Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(40)

“All those times you were alone,” he said, his voice harsh. “You’re not alone anymore.”

She kept her eyes on the road. “I feel alone.”

The words made him flinch. As if she’d hit him dead center with a sledgehammer.

He’d done that.

He wanted her to trust him, but he hadn’t been willing to offer his own trust.

Now she couldn’t turn to him for the comfort she so obviously needed.

“Sally.” She refused to glance in his direction and he bit back a curse. “Close your eyes and relax, this is going to be a long drive,” he murmured.

For once she didn’t argue. He wished she would. Instead she allowed her lashes to lower and she disappeared into her dark thoughts.

Roke gripped the sticky wheel and forced himself to concentrate on the barren landscape.

Until he had someplace where he could be certain they were safe, his number one priority was protecting his mate.

Sally abruptly wrenched open her eyes as she felt the car come to a halt.

Good lord, had she been asleep?

She’d only closed her eyes to try to block out the aggravating vampire beside her. Roke was disturbing enough when she had her barriers in place. He was overwhelming when her emotions were scraped raw.

Now she struggled to clear the fog from her mind as her door was pulled open and Roke was helping her stumble out of her seat and across the graveled lot.

“Where are we?” she demanded, her gaze taking in the roadside café.

Built of white stone with large windows, it looked like something out of a fifties sitcom. It even came complete with a blinding neon sign that she would swear could be seen from the space station.

She squinted, tilting back her head to meet Roke’s watchful gaze.

“You need to eat,” he murmured.

“And you chose a human restaurant?”

“Do witches have their own chain of restaurants?” His impassive expression was impossible to read. “Jack in the Cauldron?”

She made a sound of disbelief. “Was that a joke?”

The silver eyes shimmered with a breathtaking beauty. “I have my moments.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs, vividly recalling a few of his finer moments.

His strong arms wrapped around her. The press of fangs against her neck. The agonizing pleasure of his tongue stroking her to climax.

She stumbled before stiffening her spine.

Dammit.

She’d promised herself that she wasn’t going to let him get under her skin.

Not again.

“If you say so,” she muttered.

His lips twisted with rueful humor. “Has anyone told you that you’re crabby when you’re hungry?”

“I’m even crabbier when I want to kick someone in the nuts.”

“Harsh,” he murmured, something that might have been . . . satisfaction . . . on his face.

As if he was pleased by her peevish threat.

Lunatic vampire.

Accepting she would never understand the impossible man, she turned her attention to her surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“We’re near the border.”

She blinked in shock. If they were at the border, then that meant they’d been driving for hours.

“I can’t believe I slept so long.”

“You’ve been driving yourself too hard,” he said as they reached the café, his smile fading as he studied her upturned face. “Will you eat?”

Her stomach growled before her pride could deny the hunger that was clearly determined to make up for lost time.

She rolled her eyes in resignation. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Roke pushed open the glass door to the diner, his gaze searching the empty tables arranged around the linoleum floor for signs of danger.

Once assured there was nothing more alarming than a middle-aged waitress with a stout body stuffed into a white uniform and bleached hair pulled into a knot on top of her head, he urged her over the threshold.

Sally caught a glimpse of a long counter with stools at the back of the room, with a glass case that displayed an assortment of desserts.

“No apple pie,” Roke murmured softly.

Sally’s mouth watered at the scents that filled the air. “No, but on the plus side, there’s cheesecake.”

“Hello.” The waitress sashayed forward, her avid gaze drinking in Roke with open appreciation. Not that Sally could blame the poor woman. Men like Roke didn’t stroll into isolated cafés except in porn movies. “Can I help you?”

Roke placed an arm around Sally’s shoulders, visibly claiming them as a couple. It should have annoyed the hell out of her, but for some stupid reason, Sally didn’t even try to pull away.

“A booth with a view,” he ordered.

The woman sent Sally an envious glare before turning to lead them toward a far table.

Roke pulled out a chair, making sure that Sally was comfortable before taking his own seat, which offered a view of both the parking lot and the empty lot next them.

The waitress tossed a laminated menu that offered a handwritten list of the breakfast food on the table.

“Coffee?”

“We’ll take one of everything,” Roke murmured, his gaze never straying from Sally’s face. “Start with the cheesecake and a glass of milk.”