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Heat crept from her chest to her cheeks. Every single word that came from his mouth reminded her of one of the intimate positions they’d found themselves in together. His quick wit, his sensual voice, they slayed her. So did his complete, focused attention. He never looked away from her, around the room, or at his phone. She felt he really saw her in a way few did—and found herself wanting to show him the same level of attention.

“So I suppose you also remember the ride home?”

Torr nodded. “Tell me more. And if you think, for a moment, to be embarrassed about the fact that your father was arrested, remember that I can horrify you ten times over with tales of my own past. And not one committed by my family either. I’ve more marks against my own soul without considering those of others.”

Against that lead-in, her own tale seemed quite tame.

“We lost everything when my father and his business partner were caught embezzling millions from their own company. At first, I’m embarrassed to admit, I mourned the loss of pretty cars and dresses. But later, when my father was sentenced and my parents’ marriage fell apart, I learned about loss. And not the kind that saw me making my own breakfast. The kind that makes you wish for a new family, a new life. One I started here in Stone Haven after going to college to be a teacher.”

And although she’d become accustomed to keeping her past private, Charlotte found herself telling him everything. About her mother’s apparent need for wealth having remarried at an alarmingly quick rate.

“I thought my purpose was finally clear,” she admitted. “But now I’m not so sure.”

“What do you mean?”

It was difficult to explain. “Being department chair. Having a respectable job.”

She shrugged. “It’s not quite the same as protecting an entire bloodline against a threat so strong they can be lethal to”—she lowered her voice—“immortals.”

“Purpose,” Torr said, taking a sip of his drink. “I’ve found nothing yet more powerful to live for.”

He wasn’t usually so serious, but Charlotte liked this side of him. She also liked the side that winked at her a moment later when he, as usual, took something she said out of context. He could turn pretty much any of her words into something about sex.

They were on their third round, and the nerves she’d felt earlier in the night had completely dissipated. Torr might be a centuries-old vampire, but he was also a pretty fun guy.

As if you didn’t know that from Stage West. Or your apartment.

She found herself thinking, again, about the first impression he’d made on her. How she’d thought him brash and arrogant and little more. “What’s with the smart-ass, devil-may-care charade?” she blurted out.

“Charade?”

“Yeah. And if you think by doing that lip thing I’m going to forget the question—”

“Lip thing?” he asked, eyes wide, as if he were genuinely innocent.

Oh, what a tease. The band started to play again, and Torr pretended he couldn’t answer her over the music. Right. They listened for a moment, soaking in the soothing, sensual strains of jazz.

She was about to explain what she’d meant when he did it again. But this was no quick lick of the lips. Slower and more methodical than usual—a confirmation that the cad knew precisely what he was doing.

Heart racing, Charlotte would see his boldness and raise it one.

“Pay the bill,” she said.

Torr hesitated.

“The bill,” she said more firmly, getting to her feet.

Her meaning could not have been clearer. And so he did.

Tossing a hundred-dollar bill on the table, he followed her out of the bar. Charlotte could sense him behind her as she opened the door that led to the stairs, but she didn’t stop. In fact, she put a little burst of speed on, just for fun. First, the stairwell. Then, the street. Crisp October air filled her lungs as she laughed aloud at her own forwardness.

Torr caught up with her a minute later, spinning her around and pressing her up against the back of the building they’d just left. His kiss seared her lips. Hot and all-consuming. She forgot everything, including the fact that they were in a somewhat public space. Only when boots clacked against the pavement did Charlotte pull away, quite a feat with her head pressed up against the brick wall. Wiggling out from under his grasp, she found herself running. Never before had she savored the thought of being chased.

Laughing like a maniac, high on his kisses, she ran all the way to her apartment building. She assumed he was behind her for the two blocks, but he was nowhere to be seen when she spun around.

She’d seen how fast he could be. Shouldn’t he have kept up? Or overtaken her?

A gasp escaped her as a strong hand grasped her wrist from behind, warm and wonderful and so very strong. Torr tugged her up the stairs.