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"Why not? This is Norfolk, not Boston. I'm walking."
He shakes his head and holds the door for me. "Not gonna happen."
"SirJulien, I need the exercise."
"Stop calling me Sir," he says. "Save it for when you beg, thanks."
“I won’t be begging.” I stand firm. "I'm walking."
He holds his hands up.
"All right. Fool yourself if you want. You can put your bags in the car and Vasily can follow us."
I finally give in. There's no point in arguing. But I'm determined our walk isn't going to be an idyllic stroll along the waterfront.
I grab a muffin and bottle of juice from the free breakfast buffet on my way out and wait outside the front entrance as Julien speaks with Vasily and makes arrangements for him to follow us. Julien puts on his coat and his fedora and dons some sunglasses. I wouldn't have known he was Julien if I met him on the street.
As he approaches, I start walking ahead, determined not to let him lead or take my arm as I imagine he'll try to do. Although I'm wearing heels, I'm adept in them due to my years of dance and can walk at quite a brisk pace if I need to. He hurries to catch up.
We walk in silence. I keep my focus on the water, watching the gulls circle around, eating my muffin.
"So it's going to be like that, is it Eve?"
I don't reply. We walk along the waterfront, and near the lab. I'm relieved that soon, we'll part and I can try to return to a normal life.Mynormal life. When we reach the walkway that leads to the lab, we stop.
"I don't get you, Eve," he says and turns to me. "One minute, you're smiling with me over something amusing. The next you won't even look at me."
"I was reminded that you've taken over my life – pretty much against my will."
"You said all in."
"As a researcher interested in understanding vampirism. As someone who wants to find out the truth. Not as your personal sex toy."
"It's a package deal."
I glance at him, see the mischievous grin on his face, and have to turn my own face away so he can't see my smile.Damn him. I start walking to the lab.
"Eve, Eve,Eve," he says and grabs my arm, stopping me. He puts his arms around me and forces me into an embrace, looking around as if to see if someone might think he was forcing me against my will. He takes off his sunglasses and looks down into my face. "Youlikeme. You really do."
I try to turn away, hiding my face from those too-intense blue eyes, but he grabs my chin and stops me.
"Youwantme. You really do."
I close my eyes, but in truth, I feel like a small child plugging my ears at something I don't want to hear.
"Look at me," he says quickly, his voice soft. I open my eyes with reluctance. "I'm right here. Any time you decide that youneedme, you just have to call."
I actually feel dizzy standing there in his arms, his voice so strong and certain, his gaze so intense.
An abyss. That's what he is. And I'm too close to the edge.
He leans down and kisses my cheek, pressing his lips there, squeezing my arms.
When he lets me go, I walk away without a word, not trusting my voice.
"Don't wait too long," he says, just loud enough for me to hear. "If I die on some operation, it'll be too late and then you won’t have either of us."
I stop in my tracks, anger and frustration filling me. That's emotional blackmail. I turn on my heel and storm back to where he stands and when I reach him, I hit his chest with a closed fist – not hard, just to make a point.
