“Excuse me.”
I shot up, sidestepped the escort, and marched out of there.
After my dramatic exit, I felt like a fool. I stood in front of the hotel, looking from left to right. I didn’t even know where the parking lot was. Not that I had the keys to Levi’s car. I’d need to go back and have the receptionist call me a cab.
“Hey!” Levi caught up with me outside.
“I’m sorry,” I said before he could rip into me. “I know you meant well, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I can’t do it. It has to be Eddie.”
Levi put his hands on his hips, staring me down. “You’re acting like a nutcase, my friend. Just bite and suck. Don’t think about it!”
“I couldn’t even make my fangs drop.”
His annoyed expression turned into concern. “Fuck. Really?”
Pacing, I breathed deeply and tried to disperse the nausea. “What if it’s not just the blood?” I asked.
“What?”
“What if it’s all of him?”
“What do you mean?”
“I kept talking about the blood, but it’s all of Eddie. He’s the siren. He’s…”
Levi stepped closer and grabbed me by my shoulders. “Slow down. I’m not following.”
“Of course, you aren’t.”
He found my gaze and looked at me imploringly. “Explain it to me like I’m a moron,” he said in a low voice.
I snorted out a helpless laugh. “Just touching the guy back there felt like a betrayal. My stomach turned as if I had eaten human food. If I’d bitten the man, I would have vomited all over him. Well, if I’d managed to make my fangs drop, which…” I shook my head. “I can’t. I can’t, Levi.”
“Back up for a second. What betrayal? Eddie and you are not in a relationship. You bit him twice, and he asked you to leave him alone.”
I took a step back and glanced at the sky. We were far enough from the city center that a few of the brightest stars were visible. Dropping his arms, Levi waited. I could feel his worried gaze on me.
“I’m falling for Eddie. I think I’m… Yeah. Maybe I’m in love with him.” Strangely, I felt relieved saying it out loud.
“You’re in love.” My friend sounded suspicious.
I love Eddie. Because he deserved nothing less. The guilt seemed to lift from my shoulders, and I realized I was suddenly smiling.I can love Eddie.
“Would that be so bad?” I asked Levi. But he was the least likely man to offer me good advice on love, of all things.
Instantly, he proved me right. “I don’t know. Some folks say it sucks.”
It made me chuckle. “We’ll just have to see, then.”
“Can he feel the same?”
A new, unexplored realm of yearning and heartbreak hid in the answer to that question. “I have no idea. I think he’s scared.”
Levi winced. “That’s not good.”
