Last Chance Read Online Free Page B

personal life. He didn't want this. After being cursed by the bite of a vampire, his hunger for blood was followed by the need for sexual release. More and more, with each passing minute, he was seeing Stu as someone who could satisfy those needs. There was no denying the magnetic pull he felt. Stu was a stunning young man. But having a fuck buddy would be irresponsible. Aric couldn't live with himself if someone he slept with was hurt because of him.

    They ate in silence. Stu attacked his eggs while Aric pushed his around with a fork and crunched down his toast. Every so often he'd look across the table and study the blond god. The guy was easy on the eyes, but that wasn't all. He sensed something deeper, something provocative about him. Stu challenged his preconception of the type of guy who plays football. Aric always thought of them as brutes. Although he didn't really know Stu, he was coming to know what the guy was not—a dumb jock or an intolerant bigot. How could he be when here he was, sitting across the table from a gay man and sharing a meal with him in front of his friends?

    Aric finished half his eggs and pushed away his plate. “That'll do it for me.”

    “No wonder you're skinny. You hardly ate a thing.”

    “No matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight.”

    “Do you work out?”

    “Don't have much time. Once in a while I'll go for a run, but I'm usually in the lab, teaching a class, or at home studying.”

    Stu frowned, rubbing his finger around the rim of the cup. “That's cool, but you don't have much of a life, do you?”

    “Not everyone believes getting drunk and screwing around constitutes an interesting life.”

    Stu stopped all his motion, his eyes narrowing. “I don't drink all that much or fuck around. You should stop making snap judgments about people.”

    With that, Aric picked up the tab, wanting out of the restaurant and away from Stu, who was reading him a little too well.

    Aric did judge people. Finding fault in others kept them at a safe distance. He'd lost his father, Devon, and then his mother. Too many losses. Getting too close to anyone now would be insane. Not with his present condition lying in the balance.

    Aric scooted out of his seat and headed toward the register.

    Stu followed close on his heels. “Hey, I'm paying. My treat for hitting you with my football.” He came up from behind and stood a breath away, so close his whisper tickled Aric's ear. “You're a pain in the ass, but I'll buy.”

    Aric ignored his offer and paid the cashier, then turned to face him. “Stop pestering me.” Even as he said it, desire spread across his stomach and left him with an uncomfortable tightness in his jeans. The guy was too damn handsome. The whole package somehow made him weak and wanting and incredibly horny. It had to be his bloodlust kicking in. It couldn't be that he really wanted anything to do with Stu Hamilton. His head and his dick were at war with each other. He turned to leave, but a heavy hand on his shoulder stopped him.

    Stu held him in place. “You beat me to the register, but next time it's on me.”

    Not likely. No way would there be a next time.

    Aric shoved Stu's hand away. “I said stop pestering me.” He pushed open the glass door and stormed out to the parking lot, into a gush of warm, suffocating Arizona air.

    Stu sidled next to him. “Do you live far from here?”

    Aric pressed his hands to his head. “You're not going to leave me alone, are you?”

    Stu grinned. “Nope, I'm not. So I'll walk you home.”

    Not only was he unsure if he wanted Stu to know where he lived, he was unsure he wouldn't try to bite Stu's neck and then jump his bones. He'd already spent too much time with him. “All I want is to go home and sleep.”

    “It's Friday.” Stu looked at his wristwatch. “Well, Saturday, and you need to chill out, relax. You have the weekend to catch up on your beauty sleep.”

    What's with this guy?

    Like a stray puppy, Stu