The moment he walked in there was a shift in the air as it grew hot and damp and languid. October in New Bern, North Carolina had never been known to be cool and dry, but with this change in the atmosphere, it was as if everyone in the room felt the heat and now thought about nothing other than sex. Or maybe it was just me. Being celibate sucked and reading erotic romance novels did not help my condition, but I had yet to meet a man who could overcome my past. That is, until I saw him.

I recognized him at once and an intense erotic hunger I had never experienced before in my life roared to life. I recognized him, even after all these years. Tall, built like a Greek god with a face to match, he was still a walking advertisement for sex. He crossed the room and slid into a booth in the darkest, most private corner of the room.

I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice him. No one else seemed to care that a five-hundred-year old vampire had just walked into the restaurant. I alone knew of his extensive past, but I could not share the news that an undead had just walked in the bar because then questions would be raised that I could never answer.

“Jayne, can you make the rounds with the decaf? I’ll take the regular,” Ellie, one of the other waitresses working tonight said, handing me a pot of coffee.

“Sure.” I accepted the pot and followed her around the dining room. I smiled and poured until we passed his table. He looked up, his expression blank as he nodded in response to Ellie’s greeting. He ordered a glass of the house burgundy wine without even looking at the menu. Had he been here before? Surely I would have seen him, would have recognized him.

As I followed Ellie to the next table, he glanced my way, then took a second look.

“I know you.” His words were not a question, but a statement of fact as his large hand grabbed my left elbow. Fortunately, the coffee pot was in my right hand or one of us would have been wearing the hot, dark brew. The coolness of his touch melted through my white imitation silk shirt and woke my sleeping libido. It also brought forth memories of another time and place. A time and place when I had been another woman. Another lifetime when I had lived, and loved this man.