Fallen from Grace [Part Two of the Thicker than Blood Series] (5 page)

“I do.  And if they have good salsa, I'll probably eat my weight in it,” I heard myself say before I could snap my mouth closed.  Great. 
That's a lot of salsa, Kenna.
  I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.

Alex didn't seem to notice my fluster or, if he did, he ignored it.  “Their salsa
is
pretty good.”  His hand rose to the small of my back as we found the hostess.  She made small talk with us but I didn't hear anything she said, I was too lost in the heat coming from his hand.

We were seated in a dark booth next to a window. 

“We'll take two large Tarantula margaritas on the rocks please.” Alex said to our server that I didn't even notice was at our table.

When she left, Alex reached across the table and found my hand.  “Do you mind that I ordered for you?”

I shook my head, taking in the atmosphere of the eatery.  They had done their best to make the place look like an old hacienda, complete with worn stucco and trailing rose vines.  It was quite lovely and romantic.  Spanish guitar played softly in the background.

Alex rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand.  “How long have you lived in Ashland?”

I closed my eyes enjoying the stoke of my skin.  “All of my life.”  Ah, here we are with the questions, the getting to know one another.  “Hey, how is it fair you get to ask me things?” I said, my eyes popping open to stare at him.

“It's not.” He smiled.

“Fine,” I said as our drinks arrived.  I waited until the waitress left to finish my thought.  “If I can't ask you questions, you can't ask me either... until tomorrow.”  I grinned mischievously and took the first taste of my drink.  It was very good, but very high in alcohol.  I'd have to watch it.

Alex lifted his drink to his lips, licked the salt off of the rim with a broad sweep of his tongue and took a sip. 
Why did that turn me on? 
I bit my lip and averted my eyes when he looked at me. 
Thankfully, my eyes don't turn black when I want something badly.

“Alright then, what do we talk about?” He smiled.

I took another sip.  “Well, the weather was awfully nice today...” I joked.

Alex laughed.  “Of course, the weather.”

The waitress was back and took our orders quickly, leaving us to continue our non-questions.

“Okay,” Alex said snapping his fingers.  “I know, what of travel?  We can both answer questions on that.”

“Can we?” I asked coyly, leaning over the table to take my drink straw in my mouth.  I didn't think anything of my actions until I saw black creep into Alex's eyes.  I resisted the temptation to toy with him more, opting to verbally tease instead.  “Really?  The straw does it?”

He blinked.  As quickly as the black had appeared, it was gone again.  Alex cleared his throat and laughed.  “No questions until tomorrow, remember?”

I laughed too.  “Right.”

Alex leaned towards me over the table, smile gone from his face.  “It's not fair that you know my tells when I don't know yours...,” he said softly. 
Tinge of black appeared in his eyes again.
  He wanted to know badly. 
This was fun!

I cocked my head to the side and smiled sweetly.  “Yeah, it's not fair, is it.  Oh well.”  I feigned indifference and sipped from my straw once more. 

Alex shook his head and laughed.

My expectations of dinner with Alex Amante were totally wrong.  I expected him to remain mysterious and moody as he was with our earlier interactions... but he wasn't.  He was charming, good humored and affectionate.  It was a long time since I was romanced – I almost forgot what it felt like.  Alex made me feel special.  My thoughts suddenly turned to Matt.  I was with him that morning... and he left me.  He fucked me and left me.  What a hell of a thing for a friend to do to another.  Heat spread to my face as I looked out the window passed my own reflection.  Granted, he left in a strange way, but he left without saying good bye none-the-less.

“Kenna?”

Alex brought me back from my thoughts.  “Hmmm?”

He searched my face.  “I asked if you'd like another drink.”  The waitress was standing at our table staring at me.

“Oh, yeah.  Please.”

She smiled, picked up my empty glass and left.

“You okay?  You seemed upset about something...,” Alex said, looking concerned.

I nodded and shook my head.  “No, yeah, I'm fine.  Just friend stuff.”

“The big blond man,” he concluded.

I stared at Alex.  “That's right... you were spying on us that morning, weren't you?”

“I won't answer -”

I raised my hand, cutting him off.  “Fine, I'll ask that again tomorrow.  But, how much of our conversation did you hear?”

I could see in Alex's eyes that he was trying to determine if he should answer me.  I just waited.

“I only heard when you spoke my name and there after.”

“Do you know Matt?” I asked, relieved he didn't know I was trying to jump Matt to satisfy my lust for him.

Alex shook his head.  “No, I don't think so.”

“Well he certainly knows you.”

The waitress brought another large margarita for the both of us.

Alex stared at me hard, then averted his eyes to the window.  His expression changed.  His thoughts and feelings were being guarded.

I sighed, taking a drink of my fresh beverage.  While I was dying to know what was going on, I didn't want the lovely evening to be ruined.  “I'm sorry.  I just have so many questions.”

Alex looked at me and smiled.  “I know and I apologize for asking you to wait for answers.  But I will answer them all tomorrow.”

I laughed.  “What is going to change between now and tomorrow that will allow you to tell me?”

He said nothing as he continued his stare.

I blinked.  “Oh,” I said as I flushed pink.  He was thinking sex.  He thought bedding me would make me more receptive to his answers to the weird questions I had.  He must believe he's an incredible lover. 
How arrogant.
  “What happened to being a gentleman?” I asked, meeting his gaze.

“What.  I'm a man and I can be gentle... if that's what you want,” he said softly, his eyes boring into mine.

My insides liquified.  I pushed the thought of being ravaged by Alex in every room of my house, yard, car and even the woods out of my mind with a gulp of air. 
Wow, it was hot in here!  Did someone turn on the heat?

Alex chuckled softly.  “I didn't mean to embarrass you.”

I slowly shook my head.  “You didn't.  You just caught me off guard.”  I stirred the cubes in my drink thoughtfully and took a large gulp from the side of the glass.  “You were planning this all along then?”

He nodded.  “I'm not going to lie, I've wanted you since the first night I saw you.”

“So, it's about sex,” I stated.  I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

“Certainly not.”  Alex took my hand from my glass, causing me to meet his eyes.  “That's not what I meant at all.  You're... unique.  I don't want to have sex with you, I want...,” he paused, his thumb absently working small circles on my hand.  He looked down at the table.

“You want what?”

It took him a moment to look back up at me, but when he did, I gasped.  His irises were completely black.  “I want to possess you.”  His voice was raspy and deep as he whispered the words.

I sucked in a breath and shivered.  Lust, joy and fear shot through my body and I shivered.  He wanted to
possess
me.  I looked out of the window in an attempt to calm myself.  I didn't know how to respond.

“I'm sorry,” Alex said after a while. 

When I looked back at him, the black had receded into the liquid caramel that I loved.

“Some first date, huh?”

I busted out in giggles.  “Yeah.”

“Are you ready to get out of here?  I have some wine at the house I'd like for you to try.”

My eyes searched his. 

Alex raised his hands up.  “Gentleman, remember?  Although, I might not be able to resist stealing a kiss or two from those mesmerizing lips.”

He was a smooth-talking bastard.  “Uh huh,” I laughed, climbing out of the booth.

Alex put some cash on the table and followed me, placing his hand at the small of my back once again.  It was comforting.

“Thank you for dinner,” I said as he drove to his house.

Alex smiled.  “You're welcome.  Believe me, it was all my pleasure.”

He pulled up to a large, old-yet-beautiful, brick home.  It seemed to suit him – classy yet somewhat old world.  On the inside, the furnishings and décor matched the outside.  It was expansive but still retained a factor of warmth.

“Your home is lovely.”

“Thank you.  Please have a seat and I'll get the wine.”  Alex walked to a large wet bar visible from the living room.

I sat on a worn leather sofa, which faced an imposing hearth, and rubbed my hands across the soft material.  There were huge wooden beams in the high ceiling.  “Seriously, this place is something else.”

“It's not too shabby,” he said as he rounded behind the sofa and sat next to me, handing me a glass of a deep-red wine.

“Thank you.”

“It's a Cabernet-Merlot from Tuscany.  Try it.”

I looked at the wine and wondered how much it cost him, positive it must be expensive. I swirled the liquid gently, scenting the bouquet that opened to my nose and took a sip.  “Wow.  This is nice.”

“Tell me what you taste.”

I lifted the glass to my lips again, meeting his gaze—caramel was framed with black rings.  I exhaled, taking another sip.  I could relax around him, even if his eyes did change color.  “Uh, I taste oak, blackberries, chocolate...,” I paused to smack my lips in an unlady-like fashion.  “And honey.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Good.  Is that all?”

I nodded.

He took my glass from me and sat both of ours down on the coffee table.  Alex turned back, gently brushing my cheek with his fingers.  Black was pushing it's way closer to his pupils.  “Let me taste,” he said in a low tone.

His lips sought mine and they connected with a jolt of electricity that shot through my body.  He probed my lips tenderly, seeking access to my mouth.  I sighed, allowing him entrance.  His tongue danced lightly and I could feel myself be pulled into the swirling vortex of his kiss.  His hand moved slowly up the slight curve of my spine to pass under my hair and hold the back of my head.  While kissing him in the hospital had been great, this blew that away. 

His mouth trailed from mine to my jaw bone and then my neck.  “Your skin is delicious,” he murmured.

“Stealing just a kiss or two...,” I sighed.

He planted thick, wet nibbles on my neck.  “Possibly a few more than that...,” Alex whispered.

I gripped his wavy hair in my hand, holding his face against my skin.  A small moan escaped my parted lips.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of pain in my neck.  Alex bit into me hard, breaking my skin.  I cried out in agony, trying to push Alex away.  He didn't budge, his teeth remained in my flesh.