Midnight by Elisa Adams

fridge. “Are you hungry?”
    “A little.” She followed him. “Why don’t you tell me about
some of your good points? I’m beginning to wonder if you have any.”
    “I can cook. What do you want to eat?”
    “Marco—”
    He held up a hand to stop her. “Let me cook you some
breakfast first. We can talk after.”
    “Supper. It’s after eleven. Almost time for a midnight
snack.”
    He shrugged. “That all depends on how you look at it. Do you
want eggs? Toast?”
    She snorted. “Not at this time of night. I have enough
trouble forcing that stuff down at six in the morning. It’s nighttime. I want a
cheeseburger.”
    “A cheeseburger?” He blinked a few times. “Are you sure that’s
what you want?”
    “Yes.” If she was going to be on vacation, she was going to
enjoy herself. She no longer had to live on a piece of lettuce and a couple of
carrot sticks a day so she could fit into her skimpy costumes or conform to
Hollywood’s twisted version of beauty. Now she could eat like a human and not
someone’s pet rabbit. “Please?”
    He looked shocked, but he relented. “Okay. I’ll see what I
can do.”
    * * * * *
    Marco watched as Amara finished off the last of the
cheeseburger. He was a little astounded when she’d requested something so
simple. She was most likely used to gourmet meals. Why would she want something
she could get at any fast food restaurant in the country?
    She enjoyed it, though. The little noises she made while
eating it rivaled the ones she’d made last night in bed. His mouth went dry
just listening to her.
    He was glad he’d had Ellie bring in some food, or else Amara
would have starved. He’d learned firsthand she wouldn’t eat peanut butter, and
that was about the only thing he ever kept in the cabinets.
    She looked different sitting across from him at the kitchen
table than she did in the films, or even at the functions where he’d seen her.
Now she looked more relaxed, more natural, and less like the snotty bitch he’d
thought she was. He was learning a lot about her, and what he learned scared
him. He had less and less reason to hate her with every sentence that came out
of her mouth.
    In fact, he was disgusted to find he was actually starting
to like her.
    Wanting her body was one thing, but truly admiring who she
was as a person was out of the question. At this rate, the woman was going to
turn him into a softie by the end of the week.
    “Tell me where you get your insight into my true nature.”
    She shrugged and finished off the last of the burger. “Growing
up, my mother got married to a different man every other year. I had seven
stepfathers and quite a few uncles . I learned a lot just watching them.”
    “You don’t have a very high opinion of men, do you?”
    She snorted. “Are you kidding? Why should I? Every single
man in my life has proven to be a gigantic letdown.”
    Maybe she just hadn’t found the right man yet.
    “Where do you get off, asking a question like that?” she
continued, her expression irritated. “Your opinion of women seems pretty low.”
    “Yeah, and I have a good reason for that, too.”
    “What’s that?”
    He studied her, debating how much to tell her. If he relayed
the entire story, he’d scare her off for good. Then again, that would certainly
solve the problem of unwanted emotional attachments.
    “I was married once. A very long time ago.”
    “Okay.”
    “My wife was not exactly what you’d call faithful.” He took
a deep breath, the pain of what had happened still there, even though it had
dulled to a low throb.
    “I’m sorry.”
    She truly looked it, too. And he was sorry for what he was
about to say to her, but there was no way to do it gently. “Do you want to know
why I’m a vampire?”
    She nodded, but she didn’t look so sure.
    “I was to be executed for killing my wife and her lover.”
    “You were what?”
    “You heard me right the first time. I’m not going to repeat
myself. I was convicted of