“Can all vampires read minds?”
“As far as I know. Are you all right with that?”
“I don’t know. Do you read all my thoughts?”
“No. Just the good ones.”
She glared at him, not certain if he was kidding or not.
Unable to resist the urge to touch her, Derek took a step forward. When she didn’t recoil, he brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “There’s no future for us,” he said with regret, “no matter what the Queen of the Vampires thinks.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“No? Why not?”
“Because I think I’m falling in love with you. And I think you care for me, whether you want to admit it or not.”
Heaving a sigh, he sat on the step beside her. As always, her nearness soothed him. “Maybe you’re right.” Most of the men in his family had married mortal women. Rafe, Rane, Vince. Hell, Roshan had married a witch. They’d all had problems of one kind or another, sure, but they were all happy now. Maybe it was worth a try.
“You said you’ve been a vampire since you were thirteen,” Sheree said, frowning. “I thought vampires didn’t age.”
“Normally they don’t.”
“And I thought they couldn’t reproduce.”
“They can’t.”
Head tilted, she stared up at him, waiting for an explanation.
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Do you really think we can make this work?”
“We won’t know until we try. So, tell me how you became a vampire.”
“Before she married Logan, Mara had an affair with a mortal. During that same time, for reasons no one knows, she started reverting to being human again. I was conceived somewhere along the way. My father died a short time later and Mara married Logan. For the first thirteen years of my life, I was like anybody else, and then, overnight, my vampire nature kicked in.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“It’s happened before. Vince—one of Mara’s fledglings—was a new vampire when he fell in love with his wife, Cara. She got pregnant and had twins, Rane and Rafe. They grew up like everybody else until they reached puberty. They stopped aging when they turned twenty-five.”
“Is that when you stopped?”
“Yeah.”
“Did they marry and have children?”
“They’re both married. Savannah was artificially inseminated and she and Rane have a daughter. Rafe and Kathy are childless.”
“Must be nice not getting older, but . . . what about their wives?”
“Savannah and Kathy are both vampires now.”
“Oh?”
“It was their idea,” Derek assured her. “No one forced them. Savannah waited until her daughter was grown.”
Sheree contemplated that for a few moments. She couldn’t imagine asking to be turned into a vampire, but if you wanted to spend the rest of your life with one, it was probably the only logical solution, unless you wanted to grow old while your husband stayed forever young.
“You still think we’ve got a chance?” He didn’t have to read her mind to know what she was thinking.
“How old are you, really? I’m afraid to ask.”
“Twenty-five.”
“And you’ll never look any older?”
“No.”
“Does it hurt? Becoming a vampire?”
“I don’t know. For me, it was a natural transition.”
Sheree rubbed her hands up and down her arms as the night grew colder.
“You should go inside,” Derek suggested, rising. “It’s getting late.”
“Will I see you again?”
“Do you still think dating a vampire’s a good idea?”
When she nodded, he lifted her to her feet and drew her into his arms. “If you change your mind, if what I am gets to be too much for you to handle, just tell me. I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you and it scares the hell out of me.”
“We’ll just have to learn to trust each other.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Sheree frowned. “I saw your mother during the day. How is that possible?”
“She’s Mara, Queen of the Vampires,” he said, starting down the steps. “Most of the rules don’t apply to her.”
“Hey! Aren’t you going to kiss me good night?”
She was wrapped in his arms before she had time to blink. His mouth covered hers in a searing kiss that burned every thought from her mind and left her weak and wanting more.
“Tomorrow night,” he said, and it sounded like both threat and promise.
Chapter Eighteen
Pearl stared up at the house on the hill. “What are we doing here?” she whispered. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I just wanted to see where he lives,” Edna whispered back, her voice edged with excitement.
“You idiot! Mara’s in there.”
“Mara!” Edna’s eyes widened. “I was so busy following Derek, I didn’t pay any attention.”
“We need to get out of here, now!”
“Do you realize how many hunters would pay a fortune to know where she lives?” Edna asked.
“All the money in the world won’t do you any good if you’re dead, dear. And I mean really dead!”
“Just one more minute. I’ve been thinking. What if it wasn’t Mara turning human that allowed her to get pregnant, but the werewolf gene itself?”
“If that’s true, why didn’t any of our experiments work?”
“Maybe artificial insemination won’t work. Maybe the sperm loses potency when exposed to the air.”
“Are you suggesting that Derek might be able to father a child?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“So is the danger of Mara finding us. Let’s get out of here! Oh, Lord,” Pearl hissed. “It’s too late.” Heart in her throat, she glanced over her shoulder to find Mara standing behind her.
“Years too late,” Mara said. “I should have destroyed you decades ago.”
Pearl grabbed Edna’s hand, intending to dissolve into mist and disappear, only to discover that she was powerless to do so.
“Any last words?” Mara asked, her gaze drilling into Pearl’s.
“You can’t kill us!” Edna exclaimed.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because we know something about Derek.”
Interest flickered in Mara’s eyes. “Go on.”
Edna shook her head. “Not until you promise to let us leave here alive.”
“No chance.”
“He’s been craving meat!” Edna said. “Don’t you want to know why?”
Eyes narrowing, Mara glanced from one woman to the other. Dressed in black from head to foot, they looked like a pair of over-the-hill ninjas. “Does this have anything to do with Ramsden?”
Edna nodded vigorously.
“I’m listening.”
“Your promise first,” Edna said.
Mara cocked her head to the side. “I can make you tell me, just as I can make your death agonizingly long or blessedly short.” Capturing Edna’s gaze with her own, she willed her power into the other woman, planting thoughts of excruciating pain into Edna’s mind until the woman screamed in agony. “I’m still listening.”
Moaning, Edna dropped to the ground.
“Leave her alone!” Pearl shouted. “I’ll tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Your son carries the werewolf gene.”
Mara snorted. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
“It’s true. Kyle Bowden was a werewolf, but the gene was latent in him. We think it’s becoming active in Derek. It’s why he’s craving meat.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mara scoffed. “And even if it’s true, wouldn’t it have manifested itself long before now?”
“Obviously the vampire half has been suppressing his inner werewolf.”
“So why is it emerging no
w?”
“Sometimes these things are sparked by internal changes.”
Mara stared at Pearl, reluctant to believe her hypothesis, but what if it was true? The first time the craving had come upon Derek was at puberty. It had happened again just after he turned twenty-five, another significant milestone, in that he had stopped aging. “You think he’s turning into a werewolf ? Seriously?”
Pearl knelt beside Edna. “We won’t know until the next full moon.”
“Will the change be permanent?” Mara asked, thinking of Susie McGee.
Pearl shrugged. “Only time will tell.”
“Yes,” Mara mused. “Time.”
Clutching Edna’s hand, Pearl looked up at the ancient vampire. “I told you what you wanted to know,” she said, hating the tremor in her voice. “If you’re going to destroy us, make it quick.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Where are the old ladies now?” Derek stretched his legs out in front of him, his chin resting on his folded hands.
Sitting beside him on the sofa, Mara smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle from her skirt. “I let them go.”
Derek raised one brow, but said nothing.
“I know, I should have destroyed the two of them. They’ve had it coming for years.”
“So why didn’t you?”
Mara glanced at Logan. Reclining on the other couch, he gave a one-shoulder shrug in an “it’s up to you” gesture.
Derek looked at his mother. “What’s going on, Ma? What aren’t you telling me?”
She bristled at his tone, but she could feel the tension building in him, so she let it slide. “They gave me some interesting news. After I heard it, I decided to let them live a little longer.”
“Must have been some kick-ass news,” Derek muttered. “You’ve said you wanted them dead more than once. So . . .” His gaze darted from Mara to Logan and back again. “What did they say?”
“It’s their opinion that the reason I was able to get pregnant had less to do with my reverting to humanity than with the fact that your father was a werewolf.”
Derek sat forward, eyes narrowing. “What?”
“You heard me. I never knew it, and neither did he, but apparently Kyle carried a recessive werewolf gene, which means you also carry it. Only in your case, it seems to be dominant.”
Rising, Derek paced the floor. If it was true, it explained a lot: his restlessness when the moon was full, his craving for raw meat. He paused in midstride. “Are you saying I’m going to turn into a werewolf?”
Mara glanced at Logan again before answering. “It’s anybody’s guess. Nothing quite like this has ever happened before.”
Derek raked a hand through his hair. “What else?”
“There’s no way of knowing if, once you turn into a werewolf, you’ll remain a werewolf.”
“So, I’ll either be a werewolf, or a vampire, or both?”
Mara nodded.
“Well, it’s a hell of a trifecta, isn’t it?”
A thought took Derek to Sheree’s house. Uncertain of his ability to keep either his hunger or his emotions under control, he stood in the shadows. What would she think if he shared what he had just learned? What could he say? Hey, guess what? I might not be a vampire much longer. Or, Hey, did you hear the latest news? I might be a vampire and a werewolf.
Yeah, just what she needed. Something else to worry about. That would go over really well.
He held his breath when he saw her looking out the window. His first instinct was to go to her. He fought it for a moment, telling himself it was too dangerous to be near her in his current state of mind, but even as he told himself to stay where he was, he was crossing the street, knocking on the door.
She opened it with a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
Taking him by the hand, she pulled him inside and closed the door. “I thought you’d be here sooner. Your mother left over half an hour ago.”
“Is that right?” He still wasn’t sure it had been a good idea for Sheree to invite his mother inside; then again, Sheree was probably safer with Mara than with him.
Still holding his hand, Sheree sat on the sofa, tugging him down beside her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, why?”
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell you some other time.”
“More secrets?”
“Not exactly. I learned something new tonight and I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
Worry furrowed her brow. “Is it something that affects us?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I don’t mean to. So, how did you spend your day?”
She pouted a moment because he wouldn’t confide in her, then blew it off. There was no point in being angry. He had warned her there were things about himself he couldn’t share. “I didn’t really do very much. I called my parents and told them I wouldn’t be coming home right away, after all. My mother got a little upset with me. It seems as soon as I told her I might be coming home, she went into party mode. She seems to think I should be welcomed back as if I’ve been away for years.”
“She probably misses you.”
“Maybe. And then I had a phone call from this guy she’s trying to set me up with. Neil Somerset.” She shook her head. “I could tell my mother put him up to it. Neil and I have nothing to say to each other. It was very awkward.”
A muscle twitched in Derek’s jaw at the mention of another man, even one thousands of miles away.
“Your mother and I spent the rest of the day giving each other manicures,” Sheree went on, “and watching old movies on TV. She’s quite the movie buff.”
“Yeah, well, she’s probably seen them all.”
“I can’t imagine living as long as she has.” Sheree looked at him, her expression thoughtful. “You could live that long, too, couldn’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Can I get you a glass of wine?”
“No, thanks.” He clenched his hands, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and drink from her.
She must have seen the hunger in his eyes, he thought, because she grew very still. In the sudden silence, the sharp intake of her breath was unusually loud. With his preternatural senses, he heard the sudden pounding of her heart, smelled the fear on her skin.
“I should go,” he said, his voice thick.
“You need to feed, don’t you?”
He didn’t deny it.
“You can . . . I mean, if you need to . . . um . . .” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Just don’t take too much.”
He knew he should refuse, should get the hell out of there before it was too late. But the remembered taste of her, the sweetness of it, lingered in his mind.
He cursed under his breath as he took her in his arms.
“Will it hurt?”
“No, love.” He claimed her lips with his in a long, slow kiss, held her until the tension went out of her and she was kissing him back, her fingers tunneling into his hair, her body yearning toward his. His hands moved over her, lightly, gently, learning every curve.
He kissed his way along the length of her neck until he found the soft vulnerable place just beneath her ear. His tongue laved the skin, and then, keeping a tight hold on his control, he bit her. She pressed herself closer as sensual warmth spread through her.
It took all of his self-control to hold back, to keep from savaging her throat and taking it all. But then a strange thing happened. One taste, two, and his hunger receded.
She moaned a soft protest when he lifted his head.
He gazed down at her, amazed that his voracious thirst had been satisfied with so little.
Sheree looked up at him, her gaze slightly unfocused. “Are you finished already?”
“Are you sorry?”
She nodded, a faint flush staining her cheeks. “It was—I don’t know—amazing.”
His life had be
en full of surprises, Derek thought, giving her a hug. But Sheree was the best one of all.
Chapter Twenty
Pearl filled two water glasses to the brim with red wine, handed one to Edna, then collapsed in a chair, heedless of the liquid that splashed into her lap. “I thought we were dead for sure!”
“Me, too!” Edna took a long swallow, then shook her head. “This isn’t going to cut it. I need something warm to drink.”
“In a minute, dear. Let me catch my breath.” Pearl drained her glass, though it wasn’t easy, her hands were shaking so. “Why didn’t she kill us?”
“She must have decided we could be of use later. After all, no one knows more about werewolves than we do.”
“That’s true.” Rising, Pearl refilled her glass. She and Edna had conducted numerous tests on the creatures in the past. “Who do you think the hunters in town are after? Mara? Or Derek?”
“I don’t know. Two hunters have disappeared. One was reported dead. One seems to have lost her memory.”
“If we’re not careful, we could be next,” Pearl said, resuming her seat.
“Funny, all those hunters showing up here at the same time.”
“Almost as if someone’s put out a hit,” Pearl remarked, then frowned. “But that doesn’t make sense, dear. Hunting vampires is what hunters do. It’s in their blood.”
“True,” Edna said, “but maybe one of Mara’s old enemies wants her dead and doesn’t have the cojones to do the job himself.”
“It’s a possibility,” Pearl agreed.
“If they’re afraid to go after Mara, killing Derek would be the best revenge they could take. If anything happened to him, she would never get over it.”
Pearl nodded, and then sighed. “Remember when we were hunters?”
“Yes, indeed,” Edna said, grinning. “And we’re still hunters.”
“Yes, dear. Only the prey has changed.”
Setting her glass on the table beside her chair, Edna stood. “Speaking of change, it’s time to get out of these dreary outfits and into something a little more comfortable.”
“Like a nice warm neck or two?” Pearl remarked.
“Girlfriend, you must be reading my mind.”
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