Page 18 of Bound By Blood

“Coffee. Black,” Landon told her. Carly snapped her gaze to his, but he ignored her.

Doris jotted it down in her little pad of paper before looking over at Carly. “And for you, dear?”

“Orange juice, please,” Carly replied.

“Great. I’ll get those right out to you while you look over the menu.” Doris passed them both a menu before scampering off back behind the counter to fill their drinks.

For several moments, the two of them sat in silence. Landon was glancing over the menu, though he knew what he really wanted wasn’t on there. However, he could feel Carly staring at him. It was as if her eyes were physically touching him, and it sent chills down his spine.

“What?” he asked pointedly. “You’re staring.”

“Vampires can eat?” Thankfully, she kept her voice low.

Landon nodded. “We can. It’s just not necessary. It’s more to keep up appearances than anything else,” he replied without looking up at her.

“Huh. I guess I can check that off my notes.” Carly picked up the menu and browsed for a moment before she spoke again. “How often do you have to feed? Like, with blood?” She whispered the last word like it was forbidden to speak of it.

Landon swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. It was a difficult question to answer as it could potentially give her access to his weakness. However, he found himself answering anyway. “Technically, we can go a few days between feedings. But we get weaker the longer we go without. So, I tend to feed every other day or so.”

“And do you all look as…” She waved her hand over him. “Attractive as you do?”

That statement got his attention, and he peered up at her from over the menu, a smirk on his lips. “You think I’m attractive, do you?”

Carly rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she spat. “I am simply observing beauty.”

“Right,” he muttered, a hint of humor in his voice. He didn’t believe her for a second. She was attracted to him, and while he wasn’t a stranger to women fawning over him and his appearance, it felt different knowing that Carly wasn’t immune to his good looks. “Well, to answer your question, no. The change only enhances a few of our better qualities, but for the most part, we look the same as we did before the change.”

Carly seemed satisfied with his answer and went back to her menu. At the same time, Doris came back with their drinks. She set the orange juice down in front of Carly and the coffee down on the table in front of him. “Are you both ready to order?” she asked, pulling her notepad out again.

“I’ll have your Big Jack Burger and sweet potato fries,” Carly stated, passing the menu over and looking back at him.

Landon continued to hold her gaze, getting lost in her gorgeous eyes. “Nothing for me. Thanks.”

When the waitress left, Carly’s brows furrowed. “What? Did you eat before you came?”

“No.” His response was short and clipped, mainly because he was angry at himself for that fact. He definitely should have fed before he showed up because being around Carly, knowing firsthand how amazing she tasted on his tongue, was agony. But he couldn’t bring himself to feed on someone else. Not yet anyway. The thought alone had his stomach twisting in knots, which wasn’t a good sign. He was going to have to feed eventually.

Carly leaned across the table and crooked her finger, beckoning him closer. He leaned forward, their faces inches apart. Her warm breath brushed against his skin as she spoke, making his dick jump in his jeans. “Do you always feed on women? Or am I just special?”

It was a split-second decision to ignore the question about her being special because he wasn’t ready to breech that subject. Yet. “I prefer females. Yes,” he admitted.

Was that jealousy that crossed her features? Landon wasn’t very familiar with human emotions anymore, but he was pretty sure his admission made Carly jealous. Even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself.

“I see,” she muttered as she leaned away and slumped in the booth.

Landon tried to keep his face impassive, but he rather enjoyed the fact that he had made her jealous. “In case you forgot, sweetheart, it’s a very intimate moment. I’m not fond of being that up close and personal to men.”

She chewed on her lip as her gaze flicked back to his. “Do you kill your food?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately. “It’s a rule we always have to follow. It prevents exposure.”

He turned away from her to stare out of the window, running his finger against his bottom lip. Still didn’t like being so honest with her. He had never had to explain himself before.

Carly frowned, clearly perturbed by his response. “Then why am I still alive?”

Landon sighed heavily. Of course, she would ask a question that he didn’t have the answer to. He had been trying to figure that out since that night, but he was only given more questions. “I’ve been asking myself that same question,” he admitted.

She seemed to contemplate this, but she didn’t press the matter further. He had expected her to do so and had mentally prepared for it. So, it threw him off when she didn’t.