And that’s ok, isn’t it? I did say I was going to lay off dating for a while, but this isn’t a date. Just one casual acquaintance showing the other something. In the dark.
Ok, so it sounds quite bad when I say it like that, particularly when one of us is a blood-sucking creature of the night and one of us is a mere mortal filled to the brim with said blood, but Florence said she didn’t plan to hurt me and I believe her.
So I don’t make my excuses and go back to bed, even though I recognise that I probably should. Instead, I take a leap of faith, pull on some clothes, and head out into the dark with her.
* * *
‘Come on,’ Florence says over her shoulder. I think it was meant to be motivational, but it makes her sound a bit like a drill sergeant. And I am playing my part as the unfit recruit perfectly.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m in decent shape. I go to the gym a couple of times a week and do more than my fair share of hauling kegs around. But next to Florence I feel like a horse bound for the knacker’s yard. We’re halfway up the 199 steps, I’m breathing hard, maybe complaining a little, and she’s loving every last second of it.
‘Maybe you need to do more cardio,’ she says through a smirk, and I narrow my eyes at her.
‘Sex is my cardio,’ I grumble. ‘And I’m on a sex hiatus.’
She skips up the next few steps and then turns to look at me while I climb. ‘I thought you were on adatinghiatus?’
I shrug, trudging up another few steps. ‘Same thing.’
‘Is it?’
It is for me. I grew up watching my dad sleep around, and I decided I didn’t want to be like that. But I don’t say that. All I say is, ‘I don’t sleep with people until we’re in a relationship.’
Ok, maybe I find it easier to slide into relationships than most men do, but the sentiment is still true. It makes Florence look at me with an expression I’ve seen on her a few times– like she’s trying to figure me out.
‘What?’ I ask, a little more bite in my words than I intended. But it doesn’t offend her. She just shakes her head, a smile playing at her lips as she carries on climbing.
‘Sorry I hauled you out of bed for this,’ she says, once I’ve caught up to her at the top of the steps. It’s a clear, cold night, and the sea breeze comes at us from two different directions now we’re higher up on the cliff. I probably could have done without the trudge up the steps, but I can’t pretend I’m not pleased to be here. Whatever it is we’re here for.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ I say, a little easier for the rest. ‘I’m a single man who works at a bar. I’m basically nocturnal at this point.’
‘It’s my ideal time of day,’ she says, looking out over the bay for a moment before she turns back to me. ‘UV index of zero and no pesky humans around.’ Her eyes snap back to mine and I know from the curl of her smirk what she’s going to say next. ‘Well, maybeonepesky human.’
The mere sight of that smile on her ignites the lick of a flame at the base of my spine, its heat spreading through me like wildfire. I’ve met buttoned-up Florence and soft Florence, but this is another version of her entirely– something playful, maybe a little flirty. She told me she didn’t pose any danger to me, but she was wrong. One of those smiles could tear through my feeble human resolve in seconds.
I’m absolutely fucked, and I’m not even mad about it.
‘Right,’ I snap, turning on my heel and making like I’m going to march back down the steps, but she just grabs for my arm and laughs that same rough laugh, her head thrown back. The sound is so infectious that I can’t help but laugh too.
‘Come on,’ she says, guiding me to the right, past the church. ‘We’re nearly there.’
ChapterEight
FLORENCE
‘We arenotgoing over that wall,’ Quinn says, a deep furrow appearing between his brows. I’m enjoying the role reversal here. Usually I’m the sensible one in any pair, and I get the impression Quinn is normally the joker, but now we’re under the stars, all bets are off.
‘You’ll clear that easily.’ I shrug. ‘It’s only just taller than you.’ I slap a hand on the pale stone wall as if to illustrate my point. ‘Here, I’ll give you a leg up.’
I link my hands and hold the makeshift step out to him, but he just looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
‘You’ll never be able to hold my weight,’ he says, concern lacing his words like he really believes that’s true. And to be fair, it does look like it could be. He’s a head taller than me and lean, though nowhere near skinny. But I have the supernatural on my side.
‘Cute,’ I say, nodding to my clasped hands. He eyes me sceptically, but after a moment he shakes his head and steps into them. I take the opportunity to launch him over the wall before he chickens out and have to bite my lip to keep from giggling at the way he squeals as he flies skywards.
‘A bit of warning would have been nice,’ he yells from the other side. ‘Now how are you going to?—’
But before he can even get the words out, I’m on his side of the wall, brushing limestone dust off my coat and grinning broadly.