“Well, you know what they say about assuming.”
I traced along the seams of his jacket with my fingers, eliciting a shiver. “What else can you do?”
“I can feel how hard you are, love. Do you really want to stand here in your foyer discussing my abilities?”
I pulled back to look at him. Even in the darkness of the room I could see the crimson swirling around in his eyes. Iwashard, but so was he: if he could draw this out over the phone, then I could tease him right back. “You plan on going anywhere anytime soon?”
He shook his head. “Not a chance. What do you want to know?”
“We already played that game, and I’m decidedly bad at it. Considering the extent of my knowledge about vampires comes fromVan HelsingandTwilight, why don’tyoustart?”
James cocked a brow at me. “Team Edward or Team Jacob?” His grip tightened on my waist. “Your answerwilldetermine whether I stay.”
“Pfft, come on. It’s Emmett or nothing.”
He gave me that heart-stopping smile. “I’ll take it.”
“So tell me,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What else can you do, Mr. Vampire?”
“Hmm.” His body temperature dropped again, then he lightly traced an icy finger up my back. “You know that chill you get down your spine? Some might say it’s someone running over your grave?”
I nodded, recognizing the expression from my childhood.
“It’s really a vampire rushing past you too fast for you to see.”
The wheels in my mind started to turn, trying to count every time I’d felt that chill since starting at the bar. “How many times have you done that to me?”
James visibly bit back laughter. “I plead the fifth?”
“Can you even do that if you were born before the Constitution existed?”
He shrugged. “I was there when they wrote it. I think I can interpret it however I want.”
“Man, talk about robbing the cradle.”
I took a step away to lead him farther into the house, just to cry out in surprise when his arms wrapped around me from behind. “You’re not getting away that easily, Clark.”
Taking his hand in mine felt easy, natural. I led him to the kitchen. “You want a drink?”
“No, but I won’t be offended if you need another.”
I glanced at the top of the fridge, mulling over the idea of grabbing the whiskey. Deciding against it, I grabbed a bottle of water. James leaned against the table in front of me. His eyes raked over me again, settling on my stomach. His head tilted and his expression changed. I followed his gaze to the crescent-shaped birthmark under my ribcage.
“Oh, God. Please don’t stare at that.” I covered the splotch with my hand. “It’s so silly.”
“I think it’s cute,” he said.
I changed the subject. “Given that vampire popularity is atan all-time high in the last few decades, why do you hide it?”
“For that very reason. When I first turned, sneezing the wrong way could get you executed. Nowadays, I don’t think anyone would take us seriously. Either that, or we’re fetishized. People already have a view on vampires no matter what we do.”
“So the whole sparkling thing…”
“Completely made up,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Thank you,Twilight.”
“Can you turn into a bat?”
James rolled his eyes and grinned but true to his word, he didn’t judge me for asking. “No, I can’t turn into a bat—although that would be pretty cool.”
