Ashley stepped back and away quickly, bumping someone else without caring, and gazed up at Jonny. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Dressed in dark clothing, he fit in with the crowd of college kids and young adults. "I owe you one."
Ashley hated more than how her attention was always riveted to him whenever she saw him. Handsome and youthful, his gaze gave him an edge she wasn't able to define, and his quiet confidence and strength were out of place among the carefree college students partying after a long week of class. He was close enough for her to notice his body heat and his light scent.
"You can't bite me here," she snapped, recovering from her surprise. "How did you find me?"
He shrugged. "Not really any of your business."
"So you're stalking me."
"Not exactly."
It had to be some power of his that let him find her. Nothing else made sense. Agitated with his presence and disruption to her dancing, she spun away and went to the bar. She didn't want to look over her shoulder to see if he followed. She didn't want him in her safe place, where she came to relax.
The bartender slid her a glass of water deftly, and she plucked it up, tense despite her inability to sense Jonny among the masses.
"I've been trying to figure out what might discourage you from attacking my vamps," Jonny said from behind her.
She faced him, unable to retreat when her back was pressed to the bar counter. Jonny crowded her, one of his hands on the counter beside her, his heated presence rattling her senses.
"And you've given up," she guessed. She couldn't help the glance at his heart or the memory of what it felt like for his blood to soak her skin and sleeve. It wasn't a good feeling. It made her skin crawl and she'd almost panicked when she thought she killed him.
"No. You're a free meal," he replied.
He won't bite me in public, she chanted to herself. No matter how close he got to her. The people behind him jostled by, and Jonny's athletic frame pressed lightly to hers.
"Want to know my solution?" he asked.
"I don't care, Jonny. Nothing you say or do is going to -"
He kissed her.
Ashley's whole world felt like it stopped before her internal alarms began screaming. Jonny's lips were soft and warm, his scent winding through her senses as she stood too shocked to move. Fire spread through her, racing along her nerve endings and pooling in her lower belly. Her skin grew sensitive. Her heart slammed into her chest.