“Enhanced humans can mate immortals and become immortal,” he said.
Mate? She cleared her throat. Mate. Well. That sounded sensual and explicit. “What does mating entail?” Oh, she had not just asked that.
His chin lowered in clear threat. “You had better not be fucking with me.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, unable to speak any louder. Trying to be casual, she retook her chair and crossed her legs.
“Fine. A marking appears on our palm, in my case aKfor my family surname. The design transfers to our mate during the mating process, which includes sex and a good bite.”
She cleared her throat and tried incredibly hard not to think about sex. “That sounds intense.” And bizarre.
“It is. Mating means a good bite, a brand, and then being together forever. If an enhanced human mates with an immortal, they gain immortality by an increase in chromosomal pairs after the act.”
She shook her head. “This is all insane.” Yet she’d seen the shifters turn from human to animal. “A mating mark?”
“Enough about me, Destiny. Where did you learn to fight like that?”
Finally, something she could answer. “At school. Headmistress Louann dictated that all young ladies should be able to both choose a fine wine for dinner and defend themselves from unruly suitors.” Yes, it sounded horribly old-fashioned, but Dessie had enjoyed the lessons in fighting.
He blinked.
She winced. For some reason, he didn’t like her explanation. “I’m sorry,” she said lamely, not sure why she’d apologized. Then another thought careened through her brain. “So we could mate? I mean, if I had an enhancement?” Which she did not.
For the first time, he appeared to withdraw. Not in any obvious way, but she felt it. “No. I’ve seen my mate, or rather felt her, in a dream. I think she’s a very dangerous shifter, and she’s trying to kill me. I’ve felt her on the back of my bike.” He winced. “I think she’s blond, but I don’t know why I think that. Maybe because so many lion shifters are. Or maybe I saw her hair in a dream and I don’t really remember it. Who knows?”
What in tarnation? “Your mate wants to kill you?” How did that make any sense?
“Yes. I think so.” He looked around the room and then back at her. “Don’t look so shocked. It’s okay. A good kill attempt is often foreplay for my kind.”
Maybe she didn’t want to be in his world. Now she was jealous of a murderous shifter neither of them had even met yet. “Perhaps you need better taste in women.” Yes, she sounded a little huffy there.
“Perhaps,” he allowed. “I should’ve told you I was expecting to meet somebody else before I kissed you.”
“I wouldn’t have believed your story,” she admitted. Even now, she was having trouble accepting this new reality. “Plus, I told you I just wanted to have some fun and experiences before I die. You and I never had a future.” So the hurt in her breast at the thought of him with somebody else was just silly. “Even so, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let your homicidal shifter mate kill you.”
“I won’t,” he promised, his lips twitching. “You’re very sweet and disarming, Destiny.”
Yeah. That was just super. She was sweet, and his mate was sexily dangerous. “Do you have a timeline for the appearance of this mate of yours?”
“No.” His frown cut grooves in his strong face. “Could be tomorrow or next year or next century.”
Oh. Well, then. “So we can still enjoy our four weeks?” If she was going to have sexual relations before she died, doing so with an immortal seemed to guarantee a good experience. “I’m very attracted to you.”
Instead of calming him, her statement made his eyes narrow. “I’m not going to let you die. My doctors are the best in the world, and we’ll see them when we arrive at my home tomorrow.”
The hurt in her chest turned to a dull ache. Even her smile felt sad. “That’s kind, Garrett, but not even you can cheat death for me. Maybe you and your shifter mate will have forever, but I’m just a human woman with no enhancements.” She’d accepted her destiny after the last doctor had read her scan with shaking hands. “It’s okay. I’m all right.” It was sweet that Garrett wanted to save her.
“We’ll see.” He glanced at his phone. “That pizza should be here soon. Then you’re going to tell me all about your childhood, your family, your schools, and how you ended up walking into that diner where we met. We’re going to figure all of this out.”
“Of course.” She tried to smile, but her limbs felt heavy and in need of rest. Nothing she could say would help him answer his questions, because none of this made sense. “I’ll cooperate and tell you everything on one condition.”
He stilled. “Which is?”
“You tell me the truth. What are you?” She held her breath.
Slowly, tortuously, sharp fangs dropped from his mouth and then slid back up. “I’m a vampire with a hint of demon in me. So you’re definitely going to cooperate, sweetheart.”
Chapter Twelve
