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was around, and in the small town of Salem’s Hollow, Pennsylvania, she didn’t often come across one.
Her gaze was drawn across the room, to the tall, intimidating-looking man who stood just inside the door of the bar. There was no surprise on his face as the blaze of his bright blue eyes burned into her.
“Oh, hell no.” Aria prided herself on being tough and in control at all times. But as she looked into the eyes of Declan Steele, the man—the vampire—who had broken her heart, as she registered the heat that immediately crackled through her veins beneath his stare, she fought the urge to flee.
“Breathe, you idiot.” Shaking like a wet puppy, Aria noted the smirk that played around the corners of Declan’s eyes as she spoke and cursed herself internally. Damn vampires and their enhanced hearing, anyway.
Once she’d anticipated that he would hear things, see things about her that others wouldn’t. She’d fallen out of practice.
“Aria.”
Her breath caught in her throat as Declan began to move across the bar toward her. The music of the jukebox, the chatter of the other people around her all faded as, for one long, heart-throbbing moment the world around her ceased to exist. The air between them pulsed with a heat so tangible that it very nearly hurt her to look away.
She forced herself. Heat had never been a problem for them. It had been everything else.
“Declan. When did you get back to town?” Somewhat calmer, Aria took a deep breath and looked back at her former lover. He was as tall, dark and dangerous as ever, his licorice-black hair looking as though he’d just run his fingers through it, his eyes deep and blue. He was pale, as were all of his kind, but she noted the rosy flush on his cheeks that told her he had recently fed.
Jealousy was a blade in her belly as her hand lifted to the curve of her neck, the skin where he had once sipped from her.
Following the motion with his eyes, Declan cocked his head, taking her in.
“It’s good to see you, Aria.”
Instantly defensive, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.
“That’s...nice.” Her words were harsh, but truthfully, she didn’t know what else to say. Seeing him—a man who knew her better than she knew herself—was like a balm to her lonely soul.
Yes, he got to know you and then left. Even the snarky inner voice in her head couldn’t erase what Aria hated admitting even to herself.
You told him to go.
It was water under the bridge.
“Well, I was just leaving.” It wasn’t until she stepped back that Aria noticed that Declan was leaning on a cane. Her lips parted with surprise, and her eyes darted rapidly back up to his face.
“What the hell happened to you?” The cane didn’t diminish from the danger that Declan had always exuded. If anything, he made the polished stick of black wood look like a weapon capable of doing great harm, just by being in his hand.
But there wasn’t much that could permanently cripple a vampire.
“Silver. Nerve damage.” Something dark flitted across Declan’s face, but was gone just as quickly.
Aria hissed in a breath. She knew that silver was like kryptonite for vampires. When they’d been together, she’d made a point never to wear it.
She wanted to ask where he’d come into such brutal contact with it, and saw that he was expecting her to.
She swallowed the question. Five minutes in the man’s company and she wanted to pick up where they’d left off. Another five minutes and she’d be rubbing against him like an animal in heat.
“After I left, I worked for the Capitol for a while.” Declan’s words were flat, yet Aria saw a flash of anger in his eyes. The Capitol was the governing body for the supernatural creatures of the world. They left the creatures alone for the most part.
Unless they wanted something. Knowing about Declan’s precognition, it wasn’t hard to guess what they’d decided he’d be useful for.
“Let’s just say it was an occupational hazard.” His voice was wry, and took Aria straight into the past. He’d always been self-deprecating, and on his big, bad self she’d found it sexy as hell.
She still did. She’d had lovers since he’d left—human and supernatural, male and female. But none had ever made her passion burn as bright as the vampire had.
Declan made no attempt to hide his own blatant interest as his eyes slowly traveled up her body and then down. Her nipples puckered under his stare, and she felt heat gathering low in her belly.
“That’s a shame.” Damn it, her voice was breathless. What was wrong with her? She’d been feeling sexually deprived lately, sure, but this man had broken her heart.
Her traitorous hormones didn’t seem to care. They were flooding into her veins, reminding her of every reason she’d always found Declan so sexy.
Her lips were dry, and she licked her tongue over them for moisture.
Declan’s eyes followed the gesture, and she saw his expression darken.
“I wondered.” His voice was everything she remembered—dark, rich like chocolate. It sent shivers skating over her skin. “I wondered if it had all been a dream, what we felt for each other.”
Aria shuddered out a breath. She wanted him—no matter that he’d once left her, she still wanted him with an intensity that was frightening.
“The key word is felt.” Her voice was raw, and it physically hurt to step back, away from him. “Past tense. We were no good.”
“We were young.” Declan followed her, the thud of his cane sounding before his footfall. “But I never forgot you. Part of the reason I came back was you.”
“No.” Panic warred with delight in Aria’s gut.
“Let’s not overthink it.” With the hand not holding the cane, Declan reached out to touch Aria’s cheek, trailing his knuckles over her skin. A blaze of sensation followed in the wake of his touch. “Maybe this is what we both need.”
Aria closed her eyes, savoring his touch. Her body wanted nothing more than to shove Declan down on the top of Harry’s bar and have her wicked way with him.
What would it hurt, after all? She could scratch this itch with someone who knew her well enough to please her.
Only the palpitations of her heart reminded her that she might not survive him leaving a second time.
“No, Declan.”
The vampire’s eyes narrowed as, drawing her strength about her like a cloak, she pulled away from his touch. No matter what she felt in that moment, she couldn’t. “I value my sanity more than that.”
“Don’t you feel it, too?” His voice was as rich and delicious as she remembered it.
Aria still knew him well enough to see that Declan was warring with the same overwhelming need that was swamping her.
“I do.” She couldn’t lie—he would see right through it. “That was never the problem.”
“Goodbye, Declan.” These were words she’d never had a chance to say before. She couldn’t tell if she was relieved or devastated when she finally managed to turn away from him.
Despite all that had happened, she knew him. He was too stubborn, too proud to come back to Salem’s Hollow just for her. So why was he here?
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