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“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Because,” he said, his mouth dangerously close to my ear, “your heart beats as rapidly as the wings of a hummingbird. Fear has that effect on humans.”
My muscles went rigid and I straightened my shoulders. “I’m not afraid.”
“How very foolish of you.” He flipped on the light and I blinked against the blight fluorescents, struggling to focus, but when I did—
Holy shit.
He was absolutely stunning.
His face was chiseled from stone, a jawline so sharp you could cut glass on it, but the way his full lips were so soft and pale pink beneath his broad nose softened him somehow, made him more beautiful than was humanly possible. Because he’s not human, you moron.
My father should have warned me. Should have told me Eli looked like this.
His hair was so blonde it was nearly white and slicked back, long on top and cut neatly along the sides and in back. His body was long and lean, all hard lines beneath a sleek black suit. Skin as pale as freshly fallen snow stood out in contrast against that bespoke suit, striking in its beauty, but it was his eyes that captivated me.
Deepest cobalt and speckled with icy blue like a star filled sky—
“If you’re quite finished…”
I gasped, eyes widening as I realized he’d sat through that entire monologue. He’d heard every bit of it and hadn’t stopped me.
He tilted his head, boredom evident in the way he watched me, but then his brows furrowed. “Feminine lips, though? Really?”
“Oh my God.”
“No, love, God can’t save you from this.” He smiled, but the motion didn’t meet his eyes. “Now, if you’ll please join me upstairs. We have much to discuss and I have very little patience.”
I swallowed hard, then, before I could talk myself out of voicing the question, said, “Have you fed lately?” I grimaced as I waited for his response.
“I have, yes.” He flicked his wrist toward the walk-in freezer. “I helped myself. Hope you don’t mind.”
“You’ve been gone for a year. What have you… eaten?”
Eli sighed, the sound deep and loud in the quiet butcher shop, then he spun back around toward me and motioned to the office. “Shall we sit, then? I can see you’re unwilling to take me upstairs.”
“I’m not inviting you into my house.”
“Little secret about a blood bond, love…” He met my gaze and his striking blue eyes stole my breath. “What’s yours is mine.” He waited, allowing those words to sink in, then rolled his eyes as he added, “I no longer need an invitation.” With that, he disappeared into my father’s office and left me frozen in place.
Giving my head a quick shake, I forced my feet forward, stopping just inside the door of my father’s office.
Strangely, the vampire sat in one of the visitor’s chairs, not behind my father’s desk. I don’t know why this struck me as odd, but it felt almost like... like a show of respect.
“Sit.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Stubborn like your father, I see.”
As the silence grew louder between us, I couldn’t keep myself from asking, “Why are you here?”
He breathed deeply, then closed his eyes on a long blink. “Would you believe I’ve been struck with suadade?”
“What?”
“Melancholy, love. Nostalgia. A longing for—”
