he’d been as dull as dishwater. She’d felt bad when she’d broken up with him, but there had been no real chemistry between them, no sparks. She had the feeling Bryan had felt the same and was relieved when she called it quits so he wouldn’t have to. “How about you?”
“I met a new guy. We’ve only been out a few times, but he seems really nice,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “I have high hopes for Greg.”
“That’s great. I hope it works out.” Vivian rarely had trouble meeting men. She was tall and slim, with fiery red hair and bright green eyes.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Vivian remarked as she helped herself to another slice of garlic bread. “Something on your mind?”
Callie ran her fingertips around the rim of her glass. “Can I ask you something?”
“Well, sure, hon. What is it?”
“I had a really weird experience on Friday night.”
“Oh?” Folding her arms on the table, Vivian leaned forward expectantly.
“You’ll probably think I’m crazy. I think so, too, but this guy took me into an alley—”
“What? Are you all right? Did you call the police?”
“I’m fine. The thing is, I’m just not sure if it really happened. It was like some bizarre nightmare. When I got home that night, I couldn’t remember what happened from the time I left Sally’s to when I got into my car. It was like those stories you hear about people who’ve been abducted by aliens and how they lose hours of time.”
“You think you were abducted?”
“No, nothing like that, but it was equally creepy.” Callie lifted a hand to her neck. “I think the guy bit me.”
Vivian stared at her in disbelief.
“I know, it sounds crazy.”
“For sure!”
“But the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it really happened.”
Vivian leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, brow furrowed. “So, you’re saying this guy, whoever he was, took you into an alley and bit you?”
Callie nodded, wishing she had never mentioned it. Said out loud, it sounded preposterous.
“Maybe he was a vampire,” Vivian said, stifling a grin.
“That’s not funny! What if he was some crazy homeless guy and he had some horrible disease?”
Vivian leaned forward again, her gaze narrowing. “Did it leave a mark?”
“No. But it kind of tingled for a while afterwards.” Callie took a deep breath and blew it out in a long sigh. She never should have said anything.
Callie was reaching for the check when the oddest sensation engulfed her. Almost as if drawn by some invisible hand, she turned toward the entrance, felt a sudden chill snake down her spine when she saw the tall, dark-haired man standing in the doorway. It was him! The man who had bitten her. She was sure of it. “Vivian! Look! Over there, by the entrance! It’s him!”
“Where? I don’t see anyone.”
Callie frowned. “But . . . but he was there a second ago. I saw him! I know I did.”
* * *
Quill melted into the shadows, shaken by the peculiar sense of awareness that had passed between him and the woman when their gazes had met. Had she felt it, too?
And what the hell did it mean?
Chapter 3
At home, Callie couldn’t relax. She tried to watch a movie, only to turn it off and reach for a book, which she soon put aside. A cup of hot chocolate didn’t help to calm her nerves. Neither did a warm bubble bath or a lavender-scented candle.
Clad in her favorite PJs, she paced the living room floor, unable to forget or understand the odd sensation that had thrummed through her when she’d met the stranger’s eyes—some weird connection she couldn’t explain or deny, almost as if his soul had touched hers.
She told herself that was ridiculous. She didn’t believe in psychic soul mates or love at first sight, although what she felt was far from love. The man was stalking her, and that scared her to death. What if he wanted to bite her again?
What if, as Vivian had so flippantly suggested, he really was a vampire?
She dismissed that thought out of hand, but having once considered it, it kept sneaking back in. He certainly looked like a vampire. Long, dark hair. Long, black coat. Hypnotic eyes.
She shook her head. Nobody believed in vampires these days, not when there were so many other, scarier, things to be afraid of.
Mentally exhausted, she stretched out on the sofa. Unable to get comfortable, she shuffled into the bedroom, slid under the covers, and closed her eyes....
And he was there. A tall, broad-shouldered man with mesmerizing deep-gray eyes and thick, brown hair so dark it was almost black. A jagged white scar started at the edge of his jaw, ran down his neck, and disappeared beneath his shirt collar.
She shivered as his gaze caught and held hers, stood frozen as he glided toward her.
Callie. He whispered her name, drawing it out like a caress.
The sound of his voice did funny things in the pit of her stomach. When he extended his hand toward her, she was helpless to do anything but go to him. She whimpered when he took her in his arms.
His gaze searched her face. Who are you? he asked, his voice filled with a note of wonder. What are you?
She stared up at him, not knowing what to say.
He trailed his knuckles along her cheek and down the length of her neck, then ran his fingertips over her lips. His touch, as light as butterfly wings, sent a frisson of desire racing through her.
Callie. Just her name. A single word filled with intense longing.
When he brushed her hair aside and lowered his head to her throat, she trembled from head to foot, whether from fear or anticipation, she couldn’t say. His breath was hot against her skin.
She moaned softly when he bit her, surprised by the warmth that swept through her in wave after wave of sensual pleasure. He was a stranger, and yet it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be in his arms, to press her body to his. She felt bereft when he lifted his head, would have cried his name, had she known it. Would have begged him not to stop. Tears burned her eyes when he kissed her lightly, then vanished from sight....
Callie woke abruptly, her cheeks damp with tears, her whole body quivering for his touch.
* * *
Lost in thought, Quill stood outside the woman’s house. He had intended to call her to him and dispose of her, but when his mind touched
