Black Dagger Brotherhood - Lover Eternal Part 12

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I like your eyes on me."

Mary's body s.h.i.+mmered to life. And she responded with total grace by launching a crouton into her lap.

"So what are you looking at?" he asked.

She used her napkin to dab at the dressing skid on her pants. "Your table manners. They're very good."

"Food is to be savored."

She wondered what else he enjoyed like that Slowly. Thoroughly. G.o.d, she could just imagine the kind of love life he had. He'd be amazing in bed. That big body, that golden skin, those long, tapered fingers...

Mary's throat went dry and she made a grab for her gla.s.s. "But do you always... eat so much?"

"Actually, the stomach's off. I'm taking it easy." He shook a little more salt on the fettuccine. "So you used to work with autistic children, but now you're at a law firm. What else do you do with your time? Hobbies? Interests?"

"I like to cook.""Really? I like to eat."

She frowned, trying not to imagine him sitting at her table.

"You're irritated again."

She waved her hand around. "I'm not."

"Yeah, you are. Don't like the idea of cooking something for me, do you?"

His unfettered honesty made her think she could tell him anything and he'd respond with exactly what he thought and felt. Good or bad.

"Hal, do you have any kind of filter between your brain and your mouth?"

"Not really." He finished the Alfredo and moved the plate aside. The steak was up next. "So what about your parents?"

She took a deep breath. "My mother died about four years ago. My father was killed when I was two in a wrong-place-wrong- time kind of thing."

He paused. "That's hard. Losing both of them."

"Yes, it was."

"Both of mine are gone, too. But at least they made it to old age. Do you have sisters? Brothers?"

"No. It was just me and my mother. And now only me."

There was a long silence. "So how do you know John?"

"John... oh, John Matthew? Did Bella tell you about him?"

"After a fas.h.i.+on."

"I don't know him all that well. He just kind of came into my life recently. I think he's a special kid, a kind one, even though I get the sense things haven't been easy for him."

"You know his parents?"

"He told me he doesn't have any."

"You know where he lives?"

"I know the area of town. It's not a very good one."

"Do you want to save him, Mary?"

What an odd question, she thought.

"I don't think he needs to be saved, but I'd like to be his friend. Truthfully, I barely know him. He just showed up at my house one night."

Hal nodded, as if she'd given him an answer he'd wanted.

"How do you know Bella?" she asked."Don't you like your salad?"

She looked down her plate. "I'm not hungry."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

As soon as he'd finished his burger and fries, he reached over for the small menu by the salt and pepper shakers.

"Is dessert more to your liking?" he asked.

"Not tonight."

"You should eat more."

"I had a big lunch."

"No, you didn't."

Mary crossed her arms over her chest. "How would you know?"

"I can sense your hunger."

She stopped breathing. G.o.d, those eyes of his were gleaming again. So blue, so bright, the color endless, like the sea. An ocean to swim in. To drown in. To die in.

"How do you know I'm... hungry?" she said, feeling as if the world were slipping away.

His voice dropped until it was almost a purr. "I'm right, aren't I? So why does it matter how?"

Fortunately, the waitress arrived to pick up the dishes and broke the moment. By the time Hal had ordered an apple crisp, some kind of brownie thing, and a cup of coffee, Mary felt like she was back on the planet.

"So what do you do for a living?" she asked.

"This and that."

"Acting? Modeling?"

He laughed. "No. I may be decorative, but I prefer to be useful."

"And how are you useful?"

"I guess you could say I'm a soldier."

"You're in the military?"

"Kind of."

Well, that would explain the deadly air. The physical confidence. The sharpness in his eyes.

"What branch?" Marines, she thought. Or maybe a SEAL. He was that hard.Hal's face tightened up. "Just another soldier."

From out of nowhere, a cloud of perfume invaded Mary's nose. It was the redheaded hostess sweeping up to the table.

"Was everything okay?" As Hal looked over, you could practically hear the woman sizzle.

"Fine, thanks," he said.

"Good." She slipped something onto the table. A napkin. With a number and a name on it.

As the woman flashed her eyes and sauntered off, Mary looked down at her hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her purse.

Time to go, she thought. For some reason she didn't want to watch Hal put that napkin in his pocket. Even though he had every right to do so.

"Well, this has been... interesting," she said. She picked up her bag and shuffled out of the booth.

"Why are you leaving?" His frown made him look like true military material, taking him very far away from the s.e.xy male pinup stuff.

Unease flickered in her chest. "I'm tired. But, thanks, Hal. This has been... Well, thanks."

As she tried to get by him, he took her hand, stroking her inner wrist with his thumb. "Stay while I eat my dessert."

She looked away from his perfect face and his broad shoulders. The brunette across the aisle was getting to her feet and eyeing him, a business card in her hand.

Mary leaned down. "I'm sure you'll find plenty of others to keep you company. In fact, one's headed your way right now. I'd say good luck with her, but she looks like a sure thing."

Mary made a beeline for the exit. The chilly air and the relative silence were a relief after the crush of people, except as she approached her car, she had the eerie sense she wasn't alone. She glanced over her shoulder.

Hal was right behind her, even though she'd left him in the restaurant. She wheeled around, heart pounding like it wanted out of her ribs.

"Jesus! What are you doing?"

"Walking you to your car."

"I... ah. Don't bother."

"Too late. This Civic is yours, right?"

"How did you-"

"The lights flashed as you unlocked it."

She moved away from him, but as she backed up, Hal came forward. When she b.u.mped against her car, she put her hands out.

"Stop."

"Don't be scared of me.""Then don't crowd me."

She turned away from him and went for the door handle. His hand shot out, clamping on the seam between the window and the roof.

Yeah, she was going to get behind the wheel. When he let her.

"Mary?" His deep voice was right next to her head, and she jumped.

She felt the raw seduction of him and imagined his body as a cage locked around her. With a treasonous s.h.i.+ft, her fear changed into something wanton and needy.

"Let me go," she whispered.

"Not yet."

She heard him take a deep breath, as if he were smelling her, and then her ears were flooded by a rhythmic pumping sound, as though he were purring. Her body loosened, heated, opened between her legs as if it was prepared to accept him inside.

Good G.o.d, she had to get away from him.

She grabbed onto his forearm and pushed. Which got her nowhere.

"Mary?"

"What?" she snapped, resentful because she was turned on when she should have been petrified. For G.o.d's sake, he was a stranger, a big, pushy stranger, and she was a woman alone with no one to miss her if she didn't make it home.

"Thank you for not bailing on me."

"You're welcome. Now how about letting me leave?"

"As soon as you let me kiss you good-night."

Mary had to open her mouth to get enough air into her lungs.

"Why?" she asked hoa.r.s.ely. "Why would you want to do that?"

His hands fell onto her shoulders and turned her around. He towered over her, blocking out the glow from the restaurant, the lights in the parking lot, the stars far above.