Page 17
He pauses. I finish my sandwich, shoving the last bite down my throat and licking the peanut butter away from the roof of my mouth. “Huh.” I can only manage a single word.
Xander laughs sheepishly, “I’m not really one to talk about myself.”
I grin. “Too bad. I want to know more.”
“More?” Xander’s brows furrow, and I nod my head eagerly.
“Do you have any special abilities?” I ask.
Xander grasps a cushion and hugs it to his chest, mindlessly patting the smooth fabric. For a moment, I wish I were the cushion. To be pressed up against his chest with his hands trailing across my skin.
“I can smell your emotions.” Xander’s gaze meets mine, and my breath catches. “I can smell when you're angry, or scared, or sad. Or when you’re happy or relaxed.”
I watch as his nostrils flare ever so slightly. If he wasn’t currently explaining his sense of smell, I likely would have never noticed. “Just those emotions?” I discard my plate and sit up, turning towards him and crossing my legs. My knees touch his beneath the blanket.
Xander’s eyes glow brightly, and I realize how much more metallic they now look. Rather than a silvery grey from earlier tonight at the club, they now look like chrome. Just how much of himself has he been hiding?
“I can smell you’re attracted to me. Your scent is spicy, like cayenne pepper.” Xander’s voice drops an octave, and a shiver skirts up my spine. I feel my cheeks heat with a blush, but my gaze is glued to Xander’s.
“I was hoping to lay it on thick next week. Give you some time to like me back.” I smile smugly.
Xander carefully sets his hand across my knee, letting go of the cushion at his chest. “I’ve known you would come here for a very long time, Noah.”
My heart leaps in my chest. “You have?”
He nods, and I find myself leaning towards him. Xander is unlike anyone I've met. He’s gentle, understanding, and a natural protector. He’s never once shown me an ounce of hatred or frustration. Everything he’s done for me has been with his best intentions. For some unbelievable reason, I feel like I have always been looking for a man like him. I wasn’t looking for dark hair, broad shoulders, and a voice that sends warm shivers across my skin, but deep down, beneath every character in my books, every person in my dreams, every actor in a movie, I've seen him.
“Every vampire has a skill. Mine is scent tracking,” Xander explains. “I have scented you for years before you stepped foot at my front door. I’ve caught whispers of you in the wind, the taste of you in the morning mist. Humans who find their way to Moonfell are chosen by the magic that binds us together.”
I sit frozen. Hardly able to breathe as Xander continues.
“Humans who come here are chosen to become a supernatural mate. It’s been happening for eons. Well before the town existed or had a name. This place, this house specifically, was a ritual site for couples from all walks of life to bind themselves together. I have known you were coming for decades, Noah.”
His voice breaks as he says my name, his hand now finding mine and giving my fingers a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll understand if this is too much for you to handle. Or if you want nothing to do with me. I’ll always give you a choice and I'll accept whatever you choose,” he manages, yet his throat convulses, and his hands shake.
“I don’t want to leave, Xander,” I whisper. “I’ve always been a dreamer. A believer of… more. I was attracted to you the moment you opened the front door.”
Xander lets out a sigh, his shoulder relaxing. “This must be moving like lightning for you. It’s been less than two days, and I'm already proclaiming my affection for you.”
I giggle, “I ran away from my ex-boyfriend with no idea of where I was headed, with no friends or family to help me, and with two suitcases with all my belongings and my cat. I think I can handle fast-paced.”
Xander smiles at me, his teeth catching the light. My stomach swoops, and I lean in closer. “I want to see them again.”
With pride, Xander’s smile turns wicked and his canines descend. With two large fangs on each side of his top jaw, I nearly lift my hand to touch them.
“Four fangs?”
Xander licks them, making them shine under the living room light. My body heats at the sight, and his nostrils flare again. He can smell me.
“Not every vamp has the same layout of fangs. Some have just two, while others have some on their lower jaw. A friend of mine has fangs similar to a snake.” Xander continues, “Each has their strengths and weaknesses.”
“Strengths and weaknesses? What’s wrong with yours?” I tilt my head and watch as his fangs retract into his gums.
He chuckles, “I’m rather boring to be honest. Mine do their job when I need to feed.”
“Who do you feed from?” My tone comes across far too strong, yet I can't help the sharp bubble of jealousy that rises in my chest. It’s none of my business who he feeds from, but the idea of him feeding from someone else has my skin crawling.
