she picked up her coffee first, but Leonard took it off her and handed her the orange.

“Drink the orange first, you need your vitamin C,” he told her. Pulling her face, she downed it in one, then shuddered and put down the empty glass, again picking up her coffee. Sipping it with a sigh, she made a mental note to ring her doctor, her pill obviously needed changing. She’d had to put a pad on, horrified to find that her period had arrived in the middle of a cycle, so she’d not realised. When she’d dropped the towel to step into her knickers, she’d seen blood on it, fresh, red blood, so had rushed into the bathroom. She’d also found blood on the tissue after wiping, so cursing had rummaged in her bedroom drawer for a pad. She just hoped that Leonard hadn’t noticed anything. The shower had probably gotten rid of any evidence he’d had on him, which meant she was in the clear.

“Here’s some toast,” Leonard told her as he attended to the kitten’s food. Again, Fluffy-Jay hissed at him, and he picked the kitten up, flashing his own fangs, he hissed back. “You, will behave, I can bite as well as you,” he admonished the kitten and it meowed at him. “Yes, be good,” he told him as he stroked between his ears, eliciting a loud purr. Putting him on the floor, the fur ball wound himself around the leg of Jill’s stool as he waited. Leonard put some kitten milk in his bowl and he scampered over, lapping at it with a loud purr rumbling from him. Jill laughed as she took a bite of her toast.

“What’s funny?” Leonard asked, picking up his own coffee and taking a drink, grimacing at the bitterness.

“You.”

“What about me?” Leonard asked over his cup.

“You keep hissing at a kitten. Really, how’s that going to make him feel safe with you.”

“I brought him for you, he doesn’t have to like me, he just has to respect me,” he told her. Again, she burst out laughing.

“Okay, well, good luck with that.”

“What?”

“You have to gain the trust of a pet, not the other way around.”

“But he’s an animal.”

“And that’s where you’ll hit problems, cats are very self-contained.”

“What do you mean?” He asked taking another sip of the coffee and regretting it. With a sigh, he emptied it into the sink and washed his cup.

“Dogs love unconditionally, normally. Whereas cats, they either like you or they don’t, completely different breed,” she shrugged.

“You’re telling me I have to woo, your kitten?”

“Oh yes,” Jill smirked, getting off her stool, the kitten ran over and wound himself around her legs, purring loudly. She bent down and picked him up and he rubbed his head against her chin. She pulled him back, rubbing her nose against his and he purred, rubbing back. Leonard frowned, jealous of a cat, then leaned over and kissed Jill’s cheek, the kitten swatted at him and hissed.

“Ungrateful little beast,” Leonard mumbled, and the kitten stared at him, unblinking.

“Fine, I’ll try harder,” Leonard replied, scratching it between its ears and it purred. “Right, come on, you’re going to be late for work.”

“Bollocks,” Jill squealed, jumping off the stool and handing the kitten to Leonard. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“He’ll be fine, he has his bed, food and drink.”

“Okay, bye, Fluffy, I’ll see you later,” Jill cooed, rubbing between his ears. Leonard rolled his eyes, lifted the cat away from him and stared it in the eyes.

“Behave, or I’ll take you back to the breeder,” he warned as he put it down. It trotted off back to its food dish and began to eat the kibble he’d put down for it. Quickly, Leonard washed her cup and glass, putting them on the drainer, then wrapped the toast he’d made for her in some kitchen roll. Leaving the kitchen, he pulled the door closed and headed after Jill, picking up his suit jacket and duster off the sofa and heading towards the front door. “Jill, I’ll be in the car,” he shouted up the stairs.

Chapter Twenty-Five

J ill sat on the sofa, the kitten on her lap, snoring. Leonard had picked her up from work and had then ordered them food. He’d refused fast food though, so had gone to pick them something up from Romano’s. How he’d gotten a posh restaurant to do take-out was beyond her. Weirdly enough, she’d found that the bleeding she’d suffered with this morning had vanished again. She definitely needed to make an appointment to see her doctor to discuss her pill, it had been so weird. The kitten purred and rolled over, and she laughed, sobering as a phone sounded from somewhere upstairs. Frowning, she put the kitten down, and went to investigate, positive it had come from her bedroom. She found Leonard’s phone, on the floor under the bed. She pulled it out and looked at it, finding it flashing, she contemplated checking it, but shrugging, went back downstairs.

*** 

Leonard had dropped Jill at work and had then gone home to change, before heading out to search for Maisie. He needed the threat gone, especially as he was contemplating asking Jill to move in with him. He’d found he didn’t like being away from her. When he’d come back with no leads, he’d given up and headed back, as it was close to the time that Jill finished work. He picked her up, took her home and then had spent an hour arguing with her over food. He’d won though, so was now on his way back with steak and duchess potatoes. He’d also made sure he’d taken extra blood before he’d left his house and had packed more than a flask. He didn’t want to risk taking anything else from Jill until he was sure she had no ill effects from his oversight this morning. He’d also lost his phone, where, he had no idea, but he’d tried ringing it from the restaurant with no joy. He’d have to contact his network provider from Jill’s, to see if they could arrange for a new one for him with the same number and block the old one. He couldn’t even remember if he’d had it on him when he’d gone looking for Maisie because his head was all over the place.

He’d started this thing with Jill, as just a means to an end, but somewhere along the line it had become more, much more. Now it had come to the crunch, he was going to have to try to read and control her, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be able to or not. If he could, it meant there was no way that he could stay with her, not long term anyway. If he couldn’t then it meant there was a chance for them, but he’d need her to accept him and the change. At this moment in time, he was unsure how it was going to go, or exactly how much to tell her because of it. If he could read her, he could tell her and if she didn’t take it well, he could wipe her, but would have to walk away. If he couldn’t, but she didn’t accept him or the change, he’d be unable to take it away so would need to call his parents or another vampire to fix it, but would still have to walk away. He found, for the first time in his long life, that he was truly scared and he didn’t like the feeling, not at all.

“I hope you’ve warmed the plates,” Leonard shouted, as he came through Jill’s front door. He nearly tripped over the kitten as he scampered over to him and wound around his legs. He put down the food containers and scooped it up, quickly shutting the door. “Hey kitty, have you been good?” he stroked between his soft ears and was rewarded with a purr.

“See, he’s getting used to you. I believe this is yours,” Jill said, holding out his phone as she came down the stairs.

“Where was it?” Swapping her the kitten for his phone, Leonard took it.

“It had fallen under the bed,” Jill replied. “I only found it because it began ringing.”

“Thank you,” he murmured, kissing her cheek. He then scooped up the food and urged her through to the kitchen with his hand to the small of her back. “I’ve been searching for it. I thought I was going to have to phone my provider,” he explained, putting the bags on the counter. Jill put the kitten in his bed, then washed her hands and reached for the plates. With a smile of thanks as she began dishing up, Leonard pressed play on his voice mail, hitting speaker without thinking. He heard it click in as he’s just stuck his hands under the water in the sink, after handling the kitten. He heard the message and then Jaden’s voice kicked in.

“Message received at 9.40am. Hey, runway boy, where are you, we have a bead on the psycho bitch. Call, when you get this.”

The message clicked off and the next one played.

“Message received at 6.45pm. We could do with your attendance. If you can make it, we’d really appreciate your help. The old psychiatric hospital, Upper Lunaton.”

Jill froze in the middle of putting out their food. Just when Leonard thought he could probably explain it away the voice mail continued, and others could be heard talking to Jaden in the background.

“But he’s back in Lower Lunaton.”

“Not if he’s with his date, she lives here in Upper Lunaton.”

They could hear movement and the rustling of clothing and then Jaden spoke up again. “Okay, we’re ready to go,” followed by lots of murmurs. Then he spoke up again, clearly.

“Come on Sophia,” his voice muffled and then became clear again, more rustling could be heard followed by a clanking sound.

“Are you okay, you seem miles away?” A female voice then spoke up, soft but full of strength.

“I’m just working through my arsenal, that’s all.” Then yet another voice could be heard, and at this point Leonard had turned off the tap and wiped his hands. He closed his eyes in frustration at his own stupidity at not checking before he hit speaker, because Jill was now looking at him as if he was the devil incarnate.

“Aunt Sophia, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing I’m fine.”

“You were biting your thumb nail.”

“I was wondering if I could get Maisie to tell me what sort of curse she’d used on Luc… and Adlucinor, of course.” “You know, to see if we could remove them.” By this point Jill had worked out that there were two women and a couple of men. Then the first man spoke up again.

“I’m hoping you don’t get close enough to her to be able to ask her that.”

“Aunt Sophia, promise me you won’t do anything stupid here?” The second female could be heard sounding worried and the first answered.

“Fine, I won’t, but this could be our only chance to find a way to break them of their curses.”

“I for one will live with my curse.” A new male voice could be heard now and even Leonard frowned. “I’m sure this Luc person will too. It is far more important to rid the earth of her evil than to be free from a curse. To live with the thought that other lives have been lost due to my own selfish needs would be far harder to take.” Jill gasped at this. They were talking about killing someone and curses and arsenals. Did they have weapons, and if so what did Leonard have to do with all this. Then the first woman spoke.

“I will not give up though. I will find another way.” Then it went quiet, rustling and shuffling and then the voicemail just ended. She stared at Leonard as he finally picked up his phone and switched it off.

“I can explain,” he told Jill, hand out, reaching for her, but she shook her head and took a step back, folding her arms.

“Please don’t touch me.”

“Fine, can we sit down so I can explain?” She nodded, not trusting herself to speak and headed back into the front room. Leonard followed on her heels, swearing up a blue streak in his head. He was going to kill Jaden when he got his hands on him later, because if he’d checked his phone was off before he’d carried on, he wouldn’t now be here. He’d could have explained it all to Jill in his own way at his own pace. He refused to think that he wouldn’t have to explain anything if he’d just listened to it without the speaker.

He was an idiot.

Chapter Twenty-Six

L eonard watched Jill’s rigid back as he followed her into her front room, but his hopes flat lined as she headed for the single armchair. Sighing, he took of his leather jacket, and sat on the edge of the sofa, hands dangling between his knees as he faced her.

“I take it you have a few questions?”

“You think?” she sputtered staring at him incredulously, her knees tucked beneath her chin, arms wrapped around them. In that moment, she was showing him that she needed space.

“Jill, I…” he sighed, a hand rubbing his forehead as he tried to find the right words. She dropped her lashes, refusing to meet his imploring gaze. His eyes slit and he stared at her forehead, all he got back was radio silence, nothing, zip, he was speechless. She was a possible mate for him.

“Fuck,” he sighed.

“No chance buddy, now spit it out already. There is no way you are going to distract me with sex,” Jill growled, and he had to drop his head, her tone making him smile despite himself. She’d thought he’d meant he wanted to fuck her, well, he wasn’t averse to that, but he really didn’t think it was on offer. If he couldn’t sort out this mess, it may never be again. His chest squeezed at the thought.

“Do you want the condensed version or the whole thing?”

“Condensed, if I have questions, I’ll ask, and be quick, I’m not getting any younger here,” she pointed out.

Leonard shook his head, because never a truer word had been spoken.

“Do you remember when we met, and you asked about the teeth and eyes?”

“Yes, a family trait…”

“Yes, but it’s a little more than that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked her chin rubbing over her knees.

“It’s a species thing,” he explained and she snorted.

“Please, are you back to the vampire thing?”

“I’ve told you the truth Jill, I am a vampire,” Leonard told her.

“Fine, turn into a bat then,” she told him, eyes slit.

“This is real life, not a bloody movie. Vampires do not shift shape, only shape shifters can do that,” he informed her.

“Oh, so there are shape shifters now too?”

“Yes, the people you’ve just heard talking, they are friends. Jaden is a black jaguar, as is his younger brother Balin, and Balin’s step father Sam. Maya is now too, as she’s bound to Jaden. Her mother Helena is a phoenix, but as she’s bound to Sam, I’m not sure if she’ll ever shift shape or if she’ll stay phoenix. Sophia, the other you heard talking the one about arsenal,” he stopped as Jill snorted

“They shift shape, but need weapons,” she sneered.

“No, shifters have natural weapons, like speed, powerful bodies, and razor sharp nails and teeth. Well as long as they are cat breads, bears and the like.

“Of course, carry on,” she waved a hand towards him then placed it back under her chin.

“Sophia is a witch, the arsenal she’ll be talking about are spells and runes.”

“Of course, stupid me, and what’s Luc, a fairy?”

“No, Luc is a gargoyle, they are earthbound angels, guardians, which is why he has wings and can fly.”

“Obviously,” Jill murmured, with a roll of her eyes. “Are there others?”

“There are also grizzlies, Adam and Nathan, they are twins, there are leopards, and of course werewolves, Douglas is the alpha in Lower Lunaton and married to Agatha another witch.”

“Well, obviously, because, I mean, the witch has to be married to the alpha werewolf, that’s the law, right.”

“Don’t be facetious, I’m trying to explain this to you.”

“Okay, fine, tell me about vampires Leonard. How old are you?”

“I was born January 1st 1547 in Herefordshire. My father is…”

“Yes a Duke, a relative to the queen,” Jill interrupted him. “So, is the queen a vampire too?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Okay, continue, tell me how you became a vampire?”

“I didn’t become a vampire; I was born one.”

“Of course, silly me. So, Vampires are born not made, so you can’t bite me and I become one?”

“You can, but it’s not a quick thing. It takes a few months of mates drinking from each other for you to become one, but there are limits on a made vampire.”

“And they are?”

“A made vampire cannot bite donors.”

“Donors, do you mean people you take blood from?”

“Yes, but not always, most of the time we drink bagged blood.”

“Of course, otherwise people would be screaming and coming for you with pitchforks. Continue,” she waved him on.

“No, because a made vampire would hurt a donor. We do not harm.”

“Biting a donor would harm them?’

“No, but if a made vampire bit one it would hurt them, these teeth are not exactly thin. Could you imagine someone sinking their teeth into you, it would hurt. A born vampire, whether male or female is born with a pudenal gland that makes oxytocin.”

“The chemical that is produced during an orgasm?”

“Yes, exactly. When a born vampire bites, they excrete oxytocin through their teeth, therefore causing instant orgasm in their donors. The pleasure masks the pain, it’s a way to pay for the gift given to us, but made vampires don’t have this ability.”

“Gift?’

“Yes, blood is a gift, we need it to survive.”

“You die without it?”

“No, humans would die if we didn’t get it.”

“Why?’

“Everyone grows through cell regeneration,” he waited until she nodded. “We need blood for our cell regeneration. With us, the cells don’t copy they replace, like stem cells, so we don’t age past maturity.”

“Neat trick, so why do you have this capability and not humans?”

“We all started from the same microorganisms, it’s just that some of us evolved a little differently.”

“So, you aren’t supernatural beings?”

“No, just immortal.”

“So why is it important to humans that you get blood?”

“Because it’s painful if we don’t get it. We need it for the cell replacement. Our bodies use it to help us do everything, from eat to drink, walk, and a few other tricks we have. If we need it and it’s not available, our bodies take over, and then it can get nasty, we are then classed as rogue. Nature gave us the capabilities to get it without harming, but if push comes to shove, our bodies take over and we can kill.”

“You said you have capabilities, like what?”

“We are fast, I’m talking really fast. We can also read minds and alter perceptions.”

“Have you done this to me?”

“No, I can’t”

“Why?’

“Because you are a possible mate.”

“Lucky me, have you bitten me?” He actually blushed at this, and her eyes slit.

“The restaurant, the sofa, the bed, the… Oh, my god, how many times have you bitten me?” she growled.

“A few,” he admitted.

“Why? and why do I not have marks?”

“I’d forgotten my blood and I didn’t want to harm anyone. As for the marks, in our saliva is a special kind of… glue, I suppose is the only way to explain it. It helps to seal the wound, but we need to lick first to excrete it, then sucking it afterwards really seals it up. It works like a zip lock, no marks left behind, completely re-sealed.”

“So that’s why I’ve not seen any marks. But this morni…” she went quiet thinking about the shower incident, and the weird bleed she’d had that stopped as soon as it had started.

“You bit my vagina?” she squealed at him and he nodded and her mouth slashed with displeasure.

“You need to leave, and you are not welcome back in here again. I remove my offer to come here, which means you can’t get in again. You are uninvited.”

“Jill, I don’t need an invitation, I’m human like you. I just have a few extra talents.”

“You need to leave, you need to leave now, I do not want to talk to you. I don’t believe you, it’s preposterous, it’s impossible, and you need to make an appointment and go and talk to someone.”

“Jill, I…”

“Leave, leave now Leonard, I do not want to speak to you again.”

Sighing, he pushed up and looked to her but she shook her head. He bent down and picked up his jacket, slipped his arms in and then went to the kitchen and grabbed his phone off the side. Holding it in his hand, he walked out of the door, closing it behind him.

“Bollocks,” he fumed as he got into his car. He’d give her a few days to cool off and then he’d approach her again. Hopefully, she’d be more receptive if given time. For now, he needed to find the old asylum and try to see if he could help his friends, it was still light out, but not for long.

He got in the car, and once again looked towards Jill’s, then turned over the engine and pulled away from the kerb.

The first tears fell as she heard the car start up, then they fell freely after she heard it pull away.

Why did she always fall for the crazies?

Shifters, vampires, witches and gargoyles, he was obviously delusional.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Monday morning, two days later: -

J ill sat at her desk, tapping information into her computer, using a little more force than necessary.

“Right, I’ve had enough. I can’t think with your foul mood, now tell me what the hell is going on?” Thomas asked appearing in his office doorway with a scowl on his face. Jill jumped, scowled back, then her shoulders dropped as she saw the signs of fatigue in her boss’s face. He had shadows beneath his eyes as he ran an agitated hand through his un unruly strawberry blond hair. He’d been so busy with his patients and being called away from the office that the man probably hadn’t had time to sleep.

“I’m sorry Thomas,” she sighed. “Can I get you a coffee?” she asked getting up from her desk and moving towards the small drinks machine in the corner.

“Yes,” he murmured around another yawn, stretching in the doorway. “Then you are going to get in here and tell me what’s happened to turn you into such a grouch.” With that, he moved back into his office and left her to make their drinks.

Mumbling under her breath, Jill poured two coffees, Thomas’s black and hers extra milky. She carried them into his office and found him sat on his low sofa, legs up and head resting on the arm.

“Sit,” he told her, pointing to the leather armchair in the corner and holding out his hand for his coffee.

Jill handed him his drink and put her own on the edge of his overflowing desk, full of paperwork and files. His stethoscope on top of a file, the ear pieces hanging off the corner.

“Right, now tell me what’s going on, so I can get a nap in before I’m due in surgery this afternoon.” With that he blew on his coffee and took a sip, craning his neck to reach it from where he cradled it on his chest.

“Leonard,” she hissed.

“What’s he done?”

“He’s… he’s…” she sputtered, unsure how to continue. I mean, Thomas knew him, but did he really know him? Did he know what he was? She bit her lip as she reached for her coffee, taking a long swallow as she worked out what to say.

“Come on Jill, spit it out, I’m losing valuable sleep time here. Just tell me what he’s done,” he murmured taking another sip of his coffee with a sigh of satisfaction. He put the cup on the floor beside the sofa and then leaned back, his amber gaze now trained on her.

Sheesh, did the man not blink?

He watched her, his staring, unblinking gaze disconcerting and making her fidget where she sat. Feeling like a bug under a microscope.

“Jill?” he sighed.

“You know Leonard, right?”

“Yes, I know Leonard,” he told her carefully, frowning now.

“Do you know, know him, or is he just an acquaintance?” Jill asked, sitting forward and biting her lip, hands twisting in her lap. Thomas’s eyes slit, and he pushed himself up, swinging his legs around and now looking very much awake.

“Explain exactly what you mean?” Thomas asked her, his gaze now trained on her, unwavering.

“Just how well do you know him?’ she asked, unable to let the cat out of the bag if he didn’t know. I mean, the man was a doctor, he could have her strapped into an unflattering and uncomfortable jacket, and have her on the psych ward before she finished the sentence.

“I know him very well, I know all about him,” Thomas told her carefully, watching her.

“You know that he’s a… a…” she hissed, her top teeth showing as she pretended to bite. She rolled her eyes feeling stupid, but didn’t know how else to do it. She could not bring herself to say the words. His eyebrow rose and he blinked, sitting back, and groaning. Jill threw her hands up in the air before covering her face and flopping in her seat. “You didn’t know, did you?” She mumbled from behind her hands.

“I can’t hear you.” Thomas replied dryly from his seat.

“I said, you didn’t know, did you?” She repeated, her head now bowed as her hands dropped and went back to twisting in her lap. “I’ll have to ring him, he’ll have to come here and sort this mess out,” she sighed. “I’m sorry for getting you into this Thomas, but I’m afraid you can’t leave just yet,” she told him forlornly, from her seat. “I knew I shouldn’t have opened my mouth, now I’ve gotten you mixed up in the middle of this. For that, I am truly sorry,” she told him sadly, her head snapping up when he began laughing.

“If you mean he’s a vampire, yes I know. You’re okay Jill, you don’t have to set him on me,” he told her dryly, shaking his head. Then, he began to laugh again, his shoulders shaking with mirth.

“It’s not funny,” she hissed. “Hang on, what do you mean, you know he’s a vampire?” she asked him suspiciously, her own eyes slitting now as she stared at him. His eyebrow rose as he stared back, not breaking their connection as he bent and picked up his coffee. Her eyes widened as they lifted to his mane of hair and then back to his eyes.

“Bollocks, you’re a shifter, aren’t you,” she told him in disgust, then snorted as he just grinned at her and drank his coffee.

“You do know that can’t be real, don’t you?” she told him. “I mean it was a stretch to believe his ramblings about vampires, but he’d bitten me several times at that point so it was a little hard to refute,” she waved her hand as if a done deal.

Thomas just nodded as he drank his coffee and then pulled his mobile phone out of his scrubs pocket. Dialling and lifting it to his ear as it was answered.

“I think you are going to be needed here, in about, oh, 5-minutes.” He went quiet and listened to whatever was said on the other end of the phone.

“God, you are going to have me sectioned, aren’t you?” Jill wailed, but she shut up, her mouth dropping open in shock at his next words.

“I think she will need help as I’m about to save your arse.” Thomas told whoever was on the other end of the phone. He then closed it and put it down on the sofa beside him. Sighing, he picked up his coffee and quickly emptied it in a large swallow, before moving across the room. He put his cup down on his desk, then turned to Jill. He held out a hand, and she took it, frowning as he helped her up from her seat. Next, he walked her over to the sofa, and encouraged her to sit down, patting her knee, once she was seated.

Jill sat there, staring at Thomas, her mind sluggish as she tried to figure out what was going on. Was he just humouring her, keeping her here until they came to take her to the psych ward, because she wouldn’t blame him. I mean, who blurts out words like shifters, and vampires.

I’ve lost the plot.

Then her mind shut down completely as she gasped, staring in shock at Thomas, or what had been Thomas just a minute ago. Now, in his place stood a lion, a big fucking lion, complete with mane and intelligent amber eyes. It stared at her unblinking and she squeaked, the only sound she managed as she scrambled back on the sofa, spluttering and tugging her knees up. Rolling her eyes, I mean what did she thing that was going to achieve. He could still reach her and bite her in half, his head was higher than the sofa, he wasn’t a fucking house cat after all. And thinking about it, even a house cat could get her as they jumped.

Shit, did lions jump?  

Her eyes snapped to the very large; actually, obscenely, large cat. The office door slammed open and the lion turned, a snarl leaving it as it dropped back, front end lower and tail swishing in agitation. Jill covered her eyes as he turned, because all his wedding tackle was hanging down, and swaying there for all to see.

God, I’ll never be able to look him in the eye again.

“Really, Thomas, this is your bright idea? Look at her, she’s basically catatonic,” Leonard growled angrily. He pushed past the lion, who made a rumbling sound as it backed up further as he came fully into the room and closed the door again.

As Jill stared unblinkingly, the lion contorted, bones popping and fur vanishing, until Thomas; the man, once again stood there. Her startled eyes jumped to Leonard as he made a noise in the back of his throat. He was now by her side, his eyes shooting daggers at Thomas who now stood with his very human hands in his pockets.

I’m so screwed, because, we are definitely not, alone.

“Jill, baby… I’m,” Leonard went quiet as she held a hand up.

“Excuse me… Just, for a min…” Jill murmured, just as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she began to fall forwards.

“Shit!” Leonard muttered, jumping and grabbing her before she hit the floor, scooping her up and into his arms. He then sat on the sofa, an unconscious Jill now in his lap.

Thomas crouched before them, finger to the pulse in her neck, counting.

“She’s just fainted,” he told Leonard.

“You think!” Leonard snarled. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I thought I was saving your arse. She thought you were a mental case,” Thomas told him dryly.

“I’d rather she thought that than this,” Leonard sputtered, his chin bobbing towards a motionless Jill, who lay across his lap.

“Yes, but at least she no longer thinks you’re a basket case.”

“No, now she knows that there really are shifters, and Thomas, I can’t take it from her. I can’t read or control her,” Leonard hissed.

“Bollocks,” Thomas murmured, straightening, and running a hand around the back of his neck.

“It’s not your fault. She’s my mate, my other half. Damn, I never thought I’d get to this point,” Leonard told him in surprise. His eyes then dropped to Jill, watching her chest rise and fall in wonder. “I’m just not sure she’ll ever get passed it though, past all the immortality stuff.”

“Take her home, I’ll stick the phone through to reception.” Thomas told him, and Leonard nodded, standing with her still in his arms. “Just use your whammy if anyone stops you in the corridor.”

“Thomas?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for trying, at least.” Leonard told him with a sad smile.

“I wish you well, I hope you can work it out.”

With that, Leonard left his office, picking Jill’s bag up from her own office on the way through.

“Oh, and Leonard,” he turned, looking at Thomas who stood at his office doorway.

“Congratulations, I like her.”

“I’m so glad,” Leonard told him drolly, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, but I also get to keep my secretary, double bonus,” Thomas grinned. Then laughed as Leonard flipped him the birdie with the hand presently holding Jill under her thighs. With a shake of his head, he made his way up the corridor, and not one person saw or stopped them as they didn’t see them. He had her out of the building and into the car within a heartbeat.

After a sleepless couple of nights, after leaving her and helping his friends clean up after the whole Maisie incident; a whole other story. Well, he’d had enough. Everyone was loved up in Lower Lunaton, well either that, or on the mend. He couldn’t be around them, so had spent the weekend rattling around his house. He’d even phoned his mother to get her advice. She’d told him to grow as set and go get his mate, as it was past time that he settled down, and to bring her to visit once sorted. Then, she’d told him she was on her way to the opera and she’d speak soon. No help there then. Even his housekeeper had walked out and told him to ring her once he’d sorted his life out, so that’s how he’d ended up here.

He’d been on his way to have it out with her at work, as she’d told him not to come to her house. He’d just turned into the car park of Upper Lunaton General; where she worked, when Thomas had rung. Which meant, the engine had been off and he’d been at Thomas’s office door within minutes. Being a vampire had its advantages; especially, the prenatural speed.

Sighing, he looked to Jill who was still out of it. He then turned the heating up in the car to keep her warm as he waited for her to come around. In the meantime, he tried to work out what he’d say to her. For the first time in his long life, he’d found something that could make or break his immortality for him. It may be nice living, well, forever in some cases, but being alone, also had its downside. He’d lost count of how many nights he’d spent that way - probably a triple

lifespan of an average human. After a while you could become withdrawn, even from your family. Living on the fringe of society, but by your own rules. That’s where the problem of rogues normally came from, immortals who’d spent too long on their own. They basically committed suicide by killing. It was one sure fire way of having your long life ended. Rogue immortals, whether shifter, fae or vampire, could not be allowed, as it endangered them all. It was down to other immortals to police themselves to keep their secrets, as humans did not have the capabilities to end them.

Jill lay on the warm seat of Leonard’s Maserati pretending to still be out of it. She kept her breathing light as she tried to work out how she felt.

Was she scared?

Of Leonard, no, not even a little.

Of being without him, of never seeing him again?

Most definitely.

How had he gotten under her skin so fast?

“Jill, I know you’re awake, I heard the change in your heartbeat and respiration.”

“Of course you did Drac,” she drawled in disgust. Pushing herself up in the passenger seat, and tucking the hair that had fallen out of her topknot behind her ear.

“Are you ready to talk yet?” Leonard asked.

“How about you take me to pick up Fluffy-Jay. Then take me to yours and to bed, and then ask me?”

“Before or after I’ve been inside and all over you?” Leonard asked.

“Hmm, probably after, I’ll be in a much more receptive mood after an orgasm,” she told him primly.

“I think I can do better than just one,” he drawled, putting the car in gear and tearing out of the car park.

“Are you in a hurry?” Jill asked, grabbing onto the dash board as there was no ‘oh shit bar’ fitted before her.

“Yes, most assuredly,” Leonard laughed, prising her hand off the dashboard and pulling it over to him. He leaned over and kissed her palm, before placing it below his on the gear stick.

Epilogue

J ill stood with Leonard at the door of his friggin mansion. I mean, it wasn’t; more Country Manor, but compared to her place it most definitely was.

“Stop staring,” Leonard whispered.

“I can’t help it, it’s huge. I hit the jackpot. I fell in love with an honest to god, rich sugar daddy,” Jill laughed.

“I’m not your sugar daddy,” Leonard growled as Luc took off.

“Yes, you are, your absolutely ancient,” Jill replied, watching Luc head over the trees. “So that’s Luc?”

“Yes, and I’m very proud of you,” Leonard told her. Squeezing her side as he held her to him and moved her through the lobby.

“What are you proud of?” Jill asked, staring at the marble flooring again as he took her with him up the stairs.

“You didn’t pass out when you saw that my housekeep is a troll, or that Luc has wings and fangs.”

“Ha-ha-ha, very funny sugar daddy,” she shot back, nudging him in the side. “Where are we going?” she asked looking around.

“Well, as I’m the sugar daddy, I thought it was about time you paid me with your body,” Leonard told her turning, eyes sparkling as he flashed his fangs.

“No, no biting,” she laughed as he nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll let you bite me too.”

“Ooh, in that case, catch me if you can,” Jill laughed, dodging around him and taking off up the corridor.

“I do believe you are caught,” Leonard whispered in her ear as he scooped her off her feet and kept running.

Jill hung on, laughing as he pushed open his bedroom door. Then, slammed it shut and locked it behind them.

“Why did you lock the door?” she asked, nibbling his neck and making him groan as she sank her teeth into his shoulder.

“I don’t want the housekeeper walking in on us.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever get use to a woman having a beard,” she shook her head at that one. “Plus, she’s not due back until tomorrow morning and it’s only 3pm now.”

“Exactly,” Leonard told her, heading towards the bed and dropping her onto it, coming down on top of her.

“You mean to keep me in bed until tomorrow.”

“Oh yes, I have lots of time to make up,” he told her earnestly, reaching for the hem of her jumper, she’d changed into when they’d picked Fluffy up.

“We were only apart for two days.”

“It felt longer,” he admitted.

“For me too,” she told him. “Leo, I do love you, fangs and all,” he grinned.

“I love you too, smart mouth and all.”

“Luc let you off for breaking the 5-dates rule?” he nodded. “You’re lucky because technically, we only had about 3-dates,” Jill sighed as she lifted her arms so he could remove her jumper.

“No, I’m counting the chippy after the pub the first night as 2-dates.”

“That’s cheating,” she told him, sighing as he kissed between her breasts.

“No, it’s not, I had to eat chippy chips Jill, it’s miraculous,” he told her raising his head from her belly and resting his chin on her.

“And where did these other dates come from?”

“The restaurant,” he told her.

“No, that was after the ballet.”

“Yes it was, 2-dates in one, aren’t I clever,” he blew a raspberry on her stomach and made her laugh.

“Stop it, I’ll pee,” she squealed and he laughed.

“Ooh, it’s been a while since I’ve had a golden shower.” He chuckled as she wrinkled her nose, and he blew another raspberry on her.

“Stop it, I give up, I give up, we’ve had 5-dates, your right. I’m sorry, I surrender,” she cried with laughter.

“So is it going to be this easy for me to get you to accept the change?” he asked, pushing himself up and straddling her legs so she couldn’t escape. He pulled his own jumper off and threw it on the floor to join hers where it had landed as it had slid off the bed.

“You want to change me?” Jill asked.

“Yes, well, no, not change you per se. I just want to make you immortal.” Leonard told her, flicking the front catch on her bra and brushing the material to one side. He then stared at her breasts, before groaning and covering them with his palms, kneading and plumping the soft globes. Her back bowed beneath him and he grinned, bending forward and brushing his mouth over hers. “I don’t want to change you; I just don’t want to lose you. Plus, once you are changed

you’ll be able to feed from me,” he told her, against her mouth.

“Really, like blood?” her nose wrinkled.

“Yes, blood, you won’t think of it the same once you are changed. But, there is a down side,” he warned her.

“What?” she asked, her back bowing again as he sat up and again covered her breasts.

“You can’t bite donors only me, like I told you,” he told her.

“Why?”

“Because you will be a made vampire, your body will not produce the oxytocin that natural born vampires produce.”

“I won’t be able to make you orgasm with a bite?” she asked him with a pout.

“I think you probably could,” he grinned. “If you bite in the right place,” he waggled his eyebrows and she laughed. “The other thing is we’ll be able to communicate with each other once you make the change.”

“I thought it was only shifters who could do that?” He’d spent time discussing the others in detail after they’d made love the first time after settling Fluffy-Jay in a rather large kitchen.

“No, shifters can communicate anytime, even before they are bound. Vampires can only communicate once they share blood. At first, only when doing so, but after the full change and they take blood from each other regularly, the bond grows stronger. Eventually, they too can communicate anytime telepathically.”

“Blood bond, I like the idea of that,” Jill smiled, her arms winding around his head, holding him to her.

“Jill, you’ll have to stop seeing your human friends eventually,” Leonard hating to tell her, but refused to discuss the change without her knowing all the facts.

“Why? Oh, because they’ll notice I’m not aging,” she murmured and he nodded.

“Can’t I just get one of the witches to tattoo a spell on me, so they think I’m aging?” Leonard blinked at this, because he’d never thought of it.

“Have I told you that I love your mind?”

“No you haven’t, but thank you for telling me. I love that you felt the need to warn me, and not just do it without making me aware.”

“I’ll always tell you the truth,” he told her, leaning down and again kissing her.

“I know, you always have. Even if I thought you were just yanking my chain,” she told him on a sigh as he lifted himself of her, and pushed up from the bed.

“We’ll speak to Agatha about the spell tattoo,” he told her, toeing off his shoes, and undoing his jeans, pushing them down his legs and stepping out of them.

Jill lay on the bed and watched, eyes slumberous, then sputtered and squealed as he took hold of her foot and dragged her across the bed. He undid her pants and pulled both those and her knickers down, dropping them on the floor. Then he grinned as he pushed her legs apart and crawled up her body, lying between her now spread thighs.

“So, this biting,” he murmured, nuzzling into her breasts.

“Hmm, I’m sure I can think of somewhere you’ll enjoy it,” she murmured as he took a nipple into his mouth and tugged.

“I’m sure you will, now come for me,” he told her as he bit into her breasts, flicking her nipple with his tongue as he fed.

Jill’s back bowed beneath him as his bite threw her into an instant orgasm. Leonard used her release to slide into her body, groaning at the tight fit as her internal muscles pulsed around him, squeezing. He gave a final suck, and then pulled his teeth out of her breast, licking and sucking the skin to seal it.

“Fuck me, warn me next time,” Jill panted, still shaking from her release.

“I thought I was,” Leonard told her as he began to move inside her body, “fucking you that is. Now, hold on tight,” he grinned, as he pushed up to his knees, and tugged her into his lap, still moving in and out of her body.

“Is that your idea of foreplay?” Jill asked, wiggling in his lap until she could wrap her legs around his waist.

“No, this is called taking the edge off,” he told her on a grunt, as she bit his shoulder and dug her nails into his back as she rocked on him. “I love you,” he whispered as he pulled her onto him, and felt her muscles once again tighten around him.

“For an eternity,” Jill told him as she ran her tongue over his shoulder before biting deeper, making him hiss and then groan as her blunt teeth cut through his skin. As the first drop of his blood coated her tongue she heard his voice in her head.

“You are mine now, no going back, my immortal flame. The tinder to my fire.”

“As you are mine,” she whispered back into his mind.

About the author

me and dudz banner picJF Holland is a stay at home wife and mum with six children and a menagerie of animals. She still lives in her small home town of Partington, in Manchester (UK), where she was born, raised and attended school. She’s always had a love of romance books and spent a lot of time as a child re-writing the fairy stories she read. She also confused the hell out her children as they grew and learned to read themselves. The stories read to them growing up never matched the books she'd read from. 

She can be contacted through her Facebook page at:-

http://www.facebook.com/JFHollandRomanceWriter

http://www.twitter.com/JFHollandwriter

Website http://jf-holland-romance-author/

Or

You can e-mail her at: jfholland_author@aol.co.uk

Message from the Author: -

This is the 1st book in my new paranormal Spin-off series, from The Bound Series, ‘Eternal Mates’. Although there is some cross over between the series, it’s still a series in its own right. I was first given the idea for Eternal Mates as I began writing The Bound Series. So many immortals, not all bound and I thought, there must be something they can do to find mates. After all, not all immortal’s mates are born for them; like the shifters. So, the idea of a dating site solely for immortals was born.

If you’d like to read the Bound Series, Jaden and Maya's story began in book 1, 'Moon Sworn.’

I also write Contemporary Romance: -

Read on for the first chapter of Book 1’The Only One’ part of The Dennison Property Story Series. My first release, which came out in July 2015

Chapter One

K itty Phillips sighed as she finally stepped out of the lift and arrived at the work area she shared with Audrey Bennet, Blake Dennison’s administrative assistant. She was tired, dishevelled, and immensely pleased to have gotten there in one piece. Audrey appeared behind her, out of the toilets.

“You’re looking a little worse for wear,” she sympathetically told Kitty, as she sat down at her desk.

“The bus turned up early, and I had to run for it in the rain,” Kitty grumbled, blowing out a breath. “I had to stand up because it was packed, got coughed and sneezed on by a man who was obviously ill. Then, just for giggles, the driver allowed more people on the already over-crowded bus,” she said in disgust. Then turning she headed towards her own desk. 

Just as she was about to boot up her computer, raised voices could be heard coming from behind Blake’s office door. She raised a querying brow at Audrey, who just shrugged her shoulders. 

***

Blake had been scrutinizing details on his latest deal when Natalia Jenson stormed unannounced, into his office.  The Icelandic blonde paced around shouting in both Swedish and English, her arms waving around like a windmill, as she gesticulated wildly.

He looked on in stunned disbelief when it suddenly went quiet, so quiet in fact that his ears began to ring. She sucked in air, and opened her mouth to start again, when Blake snapped out of his dazed stupor. Angrily, he pushed his chair back, stood up, and slammed his hands down on his desk, gaining her stunned attention.

“Out!” he furiously shouted at her, his own anger rousing his indignation. He didn’t have a clue who she thought she was, but how dare she come into his office without an invitation. She was making a spectacle of them both in his place of work, and he was livid.

He’d not laid eyes on her since he’d stupidly taken her to a fundraising event a couple of months ago. Afterwards, he’d walked away, not taking her up on her obvious invitation. God, he was bored, even sex had lost its appeal these days. It had become an unsatisfying release with undeniably beautiful women, but they’d all become interchangeable. Who’d all begun to blur together in his mind, none of them especially memorable, or appealing for that matter. Where was the challenge? He needed something more, someone who could stimulate his brain as well as his body.

He sighed wearily at the whole sorry mess.

"But...," she began to wheedle, rolling her rounded hips in an exaggerated fashion, while slowly making her way over to him; her hands held out before her imploringly.     

"No, I don’t want to hear it," Blake told her through clenched teeth, as she again tried to speak. "I thought you’d have gotten the message when I dropped you off and didn’t call again!"

She didn’t move as he uttered this. Just stared at him, blinking in bewilderment as if she couldn’t comprehend what was happening. 

He sighed again, "Just leave, we’re through. I’m sorry, but we’re over." 

Her bottom lip wobbled, and he tutted impatiently, fed up with her theatrics.  Gesturing with his head towards the door, Blake waited, but when she still didn’t move his patience ran out completely. Stomping past her, he yanked the door open himself and motioned for her to leave.

***

In the outer office, Kitty turned back to Audrey in query when Blake’s office door was suddenly snatched open, making them both jump as it hit the wall. There, holding it open, stood a stony-faced Blake himself. All six-foot-three inches of him, and it was all positively vibrating with anger.  His square jaw was locked, a tick beginning in his cheek.

Man, he did the tall dark, brooding, and gorgeous male to perfection. Kitty froze in shock at her thoughts, where the hell had that come from? But then it turned to annoyance as her heart sped up like a freight train in her chest. She stood blankly staring at Blake, confused by her reaction. Unsure how to handle it, what to do, or to think?

A stunning blonde brushed passed him, and Kitty turned away, wanting to ignore the scene before; both internally, and with Blake. Well, until he spoke.

“Kitty, please escort Miss Jenson down to the lobby, and make sure security has her removed from the premises, will you?” With that, he turned on his heel, and went back into his office, slamming his door shut in the face of the three speechless women. The loud bang of the door reverberated around the deathly, silent office.

Kitty walked slowly towards the woman, running a hand nervously down her skirt, she cleared her throat.

“This way please, Miss Jenson,” she said, leading her towards the lift.  Letting out a relieved breath as she quietly followed her inside. She’d been expecting a scene, but it seemed the woman had deflated somewhat, in the face of Blake’s rejection.           

Miss Jenson leaned carelessly against the elevator wall, arms crossed as she watched the floor’s countdown. She impatiently tapped the toe of one of her excessively high heels as Kitty watched her nervously from the corner of her eye.

Ted from security, stepped forward as the lift doors opened. He gestured with his arm towards the revolving door, and she flounced past Kitty and him. Sweeping out of the building, in a cloud of indignation and heavy perfume, making Kitty roll her eyes. She gave Ted a strained smile, just as the doors closed on her again, leaving her alone with her thoughts. 

She had a few appointments to clarify with Blake, and a mid-morning meeting to sort out. Blowing out a breath, she tutted, as she caught sight of her reflection in the floor length, chromed mirror. Several strands of her hair had escaped their confinement.  Quickly, she undid a couple of pins, re-twisted her hair with her hands, and clipped it back into tidy order. She’d just slipped the last pin in place as the doors opened again on her floor, and she stepped out. 

Kitty dropped wearily into her seat, putting her coat over the back of the chair behind her. Blowing out another weary breath as she did so, while Audrey made sympathetic noises from her own desk.

“Well, that was a good start to the day!” she mumbled, grumpily. 

Audrey burst out laughing as she looked at her computer screen. Kitty shook her head in bewilderment, the woman found something funny in most all situations. It was damn near impossible to ruffle her feathers, as she had a backbone of steel, with a sharp, quick mind. She also had a good heart, and Kitty was extremely fond of her. 

Wiggling her toes under the table, Kitty grimaced and removed one of the new flats she’d purchased for work. They looked nicer than they felt, and mentally promised her feet a good soaking after work to make up for the abuse they’d received. As she slipped her foot back in, she caught sight of Audrey out of the corner of her eye, doctoring two coffees. She placed one down on Kitty’s desk before moving back across the room to her own.  Slipping back into her chair, Audrey sighed with pleasure, after taking a fortifying sip of the warm, aromatic drink.

“Now that’s why I’m an administrative assistant and not a PA. All I do now is type, file and field a few calls. I no longer have to handle the aftermath of his little affairs,” she said. Then winked at Kitty’s startled expression, laughing openly with derision, before sobering and taking another sip.  “One day, you’ll learn to let it all just sail over your head,” she told her sympathetically. Then put down her cup and continued with her work, a smile playing on her lips.

Blake isn’t bad to work for, Kitty thought. He wasn’t abusive or overly friendly; which was a bonus. She’d been around a few of those in her twenty-seven-years. On the downside, the man was handsome as sin and had women falling over themselves to get into his bed. Unfortunately, part of her job was fielding his calls and deciding whom to, or not to put through to him. Dependant on who was the flavour of the month of course, she thought disgustedly.

Then came purchasing the, ‘kiss off’ gift, once the affair ended of course; which they always did.  Kitty then realised that hadn’t happened in the last couple of months. Oh, the calls still came in with nauseating regularity, but he hadn’t requested any purchases to be made, or sent on his behalf in a while. Not that she was interested in his sex life, she really wasn’t. She finally had a new relationship of her own, the first one she’d had in two whole years.

A few weeks ago, she’d attended a fundraiser for spinal damage research, a charity which Audrey’s husband Dan, headed. He’d taken up the mantel after being involved in a car accident several years ago that had left him in a wheelchair. Kitty had spent most of the evening staring in sick fascination at Blake’s date. Funnily enough, the very woman who’d just been thrown out of the building. The woman had spent her whole evening trying to keep her breasts from spilling out of her too low, too short and too tight dress.

Lance Edmonton had stopped her on her way back from the toilets. He’d struck up a conversation, showing his interest in her, and then followed it up with pursuing her persistently; and flatteringly, for over a fortnight afterwards.  Kitty found Lance to be witty and articulate, and although he was as handsome as Blake, his looks subtler, pretty even. Where Blake’s was rougher, his features sculptured, honed and wholly masculine, he was arresting to look at. Although they both had height, Lance was thinner, built more like a runner, to Blake’s width and muscle, along bodybuilder proportions; especially his arms and shoulders. Kitty had finally agreed to a date with him, much to Blake’s annoyance. He’d tried talking her out of it. Apparently, there was, ‘bad blood,’ between them. Not that that had anything to do with her, but Blake had said he was concerned for her, due to Lance’s reputation. Kettle and pot Kitty had thought at the time, but had kept that snippet to herself, thanking him politely for his concern. She did not need, nor want his concern. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and after two years of celibacy, she was finally ready to dip her toe back into the dating pool again.

She’d never had a vexed woman in the office before, that was a new one, and exceedingly embarrassing to boot. Blake normally kept them out of his workspace, not that they ever seemed to last very long. She didn’t know what his problem was, the ones she’d spoken to seemed personable enough. They were usually blonde and beautiful, well the ones she’d seen pictures of him with in magazines or at various functions. Not so much the earlier one though. She’d looked down her nose at Audrey and herself at the spinal damage fundraiser.

The only reason she could think of for the way Blake changed women was that he was a player, the same as her brother, Rob. Now he had major commitment issues. Men like him usually did; her brother sure the hell did, much to their father’s annoyance.

***

Blake tiredly sat down at his desk, he needed to gather himself before continuing his work schedule. He was still furious that the woman had dared to come badgering him at his office. Groaning when he thought about the unprofessional scene his employees had been witness to; especially Kitty. He was usually better at distancing his personal and work life. Then again, he was preoccupied at the moment. 

    His sister Mel was off to a specialist neonatal unit in Birmingham later in the day. She needed a risky procedure, to try to save the lives of her unborn twins, and he was worried for her, and for them too.  

Mel was married to his head accountant, and one of his closest friends, Mike Berkley. Blake, Len Simpson; head of his legal team, and Mike, had all met at University when they’d all been naïve eighteen-year-olds. Mike was a walking calculator, with a sharp business mind, but the thing Blake liked best about him these days was that he adored his sister Mel. 

Blake had a meeting planned for this afternoon. He needed to discuss the feasibility of acquiring a failing hotel before Mike left with Mel for their neonatal specialist appointment. Blake really wanted to add it to his portfolio, but he’d have to see what problems it was having first. What he didn’t need were distractions, he needed his wits about him while making business decisions. His sex life was the biggest distraction at the moment; or lack thereof. It had always been his go-to stress reliever, therefore, going without wasn’t helping him relax and think straight. He knew the lack was his own fault, but tension, due to sexual frustration, he could do without. Especially, not with everything else he had going on now.

Maybe he needed to rectify that and quickly. He’d have to lower his expectations, but damn it, no one appealed at the moment. Sighing in frustration, he ran his fingers through his hair. There was no time for self-pity today, he needed to get his head in the game. He’d worry about rectifying that particular problem, after the meetings.

“Kitty. Can you come through, please?” came Blake’s disembodied voice through the intercom.

She finished her coffee in two swallows; without burning her tongue, and picked up her notepad and diary.  Walking to his door, she blew out a breath, knocked and entered. She didn’t know where these nerves had suddenly come from. 

Blake sat behind his desk perusing his assets on his computer as she entered. Motioning Kitty to sit down, without taking his eyes from the screen. He distractedly tapped a pen against his desk, while visualising what he needed to achieve, short-term.

“Okay, contact Jake Masterson and put the meeting back until 1:30 pm, as I need to speak to Mike about a couple of things before he leaves for Birmingham.” He then lifted his eyes from the screen. “I’d also appreciate you taking an early lunch, I need you to sit in on this.” He looked towards her and she nodded her assent. “Good that’ll be all for now.” His attention once again went back to his screen as Kitty got up and left the room. She left behind her a subtle, but sultry scent, and he drew in an appreciative breath before frowning at his behaviour.

Since when did he notice how Kitty smelt?

Letting the disturbing thought go, Blake gave Mike a quick ring to make sure he was on his way up with the revised figures he had available to him. He needed to see them before he made any major moves as he couldn’t afford to make any errors.

Kitty made the requested calls, got on with the preparation for this afternoon's meeting and pulled the files required. Audrey carried on with her own work, dealing with external correspondence between Blake and the various departments and contractors they used outside of the building. 

Mike had been and gone; Kitty wished him luck as he’d left, and then she put a couple of query calls through to Blake. She looked up and was shocked to realise the morning had fled. Closing down her computer, she arranged the files needed for when she got back and pulled on her coat.

“I’m off to meet Lance for lunch,” she informed Audrey

“I didn’t know you had a lunch date today?”

“Neither does he,” she winked. “I’m going to surprise him,” Kitty grinned as the doors closed on Audrey’s laugh.

A five-minute stroll had her in front of the building where Lance rented floor space. She acknowledged the receptionist at the main desk with a wave, as she passed on her way to the lift.

Funny, there was no assistant sat at the desk outside Lance’s office she noticed, stepping out of the lift onto his floor.

Walking to his door, she rapped lightly, and pushed it open. Then came to a standstill, frozen in the doorway, her mouth open in surprise at the sight that greeted her. Her shock turned to disbelief as she spun angrily on her heel and walked away; leaving the door wide open in her haste to escape. 

She stormed angrily back across the floor to the lift and jabbed the button, tapping her foot impatiently, while the doors opened. Stepping inside, she stabbed the ground floor button. Just as the doors began closing Lance appeared out of his office, blonde hair mussed up, as he hastily fastened his pants. His slate grey eyes turned stormy with displeasure as he took in her mulish stance and defiant middle finger salute, as the lift doors closed.

Kitty walked out of the lift in a daze, she couldn’t believe what she’d walked in on. She left the building, half-heartedly waved goodbye to the smiling receptionist, and made the short journey back to work on autopilot.

***

Audrey was on her lunch and Blake was just leaving his office to grab a sandwich as Kitty walked silently back out of the lift. She dropped down into the chair behind her desk, her expression totally blank. He stopped at her desk, but she seemed completely oblivious to him and her surroundings.

“Oh, Kitty, you’re back. Audrey said you were having lunch with Lance.” She looked up at Blake in surprise as she hung her coat back over her chair behind her

“He was otherwise… engaged with his assistant,” she told him scathingly, her lashes lowering, covering her eyes.

“Okay,” Blake replied, mystified by her strange mood. “Are you meeting him later?” Not that he was interested, he detested Edmonton, but was just trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with her. Snorting, she tapped a short, manicured nail against her chin, staring off into space. She was seemingly deep in thought, and he waited quietly, his concern growing.

“Erm let me think... nope,” she popped the p. “I don’t think I’ll be seeing him, ever again,” she murmured leaning sideways. She looked down at her legs, seemingly engrossed with something she’d spotted there. Blake was flummoxed as to Kitty’s behaviour, as it was completely out of character. She was usually polite, not one for gossip or sarcasm and always annoyingly self-contained. He’d often told her she needed to speak up if there was a problem.  

Blake cleared his throat, unsure what to say, but uncomfortable with her whole demeanour. When in a decidedly flat voice, without lifting her head, she threw him for a loop. “Do you know, the term personal assistant took on a whole new connotation this afternoon?” Then went silent again before suddenly continuing. “I never realised giving the boss head was part of the job description. Go figure, huh? Guess I missed that class, hey.” And on that bombshell gracefully stood from the desk, grabbed her bag off the floor and walked away.

Blake stood open mouthed, staring at her retreating back, speechless for the first time in his life. It wasn't what she'd said, not really, it was that she'd said it so matter of fact. 

Kitty stopped as she neared the toilets and turned, pinning him with spitting green eyes.

“What is it with guys like you? You seem to think that women are there for your own personal sexual gratification. If we don't deliver, you move on to the next available prospect. You all make me sick,” she spat, turned, and banged her hand against the toilet door to open it. It snapped shut behind her, as Blake stood rooted to the spot, open mouthed again as he stared at the closed door. 

He stood immobile, too stunned to move, she’d just insulted him, and it had royally pissed him off. His temper thawed his shock, and he stormed after her, slamming through the door too. He came to a halt, and the door slid from his lax grip, clicking shut behind him. 

Kitty had her right shoe off and her leg on a chair rolling down a black stocking while staring at him over her shoulder. A black brow rose in silent query, while continuing with her task as she silently waited for him to speak.

“What the bloody hell was that about?” Blake shouted, eyes sweeping hungrily over the length of naked leg and thigh on display. 

Kitty stooped to grab a new stocking out of her bag to slide up her bare leg, as he watched in rapt fascination. Dropping her now silk covered foot, she slipped it back into her shoe, smoothed down her skirt and tossed the ripped one in the bin before turning to glare at him.

“Have you seen enough?” she snarled, as warm colour crept up Blake’s face. He hadn’t meant to stare, he’d never looked before, not really looked. He usually avoided it. I mean, Kitty was his PA for god’s sake. She was damned good at her job, and totally out of bounds. 

Blake cleared his throat in discomfort, squirming at the realisation of being caught ogling her, like he was hungry and she was steak.

“I apologise,” he said, shamefaced. “I didn’t think before I followed you in here.” He gestured around them, feeling wrong-footed, before remembering why he’d followed her in here in the first place. His annoyance re-surfaced as he thundered, “You just insulted me, and I’d like to know why?” 

Kitty snorted, hands on hips, the action opening the jacket she wore and bringing a small waist and ample breasts to his attention.

“Oh please, you and Lance are one and the same,” she sneered, taking a shuddering breath before continuing. “You know you’re good-looking men, and you both use it shamelessly. You treat women like dispensable playthings,” she spat, raking her eyes over him with disgust. “Dumb blow up dolls whose only purpose is to service your sexual whims, before you move on to your next conquest.” she sneered. Throwing her arms up in the air in anger. “You both make me sick. You go through women like bloody shirts,” she said, as he stared on, in rapt fascination.

“You once told me to speak up, so here goes. I’m sick of dealing with the women that come and go through that revolving door in your bedroom, and I’m handing in my notice. Deal with your own bloody messes from now on, I quit.”

She pushed passed him, giving him a shoulder check on her way out of the toilets. Leaving him again standing there open mouthed, but this time simmering with rage.

Kitty stomped back to her desk and plopped back down in the chair, turning on her computer. She began typing up her resignation. Hitting the keys more forcefully than necessary, but she was livid. She needed to hit something desperately, and better her keyboard than her boss. Or soon to be ex-boss, she thought. 

Two years she’d worked for him, and in that time, she’d lost count of how many personal calls she’d fielded for him.  She couldn’t stomach the thought of doing it anymore. She pictured his ex-lover storming out of the office this morning.  How superior she’d felt, thinking she was immune to such things now, and snorted at her own naïveté. What an idiot she’d been, fooled once again by a player. 

She’d thought they were going somewhere even though she’d known from the start that his reputation was as bad as Blake’s. I mean, how stupid was she? She’d thought he saw her differently after the way he’d persistently pursued her.  “I’m obviously delusional,” she hissed under her breath. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen for lines again. She should have gone with her original instincts and steered clear. Unfortunately, she’d let the loneliness of the last couple of years get to her, so had given in. How many times could one person get it so wrong?

A memory stirred of a conversation she’d had with Blake concerning Lance and her anger fizzled out. She realised what she’d just done, and bit her lip in uncertainty as she wondered what to do. She heard the toilet door open behind her, before slamming forcefully against the wall. Then winced as Blake pulled her bodily out of the chair by an arm.  He hauled her un-ceremoniously out of the outer office, and into his own. The door slammed and locked behind them as he swung her around to face him. 

Blake towered over her, his chest heaving as his dark, chocolate brown eyes zeroed in on her face. They lowered to her mouth and she could feel the sexual tension crackling in the air between them. Knowing what was coming next had her panicked. 

She took a hasty step back, her heart slamming in her chest as Blake stared hungrily at her. His top lip flattening and making his bottom one appear fuller as a nerve ticked at the side of his jaw. His eyebrows had become a dark slash of colour in his handsome, angry face and her mouth dried as he took a step closer. Kitty tried to move backwards, but her nervous flight was stopped abruptly, as her bottom hit his desk and she came to an abrupt standstill. 

Blake stalked slowly towards Kitty as she stood trapped against his desk. He was absolutely incensed with the verbal attack he’d just received from her without provocation. He was completely furious that she’d compared him to bloody Edmonton. Him, how dare she. Edmonton’s reputation with women was appalling, he’d warned her about him himself for god’s sake, he was nothing like him. He treated his partners with respect, well usually, not counting this morning’s episode and he inwardly winced at the memory. 

He wasn’t a wham, bam, thank you ma’am kind of man, not that he was an angel. Far from it. However, neither was he anything like Edmonton, and not just where women were concerned either. He tried desperately to reign in his temper before he said or did something he’d later regret. Focusing on his breathing, he watched Kitty and she warily watched him in return. 

The longer he observed her, the more he noticed little things that he’d never picked up on before. Like the loose suit’s, she favoured that hid her curvaceous figure, the skirts ending well below her knees. Perfectly respectable, but designed specifically to hide the long, shapely legs that he’d just feasted his eyes on. 

Her raven black hair was always pulled back unappealingly, in a god-awful twist at the back of her head.  As unattractive as it was, it still managed to draw attention to her high cheek bones. The high arched brows, and long black lashes emphasised her green slanted eyes, that had an outer ring of gold and flecks of brown. He became transfixed as they darkened from emerald to jade, and her pupils began dilating, leaving only a very slim ring of gold surrounding them. Blake couldn’t decide if it was because she was attracted to, or scared of him, so took an experimental step towards her. A cruelly satisfied smile broke over his face, as her berry tinted lips parted and warm colour suffused her usually clear, honey-smooth complexion. He heard her breath catch in her throat and watched in rapt fascination as her breasts rose and fell in her agitation. The action thrusting them against one of the white blouses she favoured. She always had them buttoned up to her neck, no hint of cleavage on show, not Kitty. She wasn’t the flirty type, but they did showcase her slender neck spectacularly. 

Blake was astounded that he’d never noticed all these little details about Kitty before. Not that he was blind, he assured himself. He just liked to keep a certain amount of distance and professionalism between himself and his staff.  However, the woman before him was a changeling. She had been hiding in plain sight all this time.

Mentally, Blake replayed the words she’d thrown at him, and nearly laughed out loud. Kitty genuinely believed he was no better than Edmonton. Now that was damn insulting but that he had a revolving bedroom door. Well, maybe in his youth he conceded, he had thrown himself into the dating scene back then, gorging himself on all that was freely offered. However, it had diminished over time, become less of a challenge. He’d lost interest in the whole thing the last year or so, but he wasn’t disinterested now, far from it. Kitty now had his full, undivided attention.

His smile became wider, friendlier, showing off his straight white teeth as he watched her pink tongue slip out, and followed as it swept over her bottom lip nervously. Her teeth biting into the now moist flesh. He watched as it was released and plumped back up, leaving it damp and fuller.  He nearly groaned at the thought of leaning forward and taking a sample, a small sip of that succulent flesh. He took another experimental step towards her, his chest stopping scant inches from hers, so close he could feel the heat rising from her body. He caught that elusive scent that she used, a subtle, pleasant spice that teased his nostrils. Above that he could just make out the scent of the lemon shampoo she used.  Together the mix was evocative, sensual, much like the woman now revealed before him. Taking a deep breath, he drew the scent deep into his lungs, his nostrils flaring at the tantalising aroma. Then had to clench his hands at his sides to stop himself from reaching for her. 

Kitty really thought she had him pegged, did she? Well, she was in for one hell of a surprise, he thought with deep satisfaction, as his eyes swept possessively over her. He usually didn’t mix business with pleasure, but he was willing to make an exception in Kitty’s case. As she was threatening to resign from his employment, she’d just removed any barriers on that score, as far as he was concerned. She’d thrown the gauntlet down and he was more than happy to pick it up. He anticipated the challenge, he was a predator at heart, that’s why his business did so well. He knew how to succeed, could smell weakness and knew when to strike.  Kitty had just become his latest target. 

He sidestepped her, needing space between them to alleviate some of the tension riding his libido. He was definitely calmer now he had a plan, and moved around his desk, silently taking a seat.

“Sit down, Kitty, we have things to discuss,” he informed her. Watching, as she swivelled warily to look at him, before carefully lowering herself into the chair opposite him. 

Kitty sucked in a steadying breath as Blake put space between them, and her heart rate began slowing. She’d never been more aware of her own sexuality, than when she’d felt his body’s heat begin to seep into her own, oversensitive skin.

His scent had enveloped her, a natural, warm musk with a citrus undertone that had teased her nostrils and made her nipples painfully tighten. She’d always avoided looking directly at him, had known instinctively that he could be dangerous to her. Well now she knew that she’d been dead on the money. Now she’d finally given herself permission to look at him, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away.  Greedily, she catalogued his astounding features from under her lashes. She was used to good-looking men as her dad and brother were both amazingly handsome men.  However, there was a dangerous, raw quality to Blake’s looks that neither of them possessed. His appeal for her scared her on a fundamental level. 

His intelligent eyes weren’t just dark chocolate, they had a lighter ring of topaz around the pupil with amber flecks in the iris. His lashes were so thick and dark they’d have looked feminine on any other man. His brows were thick but nicely shaped and only seemed to emphasise his broad forehead and sharp cheekbones. He had a straight, full nose and a chiselled jaw and seemed to wear a permanent five o’clock shadow, and his mouth, oh god his mouth was glorious. His bottom lip was fuller, and it was built for raw pleasure, and shuddered at the thought of what his mouth was capable of.

His naturally tousled hair was not only dark brown, but had natural streaks of gold and blonde highlights running through it. The strands shone with health and vitality as it lovingly swept over his forehead. It was long enough at the back to touch his collar and her hands had itched to brush it back over his ears, and tangle in it as he’d stared her down.  His powerfully built frame had left her feeling feminine and dainty as he’d towered over her, even though she was five-foot-seven. Frankly, she’d been horrified at how spectacularly she’d underestimated his appeal to her. She’d felt confused and betrayed by how wantonly her body’s response had been to his close proximity. 

Kitty sat quietly, waiting for him to speak. Her bravado had long ago vanished, leaving her feeling foolish and drained after her earlier outburst. She tore her eyes away from his too intelligent gaze as he sat silently observing her. He looked at her like an intriguing specimen under a microscope, making her swallow nervously. His long fingers were steepled under his chin, as he rested his elbows on his desk, giving a deceptively relaxed pose. 

Blake silently watched Kitty squirm in remorse. The heightened colour of her temper fading from her face, leaching her of colour. Gone was the magnificent, alluring vibrancy of earlier, leaving her looking tired and vulnerable. His gut clenched in sympathy, but ruthlessly, he stamped down on it, as now wasn’t the time to show weakness. Too much was at stake, his peace of mind for one. Plus, he was going to have her, and soon, he would accept no other outcome. 

“I know you’re angry, and from what I’ve surmised from your outburst, I believe rightly so. Nevertheless, you’re taking it out on the wrong man,” Blake informed Kitty succinctly. He leaned forward and held up a hand to silence the protest he knew was coming. “Your ex?” he raised his brow and waited patiently for confirmation. Smiling with satisfaction as she lowered her gaze from his penetrating gaze before nodding agreement to his statement. “Edmonton,” he spat the word contemptuously, “has behaved abominably, and while I can sympathise, I am not him.  Therefore, I don’t appreciate the comparison.” 

Blake took a breath and leaned back into his chair, trying to make himself less threatening now he’d made his point. “If you want to leave my employment, I won’t be happy, but I won’t stop you either. However, may I suggest you think it over very carefully before you make any hasty decisions.” He phrased it to make it appear as if it was of no consequence to him, one way or the other. When, in theory, it mattered immensely, but he’d now planted the idea of her staying. He enjoyed this particular part of the game. He was a master at subtle manipulation, and ruthlessly squelched any guilt that tried to rise. 

“I have never requested anything of you that isn’t the normal undertaking of a personal assistant. After all, it is your job to make sure my life runs smoothly.” Sitting quietly then, he gave her time to digest his words, while he planned his next move. He had plenty of time now, he was confident that she wasn’t going anywhere. Not in the short-term anyway. He could be patient when he wanted something badly enough, and now he knew she had claws, he most definitely wanted Kitty. He just had to decide how and when, then allowed himself a moment to savour the thought.