I see the wheels turning in his head and I hope my chances of getting spanked and spooned aren’t heading into the crapper because of my honesty. “That’s…unusual.”
“No shit.”
“Do you think it’s tied to why you are immune to a vampire’s powers?”
“I don’t know. It might be. But know how I said stick a pin in the part about my dad’s death?”
“Yeah?”
“I talked to Amber earlier.” I explain who she is, her abilities, and then relate our conversation as I watch his expression.
He’s good, I’ll give him that much. Perfect poker face, even by vampire standards. “And you don’t think she’s wrong?”
“Not about something like this, no.”
“You can’t be half vampire,” he finally says. “It’s impossible for vampires to father children or get pregnant.”
“Right.”
He takes a bite of his dinner and slowly chews. “Most shifters are immune, at least to a certain extent, from a vampire’s powers. Strong shifters are. Sometimes, non-shifters are susceptible.”
“Yep.”
“I have met dozens of shifters from diverse species over the years,” he says. “You do not smell like any shifter race I’ve ever net.”
“That’s what other shifters have told me, too. And Lucius told me. There are fae, though, right?”
“Yes, but I have little experience with them.” He studies me. “If I’m not mistaken, Lucius has had more experience with them than I. If he recognized you as such, he would have said so.”
“Oh.” So, no help there.
“How can I help with the search for your father?”
How, indeed?“I can’t think that far ahead. I want to get through tonight first.” I poke at my food. “I’d understand if you would rather tap out now instead of taking things further with me. I don’t want to do anything that might draw attention to you. Being with me could get…weird.”
Dexter reaches over, his touch feather-light as he strokes the backs of his fingers along my cheek the way he did last night. “I’ve survived a lot in my life, including heartbreak the likes of which I never imagined possible. I’m not going anywhere, unless you tell me to.”
I dare to meet his gaze again. Those light blue eyes steadily looking at me turn my insides to liquid and not because of vampire powers.
That has to mean something, right? Maybe Amber’s correct.
Because inside this man’s cool facade lies a decent, caring soul. “You can’t control me,” I quietly say. “Your powers don’t work on me. You saw what I did to Tonio. And now…newinsanity could be on the horizon. I’m still processing and don’t even know where to start looking for him.”
“Please, at least let me help you. I can hire detectives, I can pay—”
“No.” I can’t believe I said it, either. “I know how this works. What if I find him and it turns out he’s part of some vampire-hunting family? Like what happened to Selene. What if everything I know is a lie? What if I’m being manipulated, and I don’t even know it?”
“What if you aren’t, and you’re forcing yourself to do things the hard way out of fear? There is no power any vampire has that can make a human immune to vampire powers. Selene’s memory was wiped and manipulated.”
“What if mine was?”
“They can’t fake your abilities and resistance.” He cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. “There’s no way to fake your taste.Nothingexists like that. If so, some enterprising vampire would’ve mass-produced it decades ago. Lucius damn sure would have. Whether you’re a hybrid by natural mutation or because your father is something we don’t yet understand, you areyou.”
I desperately want that to be true. “Could you be with me if I never want to be turned?”
He smiles. “You haven’t yet agreed to be with me. I think that conversation is premature. But I would never turn a human against their will. So, yes, I would gladly spend the rest of your life with you.”
“Have you turned many humans?”
