Jumping down from the bar stool, Aila pretends to yawn.“I’m all tuckered out from the boat ride, thanks.Guess I’ll be heading off to bed.”Nodding at Luna and Ben, Aila mouths the words “good night” to me.
Amelia is all smiles.“Ben was so kind as to carry our cases to our room, Aila.He’s my hero.”
Shit.Amelia sure does slather on the compliments with a heavy hand, but from the look on Ben’s face, I can tell that he’s loving it.
Touching his cap, Ben gets all bashful.“It was nothing, Amelia.”
I’m not going to fuck things up by going in quite so hard with Amelia’s daughter.“Let me show you where the rooms are, Aila.”Nice and easy does it.I do not need Aila thinking I’m like one of those slimy Harry’s Saloon bar flies.
Before we can duck out, Luna calls me.“Theron.You forgot this.”She’s holding a bottle of special fluid for me.Aila waits for me at the door as I snatch the bottle out of Luna’s hand.
“Is that a craft beer?”Aila wants to know as we step into the night.
“Yep.But it’s strictly MC only.D’you mind if I slam this?”
A little smirk on her pretty face, Aila shrugs.“If you think you must.”
I don’t know what to do.The closeness we achieved on the bike is fading.It’s as if Amelia was able to stick a spoke in my wheel with her loud entrance.Aila is acting totally distant towards me now.
Damn, but I should have prepared for this.Luna often makes jokes about something called the “friend zone.”Is that where Aila wants to put me?
She seems to perk up out of her somber mood when she sees the inn’s front entrance outside.“It’s been made to look like a Swiss chalet.I love it.”
Clutching at straws, I take a shot in the dark, trying to find a common interest without looking like a bumbling fool.“I traveled through the Alps when I was younger.All the houses were made from wood, but the foundations and chimneys were stone.The people cherish their cows more than anything.”
Yep, they sure did—a thousand fucking years ago!I have no clue what the country is like now.
Aila gives a light laugh.“Well, the Swiss do love their cheese.”
The light wool jacket she’s wearing should be thick enough to allow me one brief touch without her reeling back from the chill of my skin.Taking her arm, I guide Aila through the unlit corridors and stairs to the room Luna set aside for the O’Haras.
“Switzerland is a land of lakes and mountains.”I want to punch out the wall with frustration.Making small talk is not my strength.“It was very beautiful, even in those days.”
Enough with the Switzerland chitchat.Why can’t I think of anything else to say?
Pushing the door open with my shoulder, I step to the side.Aila stops next to me and doesn’t go in.We are only inches apart, the perfect oval of her face shines pale in the darkness as she shakes her hair back.
The surge of bloodlust crashes like a great wave in my chest.I can’t stop my fangs from sliding out.Now is not the time to turn on the light.
“Thank you for picking me up and showing me to my room.Would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow?”
She has no idea she’s with a creature of the night.But I would go into the sunlight for Aila if it meant getting an invitation to her bedroom.
A hot blush of embarrassment floods her cheeks as she waits for my answer.“Or… or not.Sorry.I know nothing about you.Do you have a partner?”A deep breath and then she regains her composure.“Would you like to bring her along, too?”
There has never been anyone like you, Aila.Never been anyone who comes close to you.
Swallowing down the drool, I clamp my mouth closed and mutter through clenched teeth.“I will come alone—for that is what I am.”
But it doesn’t bring a smile to her face when I say that.In fact, Aila looks frightened.Stepping quickly into the room, she closes the door in my face.
Her withdrawal brings out the monster in me.How can she be so immune to my dark glamour?
I sense that she is still standing there behind the door, waiting in the gloom to hear the sound of my footsteps walking back to the bar.
I will not give you the satisfaction of sending me away!Not after four long years of seeking, waiting, and wanting…
Pressing myself against the door, I breathe in her scent.I no longer care that it petrifies her that I am still here.
