All content of this story is copyright {2014} by Desired_Temptation and is my intellectual property. This is purely a work of fiction and fantasy and all characters are eighteen years old or older. None of the events exist or have ever happened. This story is not to be redistributed under any circumstances without my express written permission.
_______Chapter Four_______
(Stella)
Heart pounding, I watched the grin that spread across his lips. He was breath taking when he smiled. Those green eyes seemed to gleam with internal lights and his pale skin almost seemed to glow.
"Stella."
Stomach clenching with sudden desire, I flushed as my dream came back to me with a vengeance. Those green eyes and that rumbling voice, among other things, that had coaxed me towards my climax. Oh god. The dream had done him justice. The husky sound of my name coming from those lips made me sex drip.
"Would you like a refreshment, Stella?"
Blinking out of my flashback, I blushed and nodded meekly. I hoped to god that vampires didn't read minds. If he knew of all the things I was thinking about that concerned him, I think I would die of embarrassment. Sexual fantasies were not something someone wanted a stranger to know about, especially when I just learned his name and knew nothing else about him.
Watching as he raised his hand and gestured towards the black marble topped bar, I couldn't help the sudden sweep my eyes did down the length of his body. Dressed in a short sleeved dark green button up shirt that had a black muscle shirt peeking from beneath the gaping material and black jeans that seemed to hug his hips and thighs but flowed down the length of his long legs. Peeking from a small gap at the bottom of his shirt, I noted the black belt with its shining silver belt buckle that rested above his... oh lord. Licking my lips, my forced my eyes to drop to his black boots and had to admit that he looked spiffy. Yummy even.
Stepping up beside him, I touched the cool stone counter and took in a deep breath. Geez. I was acting like a schoolgirl on her first date with an older guy. Hormones raging and tongue tied. Wondering if the short dark blue dress that hugged my adequate chest and flowed down to my mid thigh was nice enough. True I wore a push up bra to show enough cleavage through the low dip of the front of my dress that I knew my sex appeal was there, but standing next to this chiseled dark beast of a man it made me feel nervous and unsure of myself.
"What are you thinking, sweet mortal?"
Glancing over, I noticed that while I had been staring down at the bar he had been silently watching me. It was slightly intimidating. Where the hell had all my courage and aggressive sex allure gone? I had come into the club with a bounce in my step and a devilish smile to melt him into a goo and now I was the one melting at the sight of him.
"I was just wondering why a guy like you would want anything to do with a wee mortal like me." At least my voice wasn't shaking.
He smiled softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of my straightened blond hair behind my ear. "You're beautiful, that you know, but you spark an interest in me. You're not like most humans I run into. There's something about you that enthralls me."
I flushed at his compliment, surprised by his straight forwardness. Wondering how many times I was going to blush in this man's presence, I muttered the only thing that came to mind. "Oh."
Chuckling, his eyes flashed silver for a moment as he glanced down at my lips. "You look gorgeous, by the way," he rumbled in a husky voice, those mesmerizing eyes raising to meet mine.
Smiling, I looked back down at the bar. "Thank you. You look dashing yourself."
"Dashing," he chuckled, "compared to a beauty like you, I pale in comparison."
I frowned and through him a disbelieving look. " Don't be coy. Have you looked at yourself lately? Mr. Stud-R-Us."
He looked down at himself and a sad smile curved those lovely lips. Longs fingers tentatively touched one of the black gleaming buttons of his green shirt and sighed. "Truth be told, I haven't seen my own reflections in over two and a half decades. Until...I saw the portrait you did of me in your studio, I only had vague memories."
Eyes widening, I stared at him speechlessly. In the back of my mind, I made notice that he admitted to being in my sanctuary, but at the front I was incredible sad for him. I looked in the mirror over a dozen times throughout the day. He hasn't seen what he looked like for over...two thousands years. Shit.
I blinked rapidly. I didn't know if that bit of knowledge was unsettling or if I was amazed at all the things he must have seen happen throughout his long lifetime. It also made think of how lonely that lifetime would have been. All your loved ones and friends dying while you lived on.
"So this is the enchantress that snagged your attention. She is lovely, Sage."
Glancing up at the new male voice that joined our private interlude, I was ready to be pissed at the interruption, but was rather surprised to see a handsome young guy with friendly blue eyes smiling at me from behind the bar. Trying not to frown, I wondered how Sage knew this guy? He looked barely old enough to be in the club.
Grinning, he snaked out a hand and gently took my own into his grasp. Bringing my hand to his lips, he placed a chaste kiss on my knuckles, those blue eyes staring right at me. "My name is Anton and I own this particular club, Stella."
Blinking in alarm, I snatched my hand away from him. How had he known my name?
I felt a cool hand touch the back of my arm and turned to give Sage wide eyes. He was frowning the new guy. "Anton is one of my oldest friends and I apologize if he startled you." Turning those emerald eyes my way, he smiled gently down at me, making my stomach flutter with butterflies.
Anton's laughed, the sound sliding over my flesh. Turning, I stared at him. "My apologies, Stella. I like to shock people, to see how one acts when confronted with something outside the norm."
Leaning towards Sage, I gave Anton a halfhearted smile. "Well, you accomplished that fairly well, but I still want to know how you know my name."
Blue eyes glancing at Sage, he nodded slightly as if Sage had given him some kind of permission to go on. "Sage told you what he is, correct?"
"Yes, but I don't see how what he is has...oh." I sucked in a quick breath when the connection snapped into place. "You're one, too."
Smiling in half mockery, he nodded. "You catch on quick, Stella. Yes, I am like him, though he is a bit older then I. As for knowing your name, it is a gift I acquired when I died and came into this new life. I was always able to read people easily and when I was reborn, that talent was magnified. Reading people's minds comes quite handy."
I frowned, more disturbed then fascinated by his 'gift'. "You can see into people's minds? That's kind of reminds me of a peeking tom."
