Welcome to the Neighborhood (3 page)

Alexi shook his hand. More warmth spread through her and aroused her, especially when he tightened his grip. “Alexandria Cartwright.”

“Such a beautiful name for a lovely lady.”

The smooth tone of his voice amplified her desire. His touch, his charm, everything about him made her feel alive. As she gazed deeply into his serene eyes she pondered about why she felt so turned on. She’d been around plenty of handsome men. Was her body that starved for a man to touch her and pleasure her? For God’s sake, he was her neighbor, a werewolf, and he’d spied on her. She shouldn’t feel attracted to him.

He slid his hand out from hers. “I’m truly sorry your first night here is an unpleasant one.” He sounded genuinely concerned.

“No apologies necessary. It’s not your fault.”

He stared into her eyes. Unlike most men, his gaze didn’t venture down.

“What happened to the other van?”

“They claim the GPS device malfunctioned and sent them to Ohio. When I checked on Google, there was no such address in Ohio. I think they made the story up.”

“What was in the other van, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“More antique furniture, clothes and my safe.”

He lifted his brows, and creases formed on his forehead. “A safe?” He shifted his attention to the movers.

Alexi followed his gaze. Two movers carried more boxes while Dennis shoveled the broken pieces of the mirror into the trash can.

“I find it odd the van with your safe took a detour.”

“You and me both.”

He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I am an attorney and I would be more than willing to offer my services to you.”

“Your
legal
services?”

Dirty thoughts popped into her mind and she grinned. Although he’d declared his occupation, the way he’d phrased his offer made it sound as if he had other kinds of services to give.

“I want to help you.” His bluish eyes shimmered while he smiled.

In what way? Fucking me?

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

She turned her gaze away, trying to ignore the devilish voice in her head. Her body ached for a man’s touch, but she knew better than to let one fool her. Sure, he’d help her, but for a price, and if she guessed right, he’d want sex. No matter how badly she yearned for a man, she refused to fall into the same trap she’d been in before.

“Are you…all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I should watch them to make sure they don’t break anything else.” She stepped away from him.

“Alexandria.”

She stopped. Damn it, she didn’t want to look at his peaceful eyes again, but she couldn’t be rude, especially since he’d been nothing but nice. And he was her neighbor. She twisted and met his gaze.

“My offer stands. If you need anything, my door is open.”

The attraction to him was magnetic and she fought it, secretly digging her nails into her hands. She refused to put herself in a situation in which a man could use her. They all did, if not at first, eventually. Her best option was to stay away from Greg. She gave him a nod, then walked away, heels clacking on the concrete. If she ever needed anything, she wouldn’t knock on his door.

* * * *

Greg watched Alexandria stride away, her ponytail swinging slightly behind her. He lowered his gaze to her rear and he smiled, admiring the view. Her slacks fit snuggly and they were long, an inch from touching the ground. Even in her high heels, she was several inches shorter than he was. The woman dressed for success, seemed intelligent and even smiled at his insinuating offer. Not that he intended to imply anything. He meant nothing bad. Yet, he had triggered something and she changed. She turned away and didn’t want to look at him. Greg ran his fingers through his hair. What the fuck happened?

He waited until she disappeared inside her home, then headed toward his house. He’d stop by for the broom and trash can the next night or she could keep them. He didn’t care. All he could think about was her beautiful face and soft voice. Not to mention the sneak peak of cleavage when she glanced at the movers and the gap in her button-down blouse opened. Her pallid skin appeared flawless with only a few moles here and there. He definitely saw one on her right breast. Beautiful.

He strode across the lawn, his thoughts focused on Alexandria. From the moment he looked into her inviting gray eyes, he felt an attraction, a longing deep within him that made his heart thump fast and his cock stiffen. Out of the two-dozen women he’d had in his life, none made him feel such yearning. He wanted her, badly, like he needed food to survive. How could this woman have such an effect on him?

Pushing open the front door, he stepped into his house with his dick wide-awake. A cold shower would help, but the rumble in his stomach demanded attention first. Corey sat at the tall counter in the center of the square kitchen. His plate had a few pieces of steak left.

“Now you come back. I was getting ready to eat your dinner.”

Greg scooted the stool from underneath the counter and sat on it. He pulled his plate toward him. Frowning, he eyed the hunk of meat that was lukewarm at best. His stomach wouldn’t care.

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing. The movers broke a mirror someone gave to her.”

“That sucks.”

Greg nodded as he speared a piece of meat. “There’s a second van containing antiques and her safe. The movers claim their GPS broke.”

“Sounds like bullshit.”

“She knows that. Hence the reason she’s pissed off at them.” He chomped on the steak.

“So, what did you do?”

Greg finished chewing. “I offered my services.”

“Legal or other?”

He stared at Corey. “Legal, but she thought I meant other.”

Corey laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. “That’s hilarious.”

Greg continued eating and ignored his friend. Maybe he should’ve been more selective of his words. He hadn’t thought about them until after she asked about his
legal
services, and it was the way she asked that caught his attention. Damn, he’d made a huge mistake, and because she was smarter than the average female, she had picked up on it.

“What did she say?”

“She turned cold and walked away.”

“Man, I’m sorry.”

The more he thought about it, the more Greg regretted what he’d said. The need to apologize pressed upon him. He wanted to let her know he meant well.

“Did you at least get a good look at her?”

“Trust me, she’s stunning, and she’s also a vampire.”

“Fuck.” He sounded disappointed. “Are you sure?”

“I saw her fangs when she yelled at the movers.” He held his fork up as if it were a sword. “And I do believe she tried to get inside my head. I heard a buzzing sound.”

Corey shook his head. “I know you like chicks outside of our kind, but vampires…their bites hurt.”

“How would you know? You never dated one.” Unless his friend of eight years hadn’t told him.

“Actually, I did date one when I was in high school.”

“That was fifteen years ago?” And it explained why he failed to mention it before.

“We were sophomores and I thought she was cute. I let her bite me because I wanted to see what it felt like.”

“And?”

“It fucking hurt worse than a wasp sting.”

“I think you’re exaggerating. You were a kid.”

“Uh, counselor, I was a teen, not a kid.” Corey rose with his empty plate in hand and headed for the dishwasher.

Greg thought back to his youth when a wasp had stung him. It hurt worse than getting a nasty paper cut or staple stuck in a finger. A vampire bite couldn’t hurt that bad, especially coming from a sophisticated, young beauty. No, he didn’t believe for a second Alexandria’s bite could hurt worse than a light pinch. Women of her caliber enjoyed the finer things in life. He imagined her bite would feel sensual and erotic. A love nibble. Shit, the more he considered what it would feel like the more his cock twitched.

While he finished the last of his steak, he pictured his neighbor smiling. Her lips had a slight pink tint and her skin looked wrinkle free. He wondered how old she had been when she died and became a vampire. Twenty maybe? How sad. Innocence lost.

“Are you done yet?” Corey asked as he dropped his dish onto the shelf in the washer.

Greg dropped his fork on the plate, then handed both to Corey.

“I have to apologize to her.”

“For what?” Corey slipped the dish and utensil into the dishwasher.

“For the misunderstanding. She’s our new neighbor and I don’t want her to think I’m some werewolf lusting after her.”

“But you are.”

Sure, his cock yearned for her, but his desire ran deeper. Though he’d met Alexandria briefly, he felt something for her he wasn’t sure how to explain.

“She’s different. I’m not sure how or why, but she is.”

“Are you serious?” Corey asked, chuckling.

The look of disbelief mixed with humor roused Greg’s frustration. Clearly his roommate lacked understanding of Greg’s predicament. He turned away from Corey.

“Just remember, she bites,” Corey said loudly as Greg left the room.

Greg stayed silent as he headed toward the bathroom. He couldn’t deny the attraction he felt, but it wasn’t lust. The feeling drilled into his heart and soul. Was it love? He couldn’t be sure, but he knew he had to make apologize to Alexandria. The Welcome to the Neighborhood party would give him the perfect opportunity.

3

Alexi leaned her back against the front door. She wanted to scream with joy. The movers were gone, finally. It had taken them two and a half hours to unload all her belongings, which included her safe. After a quick inspection of the vans, she wrote a check to them, jotted down the names of their superiors and returned to the confines of her new house. Now she could relax.

One look at the at the boxes crowding the living room and kitchen told her she had much to do before she could rest. Furniture lay in all the wrong places. Framed pictures leaned against the white walls. Boxes were stacked on top of more boxes. The mess should’ve lowered her spirit, but it didn’t. She felt energized, ready to unpack and organize her house. With sunrise still hours away, she had plenty of time to work on the main floor before retreating to the basement.

She walked from the entryway and into the living room, her shoes clacking on the hardwood floor. Her high heels had squeezed her toes and pained her feet long enough. She sat on her leather sofa, slipped her shoes off, then rubbed her aching soles.

A muffled buzzing sound caused her to jerk her head up. She spotted her purse sitting on top of a stack of boxes, where she’d left it after she’d written a check for the movers. Her phone buzzed again and she dashed to retrieve it.

“They didn’t hack me into little pieces,” Alexi said after she glanced at the identity of the incoming call.

Cassandra let out a breathy chuckle. “That’s good. Are they gone?”

“Finally, yes.”

“And they brought your safe?”

“Do I sound like I’m ready to kill someone?”

“No, you sound calm and a bit snarky.”

“I put my foot down and demanded my belongings in a timely manner or I’d sue their asses.”

“And it worked? You didn’t threaten to eat them alive?”

“No, I was nice. I didn’t resort to violence.” If Greg hadn’t shown up, she would’ve flashed more fang and said a few choice words to motivate them. But Greg’s tactics seemed to work just as well. Mr. Watson made a phone call and forty minutes later the second van arrived. The movers worked fast to unload all her property without breaking anything else.

“Hmm…Did one of them hit on you or something?”

“No way! I wouldn’t give the time of night to those idiots. And for your information, my good mood is because I’m
alone
in my
new home
.”

“Uh-huh.” She sounded unconvinced.

Alexi shook her head and headed for the kitchen. “Really, nothing hap–” She stopped a few feet from the center island and stared at the trash can, the same one Greg had given to the movers to clean up the broken pieces of her mirror. The can appeared empty except for the broom sticking out.

“Shit.”

“What? What is it?” Cass asked sounding concerned.

Alexi paced in the kitchen. The proper thing to do was return the items to her neighbor, but she didn’t want to see him and risk feeling attracted to him again.

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, no, no, no. I’m your best friend who loves you more than anyone on this earth. I know when something is wrong or different with you. Confess or I’ll turn psycho bitch and hop on the next plane.”

Alexi couldn’t stop herself from grinning. Although she’d love her friend to visit, she didn’t want to see the evil side of her.

“It’s nothing, really. I met my neighbor.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“The Peeping Tom.”

“And?”

“He tried to flash me.”

“What? Are you serious?” Her high-pitched tone clearly reflected her surprise.

Alexi laughed. “No, of course not.”

“This is exactly what I’m talking about. Something is really off with you. Tell me what happened exactly.”

Alexi rolled her eyes. “Greg–”

“His name is Greg?”

“Well, Gregory, but he said to call him Greg.”

“Go on.”

“Greg must have seen the movers break my mirror because he came out with a trash can and broom. He made them clean up the mess.”

“He
made
them?”

“I’d say so. Then he offered his services to me.”

“He what?”

“His
legal
services.”

“Your Peeping Tom is a lawyer?”

A handsome one too. “Yes, and I’m certain he’s a werewolf.”

“Did he flirt with you?”

“Not really.”

“So, what did you do?”

“Nothing. I walked away.” Part of her regretted it, mostly her entire body, but her mind knew better than to let him fool her.

“Did he say anything? Did he try to stop you?”

“He said he could help me if I ever needed anything.” Alexi needed a thick, hot penis inside her. Would he give it to her? She was sure he would and it would feel fucking good, but she’d hate herself the next night. Sex wasn’t free.