Meeting my gaze, he opens and closes his mouth twice before saying, “I’m fine. Just moving these bags over so I can get the mixer back here.”
As exposed asIam, there is also no hiding the tightening and bulging inhisjeans. I try not to look, but fail. “I apologize for my inappropriate appearance. I’ve just gotten up.” Taking a step back, I place my hand on the doorknob.
Slow and steady, he lowers the bags to the ground. “Your apology is unnecessary. I wish I could say I’m too much of a gentleman to look, Mari. But I am male, and you are stunning.”
My cheeks heat, and I turn so he can only see my side. “I’m glad you’re uninjured.”
There’s a kind of pain that crosses his face that only happens when arousal is keen and relief is not possible. “It was nice of you to check on me. I promise I’m tough to damage.”
I step one foot back inside, thinking of how yesterday he asked if I wanted to bite him. If he knew how much I long for a taste of him, he wouldn’t be standing in my backyard, and he certainly wouldn’t be aroused. “I’m glad to hear that.”
The sound of him letting out a long breath, then groaning, reaches my keen hearing even through the closed door. When I peek through the curtains, he’s staring out over the cemetery with his hands on his hips and his shoulders rigid.
Sam is the first giant I’ve ever met. He’s strong and taller than any human, at probably eight feet. His shoulders would barely fit through the double doors. I’m intrigued by his huge hands and how they’re capable of hauling rocks and bags of concrete, yet also gentle enough to plant flowers and maintain a meticulous garden.
I shake myself out of it. I need to stay away from Sam. He’ll build my wall, and then I’ll hardly see him. I can keep away from one handsome giant with blue-green eyes and a cock that looked very much proportionate to the rest of his magnificent body. Squeezing my thighs together does nothing to relieve my arousal. In fact, it makes it worse.
Frustrated, I return to the kitchen and drink my blood cold. Once the cup is washed out, I head for the music room. I can take my frustrations out on my piano.
Hours later, a knock on the back door shakes me out of my concentration. My fingers tingle from playing too hard and for too long. Stretching them, I rise and go to the door.
Rather than hovering at a door too small for him, Sam sits on the steps of the deck and waits for me. He looks up when I step out in jeans and a black blouse.
“I hope my playing wasn’t bothering you.” I sit but keep space between us.
His smile makes my heart pound. He shakes his head. “Your music was wonderful. I had hoped you would sing, but maybe it’s for the best you didn’t.”
“Why is that?”
“I’d never have gotten any work done. When you sing, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. Of course, when you walk outside naked or nearly so, not much work gets done either.” His eyes flash with danger and desire.
My clit tingles to life as if I hadn’t banished romance with dozens of harshly played notes. “Are you done for the day?”
With a nod, he says, “The footing is in for the wall. I’ll work on your tower’s footing tomorrow.”
Wishing my life were different, that I were different, won’t make it so. This may be a town full of monsters, but I’m dangerous, and Sam is good. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I stand.
Brushing dirt from his jeans, he stands so that he’s on the ground and I’m above on the deck. Even so, he’s still taller than I. “I wonder if you’d have dinner with me, Mari?”
“I don’t really eat.” My pulse thrums in an almost human way.
“A glass of wine then?” he asks without pause.
I back up a few steps, hoping the earthy scent of him will be less torture to my overactive libido if there’s distance between us. “It’s a bad idea.”
“That’s not a no.” He grins. “A glass of wine and a walk along the river after dark?”
My back hits the French door before I realize I’ve been backing away from what I want. “I know you’re attracted to me, Sam. I’m flattered. I really am. You don’t know what I am. All monsters are not the same.”
“I’m older than I look, Mari. As I told you, I’ve met other vampires. I’ve seen evil and good.” His eyes grow distant for the briefest moment before the joy inside him shines again. “I’ll pick you up at ten, and I’ll bring the wine.”
Without waiting for my next argument, he turns and walks around my house.
Why didn’t I protest? I could still send him away when he gets here later. I’m lying to myself. I have no intention of sending him away.
I haven’t had a date in decades. “What am I going to wear?”
It’s ridiculous that at my age, I spent an hour debating over a red skirt or a pair of jeans. I settled on the jeans and a red fitted blouse. Nervousness is for the young, and I wasn’t young for long. My foolish years were stolen when I became a vampire.
