"Killer cla.s.sic rock, man." The kid had been seemingly too young to appreciate cla.s.sic rock, but then the cla.s.sics never died, right?
And the kid hadn"t lied. Jensen had heard the good, hard rock blasting as soon as he"d pulled into the parking lot.
So right until he pushed open the door of the bar, he"d almost believed the band was why he was here.
Even as he found a seat and sat down across from his date, he"d had himself pretty much convinced. They were going to see a band. That was a fun thing to do on a date, spend some time listening to good music and chatting. Those were the only reasons. Then he realized he was scanning the bar, looking for long, dark hair and pale blue eyes.
He forced himself to stop what he hoped was a subtle perusal, and focused on Melanie. She was asking what Brian and Jill were like in high school. He did manage to hear her, to follow her words, as everything inside him told him to look around. Find Elizabeth.
He ignored the urge, and frowned at Melanie, realizing that he hadn"t heard what she"d asked after all. He gave her a sheepish smile.
"I"m sorry. I missed that." He gestured toward the stage. "The music." At least he had that to blame.
She nodded with understanding and leaned closer. "They"re good, though."
He nodded, glancing toward the stage again. But this time, he didn"t see the musicians. He saw exactly what he"d hoped he would. Elizabeth.
Deny it all you will, buddy. You were praying she would be here.d.a.m.n, he was an a.s.s.
He glanced at Melanie, afraid she would see he was staring at the beautiful brunette with the delicate features and hypnotic eyes.
Of course, Melanie wouldn"t know about her eyes. Elizabeth was in profile to him, her eyes gazing down at her drink. She hadn"t seen him. Yet. He could just tell Melanie that he didn"t feel well. That the music was giving him a headache. And they could leave before Elizabeth even realized he was there.
He glanced at Elizabeth again, wanting to go to her. Then he realized this was a mistake. Frankly, it was pathetic.
Elizabeth had made it abundantly clear she didn"t want to see him. She"d not come to him since the last night in her house, and frankly, he doubted if he would have seen her again, if he hadn"t gone to her. She didn"t want him, and he couldn"t pine for her like a lost puppy. He also couldn"t stalk her. He was on a date with another woman, who really didn"t deserve to be in the middle of this.
What the h.e.l.l had he been thinking? He turned to Melanie to tell her this was a mistake. But when he faced her again, Elizabeth"s brother stood beside the table, his pale gaze, so like his sister"s, burrowing into him. From his expression it was clear there was no chance that he didn"t remember Jensen. And he didn"t look too impressed that the guy who"d come looking for his sister a few days ago was now on a date with another woman.
Not that Elizabeth"s brother had any idea why Jensen had been looking for her. They could just be friends. They could have been acquaintances. He could have been returning something she lost. But from the unfriendly look on the brother"s face, he got the feeling that her brother was very aware of why Jensen had wanted to see Elizabeth. And Jensen also knew that her brother was the protective type.
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked, his gaze not leaving him.
"I"d like a vodka tonic," Melanie said.
"And you?"
Jensen could definitely see the animosity in the man"s gaze. Which really seemed unjustified. After all, if
Jensen could, he"d be with Elizabeth.
He glanced at Melanie, who waited for him to order. Guilt made it hard to speak, but he managed to
say, "Club soda, please."
Elizabeth"s brother nodded, his wintry eyes frosty.
"You never drink?" Melanie asked, no judgment in her tone, just curiosity.
"No. I guess I"m a bit of a stick-in-the-mud." Not to mention a total a.s.s for bringing her here. So he
could look for another woman. A woman who told him she didn"t want him.
"Well, not drinking is definitely more appealing than drinking too much." She smiled as if she was ticking that off as a check in his favor. She shouldn"t. He forced himself not to look at Elizabeth, even though every fiber of his being told him to just glance at her. To see if she saw him. If she did, she likely didn"t care except to think he was truly pathetic. "Oh, I like this song," Melanie said, drawing his attention back to her. He registered the song, then tried desperately to listen to Melanie, the whole time his eyes practically twitching to watch Elizabeth.
Elizabeth nodded at something Mina said. Possibly about her honeymoon. But she just couldn"t follow her friend"s words. She was too upset. Too near tears. And she knew she wasn"t doing well at masking what she was feeling. Her distress must have been like thick perfume all around her.
"Elizabeth? What"s wrong?"
Yep, Mina had sensed her emotions. And from Sebastian"s deep frown, so had he. Even though she was trying her d.a.m.nedest to temper them.
"It"s... " What did she say? "It"s nothing."
That wasn"t going to dissuade them, but she couldn"t think of what else to say. She swallowed back the ache, trying not to look at Jensen. But he was like a flashing lighthouse to her right, and if she looked at him, she"d end up smashed on the rocks. Okay, maybe that was overdramatic, but at the moment, it seemed apropos.
G.o.d, she wanted him. And she couldn"t watch that woman touching him. Her man.
She vaguely recalled watching them in this bar that first night. She also remembered wondering if they were a couple, and then not caring. She"d only wanted one thing from Jensen that night. Or so she"d thought. Now that night seemed like years ago. She felt so much for that man sitting across the room, not looking at her. It made no sense. But there it was. She did, and she felt like she was dying, watching him with another woman.
"I-I need to get a breath of fresh air," she said, realizing she wasn"t going to be able to hold her emotions together.
She stood, the chair nearly toppling with her need to escape.
"Elizabeth," Sebastian said, standing, too, although far more elegantly than she had.
Elizabeth raised her hand to stop him. "Just give me a minute. I"ll be fine." She forced a smile, even as she doubted she"d ever be fine again.
She rushed through the tables, trying to weave as far away from Jensen and that woman as she could. As she pa.s.sed the bar, she saw Christian watching her, a frown marring his perfect features. He looked as if he was going to call out to her, but she again raised her hand. She picked up her steps, until she was running. She didn"t care. She had to get away.
Once outside, she ran around to the side of the bar where no one leaving would see her. She collapsed against the building, shrouding herself in the shadows. She covered her face with trembling hands and let the strangled cry escape her clenched throat.
This was what it was like to want so desperately the one thing she couldn"t have. It felt like she was dying, the ache was so strong. And maybe the ache was worse, was stronger and more painful, because she could have had him, but she"d let him go.
She dropped her hands. No, she couldn"t have had him. Maybe if her cure had worked. Maybe if she wasn"t mated to a werewolf. Maybe if she were even marginally normal. But none of those things had been rectified, and she had to let him go. But she didn"t have to watch him move on. She could do the right thing, but watching him, she couldn"t do.
She rested her head on the side of the bar, staring up at the pale moon overhead. The orb looked like a lopsided circle. Only a couple more days until the full moon.
She had to focus on her research. She had to make that her priority again. She couldn"t pine for a "what if." She had to let him go. She had to.
The pain would stop eventually, and the level of pain made no sense, anyway. She had to acknowledge he was better off without her. And she was better off without him.
She remained where she was, absolutely still, except for the hot tears rolling down her cheeks.
Chapter 13.
"Do you know her?"
Jensen frowned, looking away from the door where Elizabeth had rushed outside, staring at Melanie as if
he"d just remembered she was here.
"Sorry."
"That woman? Do you know her?"
He didn"t know how to answer. Did he know her? Not really. Yet, in some ways, she seemed to have
overtaken his life to the point that he couldn"t remember a time when she wasn"t on his mind. But he couldn"t very well tell Melanie that.
"Yeah. I know her."
Melanie nodded, and he could see the wheels turning behind her sky-blue eyes. Melanie was a smart woman, and she could tell his vague answer said plenty.
She looked down at the table, tracing a white ring from a drink staining the wooden tabletop. Jensen knew she was considering what that meant. He glanced back to the door, which remained closed. Where had she gone? Disappeared like she always did.
Again, when he looked back to the table, Melanie was watching him, and it was clear that she"d made up her mind about his vague words.
"Did you bring me here to make her jealous?"
He pulled in a deep breath. He hoped not. He didn"t think his plan had been that clear. He"d just seen the opportunity to possibly see her, and he"d taken it. Without considering what it would do to Melanie.
"No. I just... " What the h.e.l.l could he say?
Apparently that wasn"t the right thing.
She turned in her seat to gather her purse and her jacket. "Maybe we should call it a night."
He started to stop her, but there wasn"t much point in dragging this on. He"d done something terrible to
this woman who was truly a nice person.
He nodded. "Let me just go up and see if the drinks are done."
When he approached the bar, he saw that Elizabeth"s brother was talking to another man, and while the other man had different coloring, he could see similarities in their features. Great-another brother. Both men turned to look at him as he approached, and from their hard expressions, there was no doubt they were brothers and thus both related to Elizabeth. And they were not happy.
"Hi," he greeted them with a stiff smile. "I just wanted to settle my bill."
"Are you leaving?" asked the brother Jensen hadn"t seen before.
"Yes," Jensen said.
"That"s good," the pale-eyed brother said. "Because you are upsetting our sister."
Jensen nodded. "That isn"t my intent."
Both brothers looked as if they didn"t believe him.
"So what do I owe?"
"Nothing," said the pale-eyed brother. "Just leave Elizabeth alone."
Jensen nodded again. "I plan to."
Again, neither man looked convinced.
"Thanks," Jensen said and returned to the table where Melanie sat perched on the edge of the seat, her
coat on, her purse in hand. She rose as he approached and didn"t say anything as she headed to the exit. Jensen didn"t speak, either. He didn"t know what to say. He could think of nothing that she would want to hear. Once out in the parking lot, he resisted the urge to look for Elizabeth or her bike. He focused on getting Melanie home, hopefully without too much more upset. He felt terrible-he"d never done anything like this to a woman. Although since meeting Elizabeth, he"d done a lot of things he"d never done.
The ride back to Melanie"s house was also a silent affair. Not until he pulled up to her small house, did she speak. "Jill said that you had been very much in love with your fiancee." Jensen stared out the windshield. He didn"t know what to say-he didn"t know where this was going. "Yes. I was." "Jill also said that you never noticed another woman from the moment you met Katie. That she was the only one for you." He nodded again. Yes. Katie had been his whole world.
"She also said that you hadn"t seemed to notice anyone since she pa.s.sed away."
Jensen swallowed. Was she implying that what Jill had told her couldn"t be true? Given how he"d watched Elizabeth tonight, he was sure Melanie was finding Jill"s a.s.sertions hard to believe.
"Yes. I"ve had a hard time moving on."
Melanie nodded, too. "But I could see how much you wanted to go after that woman. Is she the only one you want?"
He pulled in another deep breath. "I-I don"t know." But he did know. He wanted Elizabeth so desperately it had totally overshadowed what he"d felt for Katie, although that fact only made him feel worse. Made him feel like more of an a.s.s.