Roses & Thorns (4 page)

* * * * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

First Impression

(
Christian
)

As soon as I hung up
the
phone
, I tried to escape without seeing my vampire family again, but I wasn't so lucky. Bobby and Dominique had followed me outside when I had left the club to talk to Rose.

"So, the steak house on Elm and 3rd, huh?" Dominique
asked
.
I knew she was just teasing me, but I really didn't have time to deal with their shit.

Answering dryly
,
I said,
"Yes. The steak house on Elm and 3rd. I figured I could get a rare steak and force my way through dinner. I want a chance to really talk to this girl and thought dinner would be the best way to start. Do you have a different opinion?"

Shaking his head and holding up his hands
in a we-give-up sort of
gesture
,
Bobby answered for her
.
"No, no
...t
hat sounds like a great plan. Just don't be surprised if you see all of us peeking in the window from across the street." He and Dominique both busted up as they headed back towards the club.

S
ighing heavily
as
I climbed in my '67 Mercury Comet Caliente,
I could only hope that he was kidding.
I heard
the engine rumble to life
and
realized
that I did
n't drive this car as much as I would l
ike to. There was just no need.
M
y vampire speed could get me
to most of the places I went to
in a matter of seconds, but i
t
sure
felt nice
–
and normal
,
to actually
be driving somewhere. And what
wa
s
waiting for me at my destination made the trip even that much more enjoyable.

I made my way up the interstate towards Seela, the little town where Rose lived. I couldn't wait to actually meet her. As a matter of fact, I was so caught up in thinking about
how to make a good first impression
that I almost missed my turn off. Screeching the tires, I made the adjustment just in time and headed towards the section of town that now
seemed like the most important place on earth.

As soon as I parked the car across from the restaurant, it took everything I had not to use my vampire speed to race across the street.
Instead, I forced myself to calmly walk to our predetermined meeting place. The butterflies were an indication of how anxious and nervous I really was. It
was gl
aringly
obvious that it had been ages since
I'd
actually
been
out
on a
real
date.
Well, nothing like jumping in feet first, because here she came.

She was just as gorgeous as I remembered. Her hair held a little more curve to it
than last time,
and my god
,
those legs were just as sexy as I'd imagined.
I watched
her lock her car and walk in my direction,
and
I suddenly realized that keeping my drifting in check tonight was
going to be a
n
exercise in
sheer
willpower.

She was smiling as she hopped up onto the curb right in front of me.
"
Hi!"

My first instinct was to grab
her
and race away to somewhere private and sink my fangs into her neck. She was so sexy and smelled so good
.

"Hello. It's nice to actually meet you, Rose." I held out my hand
,
hoping she'd take it
. She did.

"It's nice to meet you
,
too."

Her smile was mesmerizing. So much so that I could barely think straight. "Um...are you ready to go in for dinner
?" What a stupid question
to ask outside of a restaurant. I mean, why else would we be here?
I
hoped I wasn't going to blow this.

"Absolutely. Let's go."

The
confidence that s
he
displayed as she
led me into the restaurant
immediately
put m
e
at ease.
She was so sure of herself, and f
or a vampire who was six-hundred and two
years old
,
I had been around some extremely confiden
t people, but no one I had ever
met could outshine this woman
.

* * * * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

Table for Two

(
Rose
)

I was so excited that Christian had actually wanted to me
et
for dinner that I had raced downstairs after hanging up the phone, grabbed my purse, and headed
straight
for the car. Just as I was about to open the side door to the garage, Mom's voice rang out from the back door. "I take it your plans are a go with Christian?"

"Yep. We're having dinner here in town. I'll be home later. Love you, Mom."

"I love you too
. I hope you have fun. Be careful and call if you need anything."

As I backed the car out of the driveway
,
I gave one last wave to Mom and Dad, who had now joined her at the back door. They stood there watching me with smiles on their faces as
he
wrapped
her
in his arms. It made me so happy to see how in love they still were after all these years. I hoped that I would someday find that kind of love
. Su
ddenly, I was feeling the pressure of tonight's date.

I saw him the moment I rounded the corner. He had just stepped up onto the curb in front of the restaurant. I hoped that I would
n't screw up my parallel parking.
I took a few deep breaths and pulled my car to a halt. I didn't wa
nt to seem like a nervous Nelly, sitting there
trying to get myself together
for too long,
so I forced myself out of the car right away and locked the door. I saw him watching me as I walked across the street, so I put as much sexy swagger into my stride as I could without looking like a runway model who was trying to work it too hard.

"Hi!" I said as I bounced up beside him.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Rose
.
"

Oh damn, he has a sexy voice.
An uncontrollable smile spread across my face as I took the hand he offered. "It's nice to actually meet you, too."

"Um...are you ready to go in for dinner?"
he asked.

"Absolutely. Let's go." He hesitated for just a moment
,
and
I
found myself grinning from ear to ear
.
I took the lead and
quickly
pulled him into the restaurant
before I embarrassed myself
. The hostess took in an eye full of Christian before meeting my gaze. Who could blame her?
He truly was
drop-dead gorgeous.

"Table for two, under Christian," he said. That's when I noticed that he wasn't even giving the hostess a single glance. His eyes we
re sparkling and glued to mine.

My smile widened and I could
n't
help
but
press my tongue to my teeth as I let out a slight giggle. I
actually hated g
irls that
did nothing but
giggle in the presence of a guy, but oh my god–
this
guy had me wanting to laugh like a lunatic as we ran through fields of daisies. I was
that ridiculously happy.

Once the hostess led us to our booth, which was perfectly
situated
in the quiet part of the restaurant, I thanked her and slid into my seat.
Christian smiled and thanked her as well, and received a beaming smile in return along with a "
l
et me know if you need absolutely anything" parting comment to which he didn't even respond.

"Would you like some wine?" he asked.

"I would love some, except for the fact that it might get you thrown in jail."

"Why would it get me thrown in jail?
Are
you a violent drunk who
'
d trash the place?" he teased.

"No, but I
'
m only twenty years old.
T
hanks for the offer
though
." I smiled back at him as he set the wine menu off to the side.

"Oh,
well that explains it. Sorry. I shouldn't have assumed. It just feels like I already know you, so I didn't think to ask your age."

"It's okay.
N
ow that you know how old I am, it's your turn to share. How are old are you?"

"Yes, of course. Formal introductions. My name is Christian Royce, and I
'm twenty-four years old
. As you already know
, I work at
The Rising Pit
. I'm their
head of security
."

"
Cool. Well,
I'm R
ose Reynolds, and
I'm a senior at Seela State University
.
"

"
Nice. What's your major?"

"History."

"
What a coincidence
. History was my favorite subject."

His dazzling smile and the sparkles in his eyes were pretty damn distracting, so I didn't even care if what he was saying was true or if he was just trying to score points. Either way, I was hooked.

"
And I h
ave to tell you,
Rose,
I'm a little nervous as I
haven't been on a
date in over five years.
"
M
ore like
fifty.
"
A
nd
you are the first girl that I've ever taken to dinner."

"Really? Where did you take your other dates? The racetrack?" I tried to make light of the situation, but internally, I was d
oing
my happy dance. He hadn't dated anyone in five years.
Crap,
I wonder if
there's something wrong with him?
"If you don't mind me asking, why haven't you dated anyone for five years?
"
Please
have
a good answer.

"No
,
I don't mind you asking at all. I guess you could say that I'm old fashioned and I am not in the habit of 'hooking-up', and everyone that I've encountered
w
asn't
what I'd consider '
relationship material
'
. So, I've only had brief, non-serious acquaintances while I kept my eye out for the perfect girl."
He winked at me as he picked up the menu.
Definitely a good answer.

I could
n't
help but bite my lower lip in an effort to keep the
biggest
, goofiest grin from taking over my face. "So, I guess you're saying that you asked me out because you think I'm 'relationship material'?" I hoped that I wasn't digging a hole for myself. Mom had warned me not to talk about too serious of stuff on our first date, but Christian wasn't the only one who felt like we'd known each other forever. I was so comfortable talking
to
him, and even the vibe he gave off was one of genuine kindness.
So, needless to say,
I was really liking
how things were going so far.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. When I saw you looking out that window, you were so beautiful, that I just couldn't stop myself from asking you out. I would have come over myself, but since I was on
duty, I had to get back inside. I just hoped that you would call, and I can't tell you how happy it made me when you did."

The waitress arrived just then asking if we were ready to order. Christian ordered a
rare steak
–
e
eew
w,
and I ordered the garlic shrimp fettuccine. After passing her the menus
,
we just sat quietly for a few moments staring at each other. I don't think I
'd ever felt
so connected
a
nd excited about someone before. I had told Mom that I wouldn't be jumping into the sack with anyone on the first date, but damn...if he asked, I don't think I would say no.