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"There are a few things I definitely do not like about this world," he commented, and released her. Alexis drew a steadying breath.
"Dante, you can't . . . I appreciate you defending me, but you need to let me take the lead in situations like that. I could feel what he felt. He wasn't going to do me any harm--"
"He intended to frighten you." He shook his head. "I did that, and I didn't like it."
"I already forgave you for that." Placing her hand on his throat, beneath the collar, she touched the black marks. "Are you okay?"
He wouldn't be distracted. "That is not something to forgive, Alexis. When someone harms you, you ensure it does not happen again. The burns will heal. All my wounds heal."
Not all of them, she thought, touching that black knot of emotions from him. "I'm just saying, since they weren't going to hurt me, it would have been best to let it go. They tried to frighten me, yes, but I wasn't going to be afraid while you were here."
"I am not being clear. I will not tolerate anyone having a thought of harming you, whether they accomplish it or not. You are not strong enough to change their behavior, so it is the only way."
"No. There are other ways," she said softly. "You could have hurt me, in your world. You didn't."
"That was because you . . . my intention was not to hurt you."
"But you would have if you needed to do it, to free yourself. That's what you implied. But when the time came, you didn't. And it wasn't because I was stronger or more powerful than you, more capable of causing you pain. We found another way."
He studied her. "Perhaps. But violence is still more reliable."
"You and my father have more in common than you realize," she muttered, but she ran her knuckles along his cheek. It made his brows furrow as he analyzed the gesture, the way he seemed to do all her actions. Before she could think of something else to say, he'd glanced down at himself again.
"Is there something wrong with my clothing?"
"Yes and no." She allowed herself a small smile. "I love the shirt on you, but it's a bit more romantic than what most men wear, outside of a Renaissance faire. Stay here. I'll go back in and buy you a nice, manly T-shirt so no more local gangs decide you're a sissy girl and get dismembered for their poor judgment."
"You chose it. I will wear it." He opened her car door, peering at the control panel again. "I want to drive this."
"One thing at a time." Moved by his simple declaration and amused at the speed at which his mind was working, Alexis got in and nodded toward the passenger seat. "Tomorrow we'll go to a parking lot so I can teach you to drive."
Eighteen
THE community center was quiet, since it was a weekday during business hours. It was located in the middle of Fortram Park, frequented by adults or sitters letting their young charges enjoy the maze of playground equipment.
She'd given it a great deal of thought, and come to the conclusion children would be the safest ground for him at the beginning. To help him assimilate into his new world, he had to be in a less defensive mode. All predators recognized the young. Children had a greater chance of being accepted as nonthreatening.
Exposing Dante to children might seem a terrible risk to those who only understood him on the surface. It was a steadying reminder of why she'd wanted to be the one to guide him.
As they got out of her small car, he stretched his long legs and looked around him. She'd brought a light jacket for herself, but he didn't seem to be bothered by the nip in the air. The playground wasn't overly busy, which was good, because he didn't blend in in the slightest. The dark frames she'd found for him swallowed those exceptional eyes but emphasized the sensuality of his lips, the sculpting of his jaw. The wind swept his hair over the broad shoulders, drawing the eye to the loose lacing in the shirt front and the tempting chest revealed. She suppressed a sigh. Okay, a common-looking Henley pullover and a haircut might not be amiss. Though she remembered the way his hair slid across her bare skin as he put his lips on her breast. What if he'd gone downward, over her belly, teasing her navel piercing with his teeth . . .
"If you do not stop doing that, I will have to block your thoughts. Or we will have to go back to your home, since you insist on privacy." He spoke without looking toward her, still studying the playground.
"It's not my fault." She closed her car door. "You could try looking less attractive." He'd caught the attention of almost every female in the park, and a couple of the males who obviously preferred their own gender. She came up to his side. "Want to find a bench and sit for a while before we go inside?"
He glanced down at her. "I am not interested in males."
"What about females?"
"Would that anger you?" When she didn't respond, he lifted one perfect brow. "It would. Not anger, but it would . . . hurt you. Make you upset. You are . . . possessive."
Lex turned her gaze away, studied the park herself. "I have no claim on you," she said, knowing it was the truth. In thirty days, if she was successful, he would go and do anything he wished. "But a lot of women have this funny quirk. When we're . . . with a male, we prefer that he only be with us, while we're with him. Physically. What we were doing earlier."
Those dark glasses were still trained on her face. From the heat sweeping across her skin, she knew she was flushing. "Females prefer one male only," he said slowly. "If he wishes another female . . . physically, she no longer wants him."
"Close enough. So if you decide you want to . . . with someone else, I'd prefer you not do that with me anymore."
"When I make that decision, I will remember your request and consider it. Now where is this bench?"
He took a couple steps from her, stopped and looked back at her. "You ask me not to do harm, but you are thinking of skewering me with a stake."
Alexis closed her eyes. When she opened them, she started, because he was back in front of her. Before she could speak, he'd drawn her to her toes and laid his mouth on top of hers. This kiss demanded she melt into him as his arm cinched around her waist, fingers sliding under the knit shirt so he caressed her skin below her bra strap. The position pressed her against his groin, which even under denim and the untucked white shirt made it clear where his thoughts were.
When he lifted his head, his mouth was wet from hers. "If the other females here are the way you say they are, they will not want me now, because they see I am with you. Does that make you feel less angry toward
me?"
Actually, after that kiss, she thought they were imagining their curled toes standing right in her shoes. "Your mom had some outstanding memories. You're too good at that."
He lifted a shoulder. "Vampires and Dark Ones are very lustful creatures. Since I have both their blood, I found those memories the most fascinating, and I learned. You are the first I've practiced upon. I had no desire to touch a Dark One like this."
"Oh." She cleared her throat. "Maybe you should block my thoughts for a while, at least while you're learning about other things. Less distracting to both of us."
He smoothed her hair. "As you wish. For now."
Backing away from that intense look, she took him toward an empty bench near the playground. She assumed he was following, but was surprised when he clasped her hand. Glancing over, she saw him looking toward another couple who had entered the park, strolling hand in hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers as the two lovers had and then examined the fit. That jumbling of emotions bounced against her mind, what she was beginning to recognize as his reaction when he wasn't certain exactly how to feel about something. He seemed satisfied with it, though, for he moved forward with her in that fashion.
When Alexis sat down with him, she steadied herself. It doesn't mean anything, Alexis. He's just learning.
It really was aggravating, to be mature far beyond her years in so many ways, and yet have the emotional yearnings of a twenty-one-year-old who'd never even had a real, romantic kiss before Dante entered her dreams. She wanted to capitulate to the fantasy, not the reality. If she was the only one who'd be hurt, she might risk it, but she had to keep her head on straight. At least until those thirty days were up.
Renewing her resolve, she tuned in to their surroundings, and found a problem, albeit a fixable one. Communicating her intent to him so he would release her hand, she rose to amble among the adults and children. The handsome but sinister-looking stranger watching them and their offspring was making them nervous, so she made sure her angel light was dialed up to ease their worries, smiling gently as she passed by each knot of humanity. Rather than immediately returning, she leaned up against the frame of the swings to watch him.
