There was that “we” again. My heart fluttered in response. I took a few sips from my water glass as I thought of something to say. “You’ve been all over the world. Do you have a favorite place?”

“I was usually too focused on my missions to enjoy a lot of the places I visited.”

I toyed with my fork. “Maybe we can go back and visit some of them. You can show me Russia.”

“I’d like that.”

Nikolas’s smile made my stomach dip. How was it that I hadn’t fallen head over heels for this man back in Maine? I had the crazy urge to lean across the small table and kiss him. What had gotten into me tonight? At this rate, I was going to jump him before we got to the dessert. It has to be the liannan. It’s making me hormonal or something.

We talked about some of the other places we’d like to see, and he told me about a few of the ones he’d been to and some of the strange things he’d seen and foods he’d tried. That turned the conversation to our favorite foods followed by a discussion about music. We argued for at least ten minutes over whether the sixties or seventies was the best decade for music, and I was surprised to learn that we liked a lot of the same stuff.

The waiter came to clear our plates and asked if we wanted dessert. There was no way I could leave without having tiramisu so we ordered a piece to share. I took my time, trying to draw out the meal as long as possible.

Walking to his motorcycle after our meal, it hit me that we’d just had our first normal conversation that didn’t involve training or vampires or anything that a regular couple wouldn’t discuss. And I’d liked it a lot.

Nikolas stopped at the motorcycle and looked at me. “So what would you like to do now?”

“We aren’t going home?” I asked hopefully.

“Not unless you want to.”

I didn’t want our date to be over. “Can we ride around and see the city?”

“Are you sure won’t be too cold?”

“Not if I can use your pockets again.” I slipped my helmet on. “How is it that you’re so hot…? I mean your skin is hot when mine is cold.” Heat scorched my cheeks, and I was so glad for the helmet that hid my face.

Nikolas grinned. “My Mori controls my body temperature,” he explained as he donned his own helmet. “You’ll be able to do that too, eventually.”

“That’ll come in handy.”

He straddled the seat, and I climbed up behind him, tucking my hands into his pockets again. The motorcycle purred to life and Nikolas pulled out of the parking lot, taking us on a slow tour of the city. Santa Cruz was very pretty at night, from what I saw. I spent most of the ride with my eyes closed, my arms around Nikolas, savoring the experience of the two of us alone out here.

“You’re not cold, are you?” he asked after a few minutes.

“No, this is great. It’s not as cold at this speed.”

“We’ll go slower on the way back. I should have taken one of the SUVs instead.”

“I’d rather ride a motorcycle than in a car,” I replied as we slowed for a red light. “Greg used to give me rides on his bike, and I loved it. I asked him to teach me to ride, but he didn’t want to upset Nate.”

He turned us down a different street, and I saw a lot of lights against the skyline. “I can teach you, if you still want to learn.”

A disbelieving laugh slipped out. “You’ll let me ride your motorcycle?”

His deep chuckle made warmth flood my belly.

“No, I’ll get you something smaller and less powerful than the Ducati to start on.”

A thrill went through me at the idea of the two of us riding our motorcycles side by side down a highway. “When can we start?”

Nikolas laughed again, but his reaction told me he was pleased by my eagerness. “Let’s focus on your training right now. Besides, I need to find the right bike for you first.”

We approached a brightly lit amusement park. “What is that?” I asked.

“That’s the Boardwalk. The rides are closed, but I thought you might like to walk through it.”

We parked the bike and began strolling through the colorful park. Nikolas asked if I wanted to check out some of the attractions, but I was happy just to walk with him. I did have to stop when I saw a vendor selling funnel cakes. I’d never had one and they smelled amazing. Nikolas smiled when I asked for one with powdered sugar and chocolate drizzled over it.

“Thank God for a high metabolism.” I bit into my cake. “This is so good. You sure you don’t want some?”

Humor flashed in his eyes. “No, thanks.”

I took another bite and licked chocolate off my lips. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

I stopped chewing when he reached over and swiped his thumb across my chin. When he put his thumb to his mouth and licked off the chocolate he’d picked up, my stomach went to visit my feet.

“You’re right, it’s delicious.” He tore off a piece of the cake and bit into it as if he hadn’t just sent my insides into a tailspin.

We continued to the end of the Boardwalk, and then he suggested we walk back along the beach. Away from the people, we could talk without being overheard, and our conversation turned to less normal things, in particular my training with Aine.

“I don’t understand why I can heal things, but I can’t do anything else,” I vented. “Sometimes it feels like I’m going to explode if I don’t use my power. It’s so frustrating.”