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“Do a lot of drinking?” She meant it as a joke, but her words came out dull and weird.
He glanced at her over his shoulder, frowning. “No. You?”
She sighed heavily. He’d just saved her life. For that alone she should cut him some slack. “I thought it would sound funny but it didn’t. Sorry.”
He lifted a clear glass goblet to her. “You’re allowed.”
As he poured, she moved close to the island and took the glass. She sipped, then moaned. “Oh, that’s good.”
But her throat closed up unexpectedly and she leaned over the island, a sob erupting from her throat. She set her goblet down and planted her hands over her face because she started crying for no damn good reason at all.
And she wasn’t a crier.
And her ass felt thoroughly exposed and still hurt like hell.
The next thing she felt was the vampire’s hand on her back, rubbing in a gentle circle. “Go ahead, let it out, Iris. You’ll be the better for it.”
“I don’t want to cry.”
“Do it anyway. My mom told me women sometimes need to let the waterworks flow to keep the lid from blowing.”
She chuckled softly, because he was right.
And Connor remembered his mother, which made her really sad in another way at the same time.
So for the next few minutes, she wept. She kept feeling the rumble beneath the bridge as the old stones spoke to her, telling their horrible secret.
She should have died out there. Connor as well.
A box of tissues appeared and she blew her nose. She then rose upright, meeting his gaze. “You saved us.”
“So did you.” He frowned as he stared at her. “We can call it even.”
“I don’t think it’s even at all. You didn’t have to do anything. You could have just taken off and left me there, but you didn’t. You picked me up.”
“And you didn’t have to warn me. But you did.”
Her smile was crooked. “I had some self-interest in the matter.”
At that, he smiled as well.
Oh, God, he was even better-looking when he showed some teeth. For a moment, she was drawn away from the disaster on the bridge. Connor was handsome as hell. His eyes were blue and intense, he had strong cheekbones, a straight nose with a sexy dip at the bridge, and arched eyebrows. He wore his dark brown hair pulled away from his face, the upper portion bound in a leather strap. The rest was wavy and hung to his shoulders. She loved the look on him.
He didn’t look a day over thirty, though she knew from web-browsing that he’d been one of the early alters and had some years on him. Long-life had been the trade-off for the heinous change that had made him a vampire and her a witch.
She took another sip of wine then caught Connor’s arm. “Thank you. Seriously. I’m more grateful than words can possibly express.”
~ ~ ~
Connor couldn’t breathe. The forbidden woman of his dreams had her hand on his arm and once more that strange powerful energy radiated where she touched him. He didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay in this position for about a year, looking at her, feeling her hand on him.
He was nothing but grateful as well that Iris was still alive. His own ass, he hardly cared about. But Iris was a good woman, someone who should stay as far away from him as she could. If it ever made sense for her to date a vampire, he should be a last choice, not a first.
His gaze fell to her lips. He’d imagined kissing her, plunging his tongue deep, letting her feel what he really wanted to be doing.
When she sighed, he searched her eyes. She shifted toward him just enough and her breathing changed, higher in her chest.
Her lips parted.
