“Sometimes, when no one else is around, Isecretly listen to eighties music. And I don’t mean like Megadeathor Slayer; I mean Tiffany and The Bangles.”
“That’s not what I’d typically considerangry music.” Aiden held himself back from clasping her face andlifting her lips to his as her eyes twinkled with irresistibleamusement.
“It’s not,” she agreed, her voice breathieras her eyes dipped to his mouth. “Especially not Cyndi Lauper.”
“That’s about as far from angry as you canget.”
“What can I say? Girls really do just wantto have fun,” she told him with a wink and sat back when the waiterarrived with their check.
Maggie felt more alive than she had in yearsas she watched Aiden pull out his wallet and place some cash on thetable. She’d never been a boy-crazy teen, but she suddenly feltyoung and carefree in a way she’d never experienced before.
When Aiden held his hand out to her, sheknew she shouldn’t take it, but she did. He helped her out of thebooth and drew her closer when she rose beside him. Her skin camealive until she felt their contact over all her nerve endings.
“Is there something you’d like to do now?”Aiden asked. He ran his hands over Maggie’s arm when she tilted herhead to look up at him.
A smile played across her lips. “Thebeach.”
“The beach it is then.”
Maggie resisted laying her head on his chestas he walked with her across the restaurant. She glared at a coupleof women eyeing Aiden with a look that made it clear they’d happilyshove her out of the way to pounce on him. One of them smiledsmugly back at her and fluffed her blonde hair. Aiden didn’t lookat them as he pushed open one of the glass doors in the lobby ofthe hotel and held it open for her.
The March air caused goose bumps to breakout on her arms, but the briny scent of the ocean drew her acrossthe street and toward the beach. Aiden helped her over a guardrailand down a hill toward the ocean below. The wind whipped her hairaway from her; she licked the salt from her lips as the air frozeher cheeks and her breaths plumed before her.
The dim light from the hotel illuminatedsome of the shadows, but the beach was more in the dark than out ofit. With the stars twinkling against the black night and the sliverof moon hanging low over the bare trees, she could almost pretendeverything was normal and she was simply on a date with a man sheliked. When they reached the shoreline, she closed her eyes as shelistened to the ebb and flow of the waves rolling onto theshore.
Aiden stopped at the edge of the water withMaggie’s arm locked securely in his. The awe on her face captivatedhim. Then she tugged her arm free of his, bent, pulled off hersneakers, and set them down. She removed her socks next and stuffedthem into her shoes before digging her toes in the sand.
The wet sand froze her feet, but sheburrowed her toes in deeper as the icy water swirled around herankles and between her toes. Removing her arm from his, she pickedup a pink shell, twisted it in her fingers, then slipped it intoher pocket and bent to pick up a rock. Pulling her arm back, sheskipped the rock across the surface of the sea.
Aiden couldn’t recall the last time he’dfound joy in anything, but his heart swelled as he absorbed herdelight. He was tempted to draw her close, to kiss her again, buthe couldn’t interrupt this for her. She walked closer to the oceanthen laughed and danced back when the cresting waves chased afterher.
“It’s cold,” she said when he approached.She bent to roll the bottom of her jeans up and snugged them intoplace above her knees.
“So that means you’re going further in?” heasked.
“Of course, Nosferatu. Don’t go getting allbroody on me tonight. Relax and have some fun. Tomorrow we can goback to worrying about being jumped by a bunch of Savages, mymother’s insanity, and world peace, but tonight….” She sighed andgazed at the crescent moon reflected on the surface of the vastsea.
“We think we’re so big, so important, butwe’re this infinitesimal speck in the grand scheme of things,” shesaid as she glanced at him. “Tonight, I want tobethatspeck.”
Maggie didn’t look back at Aiden as shewalked into the water. Icy waves crept up her legs, but shecontinued until she stood midway up her calves in the ocean. Whenthe waves rolled in, they brushed against her knees, dampened thebottoms of her jeans, and occasionally grazed her fingers. The flowof her blood seemed to match the rhythm of the waves.
She didn’t hear Aiden approaching, but hisarm warmed hers when he stopped beside her. She looked up at him,and her breath caught at the expression on his face. She’d neverseen such raw hunger from another before, and it was focused onher.
Is it my blood he hungers?
A strand of her auburn hair blew forward,and Aiden clasped it in his hand. The moonlight brought out thedeeper shades of red in it as he slid his fingers over the silkenlock. Her mouth parted while she watched him.
Ignoring the chill of the waves, he steppedcloser until they stood chest to chest. She nibbled her bottom lipas he wrapped her hair around his wrist and cinched it in his fist.Gently tugging her head further back, he bent until her breathwhispered over his mouth.
For years, he’d craved pain, blood, sex, anddeath; now all he craved washer. Keeping her hair in hisgrasp, he slid his hand up until he cradled the back of her head.Her hands fell on his chest; he waited for her to push him away.When she didn’t, he stopped denying himself and claimed hermouth.
Maggie’s knees almost gave out when histongue caressed her lips before she parted them and he entered hermouth. She felt drugged by the heady sensation as he kissed herlike he was making love to her. Her fingers curled into his shirt;the muscle of his chest felt carved from stone as she pulled himcloser.
Everything about him was hard, yet when hetugged her hair further back to deepen his kiss, his touch wastender. Maggie gasped when he slipped his other arm around herwaist and, lifting her onto her toes, drew her hips flush againsthis. When the evidence of his arousal pressed against her, sheflattened her hands on his chest to push him away.
This was all going far faster than what shewas used to, but when his hand stroked her side, her hips thrustforward and she ground against his erection. All thoughts ofshoving him away vanished. She melted against him as his tongue andhands wove a spell around her that had everything in her beggingfor more of him.
Then, something slimy brushed against hercalf before wrapping around it like an octopus embracing its prey.With a squeak, Maggie jerked back and his arm slid away from herwaist. Her eyes flew to the sea, she half expected to see atentacle clinging to her as whatever it was tickled her leg again.Then, she started to laugh.
