He waited until her eyes met his before he said, “But I know you feel it too.”
If he was referring to the acute physical response she had to his nearness, or the fact that her heart was beating like a bass drum in her chest, then he was correct. She definitely felt that. It was a healthy dose of lust, anticipation, and fear. “I do,” she admitted. Then, in almost a whisper, she added, “I just don’t know if I want to.”
He nodded, as if he understood what she was saying, even though there was no way he could. He stroked a thumb lightly over her knuckles and said, “I’m going to be travelling on business for the next week. Please, just think about it while I’m gone. If you still feel that way when I’ve returned, then I won’t bother you again.” After giving her hand one more gentle squeeze, he released it and said, “Enjoy your studies, little one. I’ll see you when I return.”
“Bye. Have a safe trip,” she said weakly. She watched as he walked toward the door. He opened it, gave her one final parting wave, and then left.
She stared at the door for a few more moments and then began to count down the register. It wasn’t likely there would be any more customers for the night. At least it would give her more uninterrupted study time.
She frowned. It wasn’t likely she’d be able to concentrate. For some reason, Talan McKenna was interested in her. She had no idea what to do with that.
Chapter Four
Talan wiped the sweat and humidity off of his brow as he walked through the partially completed shell for the Miami casino. Only in Florida could it be eighty-five degrees with seventy-five percent humidity at nine o’clock at night. In February. He would take the cold over this sweltering mugginess any day. He couldn’t imagine how hot it must be during the day when the workers were actually present. He’d had to hire an all-human construction firm for this particular project due to noise ordinances.
In the distance he could hear the heavy thumping of a bass, so he suspected the ordinance was more about not letting anything drown out the house music that the trendy South Beach clubs were constantly pumping out. That was another thing he didn’t understand—it was nothing but repetitive noise. He was absolutely bewildered by its popularity.
Lachlan MacDonald, his business partner and the closest thing he had to family, said, “I don’t know how people can be so into this shite weather, Talan.”
This evening on the way down from his hotel room, he’d been in the elevator with an older human couple. The man was shamelessly wearing a thong Speedo. He’d caught himself wishing that Lilly had been there to see that. He had no doubt she would have been highly amused. With a grin on his face, he responded, “Maybe they aren’t. That’s why everyone in Miami walks around half naked.”
Lachlan turned his head around, grinned, and said, “Talan, that was almost a joke. Are you okay?”
He waved him off and said, “I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with so I can get back inside. Christ, even my knees are sweating.”
“Talan, you’ve smiled at least three times today. You’re not acting like yourself,” Lachlan said.
“I said it’s nothing,” Talan swiped at the sweat on his brow again.
“And what’s this nothing’s name,” Lachlan asked knowingly.
“Lilly,” Talan admitted. “She works in the Toronto casino.”
“You sure you know what you’re doing there, mate?”
He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair in aggravation. “I wish I did. If it were just a sex thing, I’d take a pass, but...”
Lachlan’s eyebrows rose.
“I actually like her and that’s a fairly unfamiliar feeling,” he admitted.
“Feelings are unfamiliar for you, Talan,” Lachlan joked. Though Transfigured, Lachlan was centuries younger than Talan. He never pulled punches.
When you lived so long, you started to learn to tell when people were lying to you or holding back. You could tell when someone disliked you, was afraid of you, or just didn’t respect you. People became somewhat predictable.
“She’s a human,” Talan admitted.
While it wasn’t forbidden, the Transfigured typically mated with their own. Even with the recent advances in genetic mutation, it still wasn’t an exact science. All in all, it was easier to stick with their own kind. That way, there were never any worries about what would happen when their human mate aged, got some sort of disease, or died in childbirth.
Scientists discovered that it was much easier to turn a human into one of the Transfigured than it was to turn one of the Transfigured into a human. He imagined it would be a tough sale telling a human that while they’d live forever, they’d be required to drink human blood, live in the dark, and watch everyone they’d ever known grow old and die. It was a deal that any of the Transfigured would have turned down in a heartbeat, he suspected. They gained faster reflexes, strength, and speed, but lost so much. God, but there were days that he missed the feeling of the sun on his face.
“Human? Is that a good idea,” Lachlan asked.
“Probably not,” he acknowledged. “I haven’t even gott
en her to agree to go to dinner with me yet.”
Tickled, Lachlan asked, “Did she tell you no?”