Vampire in Geek's Clothing (Psy-Vamp Book 6) (6 page)

Isaiah had picked this pizza place because most of their
customers ordered takeout. That left the cozy dining area nearly deserted most
nights, which was perfect for his plan to get Nikki to open up about her
problems. Unfortunately, she wasn’t cooperating. In fact, she’d spent the last
ten minutes asking him about Sam, leading him to the depressing conclusion that
she might be more interested in Sam than him. Even knowing Sam was probably a
better choice for her, he couldn’t stop the jealousy that threatened to
strangle him.

“You never answered my question about how you met Sam,” she
pushed.

“Sure, I did,” he told her without making eye contact.

“No, you mentioned something about being a lot alike and
then changed the subject.”

“Are you interested in Sam?” he finally asked. “Is that why
you’re asking all these questions about him?”

Nikki reared back, looking shocked. “No!”

“It’s okay if you are,” he assured her, even though he
didn’t really feel that way. “You already know I’m attracted to you, but I’m
not going to be mad if you’re more into Sam than me after meeting him.”

“Isaiah,” she began, reaching out to take his hand. “I’m not
interested in Sam. I just want to know more about you. What you do. Who you
hang out with. What kinds of clubs you go to. I’m asking about Sam because
you’re friends, and I figured it would tell me more about who you are.”

Isaiah relaxed, and his lips curled up into a hint of a
smile. “I promise to tell you more about Sam another time. For now, I want to
know more about you.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the guarded
look on her face. His date with Nikki was turning out to be nothing more than
both of them trying to avoid revealing too much about themselves. It had been a
long time since he’d been on anything resembling a date, but he wasn’t clueless
enough that he didn’t realize this wasn’t how dating was supposed to work.

“I never would have taken you for someone who likes spicy
food,” Nikki told him, eying his half of the pizza. They’d both agreed on
vegetarian, but he’d insisted on adding jalapenos to his half.

While he was tempted to push for more information about her,
he decided he’d give the uncomfortable conversation with the probing questions
a rest, and just enjoy his time with Nikki.

“These aren’t spicy,” he argued before taking a bite and
savoring the warmth from the peppers. After swallowing, he stood and walked
over to her side of the table, helping her to her feet and leaning in to kiss
her. Unlike earlier that day, he took his time, licking the crease of her lips
and sucking her lower lip into his mouth. Nikki’s moan drove him on, and he
slid his tongue just barely into her mouth before withdrawing. Sitting back
down in his chair, he watched as Nikki licked her lips.

“How was it?” he asked.

“Spicy,” she told him as she sat down, looking somewhat
dazed.

“Are you saying that was the hottest kiss you’ve ever had?”
he asked.

Nikki laughed. “Fishing for compliments?”

“I suppose I am,” he admitted.

“I can honestly say that was the second hottest kiss I’ve
ever had,” she told him with a teasing grin.

“Second hottest?” he asked.

“A close second,” she assured him. “The hottest was this
morning at the coffee shop.”

Isaiah groaned at the memory of their earlier kiss. “You are
making it very hard for me to remember the many reasons I can’t take you home
and kiss every inch of your body.”

“That would be a very bad idea.” Nikki sounded disappointed
when she said the words, and Isaiah understood her feelings, though probably
not for the same reasons. At this point, Isaiah had already accepted that, bad
idea or not, he intended to have Nikki in his life—at lease for a short time.

“I keep telling myself that,” he began. “To be honest, I’ve
been telling myself that for weeks, but now that I’ve kissed you, I’m not sure
that’s going to be enough. I really like you, and I want to get to know you
better.”

“I’m not in any position to start a relationship,” she told
him.

“Neither am I,” he admitted. “Yet, I still can’t convince
myself to leave you alone.”

“Isaiah,” she began hesitantly. “Are you . . .?” Her voice
trailed off, and she appeared to be struggling to find the words to ask him
something. “Today, at the coffee shop. . .” Again, she stopped and thought
about her words.

“I’m worried about you, Nikki,” he said, since he didn’t
want to hear her tell him the kiss was a mistake. He already knew it was a
mistake, and that knowledge did nothing to convince him it shouldn’t happen
again. In fact, he intended to make sure it did happen again—very soon. “Why
was that Mitch guy yelling at you?”

“It was nothing,” she assured him, but he knew she was
lying.

“Let me help you,” he coaxed. “You may think I’m just some
nerdy college student, but I can help.”

There was a moment of hesitation, and he saw the longing in
her eyes. She wanted to tell him, and he was beyond tempted to give her a
mental push in that direction. He was also tempted to tell her he wasn’t really
a college student, but tonight was not the night to admit he’d been lying to
her. He didn’t have time to go into all the reasons he needed to keep up this
pretense a little longer. With any luck, he’d be able to tell her the truth
tomorrow.

“It’s really nothing,” she assured him, looking down at her
lap. “The whole thing was just a misunderstanding. We talked it out and Mitch
left.”

Isaiah waited for more, but she obviously wasn’t going to
tell him about her trip to the tattoo parlor. Confronting her on that omission
would involve telling her he’d followed her and possibly mentioning the people
he had watching her while she was at work—the same people who would be
following her home tonight. Mentioning his creepy stalker activities was not
going to win him any points with Nikki, and it wasn’t going to convince her to
confide in him. If anything, it would drive her away.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?” she asked.

“I have some work to do tonight,” was his vague answer.

“What do you do? I mean, other than being a college
student?” she asked.

“I help move stuff.” That usually sufficed with most people
because it sounded like boring manual labor, so they simply dropped the
subject.

“I’m surprised there’s a market for moving things at night,”
she remarked.

He shrugged. “A lot of people prefer having me work at night
because they have jobs during the day.” It was strange how lying to Nikki made
his stomach clench. He was used to lying to people. It’s what he did, not just
for work, but in general. He lied because he couldn’t go around telling people
he was a vampire who fed on people’s energy. Lying to Nikki just felt
different, likely because he wanted more with her, more than he could have.

“How about if we go to the beach?” he suggested after they’d
finished their pizza.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “I’m sure it’s freezing out
there.”

“I brought a blanket and an extra jacket,” he offered. It
was more accurate to say he’d brought a blanket and Justin had left a jacket in
Caitlin’s car, which he’d borrowed since it looked more like something a
college student would drive.

“Okay, we’ll go to the beach,” she agreed with a smile.
“Just promise not to let me freeze.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll keep you warm,” he assured
her, very much looking forward to keeping her warm.

Even with the extra jacket, Phoenix was cold, proving that
living in the San Francisco Bay Area had made her soft. The temperatures were
much more moderate than they had been in Seattle. Standing side by side, and
watching the waves crash on to the beach, she felt happy for the first time in
longer than she could remember, which was crazy since her life was in danger
and she was on a date with a criminal.

“How can you possibly be warm?” she asked, eyeing Isaiah in
his lightweight black sweatshirt.

He chuckled and moved to stand in front of her, wrapping his
arms around her so his hands rested at her lower back. “I even let you wear the
heavy jacket.”

“Whose jacket is this?” she asked, noticing how his eyebrows
rose in surprise.

“What makes you think it’s not my jacket?” he asked.

“It doesn’t smell like you,” she answered automatically
before realizing that sounded strange. Looking down, she hoped to cover her
blush.

“You’re right,” he told her. “It’s my brother’s jacket. He
left it in the car.”

“How many siblings do you have?” she asked.

“Just one brother,” he replied. “No sisters. How about you?”

“No siblings. My parents tried, but things didn’t work out
for them.”

“Did you miss having siblings growing up?” he asked.

“Sometimes,” she admitted. “I doubt we would have been
close, anyway.” There was no missing the confusion on his face, but she
couldn’t very well explain that, even as children, hunters and breeders were
kept separate in many ways. That was just the way things were in their
culture—at least in the area she’d grown up. From what she’d heard from Brian,
hunters were much more enlightened in this area. She’d have to take his word
for it since she wasn’t willing to contact any of the hunters in the area to
find out.

She shivered ever so slightly when Isaiah leaned forward to
brush his lips across her cheek.

“Are you still cold?” he asked close to her ear. “Is that
why you’re shivering?”

“Yes,” she said in a breathy voice she barely recognized.

“I’ve got an idea that could help warm you up,” he murmured,
cupping her chin.

“What’s that” she asked.

“This,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. His tongue stroked
hers before retreating so he could suck her bottom lip gently and stroke it
with his tongue—an act that had her imagining him doing the same to her clit.

There was no holding back her moan, and her hands reached
out to clutch his shoulders. All concerns about the danger she was in, or
Isaiah’s mysterious job, faded to the background as she allowed herself to get
lost in the sensations he created in her body.

One of her legs lifted to try to wrap around his hip so she
could get closer to his erection, but he was too tall for that. A frustrated
groan came from the back of her throat, and he must have realized her dilemma
because he shifted so that his thigh was pressed between her legs.

As their kiss became more urgent, Phoenix moved against
Isaiah’s thigh, desperately trying to find some relief from the aching pressure
between her legs. A voice in the back of her head told her she should be
embarrassed about rubbing against him like this when they were in a public
place, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Her mind was consumed with
thoughts of getting closer to Isaiah.

One of her hands slipped under his shirt, needing to touch
the hard plains of his torso. Tearing his mouth from hers, Isaiah let out a
ragged breath. “We really shouldn’t do this here.”

A needy whimper was her only reply, and he must have noticed
how far gone she was because he looked around before lifting her and kneeling
in the sand with her straddling his lap. Angling his body so no one passing
could see them, he undid her pants and slipped his hand inside her panties. She
should probably have been shocked by what was happening, but all she could
think about was how good it felt when his finger pressed against her clit.
There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver, but she was so close to coming that she
didn’t think it would take much to get her there.

His mouth claimed hers again while his finger strummed her
clit. This time, his kiss was meant to drive her over the edge as his tongue
thrust into her mouth in slow strokes, like she wanted him thrusting into her
body as he brought her to completion. Remaining quiet was next to impossible,
and she was even more thankful for his mouth on hers when a soft scream slipped
past her lips while his finger brought her to orgasm.

Isaiah had never seen anything sexier than the sated look on
Nikki’s face. That was a look he could easily become addicted to. “You’re so
beautiful,” he murmured, enjoying her blush. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those
women who doesn’t know she’s beautiful.”

“It’s not that.” Before he could respond, she continued.
“Come home with me tonight. I know I said we weren’t going to have sex, but I
need you.”

“I really do have to work tonight,” he insisted, wishing
that weren’t the case.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded softly. “I’m worried about you.”

“Why are you worried?” he asked.

It looked like she was going to answer. In fact, her lips
parted to speak before she looked down and shook her head. “I don’t want you to
get hurt. I know you can’t tell me what’s going on, but I’m worried about you.
Please, just stay with me.”

“You heard me talking to Sam?” he asked and waited until she
nodded. Kissing her gently, he cupped her chin. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk more
about what’s going on, but you honestly don’t need to worry. I can’t explain it
all now, but everything is going to be fine.” The alarm on his phone
interrupted any reply she might have given, and he let out a regretful sigh. “I
need to drop you off now. We still need to talk about the trouble you’re in.
Before you start arguing with me, I don’t buy that it’s nothing. I can help
you.”

“I can’t talk you out of going tonight, can I?” she asked,
clearly refusing to discuss what was going on with her.

“After you asked me back to your place, if there was any way
I could get out of this, I would,” he assured her.

She nodded and stood. He wouldn’t say she was mad at him,
but she clearly wasn’t happy with him working tonight. That was something he’d
have to worry about later.