Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“Finally.” She smiled. “I thought you’d never get it.”
“Your accent sounds different from other British ones I’ve heard,” I told her. “It threw me off my game.”
“I’m one of the few remaining people on Earth who still speaks this dialect.” She had that mysterious look in her eyes again, like she was sharing a coveted secret.
I was about to ask her more, but the bartender returned and placed our drinks in front of us before I had the chance.
I picked up my glass and raised it in a toast. “To new friends,” I said, holding my gaze with hers.
“And to unexpected evenings,” she added. “In the absolute best of ways.”
She clinked her glass with mine, and we drank.”S o, what are you doing here in Toronto?” I asked, settling into my place next to her at the bar.
“Family trip,” she said simply.
“You’re here with your family, yet at a hotel bar by yourself?”
“My family goes to sleep early,” she explained. “But I’ve always been more of the nocturnal type.”
“A night owl?” I asked.
“A vampire.” She chuckled and sipped her wine, eyeing up my reaction.
It was a bit of a strange comment, but someone as stunning as Laila could get away with saying anything. “You’re into all that fantasy stuff?” I guessed.
“You could say that.” She smiled-she looked so mysterious when she smiled. “I do enjoy reading.”
“So do I,” I said. “I don’t get to do much of it anymore, since I’m always training, but I read a lot when I was younger.”
We continued chatting from there-Laila proved to be an excellent conversationalist. It wasn’t long before both of our drinks were empty. I’d met my fair share of girls on the road, but never ones as intelligent, sophisticated, and as beautiful as Laila. I could talk to her all night.
“Your friends keep looking over at us.” She glanced over my shoulder at where my teammates were sitting.
A quick glance at my watch showed me that Laila and I had been chatting for longer than twenty minutes. Ryan would be thrilled that he won the bet. But I didn’t look back at the guys. They’d likely had a few more drinks by now, and the last thing I needed was for them to do something to embarrass me.
“Want to check out another place?” I asked. “There are some other bars on this street where we can continue this conversation without having my drunk teammates as an audience.”
She set her empty wine glass down and tilted her head, once more looking like she was up to something.
Who was this girl, and how had I fallen under her spell so easily?
“You should invite me to your room.” Her voice sounded like music, and my entire body relaxed-that IPA must have been stronger than I’d realized. “There are a few desserts on the room service menu that I’ve had my eye on since checking in. And we certainly won’t have to worry about an audience there.”
I smiled lazily, since I could gladly grant her request.
“Would you like to come up to my room?” I stood and held an arm out to her, not bothering to glance in my teammates’ direction. All that mattered right now was Laila. “You can order anything off the room service menu that you want.”
“That sounds divine.” She stood and looped her arm in mine, gazing up at me with those hypnotizing blue eyes. “Please, lead the way.”
And so, I did.
I opened the bottle of wine that the hotel had left in my room when I’d checked in, and then called down to room service.
“I’d like one of each of your desserts,” I ordered.
Laila had just opened the menu, but she closed it after I’d spoken. Her lips curved up, and she tossed her hair over her shoulder, apparently impressed.
Once my order was confirmed, I placed the phone back down and poured us each a glass of wine. She walked up to join me and took her glass.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” she said, lifting her glass in a toast. “You’re quite the gentleman. I have less work cut out for me than I’d anticipated.”
“What do you mean?” I immediately jumped to where most girls tended to go-that she saw this escalating into a relationship. And while she was entrancing, I refused to let anything distract me from my training. “My plane leaves in the morning, and with you living in England and me in the States, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea…”
“I understand.” She lifted her chin and raised her glass higher. “To tonight?”
“To tonight.” I clinked her glass, since that was certainly a toast I could get behind.
I took a sip of the wine-a full red that had a slight sweetness to it. It was perfect for dessert.
She smiled after tasting hers, and I was glad that the hotel had chosen well. The moonlight shined through the windows, making her porcelain skin look like it was glowing, and I wanted so badly to kiss her.
But I didn’t want to rush this. After all, room service would be coming soon.
I wanted to save the best part of the night for after dessert.
“What?” She smiled up at me, laughing nervously.
I was surprised. Up until now, I didn’t think a girl as confident and sophisticated as Laila was capable of being nervous. Hell, I normally didn’t get nervous, but being around her made me dizzier than ever. Everything about her entranced me-her voice, her eyes, her scent, her smile. It was like she was putting a spell on me.
“You’re beautiful,” I said honestly. “I’m glad we met tonight.”
“I’m glad we met, too,” she said. “Despite your teammates having to put you up to it.”
“You heard that?” I stilled, embarrassed.