Suddenly he stopped walking and whistling. I was thankful for the silence, but I wasn’t sure why he stopped. He spun around in my direction and looked up the bank at where I was ducked behind a tree. He stayed that way for a few minutes before I saw him shrug his shoulders and keep walking. He wasn’t whistling as he went and every few seconds, he would look over his shoulder like he could sense I was behind him. I liked that he was that in tune with things so that he knew something was different. It was a skill that probably would have kept him alive if it were anything or anyone else following him. Unfortunately for him, I could outsmart him.
I followed him for what felt like forever until he came across a small tavern and ducked inside. I waited out there to see how long he would be and if he would come out with anyone. Not that that would have stopped me from picking him, but it helped to know how much of a challenge he would end up being.
The doors swung open again and I could see inside a little. The place wasn’t fancy, and I was overdressed to go in even if I wanted to. The trick was to blend in, not stand out. If he was into the downplayed look, I would have to get into that too.
The music coming from inside made my ears hurt. I hated the twangy new country music and that was all I’d heard since I got there. None of the music was much compared to what I used to know, and I wondered how, as a whole, people had gotten dumber.
The door swung open again and I saw him. He was with three other men and they were laughing and smacking each other on the backs. It was another thing people did that they didn’t used to do. They were all loud and clearly drunk.
“Sure you aren’t going to change your mind?” one man said to another. “Marriage is a one-way death sentence.”
“For you maybe. I got lucky with this one. She makes me happy and she gives it up every night,” another one said, and they all laughed.
“Well, I’m happy for you, Scott. Not all of us are so lucky in love.” His voice was amazing, and I found myself drawn to him. He laughed with the others, but there was something different about him.
I started to wonder if I was screwing up by picking him. It looked like he had many people who cared about him. I wanted the challenge though. I knew if I talked to Regan he would know what to do. I would have to wait until just before dawn to see him. Until then, I would follow that man and see where he went from the bar. I wanted to see if there was anyone waiting for him at home or if he was another lonely human lost in the world alone.
CHAPTER SIX
I waited until he unlocked his door before moving closer. He had turned around several times on the short walk to his place, but I made sure to stay out of sight. He flipped on almost every light in his small one level apartment before he stopped moving around. Moving closer, I looked into the window of the room where the last light had gone on.
I stood there and watched as the man removed his shirt and carelessly flung it to the ground. His shoes and socks were the next to go. As he did that, I looked around the room and from what little I could see through the small crack of the curtains, I couldn’t see any signs of a woman being there with him.
My gaze went back to him just as he began to remove his jeans. He wasn’t wearing anything under them, and his ass looked amazing. I waited, hoping he would turn around, and was about to give up and go back home when he froze in his tracks. I ducked down a little farther when he started to come closer to the window I was looking into. The front of him was even better than the back and, for the first time since Regan, I found myself attracted to this stranger.
He stopped by the little stand next to his bed and picked up his phone. I watched as he moved to the bathroom and started the shower. He fiddled with his phone for a few more seconds as steam began to pour out of the small room and into his bedroom. Music started to flow out of the window and into my ears as he set the phone down and climbed into the shower. I wasn’t sure what he was listening to because I couldn’t make out any of the words, only screaming and loud drums and guitars. He seemed to like it though because he was screaming along to the “music” as I turned to go.
The sun would be up in a few hours and I had to compose myself before Regan came home. It would be hard enough keeping what I had been doing from him. It wasn’t like I wanted the man that bad or that I would have done anything about it anyway. I was Regan’s and he was mine. There wasn’t another soul on the planet that would have changed that.
I PACED THE FLOOR OF the kitchen while waiting for him to get home. It felt like forever since I had gotten there, and I was starting to worry. The sun was already trying to peek above the earth. Reaching and stretching, the rays darted out in all directions as light fought off the darkness.
It wasn’t like him to stay out that long and all the bad things that could happen to a vampire started to race through my mind. While most people thought we were a myth, a fable parents made up to scare little children, there were a few who knew better, and they lived to hunt us. Wiping us from existence was their only goal in life. None of them thought to stop and see who we really were.
Maybe they were the smart ones though. There were more times than not I questioned why we had to kill them to live. It wasn’t that I hadn’t enjoyed it. The nights we went out for a few meals, those were my favorite. We would always come home after and Regan would carry me up to our room, lay me on our bed, and we would make love for hours. The high of the blood coursed through our veins and it made everything feel that much sweeter.
The door flinging open and Regan storming in pulled me from the memory of the last time we hunted together. His face was red, and he was clearly out of breath. Sweat formed droplets where his hairline kissed his forehead and his hand swung wildly in front of his torso.
“Regan, stop moving. What’s wrong?”
“Everything. I screwed up, my love, and I am so sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was out on the date I set up and things went great. She will definitely work.”
“Then what’s the problem? Why are you acting so strange?”
“I was on my way home to you when a scent caught my attention. The blood was the sweetest I had ever smelt, and I found myself miles from where I set out to go. The smell led me to the docks on the other side of town. By the time I realized what was going on, I was surrounded. It was a group of men that had lured me out with the smell of virgin blood. I pulled my hood over my face so they couldn’t make out any features, but I had to fight them off. It was five against me and I wasn’t going to lose and leave you all alone. I know I killed at least two of them before I got away, but now I’m worried they will track us and find you. I messed up. I’m so sorry.”
“Regan,” I said and moved closer. I took his face in my hands and made him look at me. “I’m not worried about it. There are so many people in this town, there’s no way they would be able to tell it was you. Stay in for a few nights and let things blow over and we will be alright.”
“How can you even think that?” he snapped.
“Because we were drawn here for a reason and if we don’t follow through with it, there will be many restless days ahead of us.”
“What if they find the house and you’re home without me?”