The slide of paper against wood has me turning toward my bedroom door. A neatly folded letter with my name scrolled across it rests on the floor. I set my brush down on the dresser and pull my robe tighter around my body as I pad across the room. As if someone is watching me, I look both ways, ensuring the coast is clear, and retrieve the note.

Opening it, I read:

Cordelia,

Meet me at the pool at sundown. Come hungry and wearing a swimsuit.

Yours Truly,

Elias

The simple letter brings a smile to my face. It turns out that he didn't forget his promise to make up for his absence today. I find that very endearing. My ex was full of promises, and more than half of them went unfulfilled.

Slipping the note into my pocket, I return to the dresser and continue brushing my hair. I spent the day with Lorelai after my quick run-in with Elias. We must have sampled everyone's drinks. Most were tolerable, but a few were downright disgusting. By the time the staff packed up the bar, we were reduced to drunken fits of laughter while sitting on the top step of the pool.

I enjoy Lorelai's company. She is funny, smart, and not afraid to call something as it is. More than once she let her guard down about Elias, giving me a little more insight into him. According to his best friend, he has a talent for baking breakfast pastries, and he fluently speaks nine languages. I could tell by the way she spoke about him that she is excited at the prospect of him dating someone. It is sweet that she is so supportive of him.

And I do have to admit that I'm glad he finds her support just the tiniest bit overbearing, because that put me in the situation we are in now—fake dating with a side of overprotective bodyguard. I can't say it's a disappointment.

Checking the clock, I find I have a little free time before dinner. I root through my dresser drawers to see if I happened to bring another bikini Elias hasn't seen me in yet, but I come up empty.

"Damnit," I groan, pushing the bottom drawer shut. Crossing my arms over my stomach, I purse my lips and look around the room, trying to remember where I may have stashed another suit.

My eyes lock onto the wardrobe in the far corner of the room and I snatch the doors open. When I shove my hand into the duffel bag at the bottom of the wardrobe, my pulse quickens as my fingers brush over the bright red satin. It's the bikini I have never dared to wear in front of another living soul. I don't even remember packing this; if I had to guess, this was my mom's doing. Damn, she really wanted me to find a guy on this trip.

If I thought the rose gold bikini was small, this one is microscopic. It's not a string bikini, but the bottoms are so high cut that they leave nothing to the imagination, and they cover almost none of my ass. The top has an underwire but is so low-cut that the triangles are more like halves of tiny sandwiches. I take a deep breath and put it on, throwing a black sundress over it before I have any time to second guess myself. By the time I put on makeup and pull my hair into a French braid that flows over my shoulder, it's time to meet Elias.

I take my time walking down to the pool, making sure not to reach the patio until the sun has made its final descent into the horizon. But when I do get there, my breath is nearly taken away by how fucking gorgeous he is against the pre-dusk sky, painted in pinks, oranges, and reds.

He stands from a chair at a bistro table set for two and slides his hands into the pockets of his simple navy-blue shorts. The white shirt he wears is buttoned to the middle of his chest, giving me a clear view of the defined muscles. My gaze lingers there as I take in the angry red skin. It is painful just to look at it.

"Where is Lorelai? I thought she needed to 'see us together?'"

He raises one eyebrow. "I heard you already spilled the beans to her during your little cocktail hour today. So, I figured we'd just have dinner alone tonight."

I flush and drop my gaze to my feet as he pulls out the chair across from the one he was sitting at. "Oops. She wouldn't stop asking questions though. You know how she is," I murmur as I slip into the chair.

"That I do. Hungry?" he asks.

Thankful that he let my transgression slide, I say, "Yes."

"Good. I hope you don't mind that I asked the kitchen to cook one of my favorite meals for us."

"A fresh plate of human blood topped with basil?"

He laughs, and Zeus have mercy, I want to pool at his feet and let the sound pour over me. "That's dessert. For dinner..." He lifts the cover of the dish sitting in the middle of the table and my mouth waters.

"Your favorite food is pizza," I say, pleasantly surprised.

"Who doesn't love pizza? Did you know it is the most popular food in the world?" He sits down and gestures to the pizza as if to ask my permission to touch it, and I nod. He pulls out a slice, stretching the hot cheese from the center of the table, first to my plate, then to his.

"Really? More than French fries?" I ask, taking a little glob of cheese and popping it into my mouth.

"Absolutely," he says, picking up the slice and taking a bite, not even waiting until it cools. I start to do the same and he holds up a hand. "Wait, it's really fucking hot."

I raise an eyebrow. "You ate it just fine."

He smirks. "I don't feel pain the way you do." He pauses and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Except where the sun is involved."

"Oh, so the feeling no pain thing isn't a myth."

"Not at all. It's reality. There are a lot of other myths surrounding my species though," he says in a cryptic tone, practically inviting me to ask all my burning questions.

"Okay, do you really sleep in a coffin?"

"Myth. Although I do prefer to rest during the day, and I do keep my room dark. But no coffin."

"That's a relief. That was sort of a creepy mental image. Umm...oh, do you have to eat actual food? It seems like you sort of do it just for show."

He takes a bite of his pizza and stares at the half of the slice that is left. "I enjoy eating. The different flavors and textures are interesting. But it holds no nutritional value to me now. It is the equivalent of you eating lettuce or a cucumber."

"Fair enough." I pick up the pizza and take a bite. It's delicious. After chewing and thinking for a minute, my face heats when I think of my final question.

"Oh, this has to be a good one. Your face is as red as that bikini you're wearing," he says, and I'm flattered that he has noticed the tiny bit that's even showing—nothing but the straps.

I clear my throat. "Well, you said that a vampire feeding from a human is 'euphoric' for the human...but you didn't mention what it felt like for you. On TV and movies, it's an extremely erotic experience for the vampire too. Is that—is that true? Or is it just a sustenance thing?"

Elias leans back in his chair and folds his arms. Seconds pass by as he examines me with an amused look on his face. He clicks his tongue and tilts his head to the side. "It is a very erotic experience for vampires. We are at our strongest after we feed and everything around us is just...more. This is the second time you've brought this up. I'm starting to think you have a fear kink, Cordelia."

I raise an eyebrow and cross my legs under the table, pretending his observation is ridiculous. "A 'fear kink'? I don't think so. Did the girl you saw running through a cemetery in the middle of the night look like she was having a good time?"

If I knew it was this man chasing me and that he'd be that one to capture me in the end, I think I'd be having a fantastic time.

I push that thought down as soon as it rears its ugly head because I think he's made it pretty clear that this arrangement shouldn't go any further than necessary for tricking Lorelai along with any dangerous beings into believing it's the real thing.

He cocks his brows as if my point is valid, but a hint of something mischievous lingers in his expression. I've never had trouble reading someone the way I do him. He sits on this fine line of disinterest and fascination. They both can't be right, and he has already told me that he finds me interesting. I wonder why he continues to play at being impartial to me.

"You said you are joining your father in his accounting business after this summer. Is that what you have always wanted to do?"

I dart my gaze to his, surprised by the turn of the conversation to me.

"No. Not even a little bit," I say, the candor with which I answer him shocking even to me. "I mean, I've always wanted to do right by my dad, but it's not what I want."

He regards me with that shrewd look of his, the one that makes me feel like he's seeing every single part of me, like he knows everything I'm thinking. "If you don't want to do that, what do you want?"

"I—" I look around, avoiding his sharp gaze, both surprised and horrified by the lump that's formed in my throat. All of a sudden, I don't want to sit anymore; I feel like I need to move, and like I can't breathe all at one time. I draw in a deep breath to ensure I don't need my inhaler, and when my breath comes as easily as it ever does for me, I get to my feet and pace alongside the pool.

"I don't know, Elias. I'm twenty-two years old and I have no fucking clue. I feel like...I feel like I don't belong anywhere. Like, I don't quite fit in no matter what I do or where I go. Does that make any sense? It's like...I know I'm meant to do something important, but I have no idea what that something is. I've felt lost for a long time. So when my father wanted me to take over the firm one day, I just said fine...because what the hell else was I going to do?" My voice cracks and I look up at the sky, embarrassed by my sudden breakdown.

He wipes his mouth with the cloth napkin and crosses the deck to stand beside me. "Find what makes you happy," he says, tapping my shoulder with his. "You are still young. No one expects you to have all the answers yet. But you have the chance to live a very human life with all the milestones. Don't let that pass you by because you settled. Some of us would give up what we have for the opportunity at a human life. Even with its inevitable end in a very short period of time."

I look over at him and smile. He's right. It does feel like I'm supposed to have all the answers when I get that piece of paper after walking across the stage, but that's not the case. And maybe being here, even being here with him, is part of finding out who I am.

"Even if it means you have to get all old and wrinkled?" I joke. "Because this—" I gesture at my face and down at my body, "will not last forever. Whereas I'm guessing that your perfect physique won't be changing anytime soon."

He shakes his head, my joke falling flat with him. "My never-ending life span is a result of a chemical reaction the human body has to the poison produced by vampires. It is unnatural. You are beautiful with flaws and an ever-changing body. I covet what you have." He closes his eyes so tightly that deep lines form beside them. His chest fills with air, and he releases it with a loud sigh. "Anyway. My plan was not for us to fall into depressing conversation. Will you join me for a night swim?"

I'm still standing there basking in the glow of his compliment, and I have to shake my head to clear my foggy brain in order to answer his question. "Yes. I'd love to. I really wanted to swim with you today, so I was really glad when you asked me to meet you here tonight," I admit as I reach behind me to unzip my black dress.

Except I put it on over my head when I was getting ready and now I realize unzipping it is going to be impossible without transforming into a pretzel. Before I can reach down to the hem to pull it over my head, Elias is at my back, his hands barely grazing my skin.

"Can I help?" he asks.

"Yes," I croak, clearing my throat before trying again. "Please."

With ease, he lowers the zipper. But he doesn't move away. His fingertips glide over the tops of my shoulders and he lowers the straps of my dress. "You have the most beautiful skin, the way it catches the light is like something out of a dream."

"It's just skin," I whisper.

His breath fans against the back of my neck as he says, "Nothing about you is that simple, Cordelia."

I pivot to look at him, and like a skittish animal, he steps back. The conflict in his expression isn't hard to read. The vampire is worried that he crossed a line.

"Elias, you don't have to do that."

"Do what?"

I cock my head to the side and close the distance between us again. "Move away like I've burned you every time we get close." My eyes widen at a sudden thought that pops through my brain. "Wait. Am I burning you? I'm not, am I?"

"If you are a fire, I'm a moth drawn to your light." As soon as the words leave his mouth, he closes his eyes and clenches his jaw, raising his face to the sky. "Sorry. I..." He shakes his head and sets to work removing his shirt as if he said nothing at all.

I draw my lower lip between my teeth and as much as I don't want to stop the man from removing his shirt, I want him to know what I'm thinking because clearly he's having a hard time expressing what's going on in that head of his.

I place my hand on his wrist before he has a chance to get his shirt over his abs. "Elias, hang on. You keep doing that."

"Doing what?" His voice holds a frustrated edge now, and I know it's with himself and not with me.

"Shutting down. You say things or do things and then you just clam up. You don't have to be so careful around me. I—I liked what you said just now," I whisper. "About you being drawn to me."

He takes my hand in his and says, "I like poetry, creating images with words, and expressing feelings by comparing two things that someone would never combine. I sometimes get carried away when something captures my attention."

I move my arm away from my chest where I'd been holding up my dress, letting it fall to the concrete, leaving me standing in front of him in this skimpy as hell red bikini that I am suddenly sure was the right choice.

"Well, feel free to get carried away with me."

"You are tempting me. That can be dangerous. Don't forget that although I spout poetic lines, my kind has been known to kill yours while in bloodlust."

His words should send a chill down my spine. I should want to put as much space between us as possible. But I don't. My body's reaction is quite the opposite. Knowing that I should stay away from Elias only turns me on.

"You won't hurt me." I move past him toward the pool and run my fingertips along the hem of his shirt as I saunter by. "Take that off so we can go swimming, yeah?"

"I swear you have a death wish," he mumbles, removing his shirt and draping it over a chair.

I enter the pool from the steps, easing myself into the cool water. The light along the far wall is dim, setting everything in a dark aqua hue. It is impossible to see the bottom, making the pool look as deep as the ocean. Elias remains at the edge until I've submersed my torso. When I turn back to look at him, he lifts his arms and dives straight in. He emerges in front of me and sweeps the hair back from his face with both hands. If he looked handsome dry, he is absolutely irresistible wet. Droplets slither down his arms and chest, following the cuts of his muscles. What I wouldn't give to be just a bead of that water.

I dip my head backward to wet my hair, and shiver as the cool water runs down my temples and onto my neck and shoulders. Elias hasn't taken his eyes off me, and I crack a smile at him. "What?"

"What?" he parrots, giving me an innocent look.

"You're staring."

"Only because you are," he points out.

I open my mouth to protest, but he's right. I am totally staring, but damn, who could help it?

Because holy fucking Hephaestus, he is ripped. I mean, I have never seen a man in real life with a body like his. The closer I step toward him, the more I notice every defined muscle and inch of smooth, brown skin.

But even more than that, up close, I can see the burns on his skin, the same ones that seemed to be causing him a problem when he ran up on me in the orange grove earlier today. I gasp when I realize how much worse they are now than they were then. "Oh, Elias. Your skin...those burns look terrible. I thought that once you got back inside it would get better."

"They will. Burns from the sun are the hardest thing for me to recover from. It will take a week or so for the rash to go away."

How can he be so calm about something that looks so painful? My skin stings just at the sight of it.

"Are you sure you are alright with the pool water? The chemicals can't be good for it."

He dips his chest lower, showing me he is okay. "It actually feels good."

When I give him a questioning glare, he takes my hand and pulls me closer. My palm meets his chest, and I'm greeted with hot skin.

"This is where I want to be right now. Here, with you."

I lean a little closer to him. "I like it here too."

"Do you?" he asks, his voice a low rumble as he looks at my lips.

I take a chance and bring my mouth so close to his, that we touch when I say, "Yes."

My eyes flutter shut, and I brace for the feel of his lips on mine. Finally, I will know what it feels like to kiss him.

Until hands circle my ankles, yanking my legs out from beneath me.

I slip from Elias's hold with a yelp.

And I am dragged under the water.