The Vampire's Tainted Mate

Chapter 7: Running into You

Logan walked through the grocery store with sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the bright lights. He cradled a handbasket in the crook of his elbow as he looked over the selection of produce, wondering what vegetables he wanted to get. It only took him moments to decide to get ingredients to make a roast, deciding that was what he was craving at the moment.

He gathered the vegetables that he needed and headed towards the butcher counter. His gaze was on the produce in his handbasket, distracted in his own thoughts about how he was going to prepare the meal when he suddenly bumped into someone.

His eyes widened as he quickly became aware of the familiar sweet scent coming from the short person in front of him. His eyes flashed crimson behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses and his fangs elongated. He pressed his lips into a thin line and watched her gaze scan over his outfit. The way her midnight gaze seemed to take in his white deep v-neck tee, which contoured to his biceps and muscular pecs. He watched as her lashes lowered, while she slowly peered down to his dark, slim-fit jeans until she reached his black, leather, steel-toed work boots. Her eyes moved back up his body, lingering on his belt buckle before shifting to his sunglasses. He watched her swallow hard with slightly parted lips.

Her floral aroma swirled around him and drew him in, making him want to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer. God, he wanted nothing more than to yank her close and kiss her full lips, nibble her neck, and tease her, but he couldn't. His hands trembled and he gripped his hand into a fist to get himself under control. He knew he had to apologize to her for running into her, but he couldn't get the words to come out.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, “I'm sorry, Gwendolyn."

She raised an eyebrow at him and gestured to his handcart, “Didn't know you were a vegetable guy."

Logan laughed and shrugged, “Have to have something besides just a roast."

Gwen gave him a challenging expression and crossed her arms over her chest, “Do you even cook it?"

He leaned down to bring his full lips to her ear so that only she could hear him speak in a low and sultry tone.

“Shh...", he hushed before whispering, “Do you want everyone to know what I am?"

Gwen smirked and pushed his tall, muscular, frame back with her fingertips. “Maybe. What are you going to do about it?" She licked one of her canine teeth, and he wondered what she would look like with fangs.

A growl escaped from his chest, as he realized she was sassy for being so small. It captured his attention more than before. He suddenly wanted to see what else he could do to make her react in the same manner. How far could he push her just to feel her push back with quick comebacks. But that thought quickly perished the moment he heard her life coursing through her veins again, reminding him that he was afraid of ruining her passion for life.

“It was nice to see you again. I apologize for running into you." Logan nodded towards her and decided ending what they had going on between them would be best.

However, Gwen was a persistent woman. She continued to follow him, keeping her eyes on the way his back muscles shifted beneath the tight fabric of his plain shirt. She raked her teeth along her plump bottom lip and brought her fingers up to nibble on her nails in thought.

Logan stood at the butcher counter, ordering a roast and a few different cuts of steaks. As the butcher was getting his meat for him, he turned half of his attention towards Gwen.

“Are you going to follow me through the whole store?" Logan kept his gaze forward and ignored the dainty woman beside him in the black t-shirt and skinny jeans.

“How do you know I'm not just waiting my turn?" Gwen teased as the butcher handed Logan his packaged meat.

Logan shrugged and listened to Gwen order something from the butcher counter. He became slightly interested in what she was making but shook the thought off. She took the meat and placed it in her basket.

“So, you obviously like to cook... what else do you like to do?" Gwen tried to get the man to talk, but he wasn't budging.

Logan grunted as he continued to look for groceries with her beside him. He hadn't planned on running into her again and it was getting harder for him to resist her fascinating scent. Ironically, he prayed that she would have something come up so she would leave him alone. He mentally laughed at the thought of a vampire praying to something higher.

“I mean I love to go hiking when I'm not hanging out with my best friend or gaming." Gwen became excited beside him, picking up an item she needed from beside her. “I grew up exploring the woods as a kid and I still like to decompress that way." She giggled and shook her head before peering up at him, “One time... I was out in the woods with one of my friends and we ran across a wolf. She was so scared and wanted to run, but the grey wolf was so gorgeous and harmless. He just looked at us and then walked away, but I remember my friend was screaming bloody murder." Gwen laughed harder, “My dad thought that something worse had happened to us with how my friend was acting as soon as we walked back into the house."

“Hm," Logan grunted and grabbed some butter from the cold case, tossing it into his handbasket.

“Anyway, she moved a while ago when I got to ninth grade. I haven't seen her since. Sometimes, I miss her, but I hope she is doing well. You ever miss someone?" Gwen peered over at him again, watching him grab a bottle of red wine.

Logan didn't say anything, focusing on his objectives, and continued to just listen to Gwendolyn. He wasn't annoyed by her, quite the opposite, he was enthralled with her.

“I guess we all miss someone after we lose them in any manner, and you've probably seen many come and go throughout your lifetime." Gwen rolled her eyes at herself for saying something so ridiculous to a man who had probably seen centuries.

Logan headed towards the registers without saying anything, listening to her the whole time.

“And then we had this dog that would get out all the time." Gwen laughed to herself, “She always wanted to be outside. It was hard to keep her in with us at night. It used to drive my mom insane because the dog would just whine and whine at night to go out." She sighed and peered over at Logan, “I can't even tell you how long it took for her to install a doggy door for the d*mn thing."

Logan tried to hold back a smile and a laugh at the story. He didn't want to get close to Gwen enough to make her fall. He didn't want to persuade her to have deeper feelings for him. The thought of having her fall to his level made his chest feel tight and made his throat clench up. But, her fragrance, her fragrance was enough to bring a vampire to his knees. He had to get out of there. He had to pull himself away from her and the sooner, the better.

“You don't talk much, do you?" Gwen c****d her hip as she stood with him at the checkout lane.

“Safer that way," he huffed and began to unpack and set his items down on the conveyor belt to purchase them.

“Why?" Gwen stared up at him and heard him sigh.

He raised his hand to pull his sunglasses down by the bridge of them to peer over the lenses at her. He licked his lips and whispered in a gruff voice, “Because if I talked more, you wouldn't be able to resist me, and I can't have that."

He noticed how his words made a shiver run through her body and how they made her cheeks rouge with warmth. He turned his attention to the cashier and gave her a kind smile, “Good evening. How are you?"

Gwen couldn't think straight or meet the cashier's gaze. She focused on setting down her own groceries behind his, leaving some space to separate them. His cologne circled around her and made her legs feel weak like they were going to give out from beneath her. She tried to take calming breaths but found it hard to breathe. Everything about that tall man was intoxicating her.

Logan's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, “She's with me."

It was like she was being electrocuted and being brought back to life from his words. She jumped and waved her hands in a quick motion to protest. She didn't want him to pay for her groceries and right as she was about to refuse, he raised his hand to silence her.

“I insist," he didn't even glance over at her, focusing on the cashier instead.

Gwen blushed and kept her hands in front of her before softly telling him, “Thank you."

Logan took his wallet from his back pocket and flipped it open, pulling out his card to pay. He peered over at her, and his words spilled from his lips like a rich wine, “No problem."

He gathered the bags in his hands, not allowing her to take any of them. They walked out in silence and when they reached the parking lot, he asked her which car was hers'.

“It's over there, but you don't have to carry my bags there. I can just-“ Gwen pointed in the direction of a beat-up car, and he started heading towards it.

He didn't speak or make any sound, as he carried her bags to her car. She rushed in front of him to open her trunk with her key, watching him set her bags into it.

“You didn't have to do that but thank you. I appreciate it." Gwen softly smiled at him and shut her trunk.

Logan nodded and went to walk to his motorcycle before he heard her stop him with her words, “Where are you going?"

“Leaving," he bit out as he continued to walk towards his bike.

“I don't at least get your number?" She called from across the lane and watched the man pause and shake his head. She smirked, realizing she had caught him at least for a moment longer.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he turned around to face her again. He set his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest, “Not today, darling."

Logan immediately headed back towards his bike to put his groceries away into the storage compartments on the sides of it. He was bent over, putting the last bag in when a musty wet dog smell filled the air again. It stalked around him and his motorcycle, taunting and teasing him and making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His nerves vibrated beneath his skin, and he became irritated.

He whipped around to ask Gwen if she noticed anything lately but found her car missing. She was gone before he had a chance to question her about the disgusting scent that laced her addicting one.