“Your roommates are geniuses,” she repliedas she took the plastic bag from him.
Ian couldn’t help but admire the sway of herhips as he followed her into the kitchen. Her lithe body hadhaunted more than a few of his dreams last night, and left him witha severe case of morning wood upon waking. The run into town hadbeen a good way to burn off some of his remaining lust and thebooze still in his system. The booze may be gone, but looking ather made the blood rush back into his dick again.
He placed the other bag on the counter asshe settled in at the small table in the kitchen. The damp tendrilsof her hair spiraled over her shoulders and dampened the blacksweater she wore. The scent of apples drifted from her, prickinghis hunger and making his fangs tingle. What he wouldn’t give torun his tongue over her flesh and sink his fangs into her creamythroat. Ambrosia, that’s what her blood would be, he was certain ofit.
Forcing his attention away from her, hefocused on the kitchen. It had a two-burner wood stove to cook on,and what he assumed people had once considered an ice chest. Therewere bags of ice stored in the chest, along with the fewperishables Emma had bought and stored inside. He’d grabbed acouple more bags of ice while he’d been in town. The ice crackedand broke apart when he banged it on the counter. It clinkedtogether when he dumped it into the chest.
Paige opened up the first Styrofoamcontainer from wherever he’d ordered it. The sight of the crispybacon made her mouth water. She grabbed a piece and munched on itas he finished unpacking the last two bags. Her eyebrows rose atthe sight of the sketchpad and pencils he placed on the counter.Her fingers tingled with the urge to grasp hold of the supplies andopen the pad.
“What are you doing with those?” she asked,unable to tear her eyes away from them.
He turned toward her. “You don’t remembertelling me you liked to draw last night?”
Paige glanced between him and the pad. Herbrain slogged through the memories of last night until it drummedup the one he was talking about. Shehadtold him about herlove of drawing sometime during one of their umpteenth hands ofcards. She couldn’t recall what had driven her to pick up her firstpencil and put it to paper, but she’d always felt the urge to takethe images in her mind and put them to paper. It had been a way toescape a world that had been more than a little frightening whenshe’d been a child.
Looking up, she found him raptly watchingher with an almost hopeful expression on his face. “I didn’t thinkyou would remember,” she murmured.
“I remember many things,” he replied withease. The suggestive gleam in his eye made her toes curl. Sheducked her head away and focused on her meal again. “The storedidn’t have much of an art section, but I figured with the lack ofall things electronic you’d like something else to do.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “Thankyou. It’s one of the nicest things someone has done for me inyears,” she replied honestly.
Ian glanced at the simple pad and assortmentof pencils before looking at her again. She deserved far more thanthese simple things, and he wouldn’t mind being the one who gavethem to her. “It shouldn’t be, you deserve far more than this, andyou should have it.”
Paige found herself completely speechless asshe stared at him. What kind of a murderous vampire bought a girl asketchpad? He was, without a doubt, the most confusing man she’dever encountered. She tried to keep hold of her hate and distrustof him, but he kept hammering away at all of her firm resolve.
She focused on her meal and dug into theeggs with the plastic utensils the restaurant had supplied. Heclosed the last cabinet he’d placed some canned food into beforeturning to face her. She knew she must look like a pig, but shedidn’t care. She’d never been one not to eat or to curb herappetite in front of others; she loved food, all of it. Using hertoast, she pushed the remaining eggs onto it and finished off hermeal.
“Full?” he asked.
“I am. It definitely hit the spot. Thankyou.” His white teeth flashed as he rested his arms on the counter.“You didn’t expect me to run while you were gone?”
“No, I thought you might, but like I saidyou’re not a prisoner here. I need you to stay here until I know myfamily is safe.”
“What would you have done if I did run?” sheinquired.
“I would have found you.” She had no doubtabout that, especially if he could run forty miles in five minutes.Stepping away from the counter, he slid into the rickety chairacross from her. “But better me than the grizzlies,” he teased.
“Maybe,” she muttered.
“Are you back to being a Grumpy Gus again?”he inquired. “Perhaps we’ll have to keep you drunk on Scotch thewhole time we’re here.”
“Ugh,” she groaned.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I took the canoe down to the lake earlier,”he said as he tapped his fingers on the table. “There’s not muchelse to do around here, would you like to try some fishing orboating on the lake.” She bit on her lip as she pondered hisquestion. “I promise not to bite,” he cajoled.
A small laugh escaped her. “I’m not sure mystomach is up for water right now.”
“Ah, I see. The pitfalls of being human. Wecould always go for a walk.”
“I think I can handle that.”
He rose so swiftly, and in such an elegantway that she had to clamp her mouth shut in order to keep fromgawking. “Good.” He held his hand out to her. She stared at itbefore reluctantly sliding her hand into his. The feel of his skinagainst hers caused a delicious shiver to travel down her spine. Hemay be one of the undead, but no one had ever made her feel morealive than he did.
“That didn’t hurt, did it?”
