“When I turned?” He finished for me. “Thirty-eight.”
I was no longer looking at James. Well, not his face anyway. Instead, I was interested in the small gap separating our hips. He was a step to my left, arms crossed over his chest. My hand rested on the counter behind me, mere millimeters from brushing his side. He shifted again, pulling my eyes down to where his jeans hugged his hips. He recrossed his right foot over his left, pulling that fabric even tighter around his gorgeous frame. My mouth watered, my grip tightening on the counter until my knuckles turned white.
“Ryder?”
“Hm?” With every available ounce of strength in my body, I forced my eyes back up to meet his.
“You never answered my question.”
“Which question?” I was surprised I could remember my own name at that point. My eyes were fixed on his, glued to them as if a magnet pulled them together. My bottom lip stung as my teeth dug into it.
“Is my age—my true age—a dealbreaker for you?”
I took another deep breath and forced myself to focus. We’d never be able to get through this conversation if I couldn’t get it together. “If anything would be a dealbreaker, it’d be the vampire thing itself.”
“Fair enough.” James’s entire body relaxed when he laughed, smile lines creasing the corners of his eyes. Actually, as I looked—and trust me, I did; those eyes were fucking intoxicating—that same red hue swirled around his irises.
“Your eyes.”
“What about them?”
“They’re red again. It happened before, in the kitchen. Does it always happen, and I’ve just never noticed?”
He shook his head, glancing down at his feet. I placed a finger under his chin and directed his eyes back to mine. Had he wanted to fight me, I knew damn well he could have, but he let me. “My eyes change color when I feel a strong emotion.”
I finished off my scotch, blaming the alcohol for the heat that washed through my body. I faced James, slimming the distance between us. My hand stayed on the counter, though I desperately wanted to touch him, to feel his skin under my fingertips, his body on mine. “What are you feeling right now?” My voice was low, raspy.
James’s eyes flitted down to my lips before returning to mine. His irises were deep red, any evidence of chocolate brown hidden beneath a vibrant crimson. “Ireallylike you, Ryder,” he rumbled.
I studied his lips, the perfect curve of his cupid’s bow stunningly accented by the fullness of the pouty bottom lip that had been fixed between his teeth for most of the night.
“Then do something about it,” I dared him. For weeks I’d been fantasizing about the man in front of me, and damn it, I wasn’t going to wait any longer. If he wouldn’t do it, then I’d take matters into my own hands.
The corner of his mouth pulled into a smoldering grin. “Not going to chicken out again?”
My eyes narrowed in response to his teasing.Not a chance. My hand left the counter and I grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him into the hot, blistering kiss I’d been craving. The initial chill from his lips sent shockwaves through my body, but it was chased off by the electricity coursing through my veins. He grasped at the nape of my neck, fingers twisting into my hair while his other hand found myhip. He pulled, closing the distance between our bodies as I teased that sexy-as-hell bottom lip.
I sighed into his mouth when his lips parted for me. I sank my teeth into his lip, earning a low growl from him.
“Don’t stop,” he snarled when I backed off.
I smiled, and he pulled me back in. We grasped for any piece of each other we could get our hands on. I gripped his t-shirt, cursing the thin layer of fabric separating me from his bare skin. My hand wandered over his chest and stomach, and his hand tightened on my hip. We spun, and he effortlessly lifted me up, wedging himself between my legs. Bottles on the shelf behind me clattered, threatening to fall as my ass hit the counter. As my lips parted on a moan, James speared his tongue into my mouth to tangle with mine.
I tugged his waist to bring him closer, though every inch of his hard, chiseled body already pressed into me—right down to the bulge of his cock straining against his zipper. My own throbbed, pushing a whimper past my lips.
James broke the kiss, chuckling as I chased him for more while attempting to catch my breath. “We should slow down.”
“Why?” I panted, leaning in for another kiss. He ducked out of the way. “Slow is no fun.”
James’s flat hand pushed me gently back. “Because I don’t think me taking you right here where anyone could see is a good idea for business.”
“Speak for yourself,” I grumbled. “That’s hot.”
“Go home,” he said with a smile. “Wait for me. I promise I’ll make it worth it.”
I groaned and collapsed against the shelf behind me. With my eyes closed, I focused on my breathing in an attempt to bring myself down.
James’s voice cut through the silence. “Are you okay?”
