Her mouth pursed as she stepped from theroom with her old clothes back on, and nothing in hand.
“Where are the clothes you selected?” heasked.
“I think we’re better off just going,” shemuttered. “Besides, you’ve already bought me more than enough.”
“I’ll take the clothes to the counter andpay for them.”
“David—”
“You looked stunning in that sweater, andthe skirt is a definite keeper.” He would have thought itimpossible, but her face turned redder. “Get the clothes and I’lltake care of paying for them.”
Mia retreated to the dressing room andgathered the clothes she’d set aside for purchase. Throwing themover her arm, she walked out of the room to stand beside him.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
He took the clothes and went to turn awayfrom her, but she took hold of his hand before she could reallythink about it. David froze before his head turned back to her. Miawaited for her chest to constrict and her breath to leave her asshe continued to hold him.
Instead, she was gripped with theoverwhelming urge to start sobbing as his touch only brought her ameasure of calm.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
The grin that burst over his face and thehappiness blazing from his eyes stole her breath. He bent andkissed her forehead before rising away from her. She walked besidehim to the cash register. She knew how well a vampire’s ability totake control of another’s mind worked, knew they wouldn’t remembera thing, but her heart still fluttered in her chest as theyapproached the women behind the counter. Her face felt like it wason fire.
She’d seen more than her fair share of sexand prostitution while on the streets. Over time, she’d becomeimmune to it all. Her embarrassment over stumbling across someonegiving a blow job had faded away until she barely acknowledged it.Now she felt like an inexperienced sixteen-year-old and she had noidea why.
She glanced at David out of the corner ofher eye and her blush deepened. Because he made her feel like that,she realized. He made her feel as if she were experiencingeverything for the first time all over again, and she loved it.
The women behind the counter didn’t noticeher tomato coloring, as they remained focused solely on David. Bothsmiled at him when he placed the clothes on the counter. The youngone fluttered her lashes in a way that caused Mia to almost punchher. Instead, she stepped possessively closer to him. The young oneturned dismissively away from her to focus on the register.
When the woman was done ringing up Mia’spurchases, David paid her, lifted the bags off the counter, andcarried them out of the store. “Where to next?” he asked her.
“I think I’ve had enough shopping for oneday,” Mia said.
“How about we put these bags with the othersand hit one more store?” he suggested. “A store for me.”
How could she tell him no when he’d spentthe whole day buying her things and not uttering one word ofcomplaint? She couldn’t.
Mia walked with him out to the parking lotwhere he placed the bags into the back of his green Range Roveralongside the numerous others. If she didn’t gain any more weight,Mia would have enough clothes for the rest of her life. Not gainingweight would probably be impossible if she kept feeding from Davidthough. She’d never had blood as satisfying as his before, and herbody was thriving on it.
“I think you spent too much money on metoday,” she said.
“No such thing,” he told her as he reclaimedher hand. She tensed at his touch, and though she’d sought him outearlier, he waited for her to jerk away from him. Her hand remainedin his as her body eased beside him, and she gave him a smallsmile.
Big progress,he realized. If heremained patient, it was only a matter of time before she allowedhim to touch her without reservation.
He kept hold of her hand as they walked backinto the mall and toward the final store. Mia gave him adisbelieving look when he stopped in front of the lingerie store.“This is for you?” she inquired.
His gaze raked over her from head to toebefore he gave her a devilish smile. “Hell yes, it is.”
Mia couldn’t stop herself from laughing whenhe led her inside.
CHAPTER 14
It had taken Mia a good week to learneveryone’s names and to keep them all straight, but she was fairlycertain she had the whole family down now. Ethan, the oldest ofSera and Liam’s children, was married to Emma. They had a newbornson named Levi, after Emma’s grandfather. They called him Lev.
Isabelle was their second child. She wasmarried to Stefan and had a five-year-old daughter named Hope, anda baby son named Bodhi, or as everyone called him, Bo. Ian was thethird oldest and married to Paige. They had two sons—Darius, whowas four, and Colton, who was a year old.
