Without conscious thought, I step from behind the tree. My attention zeroes in on the warm blood flowing in her veins. Each beat of her heart sends hunger slashing through me, and my entire body tingles. What in the holy hell is happening?
“Night swimming alone probably wasn’t the best idea.” A delicate, smoky voice startles me. Blinking, I glance around, looking for the source of the words. “It’s getting cold, but I hate to get out of the water. At least I escaped that spooky house for a little while.” It’s her. The lovely human’s thoughts are echoing in my mind without me initiating the contact. This is new. Although some vampires have the ability to listen to and even respond in a human’s thoughts, it takes practice and patience to learn to control it. I’ve never really found it useful, and I don’t attempt to do it often. This girl is different. I need to know everything about her, and I don’t feel remorse for eavesdropping in her head. “I should’ve taken the estate lawyer’s advice and sold Aunt Thelma’s house.” She must be a Briggs’ relative.
My heart pounds as the weight of the situation hits me square between the eyes. My new neighbor is gorgeous. She’s also my soulmate. There’s no denying the intense hunger eating away at my soul.
Slipping back into my hiding spot, I watch her emerge from the pond. My cock turns to stone in my pants as my eyes follow the streams of water running down her luscious body. The tiny scrap of material stretched across her ample curves leaves little to the imagination. She leans over to grab a towel, and I barely control the roar of outrage rumbling up my throat. I don’t want anything to conceal her from me. Not even a piece of cloth.
Standing in the shadows, I continue to listen to her thoughts. A clear picture of her life begins to emerge in my mind. My lovely mate is Thelma Briggs’ great-niece. After Old Lady Briggs left the property to this girl, she decided to move here temporarily and oversee liquidating the estate. She’s supposed to return home once she completes her task. Over my dead body. Literally.
I’ll just have to make sure she has a reason to stay in Belleview. With me. Forever.
Her next thoughts catch my attention. “Who knows?” She reaches up with a towel and rubs her long, wet hair. “Maybe I’ll finally find my Mr. Nice Guy while I’m here.”
This girl hunting for a man incenses me, and my fangs slip from my gums as rage heats my blood. If my stunning mate is looking for a nice guy, I’ll give her one. There’s no way I can stand back and let some other asshole have her. She’s mine. How hard can it be to turn a slightly older, lonely vampire into the man of her dreams?
I watch as she makes her way up the path toward the farmhouse. I follow close enough behind my mate to hear her thoughts but not close enough for her to sense my presence. I’m unable to control myself. As she opens the old, peeling door, a little dog runs out and bounces at her feet. “Oh, Butters.” She bends down to pick up the tiny animal. “I’m sorry I left you alone so long,” she coos, and my rock-hard dick jumps in my pants. Fuck. She isn’t talking to you; I grumble to my appendage. I’m losing my damn mind.
It’s hard but I force myself to turn and walk away. Needing alone time to sit and think about the situation, I head straight to the drawing room and shut the door. My sign to Edward not to disturb me.
This girl consumes my mind all night long. When I realize the sun will rise soon, I head downstairs to my bedroom in the reinforced basement. After taking a quick shower, I pull back the black silk covers and lie down to rest. Unfortunately, sleep eludes me throughout the sunlight hours.
When the sun finally sets on one of the longest days of my life, I shower and head upstairs for breakfast. After spending the entire day wide awake and thinking about her, I’m tired, cranky, and in desperate need of relief. The only thing that will improve my disposition is seeing my girl.
“Good evening.” Edward steps into the hallway holding a glass of fresh blood from Crimson for me and a cup of coffee for himself. “How was your rest?”
“Non-restful,” I growl and reach for the glass. “Thank you.”
My friend rolls his eyes. “You’re welcome.” Following me into the drawing room, he turns on the fake fire before watching me finish my breakfast. “What are your plans for the night?”
He takes a sip from the steaming mug. “Stalk my prey,” I answer and watch him spew hot coffee from his lips. I guess I finally managed to shock my friend. As he coughs and hacks, I walk over and pound on his back. “Are you alright?” I ask while he struggles to catch his breath.
Blinking, he stares at me silently for a few seconds. After a moment or two, he reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief and wipes the tears seeping from his eyes. “I’m going to need an explanation.”
Sitting behind my desk, I lean back and explain the situation to Edward. His eyes pop when I admit the whole truth.
“A human?” He runs his hand down his face. “You found a human soulmate?” I understand his shock. Vampires avoid humans at all costs and rarely mate.
“Yes.” I leave no room to doubt my intentions. “And she’ll be mine soon.”
Walking up the path, I hear her smoky voice, and my ears perk up. “Oh, Aaron.” Who the fuck is Aaron? “Thank you for the flowers. I’d love to have dinner with you.” Over my dead body. I take several deep breaths while listening to her talk to some asshole on the phone. “There’s no need for you to drive all the way out here, I’ll meet you in town.” No man with manners would allow such a thing. “Okay. I’ll see you at seven tomorrow night.” Eavesdropping on her thoughts, I discover all the details of her upcoming date.
By the time she hangs up, I realize I have until tomorrow to come up with some way to disrupt this blasted date. It’s time to plan Operation Mr. Nice Guy.
CHAPTER 3
Ruby
After my late swim, I found flowers and a note from Aaron Roth waiting on the front porch. He had stopped by while I was down at the pond and missed me. I spent a long, sleepless night rereading the note and debating what to do. Butters, my Yorkie, got tired of my tossing and turning. The tiny dog huffed his annoyance and jumped down to find somewhere quiet to sleep. It took all day yesterday for me to build up the courage to call Aaron and agree to a date.
We’re meeting at the Coffee Shot this evening, and I’m already regretting my decision. Although I’m ready to find Mr. Right, I know in my heart the construction company owner isn’t him. He’s been overseeing the repairs on the rickety, old farmhouse since I moved here two weeks ago, and we’ve talked many times. The tall, handsome, dark-haired man should make my heart race, but I feel nothing. When I accepted his invitation, I assured myself everything would work out. Now, I’m not too sure.
I shower before searching through my clothes until I find a cute sweater dress. After drying my long, straight, blonde hair, I pull it up into a ponytail. Glancing in the ancient mirror, I apply nude lip gloss with a trembling hand. Biting my lip, I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart. I’m not sure why the thought of going on this date is suddenly so repulsive to me. It’s like my body is warning me to stay home. Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I give Butters a kiss goodbye and leave before I talk myself out of this date.