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I nodded and something in the display case caught my eye. The sign on it said it was an Apple turnover, and I immediately decided that it needed to be part of my lunch.
"The blood bag is not quite doing it for me now though," he remarked casually.
"Really?" I responded, distracted by another dish I saw in the case.
All of a sudden he was leaning towards me, his breath soft against my skin. "Now that I’ve tasted you, any other blood might as well be dirt."
That drew my attention away from the food, and I stared at him, a little surprised…and again, a little turned on.
"Um… Sorry about that," I answered, because what else could I say? Although the more time I spent with him, the more the idea of offering my neck to him didn't sound distasteful.
Before I could say anything, Ares was ordering everything in the display case, plus sandwiches and bags of chips.
Even if I tried my best, I wouldn't be able to eat it all, but by how good it smelled, it was worth giving it a shot.
We went to sit at a table and waited for our food to be brought to us.
"When you're up to it, my second-in-command, Connor, would love to have us over for dinner. He's…my best friend, and I leave him in charge when I’m gone."
Unlike the dinner parties I'd attended with Alistair, all of which I'd dreaded, the idea of this one made me excited…and intrigued, wondering what else I would discover about Ares around his friends.
A teenage girl came out carrying a tray loaded down with our food. She set it down on a stand and started passing out the plates, chattering enthusiastically to Ares about her new boyfriend, and the fact that her sister was getting married.
"Daddy says you said yes?" she asked him. She was a pretty girl, with spring green eyes, dirty blonde hair, and a cute button nose.
"I did. Now I gotta brush up on my wedding script," he teased. "This is Katie," he told me, "She's Connor's youngest."
"Hello," I said politely. But evidently she knew all about me already and her chattering was just as enthusiastic towards me as it had been for Ares.
"You should come over for dinner," she was begging after all the dishes had been laid out.
I nodded, a bit dazed by her enthusiasm as she darted away to assist more customers.
"Connor's oldest, Kelly, is getting married, and they've asked me to officiate the wedding," he explained.
"That's quite the honor," I told him, and he nodded, like he couldn't believe his good fortune.
“It's at the beginning of the festival at the end of next week actually. It’s been torture to miss the festival for the last few years, so I'm excited I've made it back in time. You're going to love it."
I took a bite of the apple turnover, ignoring my sandwich for the moment. I moaned in pleasure as the cinnamon apple taste rushed over my tongue.
Was there something in the water here? Because everything I tried ended up the best food I'd ever eaten in my life.
When I opened my eyes, heat surged through my core…because of the way he was staring at me…
He adjusted his crotch discreetly. “Don’t make those sounds while we’re in public ever again,” he muttered, sounding a bit cranky. “Now I have to get rid of this hard-on before we can leave the cafe.”
I giggled, blushing furiously. I felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush. Giddy and nervous all at once.
It was hard to fathom that just a day ago, I was in Alistair's clutches, staring down a miserable life.
It was like I'd lost a five hundred pound weight I didn't even realize I was carrying.
I stared around the café, listening to everyone's lighthearted chatter.
But how long would it last?
"How long are you here this time?" I asked, and the humor in Ares’s eyes died. He looked away, his jaw tense.
