Chapter 1

Sushi

 

Danielle’s trench coat fell into the hamper with a heavy plopping sound. That was followed by her not quite so damp socks, her rather wet leggings, her thick tunic sweater, which was also damp, and finally her bra and panties. A shiver danced through her body as she reached for the pink bathrobe draped over the end of her bed and shoved her arms into its fluffy warmth. Yanking the sash tight around her waist, she made her way to the bathroom.

Returning from her morning classes left her soaked despite having brought an umbrella, and wearing knee-high boots. But she knew Ethan would be calling, and she knew he would take her out tonight. While that thought appealed to her, going back out into the English drizzle, without warming up first, didn’t.

But she would venture back out into it, as this was the only night they were allowed to go out on dates. Friday. Beon had said it was because they could better be hidden in the crowds on that night. She understood the reasons for the limitation, or what Beon said the reasons were—something about civil war and her being in the middle of it. Of course she thought perhaps he was being a little melodramatic. She’d seen no signs of war for weeks.

Danielle poured bubble bath into the hot water falling from the spout. The scent of honey and oatmeal heated and rose to her nose. After removing her robe, she sank into the steaming, foam-covered water, hissing as she lowered her body. The bathwater was almost, but not quite too hot. Her nerves disagreed until they got used to it. The goal was to warm herself to the core, and this had been a successful way of dealing with the uncomfortable climate in this damp city. These near-scorching baths had become a habit for this American living in London.

Despite the weather, Danielle loved it here. She loved living with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, Brianna. She loved the new experiences, the British slang and the English style food. She had suffered a certain degree of culture shock in the beginning, then mythical creatures fell into the mix, and her whole world changed. She’d learned about so much more than just art. She’d learned about frightening things that go bump in the night and enchanting things, such as fairies. Things she never dreamed existed. Ethan, her boyfriend who happened to be an ex-vampire had introduced her to a whole new world. A world that was sometimes disturbing, and many times dangerous to her health, but certainly a tad more exciting than just being an art student at Central St. Martins.

Danielle sighed, and once she felt warm enough, or rather hot enough, she rose from the suds, stepped onto the bathmat, dried off, drew the robe back on, and made her way back to her bedroom. She tugged on a pair of dry socks, then sat down at her desk and checked over her homework schedule.

However, she wasn’t truly into it. Dragging her sketchpad closer, Danielle began doodling in charcoal, not really seeing what she was drawing. She was looking forward to Ethan’s call and couldn’t focus on much else besides making certain her phone was within easy reach while waiting for it to ring ... and she answered the second it did.

“Evening, darling. How was your bath?” Ethan replied in that British lilt of his. Danielle grinned because she really quite loved how he drew out his a’s saying daaarling and baaath.

“How do you know I had a bath?” she asked.

“That’s what you did when I brought you home after Lucas tried to take you.”

Danielle shivered at the memory. “Yeah, and you’d given me the coldest ride of my life through the foggy streets of London.”

Ethan laughed. “Sorry about that. Did the soak warm you sufficiently?”

“Yes,” she said, but didn’t say, to the point of sweating. “So, are we going out tonight?”

“I’d love to. What would you like to do?”

“How about a movie?”

He chuckled, and said, “We’ve been to a lot of pictures lately and we never watch them.”

“I know. I love that!”

“You just like the fact that it’s dark and no one bothers us.”

“And you like the popcorn.” He’d eaten the entire tub of it before the movie started and then got a refill every time.

Ethan made a sound of agreement, then said, “I happen to like the activities after the popcorn more so.” Danielle could hear the grin in his confession.

“What about the movie? Do you like that too?” Danielle asked, completely knowing the answer.

“What movie?” Ethan replied, laughing again.

“Okay, so it’s decided, we’re doing a movie tonight.”

“Dinner first?” he offered.

“Sure.”

“Where would you like to go?”

“Anywhere.”

“All right, I’ll be there at five.”

“Great, see ya then!”

Danielle knew she needed to inform her guard about their plans so he could follow. She went to the window, brushed aside the lace curtain, and pulled it open. Leaning out on her elbows, she peered into the lush, wet garden that appeared to be empty of any life besides the greenery and insects. Danielle knew otherwise.

“Hello,” she called softly. “Just so you know, Ethan and I are going to a movie tonight. He’ll be here at five.”

It wasn’t long before Cedric appeared as though he’d materialized. She wondered where it was he stayed hidden, but the question of what he did to pass the time was answered when he slipped an iPod into his pocket and tipped his face up toward hers. “Does this mean we have to watch you and Ethan neck for two hours? Again? Whatever happened to Ethan’s gentleman ways?”

“I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Right,” he grumbled, kicking at something in the grass.

“It’s not eighteen sixty, Cedric. I’d like to be able to kiss my boyfriend and that’s the only chance we get because no one will leave us alone. We’re always being guarded ... and watched,” she complained, then added, “Unless we get into major PDA—”

“Pardon?”

“Public displays of—”

“I know what that is. Again, I say Ethan’s values have slipped. He doesn’t have a problem with that either.”

Danielle felt her cheeks heat as she flushed, knowing how true that was. “Fine. It’s me. I’m the one who wants privacy.”

“Can’t you hang out here in your bedroom?”

Danielle wanted to groan, been there, tried that, but said, “My aunt and uncle don’t like it when I do that.”

“What about Ethan’s place?”

“Sophia.”

Apparently he knew Sophia well enough to simply nod at that.

“At the theater it’s dark,” she muttered while running her finger over a rough part of the paint on the window sill.

“We can see you in the dark, Danielle.”

“But you do sit several rows back, and—”

“I get it,” he said, frowning. His hand was back in his pocket and she wondered if he hoped to get back to whatever it was he was watching on his iPod.

Wishing to remove the frown from his face, Danielle offered with a smirk, “Do you have any movie requests?”

The vampire just rolled his eyes and moaned.

“If you don’t like it, Cedric, bring a date.”

“Perhaps I will,” he replied as if it were a threat.

“You have a girlfriend, don’t you?”

“Yes, her name is Anna.”

“Great! I’d love to meet her. Later then.” She pulled her head back inside, slid the window shut, tugged her curtain back into place and then moved to her closet to get dressed.

She removed the robe, slipped into her bra and panties and decided on jeans for the evening. She topped those with a frilly white blouse. Danielle wore the color often, not just because it happened to be her favorite, but because she knew Ethan liked it on her. It reminded him of the past, he’d said.

Next she pulled her hair up into a loose bun, and put on the pearl earrings and necklace from Ethan. They were fancy, but she liked how they looked with jeans. She added long socks and boots to fight off the soggy conditions.

After dressing, she freshened up her makeup, and then waited in the living room for Ethan to arrive.

“Date with Ethan tonight?” asked Brianna as she walked in and sat down next to Danielle.

“Yes.” Leaning back into the cushions, she smiled at her cousin.

“Another picture?”

“Of course. I love movies,” she said thinking about other things, like Ethan’s lips.

“What picture are you going to see?”

“I haven’t a clue.”

“I heard that vampire picture was really good,” Brianna suggested.

Danielle burst into a bout of giggles with a snort. The image of her and Ethan in a movie theater, with real vampires seated behind them, watching a movie about vampires flashed through her head. And the thought seemed ridiculous and kind of funny.

Brianna leaned away with a befuddled look on her pretty face. “What is so funny?”

“Nothing.” She tried to tame the giggles. “I just ... I don’t think a vampire movie is a good idea.”

“Why not?” Brianna raked fingers through her dark chocolate locks. But even after brushing it back, the slick strands slid forward to hang around her oval-shaped face. The fringy new cut helped keep it out of her face, but it was as straight as ever. Danielle envied that straightness.

“You know me, I don’t like scary movies,” she said, attempting to control a curl that had slipped loose from her up-do.

“Ah, true.”

Her eyes shifted to the clock, and when she noted that it was one minute past five, she sprang to her feet, snatching her coat and scarf. Ethan was never late, and she knew he was there if it was past five. Why hadn’t he knocked yet?

“Where are you going now?”

“He’s here. See ya later, Bri.”

She heard Brianna’s muttered farewell as she dashed for the door and swung it open to reveal Ethan standing there with his hand raised, ready to knock. He began shaking his head as his features rearranged into a becoming smile. “Impatient again, are we?” he asked raising one golden eyebrow.

“You’re late!”

He checked his watch in horror, then his expression changed again. “Danielle, are you kidding me? I don’t think one minute counts.”

“Every minute counts ... for me,” she whispered, wondering if perhaps she shouldn’t be saying such a corny thing.

With lips shifting into another smile, Ethan said, “Well, I shan’t have my darling disappointed. I’ll just have to make it up to you then.”

Smiling at his romantic words, Danielle watched as the sunset glistened through his golden hair, while a cold breeze playfully tossed it around, making the strands wink and shimmer. His penetrating sapphire eyes revealed his soul to her as she met his gaze. Her soul mate, the man she knew before this life began, the man she seemed to know better than she knew herself. He was her personal Frog Prince, yet he was no longer a frog. The prince stood before her now. Letting the smile slip, Danielle mentally chastised herself for having more corny thoughts. What did this guy do to her? Was she a little bit obsessed? That can’t be healthy....

“I thought you were eager to get going, Danielle.”

She blinked. “R-right, let’s go then. Why are you just standing there?” She grasped a handful of his shirt and towed him from the porch. She relished in the fact that she could feel his solid pecks brushing against her knuckles. No, she decided, she wasn’t too obsessed. It was that whole I-knew-you-before-thing that sucked her in. And that couldn’t be changed.

“By the way, you look absolutely lovely tonight,” he said as she dragged him along by his shirt.

“You too ... I mean you look very handsome, but I always think you do,” she replied, noticing his outfit now. He wore jeans, topped with an un-tucked white shirt and a brown sport jacket over that.

Ethan chuckled when they got to the car and she started smoothing out the wrinkles she’d created in the fabric of his button-down.

He held the door of his freshly washed and polished Jaguar open for her. England had been experiencing a lot of rain lately, which was actually normal. And because of that, it had been difficult for Ethan to keep his car so reflective. “When did you wash this?”

“Today.”

“But it rained for most of the day.”

“And now it’s clear.”

“For what, like two hours?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

Danielle couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that it was so shiny it looked as though it might actually start dripping black paint at any moment. “Well, I hope it doesn’t chuck it down again soon.”

Ethan laughed. “Where did you learn ‘chuck it down’?”

“Bri. Who else?”

“Of course.”

Settling into the leather seat, Danielle watched Ethan as he shut her door, still grinning and shaking his head as he then moved around to the driver’s side.

As soon as he was seated, he leaned toward her, took her chin into his fingers and fanned his breath across her face. Danielle closed her eyes and drew it gratefully into her lungs, thinking, okay, maybe I am a tad obsessed.

“That’s for being late. It will never happen again, my lady,” he said softly.

She opened her eyes. “Mmmm ... still yummy. It’s been a while since your transformation. I can’t believe you haven’t lost that amazing vampire breath yet.”

“Beon and I have a theory about that,” Ethan said while he shifted gears and directed his Jag down the street.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Well, vampire venom changes the physiology much more drastically, making the transformation a longer, more—uncomfortable process,” he began.

“Okay. So….”

“So basically, when I told you to bite me—that sacrifice is what satisfied the demands of the prophecy, and getting your mortal saliva into my bloodstream is what reversed the curse, but not much else. It doesn’t change the physiology as much, so it’s a shorter and a less complicated change.”

Apparently Ethan could tell by the blank look on her face that she hadn’t grasped his meaning, so he took a breath and explained further. “The things that a vampire needs to hunt their prey are removed: the hypnotic eyes, the heightened hearing, eyesight and sense of smell, the craving for blood, the superhuman powers, and the magic in the breath.” He frowned. “You know you’d be a puddle in my lap right now if I’d done what I just did before.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, remembering her shock the first time she’d smelled him, how even that had snatched away her ability to walk in a straight line.

“I miss that,” he said solemnly.

“What?” Watching his expression more closely now, Danielle wondered how much of being a vampire he missed.

“Watching you be so mesmerized, so enchanted. By me.”

Drawing a deep breath to take in his scent which still permeated everything around him, Danielle smirked back at him. “I’m still entranced. The smell of you gets me even now, even after your change. Why is that still the same?”

“The magic of it is gone.”

“There’s still magic for me.”

“Only because you’re in love with me.” When that earned him a surprised scowl for making it sound so one-sided, he added, “We’re in love silly. We knew each other before. It’s so much deeper than cursed magic now.”

Soul deep. “Nice save.”

A smile of victory dimpled his cheeks as he went on, “As I was saying, I still smell the same because it would be too much of a change for the saliva to fix. It doesn’t work as aggressively as the venom and it doesn’t need to to reverse the spell. It only reverses the things necessary to remove the curse and nothing more.”

“But you’re still really strong.” She remembered how far he’d carried her dead weight without showing any signs of weakening.

“But I can’t jump three stories in a single bound, and I can’t smack away a flying lamppost as if it were nothing more than a small branch. I can bleed now. I could die.”

She wondered if that was something he worried about now, his death, but asked, “So since it wasn’t such an extreme transformation, many things remain the same?”

“That’s right.”

“Interesting,” she said, but thought that it was kind of gross to think about saliva in his bloodstream ... her saliva. Oh well, she supposed they swapped that every time they kissed anyway.

Danielle leaned closer to Ethan, slid her fingers into his hair and then nuzzled against his shoulder, inhaling. “So, you get to stay this way? Hmm. That’s nice.” But several questions whirled through her head. Would he still live longer than her? Could he regret letting her bite him taking away all of the physical benefits he had before? How did he know he could bleed? Has he cut himself? All questions she didn’t dare ask right now, fearing the answers. Danielle remained silent and watched the city lights streak past the windows of the car.

He kissed her on the top of the head and reached to turn on the sound system, which filled the inside of the Jag with the complex rise and fall of an instrumental melody. Ethan liked the rock music Danielle normally listened to as well, but he truly loved the classics. She enjoyed anything he played as he broadened her taste in music with his hundred and seventy-three-year-old experience.

“How does sushi sound?” Ethan asked, now parking in front of a building. The neon sign glowed red with the words Hakuba, sushi and sashimi bar

“Raw fish? Are you sure about that?”

“Certainly. Why not?”

“Do you really think that’ll sit well in your newly mortal system?” She gave his flat belly a gentle pat.

“Most likely not, but I want to try it anyway,” he replied.

And because his tone was so thick with enthusiasm, she said, “All right then, sushi it is.”

Ethan had remained very excited to explore the foods he’d never bothered to try while being a vampire, and he really seemed to be enjoying it. Even when he chose things that didn’t cooperate with his digestive system. He seemed to think the flavors were worth the price in indigestion. But as Danielle thought about it, she kind of figured most men were like that when it came to food.

As they walked toward the front door, she noticed their bodyguards for the evening following. She’d actually forgotten about them during the car ride. Danielle guessed that Cedric had taken her “bring a date” suggestion to heart when she saw four couples approaching instead of four men.

Most of them she recognized right away. She knew the husky and knightly Max, and his new bride Nadia. She knew Beon and his wife Sophia. And she knew Cedric and Seth, but she didn’t recall seeing their significant others. Of course she could have seen them briefly at Beon’s ball, but she certainly hadn’t been directly introduced to either of them. Wanting an official introduction, she paused.

Ethan eyed her curiously when she tugged on his hand.

“I want to meet Anna and Seth’s wife.”

“Ah.” He turned to wait with her.

The immortals walked up to them without meeting their gazes since the sun had set and their vampire powers were now full force. It would only take one direct look from any of them to render both she and Ethan helpless and dazed, though it was sort of strange conversing with them with their eyes downcast.

“I see you took my advice,” Danielle said to Cedric who was looking at his hand intertwined with his date’s.

“Yes, we brought dates. I hope you’re pleased.”

“I am.”

“Danielle, this is Anna. Anna, Danielle Darcey,” Cedric said.

Anna smiled. Her gaze was also focused on hers and Cedric’s hands.

“Hello, nice to meet you,” she said to Anna’s forehead.

“It’s my pleasure, really,” Anna replied sweetly. Her soprano British voice was lovely, and her features were pretty with her heart-shaped face and full lips. The petite vampire smoothed a lock of her medium-length blond hair through her fingers as she now studied the pointed toes of her black stilettos. She reminded Danielle of the fairies she’d met with Ethan, and could picture her glowing pink with sparkly translucent wings.

“And this is Eva, Seth’s wife,” Cedric said.

Of course, she never looked at Danielle either. Eva had smooth black hair styled gracefully on top of her head, an exotic olive complexion and a thick fringe of lashes. Her gaze was fixed on Danielle’s boots, so Danielle was uncertain of her eye color. For anyone who didn’t know better, they would think Eva was behaving rather snobbishly.

Eva reached a hand out. “Hello, Danielle darling. It is an honor to meet the one who discovered the cure. I may need to take you up on it someday.” She sounded French to Danielle.

“Oh, thanks. Uh, just let me know if or when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“You’re welcome.” Danielle restrained a shiver. The discussion of biting Eva right before she went to eat sushi made her feel a tad queasy.

Ethan gathered her fingers and settled her hand in the crook of his elbow as he looped his other arm around her waist. She was forced to take a step backward as he said, “Come on, Danielle, we need to get started or we’ll be late for the picture.”

As she and Ethan were seated, she noticed that the others split up, rather than request a table for eight. Four of them remained outside, while the other four got tables.

Nadia, Max, Beon and Sophia had come inside and were being seated at separate tables on either side of the dining room. Probably so that she and Ethan were in the center.

Her gaze met with Max’s as she watched them, and he winked at her, probably trying to get a rise out of Ethan, but he got slapped playfully in the arm by Nadia instead. The black-haired beauty likely knew what he was doing. Because of the brotherly type of relationship Ethan and Max had, they were always roughhousing and trying to annoy each other. Plus, Ethan had been jealous of the knight in the past.

“Danielle, how many times have I asked you to not flirt with him?” And apparently he might still be jealous.

“I’m not.” She giggled. “Nadia just smacked him for winking at me. It’s funny.”

“It’s not funny. She should punch him. The cad knows he has the good looks of a knight and how that affects the girls.”

“He’s just trying to rub you the wrong way, and you let it work. He might still look like a knight,” and he certainly did, if she was honest, “but you have that British hottie thing going for you.”

“So does that mean that rogue over there has a British knight hottie thing going for him?” Ethan growled, though she could hear the teasing in his tone, and was relieved.

“Oh, stop being jealous, it’s completely unfounded and you know it.”

Ethan rolled his eyes at that, but smirked.

“Just order sushi, Ethan, and during the movie I’ll remind you why you shouldn’t be so jealous.”

He tried to stop the foolish grin that overtook his mouth, but failed as the smile reached his eyes.

Danielle laughed again.

“So what would you like?” Ethan asked, his gaze traveling over the open menu he held.

She scanned the dishes, looking for things she used to choose in Colorado. Sushi was something she liked, a little, but she was picky about it. In truth, she probably preferred Chinese and noticed that this restaurant served a mix of both. “I want the egg-flower soup and a Vegas roll.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s more than enough.”

“All right.” Ethan’s words were tainted with a ring of disappointment. Apparently he still thought she needed large portions to survive. Danielle rolled her eyes this time.

When the waiter arrived, Ethan ordered for both of them, ordering way too much for himself, however. After the waiter left, she said, “You’ll never be able to eat all of that, and if you do, you’ll be so sick. You’d be smart to save room for popcorn.”

Ethan’s mouth tightened, like he planned to say something but changed his mind for some reason. Danielle suspected he knew his eyes were bigger than his stomach, but she also knew he wouldn’t ever admit it.

When the sushi arrived it took up more than half the table. Danielle sipped quietly at her soup while she watched Ethan experience raw fish rolled into rice and seaweed for the first time ever. And somehow he already knew how to use the chopsticks.

Annoying. Danielle was never able to figure out those dumb wooden sticks, so instead she reached for a slice of Vegas roll with her fingers. But Ethan set his hand on hers, stopping her. “Use the chopsticks, Danielle.”

“I’d rather not,” she muttered.

“You don’t know how to use them, do you?”

“I’ve never been able to get them to work for me. Sorry.”

“Well now, we can’t have that….” He slid her chopsticks from the paper wrapper and snapped them apart. “Here, let me teach you. Hold your hand like this.”

She did as he instructed—reluctantly. He placed the sticks on her hand in, what he said were the proper locations.

“Good, now do this.” He lifted a piece of sushi and plopped it into his mouth. After swallowing, he said, “Mmmm, I rather think I like that one.”

Danielle tried to follow his example, her brows pressing together as she made the effort, but still, she couldn’t get it. The slice kept slipping loose instead of being pinched between the sticks like it was supposed to. She looked up to see Ethan’s brows had mirrored hers while watching her struggle with something that should have been so simple.

Angrily, she set the chopsticks down and reached for the sushi again. “How do you know how to use those stupid things anyway?” she asked.

“I was bored and I knew I wanted to try sushi, so I figured it out a couple of nights ago while I was detained in my room.” He watched Danielle eat without the use of proper sushi lifting implements, a look of disapproval on his face. “Come on, Danielle, it isn’t that hard. Give it another go.”

She groaned and then did as he requested, but only succeeded in squashing the sushi and dropping it onto her lap. Luckily for her, it landed on the napkin placed across her legs. “Well, apparently I’m chopstick challenged. Please, Ethan, just let it go.” She dropped the smashed piece onto the edge of her plate and then reached for another with her fingers. He watched and continued to sample his own wide variety of rolls. Fretfully—she could tell—he did decide to drop the matter. It was a good thing too, because if he’d asked her to try it again, she planned on spearing the sushi with a violent stab of her chopstick.

Ethan hadn’t eaten half of what he’d ordered, but Danielle could see that sushi was something he liked.

Her eyes wandered to Beon and Sophia, who were seated on their left, only a couple of tables away. Sophia was twisting one of her auburn curls around a finger while she eyed a slice of sushi held in her other hand. Probably trying to decide from the look of it how it should taste. Danielle knew food was something Sophia missed from her mortal life, she could dream about it, but it had lost its richness for her, and that displeased her. “The all-blood diet of a vampire gets rather tiresome,” she’d once told Danielle.

It was apparent that Beon wasn’t interested in the food. He was diligently manning his post while he scanned the doors and customers for any possible threat to Ethan and her. A twinge of guilt stabbed her in the gut as she watched him. So much effort was put in by him personally just so they could go on dating and trying to be an ordinary couple. It wasn’t fair for him to be trapped into such a burden, even if he was head of The Order. The Order of the Curse-Bound Knights—Vampires rebelling against what the curse made them in to. Because of this, Beon seemed to think she and Ethan were his responsibility now. He’d even retired early from teaching so he could protect them full-time. Not that he needed the job, but Danielle still felt guilty about it. It was all because of this civil war he kept talking about. Were she and Ethan really in that much danger?

Her eyes slid to Nadia and Max, seated at a table to their right. The teasing flirt who’d winked at her earlier was all warrior now. Even his muscles seemed alert and coiled; ready to spring if the circumstance called for it. His keen brown eyes were busy scrutinizing everyone in the establishment. She couldn’t help but wonder what he’d actually do if anyone did ever try anything. Would he whip out a sword or something?

Nadia pulled a face while she chewed on the food in her mouth. Her sable brows were pinched together over her emerald green eyes. Danielle knew how much she wanted to be mortal, and sadness stabbed her in the heart as she watched the ethereal beauty. But they hadn’t completely figured out how to administer the cure without her or Ethan winding up dead in the process. She knew Beon was working on a plan, but she hadn’t heard how that was going.

“Ethan?”

“Mmm,” he said while chewing.

“Has Beon drawn up plans for ‘the room,’ so we can give Nadia what she wants?”

“Hmm.” Swallowing, Ethan nodded and then said, “Actually, he’s already begun construction.”

On a happy gasp she asked, “Really?”

“You should see the mess in the garden. The bunny had to go, I’m afraid.”

This next gasp wasn’t a happy one, and a little cry slipped out as she lowered her spoonful of soup back to the bowl. She loved the bunny sculpted shrub, and knew how much Beon loved his garden. He’d spent so much time trimming and fussing over every detail, even hours shaping that shrub. Danielle knew it had to be a sacrifice for him to destroy it. “How sad.”

“Beon was more than willing to depart with it for Nadia.”

“Yes, of course…”

“Don’t worry, Danielle, he purchased a new shrub to replace it. It will be a little bunny at first, but it’ll grow into a big one after a while. He knows how … attached you were.”

“I got the impression he was just as attached.”

“He was, but it can be replaced. You know how badly Nadia wants this. He couldn’t deny her. Beon did try to save the shrub, but he couldn’t get the room to fit anywhere else.”

She agreed that Nadia was much more important than that wonderful plant. “When will it be finished?” she asked as her eyes traced their way back to Nadia. She wanted her to have her wish, and she was willing to give it to her; even though it was rather disturbing behaving like a vampire to cure one.

“Very soon, I believe.” He dropped his napkin onto the table “Are you ready to go to the cinema?”

“Yes.” Her gaze returned to Nadia once more, with new hope healing the stab wound of sympathy for her.

 

* * * * *

 

With his mouth against her ear Ethan asked, “What would you like to watch tonight?” She snickered when she saw the vampire movie Bri had mentioned listed on the marquee.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Well, Bri suggested that one.” She motioned to the horror flick.

Ethan chuckled and tugged her forward to the window. “Surely you jest.”

“She heard it was good,” Danielle said, also giggling.

Ethan shook his head, while he purchased tickets for a romantic movie. “I don’t want to think about what they’d do to us if we even tried to go to that with them.” He tucked his wallet back in his pocket and gathered her hand once again.

“Still it’s funny, you must admit.”

“I will concede, it would be rather humorous, though I think we might go missing afterwards. And if we don’t go missing, you’ll have nightmares. I know you can’t handle frightening movies like that.”

“But I can handle the real thing.”

“You can handle the good ones, Danielle, but the bad ones still trouble your dreams.”

A blush warmed her face. “I know.” However, she was relieved that Ethan seemed to have a good understanding of the girly side of her, and apparently, didn’t mind her weaknesses. She wished she wasn’t afraid. But, unfortunately for her, she’d learned more than once that black belt skills were no help when it came to vampires. So not fair….

Next Ethan led her to the concessions counter to purchase his usual large tub of popcorn—with extra butter—of course.

Unable to resist, Danielle glanced over her shoulder to see where the mob of vampire guards were going to sit as they made their way down the aisle. In the back as they’d done before. Relieved, Danielle urged Ethan closer to the front, attempting to place as much space as possible between them.

They enjoyed the movie as they’d enjoyed many others in the past, by spending more time kissing than actually watching the film. Smiling with her forehead pressed to his for a breath, Danielle couldn’t help but savor the butter-flavored kisses. For two whole hours it was only her and him. No one interrupted, no one complained, or criticized, though they probably would later. That was later, this was now. Danielle shuddered with chills as Ethan’s fingers brushed the back of her neck.

“Cold?” he asked.

“No.” But he did it again, that soft touch along her spine. His fingers moved down this time and stopped between her shoulder blades, the pressure shifting to a kneading massage. “That tickles,” she said.

“This?” His fingers glided up again and moved along her nape to behind her ear.

Shuddering, “Yes, that. Cut it out.” Her words were breathless.

“If you wish.” His mouth took over, right there, on her neck.

That always brought the giggles and she pulled away. She didn’t really want to, but couldn’t help herself.

Danielle was only faintly aware of the fact that the movie had ended and so had their time. She smashed her mouth against his one more time, muttering, “Nice movie.”

“Yeah. I enjoyed that one too,” he whispered, a naughty smirk playing with his poetic mouth.

They lingered as the credits rolled by, holding hands, but knew it was time to exit when Max cleared his throat loudly behind them. Hanging out afterward wasn’t allowed either. The guards maintained this strict schedule even though nothing threatening had happened in a while. It also appeared that Celeste and Lucas still considered Danielle amongst the deceased. Neither one of them had been heard from after Ethan faked her death so they could escape the pair’s cement-lined dungeon. But the vampires maintained that it just wasn’t safe, especially after sunset, and therefore, never allowed them to be together too late.