He hadn’t meant to sound quite so awkward, but he really needed to know what kind of opposition he was up against.
“I just don’t want to,” she answered quietly. “It’s not really something I can explain to you, so just accept that some people don’t see your immortality as a gift. Some see it as a curse.”
Okay, so he was up against a mountain of opposition. He thought the religious zealots that viewed vampires as ‘cursed beings’ died out ages ago. She didn’t seem overly devout, what with making horror films for a living, but anything was possible.
He needed to know more about her, which meant he needed to keep her talking.
“Have you thought of your third question yet?”
Hell, he’d answer a thousand questions if that’s what it took toconvince her that becoming a vampire was not the tragedy she viewed it as.
Cora brushed her braid over her shoulder, and he tried not to smile at the nervous action. He liked that the question was important to her. Liked that learning about his kind seemed to matter so much to her that she put value on asking the right thing.
“I’m not sure yet,” she replied, sounding considerably more tired than she had a moment ago. “Give me some time to think.”
He nodded and focused his eyes back on the road. If she didn’t want to talk then he wouldn’t push. For now, anyway.
Glancing at the speedometer, he pulled his foot off the pedal and let his speed drop to something more reasonable. Her pulse had slowed when she heard about his Gift, and he would gladly drive like a nearsighted grandma if it increased her comfort level even the slightest bit.
Something had changed in the last few minutes and not just for him. She’d been so excited to learn about vampires just moments ago, but now? Her shoulders drooped, and she stared listlessly out the window.
He didn’t know what caused this new sadness in her, and it was making him depressed by proxy. He racked his brain, but the only thing that happened was her touching him. Had he jerked away? He didn’t think he did. Maybe she had seen the look of shock on his face and misinterpreted it?
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He’d know about his mate for less than five minutes, and he’d already upset her. His teeth clenched as he struggled with his urge to say something that might fix the situation.
Before his brain could provide anything insightful, he registered the soft rise and fall of Cora’s breath that told him she had drifted off to sleep. As much as he wanted to talk to her, she looked so peaceful thathe would bite off his own tongue before he would wake her up.
It was probably for the best since he needed time to figure out a game plan. He would have to break out the kid gloves that were so foreign to him and handle the next few days very carefully. Whatever he’d done just now to upset her was nothing compared to how pissed she would be when she found out she wasn’t ever going home.
He didn’t care what it took; he was never letting her go.
Chapter fourteen
Cora
The thunk of a door shutting pulled Cora from sleep. Groggy, she lifted her head and looked around. Were they there already? She didn’t know how long she had stared out the window feeling sorry for herself before she drifted off, but she doubted it was long enough that they’d already be up in Northern California.
She still couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep at all. Most nights it took enough pills to choke a horse to get any shut eye. And yet one second she was pissed off that she couldn’t even touch a hot guy without her body betraying her, and the next she was wiping crusties from the corner of her eyes while squinting at the neon lights of the roadside motor lodge in front of her.
A quick glance at her watch told her it was close to midnight. She’d only been out for a couple hours, yet the disorientation was similar to coming out of an Ambien nap.
She leaned back in the seat and watched as Saiden strolled into the motel’s office. She didn’t know how anybody could look at him and not realize that he was something other than human. The way he walked with the confidence of someone who had nothing to fear,like a lion who knew he was the top predator in the jungle, was not a vibe human guys could pull off. And she would know because she spent over a week trying to find someone who could. It was the only reason she’d hired that dumbass, Jake, in the first place. He wasn’t on the same level as Saiden, but he’d come a lot closer than most of the actors who’d auditioned.
Every aspect of Saiden, from the darkness present in his eyes to the rich gravelly texture of his voice, just screamed death incarnate. He was the kind of guy you knew would break more than just your heart, but if he crooked a single finger, you’d leap into his arms and wrap your legs around his hips all the same.
Well, other girls would anyway. Even if she didn’t know that he was a vampire, she still had a rule about men. She’d had a few flings shortly after she was diagnosed, but it all just felt too hollow. Because really, what was the point? Instead, she’d simply bought an assortment of impressive vibrators and called it a day on their whole gender.
She had to admit, though, the vampire walking back out of the lodge was almost tempting enough for her to make some insane decisions. If he hadn’t essentially kidnapped her, she might have tossed her rule out the window and climbed into his lap the second they weren’t doing ninety on the freeway.
Or maybewhilethey were doing ninety if his awareness Gift was really that good.
“What’s going on?” she asked, shaking the visual from her head and stepping out of the car as he approached.
Saiden held up a keycard in answer.
She blinked at him. “Are you serious? Why are we stopping? Aren’t you a creature of the night? Let’s just drive right through.”
