“Seven hundred andeighty-two.”
“—then it has to boggle your brain that we’ve managed to come together. According to C. J. Dante’s books, not many of you guys find your Beloveds.”
“Not every Dark One needs a Beloved. They are a weakness, and some of us must remain strong.” He looked nobly martyred, something I wanted to point out, but decided he’d take the wrong way.
“That’s one way of thinking about it. Here’s another: There’s strength in numbers. Two have to be stronger than one. Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to tell Ellis about you! He didn’t think vampires existed, not really. He’s going to go gaga when he finds out I have a Dark One of my own.”
“I amnotyours. I do not belong to anyone. I am utterly and wholly alone, and I wish to remain that way,” he growled.
“Sure you are,” I said, going over just what I’d tell Ellis. “This is going to be so awesome, although I have to say, I wasn’t planning on coming to Europe to get married.”
The look he shot me was filled with disbelief. “Did I, at some point that I’m unaware of, slip into a mental fugue or catatonic state, during which time I asked you to marry me?”
“No, but—”
“Then I believe I have the right to say, without you feeling spurned, that I have no intention on marrying anyone, but most of all you.”
“Well!” I said, miffed. “Why me most of all? I’m your Beloved.”
“You arenotmy Beloved. What you are is an extremely opinionated woman who doesn’t seem to understand the world you’ve stepped into. That’s assuming you’re as innocent as you claim to be.”
I let the miffed feeling go, having learned long ago not to hold on to negative emotions. I’d seen too much how that affected people, and had made it my personal motto to not give in to negativity. “I don’t recall telling you I was innocent.”
He sighed heavily. “You said you are not Victor’s woman despite being in the location that I found you.”
“That was my cousin Carlo’s house. There’s no one there by the name of Victor.”
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, and muttered under his breath.
“You’re doing it again,” I said conversationally. “You said you’d abuse me to my face next time, and you haven’t.”
It took a moment for him to speak, because the muscles in his jaw kept flexing, but at last he got them unclenched. “I said that conversation with you was like talking in circles. I never know what you’re going to say next.”
“Yes, but that’s a good thing,” I pointed out, and sat back in my seat. “It’ll keep us from getting bored over the centuries. Oh! I get to be immortal, too! Hoobah! That’s going to be a kick in the pants! Except, of course, for outliving all your friends, but we’ll have each other, and that’s what is important.”
Silence filled the car, a pregnant sort of silence. It lasted for the count of twenty. “Now that I’m a Beloved—”
“You are not.”
“—I’ll have to tell Ellis.” I sighed happily. “Ellis—he’s my friend; you’ll like him—doesn’t get into the whole vampire thing, although he loved that movie with the sparkly vampires. He said they didn’t have their shirts off enough, though.”
Merrick grimaced. “I have never understood the mortal fascination with Dark Ones. Vampire lore has permeated modern society at all levels, from gangs of women roaming the streets on the hunt for us, to movies and books and even video games extolling our virtues. Perhaps you can tell me what the attraction is, because it has escaped me.”
“Well ...” I bit my lip and considered the matter, sensing that he was speaking the truth. He honestly was puzzled by the fact that women the world over were ready to fling their clothing off and wrestle men like him to the ground. “You guys are all dark and dangerous and sexy.”
“Other men are dangerous and sexy,” he answered, and I caught an unreadable look slid my way. “Terrorists. Madmen. Homicidal ax-murdering rapists.”
“Yes, but they’re bad. You vampires are dangerous, but in a thrilling way. Dark Ones don’t hurt women.”
“I wish that were true, but unfortunately, there are bad Dark Ones just as there are bad mortals.”
“Most of you don’t hurt others,” I amended, and he conceded that point. “And you are loyal, and protective, and have an edge to you that leaves a woman thrilled without being worried she’s going to be hacked to pieces and left by the side of the road—stop!”
I shrieked the last word, causing him to once again slam on the car’s brakes. Luckily, there weren’t many other cars on the road, and he managed to pull over onto the shoulder without endangering us or anyone else.
“What is it now?” he asked, his voice dripping with annoyance.
I had the car door open and was out of it before he finished his sentence, calling over my shoulder as I ran down the side of the road, “There’s a dog back there.”
