“They are.”
“They’re very loving, even Jack.”
He chuckled as he turned into the parkingarea outside of the Bangor Mall. “Yes, but he would never agreewith that assessment.”
Mia grimaced as she stared at the enormousbuilding and the numerous people flowing in and out of it. A Santastood outside the door, ringing his bell. She could already hearthe Christmas music drifting out from within. At one time,Christmas had been her favorite holiday, but she’d paid littleattention to it since the fire.
Now watching as the breaths plumed out ofthe people scurrying back and forth between their cars and thebuilding, she felt a stirring of excitement for the holiday. If allcontinued to go well, she’d have someone to celebrate Christmaswith this year.
“I haven’t been in a mall since I wassixteen,” she said.
David put the vehicle in Park at the far endof the crammed lot and turned it off. “That makes two of us.”
Mia climbed out of his SUV. Mike hadreturned the rental car for them that morning, and they had broughtDavid’s Range Rover to the mall. Mia shoved her hands into herpockets and hunched her shoulders against the cold. Inside theinner pocket of the winter coat Sera had lent her, she felt thecomforting weight of the stake against her right breast as theymade their way toward the mall.
The rapid heartbeats of the numerous humanssurrounding her when they walked through the glass doors caused Miato step closer to David. She inhaled his scent as she sought totune out the rush of blood and the sensation of being trappedwithin these close confines.
You can walk out at any time,shereminded herself. It didn’t help to ease her escalating fear asmuch as she had hoped.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” heasked.
“Yes,” she said and took another deepbreath. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to browse or try thingson.”
“Whatever you want.” A sexy smile curved hismouth. A few of the women walking by them tripped over their ownfeet when they turned to look back toward him. Mia glared at themuntil they noticed her, ducked their heads, and sped away.
“You might want to rethink that offer. I maywant to kill a few humans by the time this is over,” shemuttered.
“That will make two of us,” he replied.
She didn’t get a chance to ask him what hemeant before he lightly touched her elbow and jerked his headtoward the right. His hand fell away, but he remained close by herside as he walked unerringly through the crowd beside her. Hesomehow managed to move his body in such a way that he didn’t touchher, but he also kept others from touching her too.
Though people were drawn to them both due totheir inherent vampire lure, they also got out of David’s way. Miaoften found it interesting to watch a human’s reaction to avampire. The human’s instincts said they should stay away, but theyfound themselves inexorably pulled toward the danger. It didn’thelp that David was drop-dead gorgeous, and almost every womanturned to watch him pass.
They moved swiftly down the hall toward oneof the stores. Mia blinked against the glare of the lights andtried to ignore the heat of the bodies near hers as sweat beadedher forehead. Did she really need clothes bad enough to put herselfthrough this?
Yes, she did. She couldn’t deny that. Shewas tired of washing the same three pairs of underwear, and the onebra they’d had at the training facility that fit her. Sera hadoffered her more clothes, but they would all have to be rolled upand cinched in order to fit her. Sera had mentioned something aboutEmma being smaller too, which only made David insist that Mia haveher own things.
She couldn’t deny the trickle ofanticipation that went through her at finally having some clothesof her own again. Even if David had to buy them for her.
She’d walked into the mall with everyintention of bolting back out as soon as possible, but as theymoved from store to store, she found herself relaxing. If shelooked at something twice, David pulled it off the racks for her.When she realized the sheer amount of clothing he planned to buyher, she changed her mind and decided to try some of it on. Sherefused to waste his money by buying something that might not fither.
“I should get something a little bigger,”she told him when she opened the door and stepped out of what feltlike her hundredth dressing room of the day.
“Why?” David asked as he surveyed her.
The blue sweater she wore hugged her smallframe, emphasizing the swell of her breasts. Her figure was fillingout as she gained weight, revealing curves that hadn’t been therebefore. Curves that he had yet to be able to touch but knew everyinch of. Curves drawing far too much attention for his liking fromthe nearby men who stopped to watch her as she turned before one ofthe mirrors. Mia remained oblivious to their attention as shecarefully inspected the outfit. He did not.
A young man of about twenty-five stepped outof one of the other rooms and stopped to ogle her ass as shefrowned at the mirror. David took a step closer to her, a low snarlrumbling up his throat when he caught the scent of the man’slust.
“I’d suggest moving on,” David growled athim.
Mia turned at the anger in David’s voice.She frowned when she spotted the human glancing nervously betweenthe two of them. The man’s gaze raked over her, causing David tomove toward him. Mia hurried forward and rested her hand on hisforearm before he could attack the young man. Despite the fact thatDavid relaxed, the man paled visibly before swiftly retreating fromthe dressing area.
“Fucking humans,” David muttered and tuggedat the ends of his hair.
“The women have been checking you out allday,” she pointed out as she released his arm.
“I’ve only noticed all of the men who havebeen watching you,” he replied honestly.
