She moved her gaze from their legs to his face. He didn't seem to notice the touch, his attention turned to the travelers.

Mina smiled slightly to herself. He wouldn't notice something as tame as their legs touching. After all, the first time she'd ever seen him, he'd been running his hands all over a woman on the dance floor. His hands all over her body. She wondered what that would feel like if just the pressure of his leg sent her body into sensory overload.

She glanced at his hands, resting relaxed on his legs. He even had beautiful hands, broad palms, the knuckles slightly pronounced and long, masculine fingers.

He sighed, and her gaze snapped back to his face.

"We might have to wait a little while."

"For what?" she managed to collect her thoughts to ask, but before he could respond, she answered for him. "I know, I know, I'll see."

He laughed, his wonderful laugh tingling over her. Did nothing this man did not affect her?

"You're catching on," he said.

"I don't think I've had a choice."

He laughed again. "Oh, you always have a choice. But I think you like the mystery."

Mina looked at him askance, but had to admit she did rather like the mystery. She never would have

guessed that about herself. And the spontaneity. Sebastian was a person who just did what he wanted, because he wanted to. That was exciting, even if it was also a little scary too.

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

Mina blinked at the sudden question. Even the man's conversational skills were spontaneous.

"I-I don't know," she admitted. She'd never really thought about traveling, at least not since she crossed over. She couldn't very well get on a crowded plane or train. Between the people and the twelve hours or more of pesky sunlight, travel just hadn't seemed a possibility.

"Do you travel?" she asked.

"Sure. I was just in West Virginia visiting my brother, Christian, when I got called back because of... "

He paused. "Well, you know why."

Mina nodded, not quite able to meet his eyes.

"But," he continued, "I've been to just about every country."

"Really? How?"

"It is a little tricky," he admitted. "Night flights, and you have to pray for no delays or layovers.

Sometimes I just travel in my coffin in the cargo holds of ships surrounded by crates of soil from my homeland."

Mina gaped at him.

"A joke. You know, Dracula."

She nodded, looking away so he wouldn't see she actually appreciated his dumb humor.

"Is that why you call me Mina? Because of Dracula?" she asked suddenly.

Sebastian nodded. "In part."

She considered pressing him further, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear that it was some sort of

joke or something. Instead she asked, "Isn't it dangerous-traveling?"

"Sure. But that's part of the fun."

She gave him a dubious look, and he laughed.

"Really. It is."

"I'll take your word for it."

Sebastian shifted in his seat. Mina could seem to feel the ripple of muscles through the denim of his

jeans.

"If you did feel like you could travel, where would you want to go?"

He leaned toward her, and she realized he had the amazing ability to make a person feel like their

responses were very important. She felt warm for a moment, then she remembered she'd been conned by a similar behavior once before-and the high cost of that con.

"Come on tell me," he encouraged, his gaze still intent.

What would it hurt to answer him? She was wiser now, and this was just harmless conversation. She thought about his question, for the first time in a long time allowing herself to think about the dreams of her childhood.

"Well," she gave him a cautious look, wondering if he'd find her choices rather predictable and dull. "I'd

love to go to London and Paris."

Sebastian studied her for a moment, then reached out to cup her cheek, running his thumb along her cheekbone just beneath her glasses' frame.

"Why would you be embarrassed by that?"

Mina's lips parted, finding it hard to concentrate on his question when he was touching her so gently.

"Because they aren't as exotic and mysterious as other places."

"Well, you've never seen Soho after dark. Very exotic. Of course, the mystery aspect comes from whether the women on the streets are in fact women or men."

Mina frowned, not quite following what he was saying. But she was growing rather accustomed to that.

"So you've been to London?" she asked.

Sebastian laughed at that. "I'm British. Was British, I guess. I'm not sure how that works if you haven't lived there for over a hundred years."

Mina smiled. "Well, your accent is gone."

"Is it now, mum?" he said, slipping into an exaggerated English accent. "Blimey, I do believe you are right."

He sounded like a bad impression of the Artful Dodger.

Mina laughed, and Sebastian's smile faded.

"You have a lovely laugh." His thumb traced the curve of her smile. "You should do it more often."

Mina's smile faded too, and her gaze dropped to Sebastian's lips.

He leaned forward again, that same intensity in his expression. As though she was very important to him.

As if having a will of their own, her lips parted in expectation. But just as his lips would press to hers, he

pulled back, dropping his hand from her cheek.

"Umm." He frowned as if he was trying to remember something he'd forgotten. "So yeah, I grew up in

England, mostly on our estate in Derbyshire. But we'd go to London for the season. We had a townhouse there. Still do actually. Not the same one, though."

Mina suppressed the strange unsatisfied feeling swirling low in her belly, intrigued by what he was saying.

"You must be old." He grinned at her question. "Why? Do I look aged?" A flush heated her normally cool skin, and she looked down to smooth her skirt. "You know you don't." His grin widened more, and she knew he was pleased with her flustered embarrassment and almost-compliment-after all he was a vampire. She glanced quickly at him. Although he did look better than any vampire she'd ever seen. Of course, he knew that.

"I'm two hundred and ten years old. Born in 1796."

Her eyes widened. "You lived during the Regency in England," she murmured.

She knew many vampires in the Society who were older, much older, but she found it fascinating to meet a person who actually lived through the time period she loved so much.

"Your favorite." He smiled, and she started to ask him how he knew, but then she remembered he'd looked around her apartment. She had so many books from and about that era, and he must have seen them. The idea unnerved her. It was like he'd gotten this deeply personal insight into her, and she had none of him.

"I met Jane Austen once. At a house party in Cheltenham."

Mina gaped at him, the uneasiness instantly forgotten. "Really? What was it like?"

His perfect brow furrowed as he tried to remember. How could he forget something so monumental?

"As I recall, the house party was quite dull. Bad punch."

Before she realized what she was going to do, she smacked his leg. "Not the house party. Jane Austen!"

He laughed, and she realized he'd known what she meant all along. "She was interesting-she was older

than I. In her late thirties. A lot more interesting than many of the other women there. Very perceptive