by Bangs, Nina
The tiny part of his brain dedicated to truth was laughing its ass off. Like it would be such a great sacrifice if he had to make love with Kristin. Uh-huh, right.
Kristin studied him as she tried to figure out how she could have both stories. Fact: Eric could take away her memory of everything that happened here. But if she made note of this possibility as soon as she got back to her room along with info about what had happened so far and e-mailed it to Connie, her best friend, then she could have her cake and eat it, too, so to speak.
And Taurin was a triple-layered Italian-cream cake. “You have a deal. I get info on all the sexual events you’ve witnessed, and I keep my mouth shut about all the paranormal stuff.”
Sure, she felt a little guilty about lying, but she couldn’t pass up a chance at the biggest story of her life. She’d salve her conscience by sharing her profits with Taurin. And in the end, her story would be great for Live the Fantasy’s business. They’d rake in a fortune when people swarmed the place.
“Uh, just to satisfy my curiosity, why don’t you want anyone to know you guys exist?” They’d be superstars. Larry King and Bill O’Reilly would fight for the right to interview them. David Letterman and Jay Leno would joke about them. Couldn’t get bigger than that.
“Once humans know we exist, there’ll be a certain segment who’ll want to destroy us. Humans have a history of killing what they don’t understand, either on religious grounds, or out of fear, or just for the hell of it. If you wrote that story and convinced enough people it was true, then lots of them would come sniffing around. All nonhumans would have to leave the castle, because we couldn’t take the chance that one of the humans might get lucky.”
Okay, now she felt really guilty. Unbidden, thoughts of her San Antonio vampire story surfaced. Was there a chance those vampires were for real? Had she driven them away from their homes? No, she wouldn’t think about that now. She had to stay focused on Taurin and what he was offering.
“I’ll be recording our sessions. How do you feel about that?” This was the last hurdle. “Oh, and don’t worry about the park’s reputation, because I’ll make sure the public knows this stuff wasn’t sanctioned by the management. It’s just that the park does such a great job with its fantasies that people get carried away.” That should ease any guilt he was feeling about ratting out his employers.
“No problem as long as you don’t use my name.” His expression gave nothing away.
Now that the business side of the discussion was over, she didn’t know what to say. She had a thousand questions about his life as a vampire, but she’d wait until they were on their way back to the castle. Something about the moonlit beach didn’t lend itself to work-related chatter.
“So, I guess we can go back to the castle now.” The adrenaline rush had worn off, and reality smacked her right in the face. Dark, empty beach. Dark, dangerous vampire sitting beside her. Feet, take me outta here. Only her feet couldn’t take her anywhere until her behind decided it wanted to move away from his sexy presence. Her bottom was perfectly happy.
He watched her from eyes that shone in the night. “Don’t be in such a hurry, Kristin. Enjoy the moment.”
She made a big show of drawing in a deep breath of sea air, scooping up a handful of sand, and staring for a moment at the dark waves breaking on the shore. “Okay, enjoyed the moment. We can go now.” When had she morphed into a giant wuss?
“In a big hurry to get away, aren’t you, sweetheart? We haven’t sealed the deal yet.” His smile was slow, hot, and knowing.
“Sealed the deal?” Her voice reached for a higher octave. She was trying for I’m-cool-with-creatures, but her voice wasn’t a good liar.
His sensual smile slid into a frown. “You sound nervous. Guess I can understand that. I won’t lie to you, all the nonhumans in the castle have a potential for violence, but only when provoked.” His smile returned. “Thinking of provoking me, lady?”
Oooh, yes. “I don’t provoke vampires. So how are we going to seal the deal?” Did she really need to know this? Uh-uh. Did she want to know it? Definitely.
He leaned toward her, blocking out the pale moonlight with his broad shoulders. Broad bare shoulders. She couldn’t help it; she ran her fingers across his chest, savoring the tactile sensation of smooth warm skin over hard muscle.
And when he lowered his head to cover her mouth with his, she opened her lips to him without even once thinking about how she’d describe this scene in her article.
His lips were warm on hers, and he tasted of gulf breezes and potent sensuality just too yummy to resist. But then, who was resisting?
He nipped her lower lip before moving away from her. Rats. Kristin had just begun to involve all her senses. She’d explored the texture of him—the smoothness of his mouth, the softness of his lips, and when she’d wrapped her arms around him, the strong contours of his back. He hadn’t given her nearly enough time. The senses that had missed their turns were in the middle of a major bitch-fest.
Kristin took the hand he offered and let him pull her to her feet. “Not much of a deal-sealing. We didn’t even get to the part where we cut our wrists and do the blood-brother thing.” She thought about that. “Yeah, maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea. Wouldn’t want you to get overexcited or anything.”
Something primitive and hot moved in his eyes as he walked beside her to his car. “Trust me, I was excited.” He looked away from her. “A lot.”
Well, that sounded promising. She was ridiculously pleased with herself. Which was really stupid, because an excited vampire would probably have the hots for her neck. Not a good thing for her neck—or connected body parts.
Once in the car, she drowned out her mind’s early-warning system with her favorite thing—words. “So how old are you, and who made you vampire?”
Silence.
“How often do you have to feed, and do you prefer blood banks or the occasional tourist?”
Silence.
“How do you feel about the extended-life thing, and does it bother you to never see daylight?”
Silence.
Kristin leaned her head back against the seat’s headrest and sighed loudly. “Well, that was a productive little chat.”
He drove in silence for a few more minutes before speaking. “Why should I tell you about myself? You might decide to use it.”
She tried to sound outraged even as her conscience made a cameo appearance. “We have a deal. You can trust me.” Her conscience looked suspiciously like her long-departed grandma Hughes. Grandma shook her head sadly. Kristin felt guilty. Grandma did guilt well.
Taurin seemed to consider her answer. “I was born in Italy six hundred years ago. My brother, Dacian, made me vampire.”
Kristin felt righteous indignation on Taurin’s behalf. “Bummer. Not much of a brother.”
“He was the best brother a man could have.” When Taurin glanced at her, his belief in his brother gleamed fierce in his eyes. “I was dying, and he made me vampire so I’d survive.”
Whoa, touchy subject. “Where’s Dacian now?”
“I don’t know. For centuries I thought he’d died in a fire that Eric had set. I stalked Eric, planning how I’d kill him. Turns out, Dacian used the fire to stage his own disappearance. If everyone thought he was dead, no one would search for him.” He shrugged. “I just got back from trying to find him. No luck.”
Kristin had never thought of herself as particularly sensitive to the emotions of others, but she recognized the hurt that lay beneath his casual shrug, a deep well of regret that the brother he loved had chosen to walk away from him. She felt Taurin’s pain as a surprising stab of sorrow in her own heart. Not what she wanted to feel. Lust was okay, because he was a spectacular male animal. But sorrow for his pain was a little deeper, a little more worrisome.
“Umm, I have ways of
finding people. Maybe I could help.” Did she just say that? No, she wouldn’t be that stupid. But it had sort of sounded like her. Well, hell.
Hope flared in his eyes and then was gone. “Thanks, but if Dacian doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.” He parked the car, and they got out. “I’ll see you to your room.”
Kristin was the one who remained silent all the way to her door. He didn’t realize it, but he’d thrown down a gauntlet. Once she was alone, she’d get on her laptop and see what she could find out about Dacian. . . . “What’s your last name? You never mentioned it.” She unlocked her door, pushed it open, and then stood in the doorway waiting for his answer.
He stared at her for a little too long. A squiggle of unease worked its way up her spine.
She recognized the exact moment he decided to tell her. His smile was all wicked anticipation.
“My last name is Veris.” Turning away, he disappeared down the dark stairway.
Calmly, she stepped into her room, closed the door, and then leaned her forehead against it.
“Wonderful.”
Chapter Five
Taurin slammed out of his room and headed for the stairs to the great hall. He’d messed up big-time. What the hell had he been thinking last night? Just for the momentary joy of watching the expression on Kristin’s face, he’d played his trump card. He’d told her his last name.
How dumb was that? Taurin didn’t think she’d leave. She wanted her freakin’ story too much. But she wouldn’t want to get it from him. He could see her taking practice swings with a lamp just in case he was crazy enough to show up at her door. Yeah, she’d be pissed. He’d made her life miserable after she wrote that vampire story. But she’d deserved it.
Somehow the she-deserved-it line didn’t make him feel any better. Taurin reached the great hall and looked around. He didn’t see any of his friends, but he saw something else that made him growl low in his throat—Kristin dressed in shorts and a sexy little top. And she was standing by the door talking to Banan.
If anyone had asked him right then what color those shorts and sexy top were, he’d have said red. Taurin was seeing lots of red as he strode toward the two.
He came to a stop facing Kristin and smiled at her. It probably wasn’t a great grin because he was preparing to duck. “Ready for tonight’s fantasy?”
The smile she turned on him was a mere lifting of her lips with no emotion attached. “Sure. Banan showed me around the park today, so I’m ready for the night.” Her gaze gave nothing away.
His sure did. He glared at the shark.
The shark smiled with all his teeth on display. “Yeah, Kristin and I had a great time. She said tomorrow night we could go for a swim because she wants to see me change.”
Over my undead body. “Wouldn’t pencil that into your schedule just yet. The park has lots of attractions, and Kristin and I have to experience them all before she leaves.” Taurin fixed his unblinking stare on Banan. “She’ll probably be too busy to do much swimming.”
Banan looked amused. “We’ll see.” He turned his attention back to Kristin. “Today was fun. Looking forward to tomorrow.” Ignoring Taurin’s glower, he walked away.
“Fascinating man.” Kristin sounded thoughtful. “And a lonely man, I’d guess. He doesn’t have any close friends. Not many people want to get close to someone whose alternate form is a great white.”
“He’s a predator.” Taurin didn’t want her thinking about Banan, feeling sorry for Banan, feeling anything for Banan. The fierceness of his jealousy blew him away.
“So are you.” Nothing in her inflection hinted at her emotions.
Taurin figured she had to be ticked at him. So where was the temper? “Yeah, but I don’t sneak up on people and rip off limbs.”
“You just drain them dry.” Some bitterness finally seeped through. “Or rip out their hearts. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”
“Rip out their hearts? Getting a little melodramatic aren’t we, sweetheart? Look, we have to go somewhere and talk about this.” So he’d messed with her career a little. He had to make her understand the damage she’d caused with her story.
She nodded and then followed him out of the castle. They walked in silence until they reached the Sea World Fantasy.
“We can start here.” He’d already made arrangements to use one of the mock mini-submarines for as long as they needed it. “This’ll give us privacy.”
Kristin didn’t say anything as she climbed into the small sub. Taurin climbed in after her, closed the hatch, hit a switch, and started the virtual descent into the equally virtual sea.
She didn’t notice when he opened a small panel by the hatch and turned a key. There, no interruptions until they were ready to leave. The sub rocked gently as water seemed to rise past the windows.
“Cool.” She wandered around the small area, inspecting the instrument panel and the two cockpit-type seats in front of it. Beyond the panel was a large wraparound window that gave a panoramic view of the sea and sea bottom. “Very realistic.”
Okay, time to start giving her the info she wanted. “Once a couple gets down here, they don’t pay much attention to what’s going on outside.” He took a deep breath. She wanted kinky, so he’d take it over the top. “I remember a woman who came in with three guys. They all squeezed into this one sub. Then—”
“You know you’re a slime-sucking toad, don’t you?” Kristin turned to face him. She used the same tone she’d use to tell him they were having asparagus for dinner.
Looked like the kinky sex story would have to wait. “Yeah, but you did a job on a lot of lives.”
“Give me a break. I didn’t know you guys were the real deal.” She flung her arms into the air as her voice rose. Her calm façade was cracking. “You almost ruined my whole career.”
Fine, she wanted mad, he’d give her mad. “Some of those vampires had lived in San Antonio for more than a hundred years, pretending they were their own children when people started to ask questions. Do you know how hard it was to pick up and leave a city they loved?” He was doing some shouting of his own now. “But what would you care? All you want is the story, no matter who it hurts.”
“That’s not true.” Her cheeks were flushed.
She was cute when she was steamed. Probably wouldn’t want to hear that right now. Fish swam past the windows, but she was too focused on her mad to notice.
“Could’ve fooled me.” Jeez, he was getting soft. He shouldn’t be thinking about cute and Kristin in the same sentence. “I bet even as we speak you’re scheming to double-cross me. You’re greedy. You want both stories to hawk to every sleazy publisher in the country.”
“I’m not.” Her denial sounded a little weak to him.
Dammit, he’d bet that’s exactly what she had planned. Without thinking, he slipped into her thoughts to verify his suspicion. Aha, he was right.
Uh-oh. He shouldn’t have done that. As he withdrew from her mind, he watched her warily. Eric could tiptoe into a person’s thoughts and go undetected. Not him. When he was in a mind he may as well be wearing hobnailed boots.
She narrowed her eyes, her anger beating against him. “I felt that. You were in my mind. You told me you couldn’t read people’s thoughts. So beside everything else, you’re a worm-eating liar.”
Yeah, she’d noticed. “Good thing I checked. Guess I’ll have to tell Eric to dust off that pink eraser.”
Kristin couldn’t remember ever being this angry. She was furious about what he’d tried to do to her career. She was ticked about him invading her thoughts. But most of all, she was upset that he’d exposed her plan to use both stories. Not because she wouldn’t get them, but because his accusation made her feel like the lowlife he thought she was.
When in doubt, attack. She moved in on him, nose to chest. Not too inti
midating, but she’d have to stand on something to do the nose-to-nose thing. Kristin settled for jabbing him in the chest with her finger.
“Let me tell you something, bloodsucker. I—” She caught a glimpse of something moving just outside the window.
Turning her head, she stared into eyes as big as dinner plates. Holy cow! Monstrous tentacles waved at her. Even as she widened her eyes to take in the full horror of the thing, the super-sized octopus attached said tentacles to the window with a menacing thwup, thwup of its many suction cups.
And in the time-honored tradition of all kick-butt heroines, she screamed like a demented fire siren. “Aaiigh!” Then she flung herself at Taurin. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she hung on. Hey, kick-butt heroines know about that living-to-fight-another-day stuff.
Taurin evidently wasn’t prepared for her . . . enthusiastic response, because he went down with her riding him all the way.
While her heart clawed its way up her throat, she tried to jump-start her brain cells. Notreal, notreal. Meanwhile, there was upheaval below. She looked down. Taurin was laughing at her.
“I never lose it that way.” She should move, but she was still shaking.
“Right. The same way you never faint.” Taurin’s laughter faded, and his gaze heated.
Emotion flooded her as she raised a shaking hand to rake her hair away from her face. “It’s every damn thing that’s happened to me here. All of it just balled up inside of me—vampires, shapes-shifters, and God knows what else—so when I saw the octopus I just came apart.”
The reality of the last three days washed over her. Horrified, she felt tears sliding down her face. She opened her mouth to tell him she never cried, but then shut it. Like he’d believe her.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He clasped her shoulders and pulled her down until she lay flat on top of him. “No one blames you for feeling jumpy. You should’ve seen me when I first realized vampires existed. I hid in a cave for a week.”