She was going crazy. Possibly slipping into shock. It was the only explanation.
He was a vampire. A monster. And he had a big knife. Anything outside of that shouldn’t have made one damn bit of difference to her.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
He stared at her for a long moment, and then said: “Henry.”
She was surprised that he’d actually answered. She was equally surprised that his name was Henry. He didn’t look like a Henry. Maybe a Lucien. Or a Damian. Something dark and dangerous and sexy.
Wait, she thought. Why am I thinking that? No sense. I’m making zero sense.
Her head felt cloudy. She didn’t know what it was about this guy that intrigued her so much. He was a vampire and he wanted to kill her. She had information overload. She must be in shock. That had to be the reason.
“Henry Frost,” she said out loud, figuring he and Evan shared a last name.
“That’s right.”
“Have you always looked after your brother, Henry?”
He looked at her with a frown. “What?”
“What I said. I don’t know you or your brother at all—”
“How can you say that?” His dark brows knitted together. “Are you trying to tell me you have no memory of your past life?”
She hissed out a breath. “Number one, I don’t believe in reincarnation or soulmates. Number two . . . no, actually that’s the only point I have. Of course I don’t have any memories of it. I’m not the person you think I am. Trust me on that.”
“The witch said it was you.”
“Were you there? Did you hear this witch?”
“Yeah, I did. I wasn’t in the room with Evan at the time but I was close.”
She blinked. “Well, she was wrong.”
“Of course you’d say that. You’re just as manipulative as you’ve always been.”
“We can discuss this until the cows come home, but it’s not going to change things. I’m not your brother’s reincarnated soulmate. I’m just somebody who works at the Clinique counter in Sears. And my room-mate who was in the bar with me is going to be looking for me. Any time now. And she’s very mean.”
“I thought you said you were a nun.” Henry raised an eyebrow and his lips twitched with the barest glint of a smile. “And did you just use the expression ‘until the cows come home’?”
“You need to let me leave now.”
His expression tensed again. “I can’t do that.”
Frustration now mixed with fear. This man was unbelievably stubborn, but she wasn’t giving up. She’d given up a lot of things in her life because they were too hard to get or maintain, but she was damned if she was going to give up her life now. Something about Henry made her want to keep talking, keep fighting, keep trying to convince him that he was wrong about her.
“Have you considered what will happen if you’re wrong? If you kill me and I’m the wrong person? Like, oops, the witch made a mistake?”
“This witch doesn’t make mistakes. It’s what she does. She’s a soulmate recovery expert. It’s her specialty.”
“Soulmate recovery,” Julia repeated. “Maybe I’m dreaming. Maybe I didn’t get up earlier. I did have an afternoon nap, after all. That would make much more sense than this.”
Henry’s frown was only deepening the longer she spoke. “The only strange thing is that normally a reincarnated soulmate will recognize their partner on sight. They might not remember every detail of their former lives, but they have that soul recognition and attraction which clicks for them. So either you’re a very good actress, or something did go wrong.”
She finally managed to breathe a little at that. “Well, there’s your answer.”
“That you’re a very good actress?”
“I’m a terrible actress. The worst. I couldn’t even get a part in the school play in grade six.” She was grasping at straws but she had to. Her survival instincts had kicked into overdrive. “You don’t want to kill me.”
“I don’t?”
She shook her head. “You’re not a murderer.”
His eye narrowed. “You don’t know me.”
“I’m a really good judge of character.”
“That is debatable. So let me get this straight. I grab you, drag you into this alleyway with a knife to your throat, and now you’re trying to tell me that you don’t think I’m capable of murder? Maybe you want to reform me? You see past the rough exterior to the goodness in my heart, is that it?”
She swallowed. “OK, it does sound a bit naive.”
“A lot naive.” He shook his head. “You weren’t naive in your previous life. You were a devious vixen who played men and got them to do whatever you wanted.”
“Even you?”
His expression darkened. “You tried. But it didn’t work. I was immune to your particular charms. A pretty face isn’t enough to turn my head.”
“Are you gay?”
That got a flash of shock on his face. “No.”
“But you don’t like women.”
He made a low groan of annoyance deep in his throat. “I’mnot gay. I do like women. But I didn’t like you. I could see through to your dark deception in ways that Evan couldn’t.”
“So this woman. What was her name?”
“Katerina.”
“So Katerina threw herself at you, even though she was already soulmated to Evan—”
“She was a whore.”
Julia ignored that. “She threw herself at you and you weren’t interested. Not even in a quickie? The woman was hot, wasn’t she?”
“Like I said, her beauty was not enough to turn my head.
Besides, she . . . you ...” He groaned with annoyance again. “You were involved with my brother. My bond with him prevented me from any disloyalty, even if there had been an attraction. Which there wasn’t.”
“She kissed you.”
“She tried to do a lot more than that when she had me tied up. Before she took my eye.” He shook his head and touched his patch again. “Her kiss disgusted me. And you know what they say about a woman scorned—”
Julia went up on her tiptoes and kissed him full on the mouth. She felt Henry’s sharp intake of breath against her lips, his shock at what she was doing. Hell, she was shocked at what she was doing.
What the hell was she doing?
A moment later she heard a loud metallic clatter as the machete fell to the ground. She was a bit afraid at what would happen next, him being very anti-kissing and all. But for somebody who was repelled by Evan’s previous soulmate macking on him, he didn’t push her away and wipe away her lip cooties. Instead she felt his strong arms come around her waist to pull her closer to his very firm, very warm body. The kiss deepened and as his tongue swept across hers a strange and intense wave of desire nearly knocked her right off her feet.
The crazy, warm-blooded vampire could kiss. And he didn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. She could feel his sharp fangs and was certain that they were bigger than they’d been a minute ago. Then again, his fangs weren’t the only thing that had gotten bigger since their kiss began.
Guess he isn’t gay after all. That was actually a relief.
Why? She realized how insane she sounded. Why was that a relief?
That was two crazy vampires she’d kissed this evening. And she hated to admit it, but she much preferred the one-eyed version.
“Wait—” Henry breathed and finally moved back a little from her. His eye was fully black again. “What the hell was that?”
Her mouth felt swollen and she bit her bottom lip. “Sorry, I must have slipped on something.”
He was frowning so hard it had to be painful. “You disgust me.”
“You have a funny way of showing disgust.”
“Why did you kiss me?”
“Why did you kiss me back?”
He growled. “This isn’t funny.”
“I’m not laughing.” She swallowed. “I was trying to prove to you that I�
�m not Evan’s soulmate. You said you didn’t like kissing Katerina.”
“So you kissed me to prove I was wrong?” He shook his head, his good eye growing wider. “You are just as devious as you’ve always been.”
His voice was harsh, but he wasn’t pulling away from her or trying to retrieve his fallen weapon. She reached up to gently touch his eyepatch. “I’d never do something like this to you.”
He flinched but still didn’t pull away. “What the hell is happening to me?”
“First of all, I’m hoping that you don’t want to kill me any more.”
He sucked in a breath. “I don’t.”
“That is very good to hear.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “I don’t understand what’s going on. How can you not be her? You must be her. The witch is never wrong. Hasn’t been for 1,000 years. Not once.” He shook his head. “And yet, I feel that you are different from Katerina. When she kissed me, all I felt was coldness. Your kiss is pure heat.”
She studied him for a moment. “Your eye is still black.”
“Strong emotions will cause my hunger to increase. Like anger, or pain, or ... or desire.” His attention moved to her mouth. “I must never kiss you again. It’s too dangerous.”
“Too dangerous?”
He nodded. “Evan is your soulmate. Even if you have changed.” He drew in a ragged breath. “Perhaps one is not doomed to be the same from lifetime to lifetime. In that case I am happy for him. My brother is a lucky man.”
He seemed so sure that she was Evan’s soulmate. Was it possible? If she pushed away her disbelief at the bizarre situation that had been thrust into her face that night, was she willing to consider believing it was true? After all, she didn’t know vampires were real. But they were. She’d seen it now and she couldn’t deny it even if she tried. Maybe the same was true of soulmates. Did the idea of having someone that you’re destined to love throughout eternity appeal to her? Yes, it did. She’d never been in love before. She thought it would never happen to her. But maybe she’d kept finding fault in men, not letting herself get close to them, because she’d been waiting for that night. For her soulmate to finally find her.
If she was willing to believe that, then it meant that her soulmate was Evan.
But she didn’t like Evan. He was attractive enough, but she hadn’t felt any real, deep connection with him.
Like the connection you feel to Henry? she asked herself, knowing that she was making no sense.
Yeah, like that, she answered.
“So what do we do now?” she asked after a moment.
Henry still studied her intensely. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”
“What was that?”
“That you weren’t attractive. It was a lie. You’re a very beautiful woman.”
“Not compared to the original Katerina.”
“Hers was a cold beauty. Untouchable. You—” he looked down to where he still held her “—are obviously very touchable.” He swallowed. “Are you still afraid of me?”
“I probably should be, but I stopped being afraid around the time I attacked your lips.”
“I see.” His jaw tightened. “This will prove to be a very big problem for me. Seeing you with my brother. Knowing that you and he have found happiness together again.” He shook his head as if trying to clear it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never felt this way before.”
“Me neither.”
His gaze moved to hers again and locked. “No?”
She shook her head.
And it was at that moment that she felt something very strange - a clicking sensation deep inside of her.
“What just happened?” Henry’s breathing increased. “That can’t be what I think it is.”
“The thing that felt like we’re two Lego pieces that just got snapped together?”
“Yeah, that.” He pulled away from her finally, releasing her completely to take a few steps backwards. “You are not mine. You belong to Evan.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
Except you, she amended internally. Then she frowned.
What in the hell was happening to her? It wasn’t right. She hadn’t just clicked with Henry. She only recently met him, and under very unusual circumstances, to say the least. She didn’t believe in love at first sight, especially when the subject was a centuries-old vampire carrying a big knife. And she didn’t believe in soulmates.
Never had. Never would.
And yet . . .
No, she told herself sternly. Just no.
Or, well . . . maybe.
“Something has gone terribly wrong,” Henry managed after a moment, his expression now giving way to a little of that panic she was very familiar with. “One cannot have two soulmates. It doesn’t happen.”
“Then I think we have a problem here, don’t we?”
He nodded, his expression haunted. Then without another word spoken, he moved towards her and pulled her into his arms. “Tell me to stop. Tell me to go away and never come near you again.”
“Kiss me,” she said instead.
His eye widened. “That definitely isn’t helpful.”
“Sorry.”
Then, just as she thought Henry was going to kiss her again, he stiffened. And not in a good way.
“Release her,” Evan growled from behind him.
Henry moved his hands away from her and raised them up to his sides. He shuffled back a few steps so Julia could see that Evan had grabbed the machete from the ground and had it at Henry’s back.
“This isn’t what you think,” Henry began.
“This is exactly what I think. You’ve always hated her. How could you do this to me after my long, difficult search? Do you deny that you planned to kill her?”
“I can’t really deny that, actually. But—”
“Shut up,” Evan snarled. “You always try to run my life, brother.”
“What, by keeping you safe and alive?”
“I’m tired of it. Hundreds of years of being under your thumb. I wanted to escape you once and for all, and you follow me here?”
“You weren’t that hard to follow.” Henry shrugged. “You’re kind of sloppy when it comes to travel arrangements. Always have been.”
“How did you learn of her?” Evan flicked a glance in Julia’s direction.
“I overheard you with the witch.”
“I see. So you followed her from the club after I’d made contact with her. And you planned to use this—” Evan now pressed the sharp blade against Henry’s throat “—to end her life over an old squabble.”
“She took my eye. Not to mention that she was generally evil and liked killing people for fun and profit. Remember that?”
“She had her reasons. Just as I have my reasons for killing you now where you stand.”
Julia watched them in horror. There was nothing friendly or brotherly about this confrontation. It looked as deadly as that machete. A fine line of red appeared at Henry’s throat to prove just how sharp that blade was.
Evan turned to her. “Are you OK, my love?”
She held out her hands. “Put down the knife.”
“I can’t do that. I need to kill him once and for all. Now that I’ve found you again, I won’t let you come to any harm.” His expression softened. “I know you don’t believe all of this yet. I know this has been a great shock. It will take my genitals some time to recover from what happened earlier—”
Henry raised an eyebrow at that.
Julia shrugged. “I kneed him in the balls when he got a bit frisky with me.”
A small smile twitched at the corners of Henry’s mouth. “See, I knew you were dangerous.”
“Did I say you could speak?” Evan growled at his brother. “This must end tonight, Henry. I can’t be constantly afraid that you will try to kill the woman I love for crimes that are now 300 years in the past. It ends here.”
“You’re really going to kill me?”
“I have to.”
Julia knew in that moment that this wasn’t fun and games. Evan was actually going to slit his brother’s throat. She wasn’t sure if that would be enough to kill a vampire, but she didn’t want to take the risk.
“Wait,” she said. “Please don’t do it, Evan.”
He turned to her. “You wish to wield the blade yourself?”
It took her a moment to figure out what he meant by that. Did she want to kill Henry? Definitely not. Sure they’d started off on the wrong foot, but something was there between them, something major, and whether or not it was magical or mystical or whatever, she didn’t want it to end quite so quickly. She didn’t want him to die before she figured out the tornado of strange feelings that whirled inside her.
“I’m your soulmate, right?” she said to Evan.
He nodded emphatically. “You believe it to be true?”
“Yes, of course,” she lied. “You and me. Together for ever. It just took me by surprise, is all. Apparently I was kind of evil in the past.” She and Henry exchanged a glance.
Evan frowned. “You mustn’t listen to anything Henry says.”
“Why? Was he wrong?”
Evan cringed. “Well, I wouldn’t so much as use the word ‘evil’ to describe you. Challenging and exciting are better words.”
“You have got to be joking,” Henry said dryly.
“Shut your mouth,” Evan hissed. “You mean to kill the woman I love and now you are smart-mouthing me? You are in no position to do anything but beg for mercy.”
“Don’t kill him,” Julia said simply.
Evan frowned. “Why not?”
“Because ...” She scrambled to come up with something that sounded like a reasonable excuse to prevent murder. “Because I’ve changed. I’m not into evil things any more. I just want everyone to get along and be happy.”
“That’s wonderful, but I have no assurance that my brother feels the same way. He will never give up. He’s relentless in his pursuit of what he wants. It’s very annoying.”
At Second Bite Page 2