“Masie, we just arrived here. You must at least see the island before fleeing.”
“Are you saying Icango if I take a tour and don’t like it?” Because I was perrty dang sure I’d just heard him say that leaving was not on the fun-menu, and I wasn’t on board with that.
He dipped his head. “You are not a prisoner. You are my mate. You have just as much power as I, and that includes coming and going as you please.”
Oh, look. I finally found something Stark sucks at: gaslighting.A little surprising given how his entire existence depended on deceiving humans.No, no, Miss Riding Hood, I’m not staring at your neck. Nom nom.
“Wanna know what I think?” I said. “You’re hoping I choose to stay so you can avoid a confrontation. In fact, I bet if I walked outside right now, headed for the dock, and tried to put myself on whatever boat you got going on here, there’d be a big strong vampire waitin’ to stop me. Am I right?” I folded my arms over my chest.
His mouth flapped for a moment. “I would never allow another man to lay his hands on you.”
Oh, so we’re playing dodgeball now?I’d just chucked a big pink bouncy ball his way, and he’d ducked. Stark had avoided answeringthe real question.
“Am I allowed to leave or not?” I snapped.
“I am merely asking you to consider everything I have said: humans are unsafe around new vampires. The bloodlust will become overwhelming, and you have no reason to doubt me on this.”
So it was in my best interest to be somewhere I couldn’t hurt anyone.Got it.But he should’ve put his plums on the table and discussed coming here with me first.
On the other hand, he probably knew I’d say no, and Stark wasn’t one to ask permission. He was a powerful vampire, accustomed to being obeyed.
Gotta work on that with him.But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if I really loved him, I’d give him space to figure out this new life together, just like I expected from him.
“Fine.” I got to my feet. “Let’s go check out the island, but if I don’t like it, you’d better come up with an alternate plan that involves getting me closer to home.”
“Your well-being and happiness are all that matter,” he said, his eyes filled with a deep adoration that made my pulse amp up. “But first, you should shower and dress for dinner. I shall return in two hours to show you the island.” He left in a hurry, slamming the door behind him.
That was strange.My suspicion perked up. I might be in love with Stark, but I was still dealing with an ancient creature whose instincts to conceal things went hand in hand with survival.
Ain’t that funny?I kept thinking of him as “a creature” when I was one of them now. Didn’t really matter if I still felt like good old Masie, I was embarking on a journey that might last thousands of years. I would get to witness the world change in ways humans only dreamed about or saw in movies—living on Mars, flying cars, an end to cellulite. And if all went well this next month, I would get to live that long, happy life with the man I loved.
Then why were things feeling so…off?
CHAPTER THREE
As I slid on my black dress and combed my hair into a sleek, low ponytail, my mind whirred and clicked like an old pickup truck.
I trusted Stark. I did. But my gut was telling me he was up to something. Maybe good. Most likely bad.
No, I didn’t believe he would hurt me, but he wasn’t above your basic scheming.
Stop, Mas. You either trust Stark or you don’t. Which is it?
Bottom line, he’d brought me here for a legitimate reason, and I had to stop overthinking it. He was protecting me from myself.
A year ago, it wouldn’t have been a big deal for a vampire to kill a human, because they could easily cover it up. They’d been doing it for thousands of years. But the world had drastically changed while I was in prison. Yeah. Prison. Nearly eight dang months. All because Stark had wanted to punish me for marrying his evil brother, Lazlo. Of course, Stark had ignored the part about Lazlo kidnapping meand my sister, Maybell, using her as leverage to force me to become his wife.
Anyway, after I got free, Stark had actually accused me ofenjoyingmy time with Lazlo, which was why we’d gotten into the world’s biggest fight. I’m talking huge, planets colliding, and tiny forest creatures running for cover.
Yeah, I’d said some things that probably felt like a wooden stake to his undead heart, but his response had been full-on nuclear retaliation!
The man had actually called the cops on me, but not before setting up a Hannibal Lecter murder scene in my living room. You know, the part where Hannibal turns the guy into a giblet angel? Well, that. With Stark as the centerpiece. He’d even continued pretending to be dead until I was locked up.There’s some dedication for ya.That was how he’d gotten me sent away for murder.
Now, you’re probably wonderin’ why the heck I’d trust him again after all that. The answer was that actions spoke louder than words. Always have. Always will.
Stark had realized that he loved me and hurting me was hurting himself. So he had done the unthinkable and broke every vampire law in existence for thousands of years in order to tell the world the truth: I hadn’t really killed him, because he was a vampire, one of many living in plain sight.
Cue pandemonium.
