“The situation you were in could have ended very badly for you. If you hadn’t helped me, you wouldn’t have been in that position at all. How can I be mad at you for doing what you had to do to save yourself? Hell, I owe you that much. Being stuck here with you is a small price to pay.”
That was another big reality check. Ian was with her because he had no choice in the matter and accepted it because he felt he owed her. Being in her presence was merely a way to repay a debt.
“You can let go of my hand now,” she said.
Ian sighed and looked like he was considering refusing, but he finally released her hand. “Sit down,” he said and pointed to one of her chairs.
Kyleigh hesitated for a moment before taking a seat. Rather than sitting across the room, Ian grabbed a chair and moved it until they were sitting across from each other, so close their knees were almost touching.
“I haven’t wanted any woman since Kate was killed,” he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
Kyleigh nodded. “I understand. Calling you my mate doesn’t mean I expect you to act like my mate.”
“Good,” he said, “because, honestly, I’m not sure I have it in me to be your mate. I’m broken in so many ways. Mitchell has helped me heal, but I’m not sure I have what it takes to love a woman again. That doesn’t change how much I want you, Kyleigh. Just thinking about being inside of you gets me hard. The reason we need to talk about this is that I need to know where this thing between us is headed. I need to know if you’re open to exploring the attraction between us with the understanding that I can’t really be your mate.” Ian hesitated and then looked down at his hands. “Please tell me I didn’t sound like as much of an asshole as I think I did. I’m trying really hard to be nice, but I’m not very good at it.”
“You were just being honest,” she said, her voice shaking slightly from nerves and excitement. “I don’t have much experience in this area.”
Ian leaned forward to take both of her hands in his. “I know, and that gets me more turned on. You’re so innocent, and it makes me feel possessive to think that you might be experiencing things for the first time with me.”
She snorted. “I’m hardly a virgin. It’s just that I haven’t had many partners. Since I can’t spend a lot of time with people anyway, I don’t get many opportunities to explore any fantasies. Before, in my human life, things were different. Sex outside of marriage was not okay, and I didn’t sleep around like most people seemed to believe. Well, there was the man I’d planned to marry.”
“Did you love him?” Ian asked, staring at her with a strange intensity.
“I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together,” she said as she tried to bring back the distant memory of Liam’s face. Funny how she’d believed they’d be together forever, and now she could scarcely remember what he looked like. “Actually, I was convinced he was worth any risk.”
“That didn’t exactly answer my question,” Ian said, sounding annoyed.
She shrugged. “It was a very long time ago, and I’m no longer that woman. I believed with all my heart that I loved Liam back then. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for him. Now? I’m not sure if it was love or just infatuation. Maybe it was just a girlish fantasy about having a prince rescue me from poverty.”
“You’ve become a cynic.” His heated gaze intensified as he said the words.
“Are you getting aroused by my cynical nature?” she asked with a laugh.
“It seems like everything you do turns me on,” he admitted.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
Ian chuckled. “Don’t apologize. This is only bad if you get the wrong impression about my feelings. Don’t get me wrong, Kyleigh; it’s not that I don’t like you, because I do. Even though I barely know you, I really enjoy talking to you.”
Ian’s concern for her feelings was touching. If Kyleigh was capable of love after so many years of death, she might have fallen a little in love with him in that moment. Of course, love wasn’t something she expected to experience.
“You don’t need to spend so much time worrying about hurting my feelings and explaining yourself,” Kyleigh assured him. “My head isn’t likely to fill with girlish fantasies of true love. As you’ve already pointed out, I’m a cynic, and I’m not even sure I’m capable of a romantic kind of love.”
“How do you feel about exploring the mutual attraction between us?” Ian’s voice took on a dark quality. “I’ve already admitted to wanting you, and we both know you want me.”
“You are much too arrogant for your own good,” Kyleigh said, wagging a finger at him and doing her best to look disapproving as she struggled not to laugh.
“Confident,” he corrected her, moving closer.
Kyleigh stood and took a nervous step back. Her heart was beating much too fast, and she wasn’t sure if it was caused by her arousal or the sensation of being stalked by a predator. “Ian, this is a bad idea.”
“Why?” he asked, looking amused by her discomfort.
She turned away because it was just too hard to remember the reasons she shouldn’t let things go further when she was looking at Ian. “We may be stuck with each other for a very long time.”
Ian let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Such a sweet way to describe our situation. Who says you aren’t a hopeless romantic?”
“Did you want me to pretend we have some sweet romantic entanglement?” she asked and turned to see his reaction.
Ian shook his head. “No, I prefer honesty.”
“I’m worried that, if we progress to a physical relationship, it will be hard to live together.”
“So, I should become a monk?” There was no missing the irritation in his voice.
With a hand on one hip, Kyleigh glared at Ian. “You haven’t had any interest in sex for many years.” Her cheeks flushed when she realized what she’d just said. Talking about sex didn’t embarrass her. How could it after her years with the Fae? No, what embarrassed her was discussing just how much she knew about Ian’s lack of a sex life. “Sorry, that was rude and uncalled for. You’re right. It’s not fair for me to force celibacy on you. I’m the reason you’re trapped with me. Maybe I can find a way for you to meet other women.” Jealousy hit hard and fast. “If not, I suppose it would be unfair to deny you sex.” Kyleigh nearly groaned when she heard her own words. She sounded like some reluctant maiden who was afraid of sex.
Ian laughed. “Way to deflate my ego, Kyleigh.” Then his face sobered. “I’m not going to pressure you into having sex with me. I’m not some sick bastard who’s ruled by his dick. If I thought you weren’t as turned on as me, I wouldn’t even suggest it.”
She nodded and took a few steps back to put more distance between them.
Ian pursued her. “I won’t force you, but don’t think that means I won’t try to seduce you.” His sexy warning made her blood heat.
The little voice of reason in Kyleigh’s mind was being drowned out by her sex crazed hormones, which were cheering Ian on. Ian was an extremely attractive man, and she really wanted him. Clothing hadn’t made him any less desirable. In fact, it made things worse because now she was fantasizing about him stripping out of those clothes. Since she’d already seen him naked, it didn’t take much for her imagination to create the picture, and what a picture it was.
“I am dying to know what brought that sexy smile to your face,” Ian said. “Mostly, I’m hoping it has something to do with me.”
That’s when the summons came. There was a twinge of guilt at her relief over having to leave in the middle of their conversation. Right now, she needed space to process everything Ian had said. “I have to go,” she said. When Ian looked like he was about to argue, she added, “I’ve been called to release a soul.”
Ian’s face sobered, and he nodded. “Do you need me to do anything?”
“No,” she said and tried to smile. “I shouldn’t be long.”
Ian looked uncomfortable all of a sudde
n. Kyleigh wanted to say more, but what could she say? This was the ugly reality of her existence, and it was good Ian was seeing it. She was death, and one didn’t seduce death. Yes, it was best if he didn’t want her. If she kept telling herself that, she might even start believing it.
Chapter Nine
Danny stood outside Ian’s house, leaning against a beam under the carport while he waited for Shelby to arrive. Shelby had most likely been at the training center because it was only about ten minutes after he called her that she walked up to Ian’s house.
If Shelby went for men, Danny would have been coming on to her from day one. She was everything he liked in a woman, feisty and a little mean. He’d been in love with his best friend, Layla for many years, and that woman could be downright bitchy, which he loved. Recently, he’d been told he should have been born a shifter because their women naturally had more attitude than humans or vampires.
Aside from the attitude, Shelby was tough, smart, and gorgeous. With reddish hair, hazel eyes, and dark skin, she’d been considered an exotic beauty in her younger years. Well, she was still a beauty, but not so much exotic now that most people were a mix of several races. People didn’t worry about race like they had before the Moon virus. Now, most humans just worried about mixing with vampires. Funny how there always seemed to be some hang up that prevented people from getting along.
Shelby’s fist connected with Danny’s chin, snapping his head back. It wasn’t a hard punch. She could easily lay him out. “Are you done daydreaming?” she asked in annoyance.
“Sorry,” he said, a little embarrassed about being caught in his own thoughts like that. “It’s been one of those days. Hell, it’s been one of those months.”
“So, tell me what happened, and then we can look around the house,” Shelby said, all business.
Danny filled her in, and Shelby looked skeptical, not that he blamed her. Not one thing about the story made a damn bit of sense.
“So, a woman broke in to steal Ian’s clothes?” Shelby asked. “Did you see her with anything else? Were there any weapons in the house that she might have taken?”
Danny thought for a moment. “We cleared out all the weapons weeks ago, and it didn’t look like anything else was taken, but she had a bag over her shoulder. Oh, and the picture of Ian’s wife and daughter from his bedside table is missing.”
“What did she look like?” Shelby asked.
“About your height, maybe a little taller. Long red hair, brown eyes, and a lip piercing. She was really curvy.” Then he added, “Her hair wasn’t the same shade of red as Ian’s wife. At first, I thought it might be a relative of hers that Ian hadn’t mentioned. Ian wasn’t exactly chatty, so I figured he might have failed to mention Kate having a sister.”
Shelby shook her head. “Kate didn’t have a sister, and her mother died when Kate was pretty young. To the best of my knowledge, Kate didn’t have any living relatives. You said the intruder wasn’t human.”
“Definitely not human, but I’m not sure she was a vampire either. Her accent was really strange, so she definitely wasn’t born in this area. I’ve never heard anyone speak the way she does.”
“Makes it sound like she has to be a vampire. Some of the older ones were born in other countries before the borders were shut down,” Shelby said thoughtfully. “You didn’t notice fangs?”
“I didn’t see any fangs, but she didn’t open her mouth wide enough to show me her teeth. If she’s a vampire, that might explain how she seemed to disappear. Maybe she was just moving that fast.” Then again, that didn’t explain everything; Danny hadn’t told Shelby about the strange sensation of being held in place by invisible bindings. No vampire he’d ever met could do that. Come to think of it, no creature he’d ever met could do that.
Shelby was thinking hard. “Moving fast makes more sense than her disappearing. I was beginning to worry about your sanity when you said she’d just vanished. She doesn’t sound familiar. The only shifters here are Layla and Zane. There’ve been no visiting wood nymphs. She has to be a vampire. It’s just really bugging me that I don’t know who this is.”
“You don’t know everyone here,” Danny reminded her.
Shelby’s expression said she was already in a bad mood and didn’t need him questioning her. “Don’t you think I’d remember someone like that? Surely, someone would have mentioned her if the accent is so unusual. I’ll go check the gate and see if anyone let her in. Someone else in leadership might have authorized it. I’ll check with the last few guard details, just in case she was hanging around waiting for an opportunity to break into Ian’s house. You call together the leaders, those who aren’t out on patrol, and have them meet us at the training center. We can start asking around and see if anyone’s seen her. Hell, someone must have seen her.”
Danny nodded.
“I’m curious about something,” Shelby said as she studied Danny.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“You told me you were blocking the doorway to Ian’s bedroom,” Shelby began.
“Yeah,” Danny said, knowing where this was going.
“How did she get around you? You didn’t make any mention of her being strong like a vampire, and I don’t see any signs of a struggle.” Shelby eyed him skeptically.
Danny hesitated. “Promise you won’t think I’m crazy when I tell you this.”
“No deal,” Shelby said, “but I do need to know all the facts if we’re going to find this woman.”
“She told me to let her pass, and I couldn’t move,” Danny admitted.
“Couldn’t move?” Shelby asked, and Danny knew she seriously doubted his sanity now.
“From the time she said the words until the bedroom door closed behind her, I felt like I was tied up and gagged,” he admitted. “Yes, I know that sounds impossible, but it really happened.”
Shelby considered what he’d said and finally nodded. “When Raven gets back, we’ll ask her what kinds of things are capable of something like that. I’m pretty sure there aren’t any vampires with that ability, and Raven never mentioned nymphs being able to do that. The shifters don’t seem to possess any mind control skills.”
“So, she might be something we’ve never dealt with before,” Danny said.
Shelby shrugged. “For now, we just work on finding out how she got in here and who she is. We can worry about what she is later.”
“You don’t suppose Ian is still alive and with her, do you?” Danny asked. “That might explain why she was stealing his stuff.”
“Danny,” Shelby began patiently, “I get that you don’t want to accept Ian’s death. Si’s acting the same way most of the time, but why would he send someone to get his clothes secretly? If Ian was alive, he’d be back here taking care of Mitchell. While he may have been a complete bastard most of the time, Ian wouldn’t let his friends believe he’s dead.”
“You’re right,” Danny said. “Can I ask you another question, totally unrelated to all of this?”
“Go ahead,” Shelby said.
“I’ve heard there’s medicine that can be taken to prevent a woman from losing a baby. Is that true?”
“Yes and no,” Shelby said. “If something is wrong with the fetus, no medicine can stop a miscarriage. There’s a medicine that works for women who just seem to lose babies for no apparent reason.”
“Would it counteract the medicine to terminate a pregnancy?” he asked.
Shelby moved closer to him. “Did you get someone pregnant? As I recall, we had the talk about what you need to do to avoid getting a woman pregnant when you first arrived.”
Shelby had been the one to have that talk with Danny and the other male humans who’d moved to the vampire settlement with him. It had been a scary talk involving threats of castration if they acted irresponsibly.
“No!” Danny said quickly. No way did he want that rumor going around, and Shelby’s threats were still a little scary. Shelby’s suspicions irritated him. While he’d certainly b
e against a woman he’d impregnated taking medicine to end the pregnancy, he’d never try to trick her into keeping the baby. Biting back his irritation, Danny continued. “I can’t let you in on all the details, but I was asked for help. Is there a medicine that can do this?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Can you help me get my hands on it?”
“No,” she said and started walking away.
He caught up with her. “Why the hell not?”
“Because that stuff has been used to force women to have babies they don’t want.”
“The woman is the one who wants it,” he insisted. “She’s pretty sure her family is going to force her to end the pregnancy.”
Shelby stopped and looked down at her boots. She took a long time thinking about his request before finally nodding. “I’ll get it for you the next time I’m in the business district, and drop it at your house.”
“Thank you,” Danny said, still not sure he was doing the right thing. He hated getting involved in something like this with a kid. Then again, he couldn’t imagine the trauma that girl would go through if her parents ended a pregnancy she wanted.
“Get everyone together so we can start searching before this woman has time to leave the settlement,” Shelby barked out before walking away again.
Danny grabbed his phone and sent out a message to everyone as he made his way to the training center. He sure hoped they found the woman so they could figure out what was going on. Then he might be able to stop believing Ian was alive.
Chapter Ten
There had been a time when Kyleigh believed releasing the souls of children was the hardest to cope with. That was back in the beginning, when most of her time was spent helping the souls of children who died of horrible illnesses move on. For some reason, children had a harder time accepting death. It had seemed such a tragedy to watch those young lives end and see the grief in their parents’ eyes.
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