Introducing author Rianne Burnett who shares an excerpt of vampire romance erotica book ‘Dating in the Shadows’.
The restaurant’s cosy atmosphere wasn’t enough to quell the alarm bells going off in Vynette’s head. There was something creepy about this guy. Even his hazel eyes seemed cold.
“Is everything okay?”
Timothy asked the question but not an ounce of concern creased his seamless dark skin. Vynette forced a smile and nodded.
“Sure. I just need to use the little girl’s room.”
She was out of her seat before he could budge. Her strides were slow but steady. The restroom had never felt so far away. Once she was inside a stall, she grabbed her cell phone from her handbag. Debbie answered on the first ring.
“He’s a serial killer, isn’t he? I told you not to meet up with him.”
Vynette didn’t want to humour her friend’s paranoia but Timothy was a hard sell.
“He just might be. I need an out.”
“As in an excuse or do I need to come and get you?”
She folded her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought. Timothy was good on paper but Vynette knew better than to ignore her gut.
“Come get me, now.”
Taking a deep breath, she examined her reflection in the mirror. It was hard to miss the unease shining in her eyes. She sighed.
An ex had once told her that she carried all her emotions in her eyes. It was one of the few truths he’d ever told. She fluffed her shoulder-length curls and dragged a few strands over her face. Chuckling, she flipped them back in place.
Timothy might be weird but even he would have questions if she dumped her hair over her face.
“Maybe I should give him something else to look at.”
Vynette pulled down the zipper on her blouse a bit. Her cleavage wasn’t one of her standout qualities but they got the job done. Reaching into her blouse, she adjusted her pert breasts in the push-up bra. When the rounded flesh became more visible, she appraised the results in the mirror.
“It’s worth a shot.”
Timothy looked up when she approached and his eyes brightened.
“Everything all right? I was just about to come looking for you.”
Somehow, she believed him. Vynette gave him a tight smile, slid into her seat, and placed her cell phone face down on the table. She bought time by taking a sip of her drink.
“Uhm…I think I’m coming down with something.”
He frowned and for a brief moment, his mask slipped. She looked away and stretched her shoulders in an exaggerated movement. It wasn’t her proudest moment but she wanted to keep him calm.
There were only a few other patrons in the restaurant and she doubted anyone would come to her rescue if things became physical.
Her distraction didn’t work. He still stared at her with an intensity that could bore through metal.
“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked while leaning forward.
“No!”
Her response was more abrupt than she’d planned. Timothy raised an eyebrow. Vynette swallowed and tried to smile.
“I already called my friend. She should be here at any moment.”
He slumped back in his chair. The smile was gone. She clutched the handbag in her lap. With the flap open, all she had to do was reach in and grab her pepper spray. As her hand inched toward the bag, her cell phone rang.
Vynette grabbed it from the table. The sight of Debbie’s name was an instant balm.
“Deb, I’m on my way.”
To Timothy, she said, “Sorry, she’s here. Thank you for dinner.”
She fled before he could answer.
Debbie pushed the passenger side door open and Vynette jumped in, slamming it behind her. She didn’t breathe properly until the car had pulled away. As her friend took different side roads as a precaution, Vynette kept quiet.
For once, Debbie’s paranoia was appreciated. Thank God she had met Timothy at the restaurant and he didn’t have her phone number.
“So that’s a ‘no’ on a second date?” Debbie quipped.
Vynette sucked her teeth and searched for the dating app on her phone. It had several notifications but she wasn’t interested. Clearly, her match wasn’t in this database. She quickly deleted her profile and uninstalled the app.
“It’s a ‘no’ to the entire damn app.”
“Wow. Wasn’t that the last one?”
Vynette groaned and scrunched her eyes closed.
“Yeah, I’ve officially run out of dating app options.”
“Well, not entirely.”
Looking across at Debbie, Vynette tilted her head to the side.
“What did you do?”
“Remember that exclusive dating app I told you about?”
“Yeah. Night-something? Didn’t it need a password or code?”
Debbie nodded.
“Nightgrind. There’s a code. Which I hacked. For you. You’re welcome.”
Vynette’s jaw dropped. Pulling into their assigned parking spot, Debbie hopped out of the car. She stood at the bonnet and beckoned Vynette out. Sighing, Vynette complied.
“Wasn’t it hard to get into?”
Debbie skipped up the steps effortlessly. Her waist-length braids swayed.
“Nah. The protections were pretty basic. It was like they didn’t think anyone would want to hack it.”
When they were in the safety of their apartment, Vynette plopped down on the couch and handed her phone to Debbie. She was wary after her near-miss with Timothy, but her dry spell wasn’t going to break itself.
“Fine, I’ll check it out in the morning. I guess one more dating app couldn’t hurt.”
Debbie grinned and got to work. Her dark brown eyes shone with glee.
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