She pulled out of the parking spot and slowly left the lot; she perked up as the black SUV rounded in behind her. The windows were tinted too dark to see inside, but she smiled and waved at him through her rearview mirror.
She drove all the way back to Dmetri’s place with a goofy smile on her face and Brayden’s black SUV trailing her.
Chapter 14
Vanessa hopped out of the car and tossed the keys to the nice valet standing nearby. She glanced down the driveway and saw Brayden’s black SUV coming up behind her. Her stomach rolled with nerves. She pressed a hand to it but it didn’t help. Something big was coming. She could feel it deep inside of her. His car came to a stop behind the Mercedes and as he pulled his lithe, strong body out, she tugged her lip between her teeth. His eyes met hers, still dark and sexy as they’d been before they left the restaurant. But this time something else lingered in his eyes, something breath-catching and incredible. This had to be the something big coming. Because her heart just stuttered and she fell more than a little bit in love.
His eyes never left hers as he handed the keys to the valet, thanked him, and came back to her, stopping right in front of her. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him. She was right. It was like something just clicked into place. His was the face she’d wake up seeing for the rest of her life. The hardened face with the dark stubble around his cheeks and chin, the curling brown hair atop his head, the piercing gray eyes. And the way he was looking at her...made her whole body feel way too warm.
“No one’s ever looked at me like that before.”
His eyebrows arched up.
She froze. She’d just walked into that awkward territory where she spilled some feelings, even minor ones, with someone she’d recently gotten to know. She braced herself. He’d either shut her down now with a harsh retort, or saying something appeasing like ‘that’s nice’. Her face flamed, but thankfully, the moon didn’t give out much light. Maybe he couldn’t see it.
She was saved, or maybe recued would be the better word. Christine threw open the front door and grinned from ear to ear, her clever gaze moving between her and Brayden. “Welcome back. I see you were found.”
Vanessa had to move away from him. Her mind was in turmoil. Had he realized just how much something as simple as the way he looked at her meant to her? She wanted the ground to open up and just sink into it, never to be seen again. Or maybe for aliens to fly by and beam her up into their ship. None of that would happen though, so she threw on a cheerful smile and met Christine at the front door. Christine’s thrilled chitchatting and probing questions about how was her time out was and where she’d gone, gave her time to cool her mind down a bit. She even heard Brayden come inside and close the door behind them without jumping.
“Great; drank a few of those strawberry margaritas. So good!”
Christine’s face pinched. “Ew, no, thanks. Tequila in anything is just gross for me. But give me a sweet wine, now that I can do.”
A deep voice sounded behind Vanessa, sending a wicked thrill down her body. “Excuse us. Vanessa and I have some business to attend to.” Brayden’s hand scooped her arm at the elbow and then he was leading her up the stairs.
Vanessa’s chest moved entirely too fast. She couldn’t let him know how nervous he made her. So she focused and slowed her breathing, in and out. In and out. He took her to the guest bedroom that she’d woken up alone in that morning. The soft click of the door closing felt like she was being locked in a steel vault in a bank...and alone with him.
She thought quickly. Maybe if she excused herself she could hide away in the bathroom for a while. But she never got farther than that. The air stirred behind her, just a small change that fluttered over the bare back of her dress.
“You can’t run from me.”
She shivered; goosebumps formed down her arms. “I wasn’t running.” Be brave, she told herself, and turned around to look at him. She even managed a tumultuous smile and was damn proud of herself for being able to pull it off.
He gave a brief shake of his head. “Yes you were. Tell me why.”
Her smile fell. “I can’t.” How could she talk about feelings when she’d had a hard enough time just saying that no one had ever looked at her like that before...like he cared, like she mattered to him.
“Yes, you can. I know you can. You’re stronger than that. One of the strongest women I’ve ever met.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh that came. “Seriously, now that’s just a straight lie, Brayden.” His arms came around her waist, slowly pulling her into him. She dug her feet in, leaned away to fight it. She didn’t want to be close to him right now, didn’t want him to break down her walls. But her resistance was futile, no match for his strength and she relented until their chests pressed deeply against one another. He touched her hair, threading his fingers through it from scalp to ends. A breathy sigh escaped her. A shudder racked down her spine.
“I don’t lie. Now tell me, Vanessa.”
Her hands flattened over his hard chest, fingers digging in to the solid muscle. “Why?”
His hands paused on her back with her hair still threaded between his fingers. Then his voice came close to her ear, a husky whisper. “Because, it matters to me.”
Oh, she thought breathlessly. Just, oh. It mattered. To him. The temperature in the room surely just skyrocketed, or else why was she suddenly too warm? “I felt like an ass for saying what I did outside.” His hand continued to stroke her hair, the other arm stayed wrapped around her waist arching her into him. The touch made her shoulders slacken, her entire body relax.
“Why?”
She shook her head once. “Oh, come on, don’t make me say it,” she said into his shirt. She kept face as buried in there as she could. Not that it wasn’t nice. He smelled really good.
He sighed and her mouth twitched at the exasperated sound. “Really, Vanessa, I won’t understand how you feel unless you tell me explicitly. I’m not...accustomed to this.”
Neither am I, she wanted to say. “Okay, fine.” She sucked in a deep breath then let it all out. “I confessed something...about how I feel with you and I was afraid you’d shoot me down.” The words were out; no going back now. Still, had she even made any sense? Would he get what she was trying to say? God, she hoped so.
She waited what felt like forever before he replied. And when he did, her heart thumped. “I feel the same.”
“Huh?” She jerked her head up so she could see his eyes.
“It’s true,” he said watching her. “No one’s ever looked at me the way you do, either. As if I’m someone important—to them.”
“Really?” God, was that her tiny voice asking that?
His eyes darkened with something hot, raw, and completely sexual. Her core pulsed, nipples tingled. “I’m telling you now. Nothing could make me let that go. I’d fight for you tooth and nail to keep you, and I plan to.”
Now it was her turn to ask. “Why?”
His hand fell to her waist, curling into to her hips and then he was lifting her, pulling her up. Her arms naturally went around his neck to hang on as she balanced on her toes.
“Because, you’re mine now. I think you were mine the minute you got into my car.”
Then his lips crossed hers and her body melted. That one kiss changed everything. Her lips tingled where they touched. His tongue dipped in and she opened to give him access. Her hands sifted through the soft hair at his head, tugged until he kissed her harder, pressed deeper. He licked inside her mouth and she tasted his, flicking her tongue across the hard points of his fangs and moaning when his body tightened beneath her.