“Are you sure this is what you want?” Romeo asked for the third time that night. Jasmine-scented perfume drifted to his nostrils and Romeo had to stop himself from burying his face against her skin. It had been a long time since Romeo had wanted a woman with such an animalistic need.

Christine fumbled with her keys before unlocking the front door of her tiny Cape Cod . “You wouldn’t be with me right now if I wasn’t sure. You do want this, too, don’t you?” She looked over her shoulders, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

She obviously had no idea how much he wanted her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and rub his cock against the gentle swell of her bottom. He realized he’d been extremely lucky to meet her tonight. Wolf had been so entranced by the fem vampire that he was truly missing out on this beauty. A slow smile tilted his lips as Romeo thought about his friend, who’d been left stewing at the club when Nya made it clear in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t interested.

It had been rather pathetic to watch Wolf try to win the fem over, only to be rebuffed none too gently over and over again. Romeo felt lucky that it wasn’t him in the same position, because Nya didn’t seemed inclined to like either one of them.

Christine, on the other hand, had made it obvious that she was very willing by flirting with him throughout the night. He’d liked the way she talked, even though most Boston accents annoyed him to no end, sounding coarse and unrefined to his ears. From her mouth, however, it sounded delightful. Her intelligence and grasp of world events also intrigued him. She was definitely not the bimbo type to go from one one-night stand to another, so it surprised him that she’d been willing to bring him back to her place.

“Come on in, please. Would you like some coffee or something to eat — oh! I’m sorry.” She stumbled over the last words.

What was that all about? He stepped into her small but cozy living room. The house was neat and full of furniture and knick-knacks, yet it didn’t seem cluttered. He felt a strange sense of coming home. “Nice place.”

“Thank you. I like it.” She smiled at him.

One of Christine’s front teeth slightly overlapped the other, but it only seemed to add to her charm. It was a smile he knew he’d remember for a long time to come. “So, what were you about to say?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you stop after asking me if I wanted something to eat?”

“Uh, well …” She covered her mouth, her face going slightly red. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I didn’t think before offering.”

Now he was really confused. “You were just being a good hostess. Why would I be offended?”

“Because you don’t eat,” Christine blurted out before her face went an even deeper shade of red.

“Says who?” Was this woman on some kind of drugs? How could he have misjudged her so badly? “Why wouldn’t I eat?”

“Because … uh, never mind.”

Romeo tried to touch her mind, but something seemed to be blocking him. Humans couldn’t block their thoughts from vampires, yet he was ninety-nine point nine percent sure Christine was human. What was going on? “Tell me what you meant by that comment.”

“Well … I’ve never seen Nya eat anything.”

Her meaning finally dawned on him. “You know what your friend is?”

She nodded.

“And you know what I am?”

“Yes.”

“Is that what Nya talked to you about when she dragged you away from the table?

“Sort of.”

“I see.” He didn’t really, but this certainly made things more and more interesting.

Christine raised her head almost in a defiant gesture. “I’m not scared, though.”

Romeo couldn’t help but to grin at that. She was obviously trying to conceal her fear, but he definitely liked her more with each passing second. “And why aren’t you scared? How do you know I won’t drain you of all your blood and leave you for dead?” He took a step forward, yet she remained where she was, although a thin sheen of sweat glistened over her brow.

“Because Nya said you wouldn’t hurt me and I trust her.”

“Funny how she knows that about me when tonight was the first time I’ve had the … pleasure of meeting her.”

Christine cocked her head. “You sound like you don’t like her.”

“I don’t know her well enough to form an opinion, although she seems already to have formed one of me. Tell me, what else did your friend say, and how is it that you have become so close to one of my kind?”

“It’s a complicated story. It doesn’t matter, does it? We both want one thing tonight. Have you changed your mind?”

“Hell, no, but I will have my answers — if not now, then eventually. And, by the way, I do eat. You must watch too damn much television.”

Christine laughed. “That’s exactly what Nya said earlier.”

“You know, if I could live the nineteenth century all over again, I’d kick Bram Stoker’s ass.”

This time, Christine clutched her sides, laughing harder than ever. Her laughter was so infectious, he couldn’t help but to chuckle himself.

“So you find that amusing, do you?”

“It was the way you said it,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Well, imagine what it’s like for me when I see Hollywood ‘s version of vampires. I stopped watching vampire movies after Blackula . Even I had to draw the line somewhere.”

This seemed to tickle Christine even more. “ Blackula ? I can’t say I’ve seen that one. Please tell me you’re making that one up.”

“You didn’t miss much. It’s a blaxploitation movie from the seventies. Don’t get me wrong, Richard Roundtree in Shaft was the man, and I loved Pam Grier in Foxy Brown , but Blackula ? Come on.”

“I see your point. The title alone sounds horrible. I know how you feel, though. Full Metal Jacket ruined my life.”

“How so?”

“You have no idea how many men think it’s cool to approach me by saying, ‘Me so horny. Me love you long time!’”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish. It didn’t help that Two Live Crew remixed it into a song. That had to be the worst summer of my life. Let me tell you something — the next guy who asks me for a happy ending is going to get my knee shoved into his crotch.”

She looked so cute during her little rant. “You poor baby.” Romeo reached out and pulled her into his arms.

“I’m sorry about my narrow views of vampires.”

“And I promise I won’t ask you to ‘suckie suckie.’” He winked at her.

Christine glared at him before her features softened when she realized he’d only been teasing her. She laughed again. “You’re too much.”

“And you’re too beautiful,” he murmured, caressing her soft cheek.

“So … would you like something to eat?”

“The only thing I want to eat right now is your pussy,” Romeo whispered before lowering his head. Her dark eyes widened, but she didn’t pull away. The feel of her soft lips beneath his had his cock straining against his jeans, begging to be released.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips, licked off the fruity flavor of her lip gloss. When she sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, Romeo took advantage and slid his tongue into the sweet cavern of her mouth.

Christine was absolutely delicious. He could taste the faint trace of alcohol, along with a cherry flavor, as if she’d eaten some candy earlier. With her head tilted back, her mouth opened under the gentle persuasion of his kiss and Romeo explored every cavern and crevice, savoring the very essence of her.

God, she was lovely. Never before had his body reacted quite this way. He lifted his head to look down at her. Christine’s eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted, as though waiting for him to bring his head back down to hers. Romeo’s lips traced a path from her jaw to her neck, then she seemed to tense up.

“Relax,” he whispered against her skin.

Romeo’s lips grasped the pulsing hollow at the base of her neck, loving the sound of her soft moans. The tormenting sweetness of her body against his only fueled the flames of his passion further. His fingers deftly worked to unbutton her blouse. He was eager to see all of her.

Romeo slid her top from her shoulders, his hand sliding inside her bra to tweak one pert nipple. She trembled beneath his caresses, and her reaction excited him. “Do you like that?”

“Oh, yes. More. Oh, God, more,” she moaned, arching her back. Romeo smiled down at her, rolling the tight tip between his fingers. In one sudden movement, he ripped the bra away from her body with his free hand, not bothering with the clasps. “I’m sorry, I’ll buy you another.”

“It’s okay.”

His hands worked on her skirt and panties until he had her naked in front of him. Stepping back to survey her perfect body, Romeo smiled. She was gorgeous from her small, but beautifully shaped bronze-tipped breasts, to her flat stomach and small waist, which flared into rounded hips and slightly muscular legs. He could tell that she worked out and took good care of her body.

Romeo licked his lips at the sight of her hairless cunt. He had no preference for shaved or unshaved women, but looking at the smooth skin between her silky thighs, he couldn’t wait to bury his face inside it.

Christine brought her arms up, crossing them over her breasts in a self-conscious gesture.

“Don’t. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re beautiful.”

“Well, I’m standing here naked while you still have all your clothes on.”

He grinned. “Something that can easily be remedied,” Romeo said, shrugging out of his leather jacket.

“No. Let me.” Christine covered the short distance between them and placed her hand on his shirt.

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

She slid her hand under his T-shirt. The contact of her palms on his chest filled him with such a rush of desire, he could barely keep still. If he wasn’t careful, this woman would be the death of him.