“Okay.”
“You want one of each?” Even after watching him shovel down burgers last night, she hadn’t expected that.
He nodded.
“I assume fries with the burger? But what about the pizza?”
“Yes. And meat on the pizza.”
What a surprise. Not. “So no veggies.”
His eyes twinkled, sending a whole pile of butterflies fluttering through her stomach. “Why would I ruin a perfectly good pizza with veggies?”
“What was I thinking?” Chuckling, she put in his order and then poured him a beer. When he raised an eyebrow in question, she replied, “To help dilute the whiskey.” It bothered her that he seemed to be a heavy drinker. Either he had a problem or overindulged on occasion. The other possibility was that he was some sort of supernatural creature that could handle it.
Neither of the options was particularly heartening.
He downed the shots and pushed the glasses aside with his arm. Then he reached for the beer but didn’t bother to drink. His long fingers circled the glass.
Cassie swallowed heavily as the atmosphere in the room thickened. His hands were huge and rough, his fingers long and thick. What would they feel like stroking her body?
Her nipples hardened beneath her shirt. She resisted the urge to fan her face. If she didn’t rein in her wayward thoughts, she’d have to jump in a snowbank to cool down.
“Do I know you?” Tiny asked as he finished the last of the burger. She was pleased to see the color in his face was good and that he seemed more himself.
Alexei shook his head. “No.”
“You sure?” Tiny stared at him intently. “I’d swear I know you from somewhere.”
She studied both men. Tiny’s face open and sincere, Alexei shuttered and brooding. What was she missing? Had they met before? If so, why wouldn’t he just admit it?
“Hey, Tiny,” Buck called from his end of bar. “Want to shoot a game of pool?”
“Sure.” Affable as ever, he stood and grabbed his beer. “I’m sure I know you,” he told Alexei. “It will come to me.” Then he wandered off into the other room with Buck.
Alexei concentrated on his beer, twirling the glass round and round.
“So, do you know Tiny?” It was brazen of her to ask, and really none of her business. But in spite of the fact she’d masked all her supernatural senses, something wasn’t right with Alexei.
Just her luck. She finally was attracted to a guy and he was probably here to take her home. Or maybe exterminate her. Did he even know what she was? Or was this nothing more than her overactive imagination? Maybe he was socially awkward. No crime in that.
She swallowed back a scream of frustration. She was making herself crazy with all this speculation.
He remained silent, but he did finally raise his head. There was something in his expression she couldn’t quite distinguish, and it gave her pause. Was it regret? Pity?
Anger bubbled up inside her. Swallowing it back took a real effort, but she managed. With anger would come a burst of energy. That could alert one of her kind to her presence here.
“Just who the hell are you?” she demanded.
He frowned and tilted his head to one side, seeming honestly bewildered by her question. “Alexei Medvedev.”
It was tempting to let it go, but she couldn’t afford to. She leaned closer until their foreheads were almost touching. “Let me rephrase the question. What are you?” If she was wrong about him, he’d be confused by her question. If she could catch him off guard, she might get an honest reaction.
He released a chuff, the sound more animalistic than human.
It all suddenly made sense—his big size, his enormous appetite, his ability to easily handle whiskey like it was water. The dark, musky scent that clung to his skin.
She checked to make sure no one else could hear. For once, the jukebox was quiet and there was only the hum of the television over the bar.
“You’re a shifter of some kind, aren’t you?” She had no idea just what she was dealing with, but having one of his kind show up in Alaska and come to her place of work was no coincidence.
Without waiting for an answer, she demanded, “Why are you here?”
He straightened—his great size more intimidating than it had been up until this very moment. Without the haze of sexual attraction blinding her, it was easy to see what was glaringly obvious, to put all the clues together.
Ignorance might be bliss, but it could also be her undoing. Too bad she hadn’t seduced him last night. That ship had sailed. And that saddened her even as dread made her stomach clench.
He stared right at her, his icy-blue eyes filled with determination. “I’m here for you.”
Chapter Six
Things were not going as planned. He’d taken more blood from the man in the parking lot than he’d intended. The donor would be fine, but he usually had a lot more control. Something about this job, about being around Cassie, was messing with him.
It had gone beyond speculation. She knew he was other. She was either a very well-informed human or she was other as well. If he had to bet, he’d put his money on the latter. He still had no clue exactly what that was.
“I won’t hurt you,” he hastened to assure her.
She snorted. “As if you could.”
Now that was telling. She was wary but honestly not afraid. “What are you?” he asked.
“I asked you first,” she countered.
In spite of the tenseness of the situation, her boldness made him smile. Most people answered him when he asked them questions. She countered with her own.
“You find me amusing?”
“I find you incredible.” That seemed to take her aback. A song came on the jukebox, a slow country ballad. “Dance with me?”
Where the hell had that come from? He wasn’t exactly known for his dancing skills, but he’d give just about anything to hold Cassie in his arms. It would also keep anyone from overhearing their conversation.
“What?” She frowned, seeming as perplexed by his request as he was for making it.
“Dance with me.” He angled his head toward the patrons sitting around the room, knowing she’d understand.
Her frown deepened.
“Just one and I’ll tell you everything,” he promised.
“One,” she echoed. Ditching the cloth in her hand, she walked around the counter. He led her toward the jukebox. Every eye in the place was on them.