Keyboards and Kink (29 page)

The conversation had taken away the minutes she
thought she’d have to be early, so instead of being thirty minutes
early she was five minutes late. She walked inside the restaurant
and a cute teen greeted her.

“Welcome to Rodeo Steak House, I’m Melinda the
hostess, table for one?”

“I’m meeting someone, Melinda.”

“Wonderful, are you Jamie?”

Surprised she gave the young woman a strange look.
“Your date let me know to expect you. He’s already ordered an
appetizer for you. He’s a regular here, so trust his choice. I’ve
seated you both by the fountain, it’s pretty and quiet.” Jamie
followed the girl through the restaurant. It smelled like beef and
onions everywhere. Her stomach growled as she inhaled the smell of
cooking meat. She hadn’t bothered to eat today. Now she regretted
it. She didn’t want to inhale her food on a first date.

He hadn’t lied about his looks. Darrick was the
hottest man she’d ever gone on a date with, and it made her
nervous. She almost wished he’d sent a different man’s picture
because looking at him only made her feel more self-conscious about
her plain brown hair, plain brown eyes, and the thirty pounds too
much she carried mostly on her backside. She doubted Darrick ever
felt like the “ugly” one on a first date. Sitting down she took the
menu Melinda offered. Then, she noticed the woman ogling her date.
Annoyance instantly roared up inside of her. The woman knew he was
on a date. The blonde server was gorgeous. It didn’t help Jamie’s
feelings of inadequacy dissipate.

“I’m so glad you came,” Darrick said, and Jamie felt
his genuine interest all the way to the tips of her toes. She
grinned.

“I’m so glad you asked.”

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Melinda
interrupted, sounded strangely put out.

“I’ll take a cola please, whatever brand you serve,”
Jamie answered without looking at the woman. Her focus was entirely
on Darrick. His eyes were beautiful, grey, and she couldn’t make
herself stop staring. She heard the sound of Melinda leaving.

“So Melinda said you ordered an appetizer and you’re
a regular here. What do you recommend?” Jamie decided to open the
conversation with something safe and neutral.

“Steak, rare, but if you need to destroy yours by
burning it I guess I’ll have to accept it,” he teased.

She chuckled and looked at the menu. When she put it
down, he was still staring at her in a way that made her feel like
the only one in the room. The feeling wasn’t one she’d ever
experienced before. Normally, her dates would’ve been the ones
giving the pretty waitress an appreciative once-over.

“I like the atmosphere here. Did you see the line
dancers by the door? How fun is that?” She felt overwhelmed by just
how intently he was staring at her and was trying to distract him.
He smiled at her. A smile like his should be a crime. He was just
too hot for reality.

She wished he’d say something.
Damn it, he’s
looking at me as if he wants to eat me up.
He chuckled as she
thought her fleeting thought, but he did pull his eyes away and she
let out a sigh of relief. He was just too intense, and she didn’t
know how to deal with that. “I haven’t been out on a date in a very
long time.” His voice was sad as he made the confession.

“That’s surprising. You’re very attractive, and with
your exotic occupation I’d imagine you’d have fans lined up down
the block to spend time with you,” Jamie replied candidly. She felt
the heat of her flush warm her cheeks as she realized how terrible
her words sounded. “I mean, you’re the kind of man many women would
want.” That sounded even worse.
Oh, God, what’s he probably
thinking of me?

“You’re delightful. I have been without companionship
for far too long. I made this choice after I lost my mate—wife. She
died, and I did all I could, but nature won and I was helpless to
defeat death and keep her with me.”

In her line of work, she’d heard many people speak of
death, but she’d never heard it put quite like this. “I’m sorry.
You’re so young. Her death must have come as a real shock. There’s
never anything someone else can say to take away your pain, and
it’s a suffering you’d never want to just give away, but I’m sure
she knew you loved her.” With his intense eyes, how could any woman
not see this man’s emotions? She liked open people.

“We hide in different ways, Jamie. Expressing one’s
self openly doesn’t mean we are without our secrets.”

Whoa, this guy is perceptive. Maybe I’m
eye-talking my impressions.
He chuckled again and she did all
she could to wipe any trace of her shock from her face. She wanted
to ask how his wife died, but she didn’t want to be rude.

“My wife wasn’t strong enough to…” He trailed off and
looked unsure. Once again, his words were eerily mind reader
accurate.

“What wasn’t she strong enough for?” Jamie’s voice
was sympathetic.

“It doesn’t matter now, she’s gone.”

“How long has it been?” she asked, afraid to hear the
answer. She hoped he’d given himself proper time to grieve or this
wasn’t going to go anywhere.

Darrick gave her an ironic smile, and she could see
he was amused with her, but she had no idea why that simple
question could be funny.

“Let’s just say it’s been a very long time,” he
replied cryptically.

The man couldn’t be over thirty-five. She wondered if
very long was six months or six years. Vague didn’t sit well with
her.

Melinda returned with Jamie’s drink and the
appetizer. The platter of deep fried delights looked delicious. She
could see it was an assortment of jalapenos, pickles, and a couple
of other deep fried vegetables. Batter rendered some of them almost
unrecognizable. He picked up one and dipped it in sauce. She did
the same thing. When he glanced up at her and grinned, she bit her
lip to keep from sighing.

“Are you ready to order?” Melinda asked the question
directly to Darrick. Her focus was so intently on him that Jamie
had the urge to wave her hand in front of the woman’s face.

“Yes, I’ll have your Rancher’s steak platter, no
potatoes just bring me the steak as rare as your chef will allow,”
he ordered then turned to Jamie. “You would like this as well, only
with your meat ruined?”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “I’ll take the smaller steak,
the six ounce please, well done. I’ll have the Rancher Fries
please, but leave the chili sauce off please.”

Melinda didn’t look at Jamie at all, but nodded.
“I’ll get that right in for you. Is there anything, anything else I
can do for you?” The server pressed her breasts so close to Darrick
Jamie worried the poor man might lose an eye.
Is it my
imagination or is the woman getting more ridiculous as the night
goes on?

Darrick glanced at her and snorted a quick laugh.
Jamie realized he knew the woman was practically offering herself
as the meal too. The man was too hot for her own good. It would
never work. She should just leave before she really started to like
him.

“That would be a shame,” he said frowning. Melinda
walked away, but kept looking back over her shoulder at
Darrick.

Now she was freaking out. Not a single word had left
her lips, and yet he knew exactly what she was thinking. Something
felt off with him, but she’d been ignoring the nagging sensation of
twilight-zone-welcome-sign she’d been experiencing since she’d sat
down. It was no longer ignorable.

“Are you reading my mind?”

“If I said yes, would you leave?”

This question made her pause. Would she leave?
Clearly, he was doing something nefarious, or at least creepy, but
she still felt intrigued. She’d always suffered unquenchable
curiosity.

“Probably not.”

“How can I turn that probably into a definitely not,
Jamie?” Those pearly-white-dentist-envy teeth flashed at her again
and she relaxed a little in her seat. She should run instead of
settling back.

Jamie picked up another tasty morsel and popped it
into her mouth. “Well, you could tell me how you know what I’m
thinking. Is it some kind of good guess thing, or do you have some
special skill they only teach fire-eaters at fire-eating 101?”

He laughed and the amusement made the corners of his
eyes crinkle. He sat back and looked at her for a moment
silently.

“You don’t know me. I don’t know you. However, I have
a—talent for reading people, knowing them far more quickly than
other people can. I like you, Jamie, a lot. I think you’re just the
woman I’ve been hoping to find.”

She frowned. “Wow, that’s got to be the worse pick up
line ever. I bet you say that to all your dates.”

“I don’t date, Jamie, I mate.”

What an odd thing to say. At least he’s honest. All
guys want to get naked on the first date; they just don’t have the
courage to say it.

“No, Jamie, not sex. I have sex with women. I’m not a
monk. I just don’t date. I’m looking for my mate. If I wanted sex
we’d have been doing that already.”

Offensive much? Too Hot Darrick really needs to get
over himself. I’m not that kind of girl.

She prepared to stand, but he reached out and put his
hand on her arm. “I want you to stay.” It wasn’t a request, it was
an order and she felt completely irritated now. He’d just have to
eat her well-done steak, because she was leaving. Things were
getting too damn crazy.

Two young women came over to the table interrupting
the tense moment. “Hi,” they said to him in unison. Staring at him
with adoration, they giggled. Jamie’s mouth fell open a bit.
Melinda’s behavior was bad enough, but she could easily chalk that
up to the desire for a good tip, but these random women really
seemed strange. They just kept staring at Darrick as if he was a
movie star.
Oh duh, they probably saw one of his shows. Well,
now a groupie can just keep him company. I’m out of here.

He still held her arm. She didn’t want to make a
scene so she decided to wait until the giggling twenty-somethings
left.

“Can I help you, ladies?” he asked quietly, sounding
a bit agitated.

“We want you to know if you want some company. We’re
both single,” the taller woman said, blushing, while her companion
just giggled.

“No, thank you, I have the company I desire this
evening,” he told them a bit gruffly.

Another woman came up behind them. She craned her
neck to see around the first two women. This was getting out of
hand. Jamie tried to shake off his hold subtly. She didn’t want to
sit here to watch an autograph session. The third woman pushed the
shorter one and began sliding into the booth on Jamie’s side,
trapping her. She helplessly slid over for the bizarre
newcomer.

“Hi, I’m Pam. I’m single, twenty-nine, I have a dog
and a bird, I like the beach, and I don’t snore. Can I go home with
you tonight?” There was a strange overly bright look in her eyes.
Jamie wondered if she was on drugs. She gaped at the woman, shocked
by the proposition.

“Am I invisible?” she asked Darrick helplessly. She
was ready to go, but the odd spectacle intrigued her and just as
she’d watched
When Bears Attack
without meaning to on cable,
she couldn’t stop watching this.

“I’m sorry, Jamie, I will dampen it,” he apologized,
confusing her further. She didn’t know what he meant by
“dampen”.

A moment later, the first two women turned wordlessly
and walked away as if they were in a trance. The woman sitting next
to Jamie did a double take in her direction and jumped a bit in her
seat. “Oh, yikes,” she muttered, quickly sliding out of the booth
and rushing away.

“What the hell was that?” Jamie asked Darrick,
raising her eyebrow and staring at him.

“I like that you have a strong will, Jamie. I believe
you are strong enough.”

Whatever he thought she was strong enough for he
didn’t elaborate on. Jamie grabbed her purse and rushed away from
him and the insanity that was their date. She was almost to her car
when he caught up to her. When he gripped her upper arm, she was
ready to scream for help.

“Calm yourself. I won’t do anything to you that you
do not request. I was testing you inside and I’m amazed at your
level of resistance. I’ve never met a woman who could so quickly
acclimate to me. I do not want you to walk away.”

“What’s really going on? Were you using hypnosis in
there? Did you use a skill like that to make all the women go
wacko? I noticed Melinda became more and more attentive to you, and
I felt something at first too. What did you do to us, Darrick?”

She almost asked him what he was, but that question
just sounded nutty. He had to have learned some kind of mind
tricks. Given his job as a performer this explanation made the most
sense.

“I don’t play tricks, Jamie, and asking me what I am
is the correct question.”

She didn’t reply. He smiled at her with a kind
understanding that irritated her already angry mind.

“I’m not human. I’m the last of my kind. Once I had a
wife—mate—who was as I am, but she died along with our children and
the rest of our people, a thousand years ago. I have been searching
for a woman with an open mind and heart who has inner strength for
many years. My most recent mate was human, but she didn’t have the
strength to resist my natural radiance, and in the end, she became
like those women in the restaurant, a mindless slave to my body.
She died from her obsession with me. I don’t want to watch that
happen again. It’s been fifty years since I’ve had a mate and I’m
lonely. Jamie, I think you’re the woman I’ve sought.”

She gaped at him. She’d expected many things to go
wrong tonight, but inhuman wasn’t even on her radar. She should’ve
listened to Alicia. “You’re crazy. You need help.” She started to
pull away but his face morphed into something terrifying for an
instant and then he was the unusually handsome Darrick again.