Roses & Thorns (6 page)

* * * * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

Freak You Out

(
Christian
)

I spent the next couple of days after my initial date with Rose trying to avoid the jokes and teasing from my family about how I'd fallen for a human.
I had
n
o
t been
successful, so when Bobby approached with
a
smirk on his face, I braced myself for yet another
jab
.

"So, tonight's the first night you're gonna see Rose again, right?" Bobby asked.

"
Yes. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just wo
ndered what exactly you were planning to do for your second date." Bobby
puckered his lips and put his hand
s
behind his head
as he wound his hips around and around.

"You've really got to get some new moves
.
" I
shoved past him and headed towards
Evie's office.

"
Oh
,
I can show you some
new
moves if you need some help," he yelled
just as I slammed
the door
shut
.

After settling myself in the chair in front of Evie's desk
,
I said,
"I need to warn you that I m
ight
beat
the shit out of Bobby later."

She laughed as she offered me a glass of dark red blood.
"Well, just
don't get blood on the carpet."

I
shoo
k my head and politely declined
. I couldn't stand drinking blood from a glass
. E
ven if
it was heated
up, it
just
didn't taste the same. Plus, I never knew which donor Evie was current
ly
using for her supply, and I didn't like
not
know
ing
where my food had come from. "I've invited Rose down tonight to come see me during my break. I told her that I didn't have much time off work so we'd h
a
ve to work around my schedule. I w
anted to
appear as
if I have
a normal job and responsibilities. Is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine. But you know you can come and go as you please,
so
you don't have to pretend your boss is such a tyrant who won't give you
a
day off." She smiled a
s she
set the glass back
down on her desk.

"I know, but since Rose isn't twenty-one, and I'm really not ready for her to meet everyone just yet, I thought this would be a good compromise. I suppose I could continue to see her outside of here, but I don't want her to feel as though I'm hiding my work from her. This way we still get to see each other
,
and her curiosity is satisfied
."

"That sounds reasonable, but you know that we are all going to want to meet her sooner
rather
than later. Maybe I'll host a company mixer for just employees and their guests next month. How does that sound?"

I could tell that she was chomping at the bit to meet Rose. Hell, they all were. "That sounds just fine.
And t
hanks for not rushing me, Evie."

I stood as she gracefully made her way around the desk and enveloped me in a hug. "You were my first son
,
Christian, and I'm beyond happy for you.
Take all the time you need.
"

Just as I left Evie's office
,
I received R
ose's text
.
"I'm almost there."

I had told her to text me when she was close so I could
meet her outside
. I didn't want her running into anyone
without my protection. I knew
all the vampires
who
came to The Rising Pit were decent people and would never hurt Rose, but
I wasn't willing to take th
at
chance. Besides,
the thought of someone else s
inking their fangs into my girl
threatened t
o send me into a fighting rage.

As normal vampires
,
we couldn't kill each other
. O
nly our Sire had the poison of true death
,
and therefore the ability to eliminate us
. B
ut
,
because of our super-strength and speed
,
our fights tended to be epic. It was rare for vampires to fight amongst themselves
though
,
and
the only time that
it
happened was usually over territory,
which sometimes
includ
ed
humans.
As archaic as it seemed, I definitely felt that I had a claim to Rose. In my mind...she was mine.

I watched
her pull into the parking lot
. M
y veins
were
sizzling with anticipation. Our fir
st date had been perfect, and t
he conversation we had that same night had only solidified my feelings for her. But since this was the first time we'd seen each other since, I was feeling a little apprehensive about how things would go. Especial
ly since in the back of my mind
all I could see was my vampire family rushing out
of
the club's door and bombarding us with questions and
embarrassing the crap out of me
.

"Hi, gorgeous," she said, just before throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me
gently
.
Guess things
a
re going to go just fine.

"Well, hello to you too
, beautiful
." I
knew I was
smiling like an idiot, but the fact that she seem
ed
just as excited to see me as I was to see her only made me want to smile more.
"How was your trip down? Did you have any trouble finding the place again?"

"Nope. Your direction
s were perfect, just like you."

A
s she started to close her eyes and lean in for another kiss, I lifted her off the ground and spun us around. The sound of her laughter was like sweet music to my ears. "Since you're not twenty-one we can't go inside the club, so do you mind if we just hang out in my car?" I knew it sounded like a lame pickup line, but I just wanted to get her inside my car before another vampire in the area smelled her and came to check things out.

"Sure, that sounds great
.
"

I felt more relaxed once we were sitting inside my car, so I reached out to hold her hand. It felt
phenomenal
being able to touch her
again, and to be able to talk face to face. We spent the next fifteen minutes talking about random things, like how long I had worked here,
and
whether I liked it or not. She asked if the weird hours bothered me, and if I ever thought about doing something else.
I
hated lying to her about such stupid little details, but I really had no choice. Only when
she seemed to drift off into her own thoughts
did I worry that my lies weren't convincing enough.
Then,
suddenly she leaned forward and kissed me
, and this time with a little more heat.

"I'm sorry. I love talking to you, but watching your mouth move
is a little distracting.
" She smiled shyly, but I could tell from the heat in her e
yes and the sudden rise in excit
ement
that
she really didn't want to li
sten to any more of my stories.

I studied the pla
nes
of her beautiful face: the luscious contour of her lips, the mesmerizing sparkle of her light blue
eyes,
and
the smooth perfection of her long blonde hair;
I too was suddenly done with small talk.
I leaned
in
, threaded my fingers into her hair, and
pulled her lips to mine. The kiss only last
ed
a few seconds before she broke away and climbed into the backseat. I wanted to laugh
,
but not because she was being funny
or silly
, but because I was so h
appy my undead heart felt like it was going to explode.
She was so confident and secure in her sexuality
,
and obvi
ously she knew what she wanted, and
that was damn sexy.
I knew we wouldn't be going all the way in the backseat of my car, but just the thought of being able to explore Rose and the level of our connection had me worried that keeping my drifting at bay was going to be a
huge
problem tonight.

"Sorry
. D
oes this make you uncomfortable?" she asked.

This time I did laugh out loud as I climbed into the backseat to join her.
"You're asking a guy if making out
with a beautiful girl
in the backseat of hi
s car makes him uncomfortable?
Um...no
. I
t makes me the luckiest man in the world."

Her smile not only lit up the backseat of my car, but also my heart.
With a serious look on her face
,
she continued,
"
I don't
e
xpect
us to ju
mp straight into the sack,
but
the connection I feel with you is unexplainable
. I know this will sound weird, but it's almost as if there's something magical about it
.
I don't know...like I said, I can't explain it.
I know this is only our second date
,
but for me it feel
s
like we've
known
each other
forever. 
I just hope that doesn't freak you out."

I took
her hands in mine
and
looked deep into her eyes. "Rose, you don't have to worry about doing anything that is going to freak me ou
t. I'm sure that most people would
n't understand it, but I feel
e
xact
ly the
same way.
You're right, there is something magical
when it comes to
the way I feel about you.
It's like we were together in another life or something. Everything with you is so easy and natural,
and
I love how confident you are. A lot of people have a tendency to deny what's happening to them
, but I'm glad we can both accept our feelings and not be afraid of them."

I caught her as she threw herself into my arms, hugging me as though her life depended on it.
"
Christian
, y
ou make m
e feel so comfortable and safe
. I can honestly say that this is the first time that I've ever felt
ready
to start a relationship
." She pulled
away from the hug
and
with a teasing glint in her e
yes
, she said, "
And I have to admit,
I've never been as tur
ned on by a man as I am by you."

That was the last thing we said to one another for quite some time
. B
ecause
from that point on
our bodies and mouths were otherwise occupied
.
The feel of Rose in my arms and the intensity of our kisses was something that I'd never experienced before. I was thankful that there weren't any lights in this part of the parking lot, because if there had been, then I'm sure she would h
ave seen my drifted appearance. I
nstead, our eyes were closed or it was just so dark that she really couldn't tell
the
difference.
I
truly
was the luckiest guy in the world.

* * * * *

From that da
y
on, Rose and my relationship only grew. She would come visit me during my breaks at least a couple times a week, and every couple of weeks I would take her out on a real date, using the excuse of needing to wait for my paycheck to do something special. I just loved how normal everything was progressing. We had decided that we weren't going to sleep with each other until the time was right
,
because as intense as our feelings were,
just
talking and exploring each other
was the perfect way to justify those
feelings
without throwing sex into the equation.
Plus, if we were to actually have sex, I didn't think I would be able to control my urge to bite her, and since that would expose my secret–having sex was just not an option.