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He sat there, battling with himself to gain control of the beast within. Finally, Jason stood and walked over to join him.
“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long,” Jason said as he sat.
Instead of answering, Seth simply growled into his drink. He wasn’t sure if it was directed to his friend or himself. His eyes narrowed as he caught a faint trace of Willow’s scent coming from the other man.
“I can see you are in another good mood,” Jason said sarcastically before ordering a soda from the waitress. “I didn’t know the Night Crawlers were playing tonight…”
Seth grunted in response and tossed back the drink the woman had just placed in front of him in one long swallow. He didn’t care what the band did. It didn’t matter if there were a dozen people or more than a hundred in the room. He was only aware of one woman. But she refused to be near him.
As another song began, the too familiar ache spread through his stomach again. He’d been careful to drink before he entered the bar, but yet again the blood had not satisfied his thirst. No one tasted as sweet as Willow did. No one else had been able to ease his thirst, no matter how much he drank. He’d come damn close to draining the last few people from whom he’d drunk.
“Seth, you have got to get over this. Whatever happened between you and that girl is over, you need to stop…”
He wasn’t sure how he looked, or why Jason had stopped speaking. He didn’t care. Willow was walking toward him.
“May I join you?” she asked.
He couldn’t help feeling a tingle of excitement. Would she sit on his lap again if he said yes? “Of course.” His tingle froze as she sat on one of the unused chairs. Fighting back another wave of pain, Seth tried to smile. “Would you like something to drink?” He was amazed to hear his voice sound so calm, as the waitress brought Jason his soda.
“No, thanks. I won’t be staying long.”
Trying to appear relaxed, he leaned back in his chair, drinking in the sight of her. She looked as if she felt the same way he had since she left, as though she’d been living in the same hell. There were dark purple circles under her eyes even her make-up could not completely conceal. Was that why I have been unable to find her? Has she been refusing to sleep? For her to attempt such a feat proved how strong a will she had. It made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect and comfort her more than ever. He wanted to promise he would keep her safe and know that she believed him, that she trusted him.
Despite her apparent exhaustion, she was easily more beautiful than any other woman in the room.
“Um, I need to ask Seth a few questions…” She spoke hesitantly.
“I’ll just go get a refill from the bar,” Jason said, getting up from his chair and, taking his still full glass, walked across the room.
“What would you like to know?” Seth couldn’t seem to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards, into a small smile. This was similar to their first meeting. What else would mimic that first meeting? And by the old gods, she smelled delicious. His body couldn’t help remembering her passionate response to his caresses and stirred to life. His teeth ached as he though about her physical response to his bites.
“What did you do to me? Was that dream real?” she demanded.
“Yes, it was.” Leaning forward, Seth decided he would be completely honest since he didn’t know if he’d ever have a second chance. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I simply wished to apologize for frightening you earlier. You did not stay long enough for me to do so in person,” he explained.
“How could you find me like that?” Willow wore a bewildered expression, a look of concern slowly mixing in with it.
Seth shifted his gaze to her neck then back to her face in response.
Immediately she lifted her fingers to brush the spot where she had carried his mark. The move created havoc on his senses. Underneath the make-up, there was still a faint trace of it on her skin. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
“So because of…” Her fingers brushed against her neck again as she hesitated. “You can enter my dreams anytime you want?”
“Yes,” he told her truthfully.
“Damn.” She swore under her breath. “Wow, I feel like I should move to Elm Street.” He looked at her, eyes narrowing in confusion. “Like the movie,” she explained slowly. “A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger…”
Shaking his head, he admitted he didn’t understand the reference she was trying to make.
“Boy, you really don’t watch much television. In the movie,” she sighed, “there’s a little rhyme. I won’t go through all of it, but at the end it goes ‘nine, ten, never sleep again’.”
“I’m not sure I understand where you are going with this.”
“The point is, I guess, I’ll never be able to sleep again. I don’t want to worry if there is going to be an uninvited guest inside my head, or my dreams.” She leaned her head back, her eyes closing.
She stayed that way for several minutes, causing Seth to wonder if she had fallen asleep. Pleasure filled him at the thought of feeling her in his arms again as he carried her out of the bar, even if it was to simply put her in her friend’s car.
“Sweetheart?” He called to her softly, not wanting to disturb her if she had fallen asleep.
