“Possibly. Bennigan’s grudge runs deeply enough that I wouldn’t put it past him. He might even hope to train you to be the one to put me down. There’s really no telling what he intends, but I want to protect you from it. I brought you into this mess, and I’m going to make sure you survive it.”
Lucian had his hand on my cheek and there was a lingering moment. I thought I could feel some sort of gravity tugging us together that didn’t feel like the bond. He could kiss me, and I would let him. It wouldn’t be because of some silly vampire trick. It’d be because nobody had ever made me feel as important as he did. As safe. Maybe that was a stupid thought, considering he was the whole reason I was in danger.
Our faces were inching closer, his lips poised to take mine. I wanted it so badly it felt like a physical pain thudding away in my head.
“Ahem,” Alaric said. “I advise you not to kiss the woman you’re trying to avoid sleeping with.”
I jumped back from him, feeling like the temporary spell had broken. “You know,” I said, speaking to break the awkwardness of the near kiss. “It’s kind of a convoluted argument, anyway,” I said. “You saved my life, which put me in danger. I’m going to go ahead and absolve you of any guilt from this point forward.”
“That’s kind,” he said. “But I won’t forgive myself if any harm comes to you. When I saved you, I took you under my protection. I intend to keep you safe, no matter the cost.”
“Objection,” Alaric said. “I propose that if I am the cost, we sacrifice the human we’ve known for only a few days. No offense,” he said, showing me a straight-toothed smile. He cupped a hand on his cheek and mouthed the words thanks for the phone, though, then winked.
“As long as she’s bonded to me, nothing is more important,” Lucian said.
Alaric looked like he was about to argue but seemed to think better of it. “We should probably find a way home before Bennigan decides to get creative.”
“Agreed,” Lucian said. He took my hand in his and pulled me closer.
I didn’t know what exactly had changed, beyond the brush with death. But I could feel in the way he’d effortlessly taken my hand that something between Lucian and I had evolved. He really would do anything to keep me safe. Despite some tiny feministic part of me that cried out in defiance and wanted to claim I didn’t need some asshole to protect me, I had to admit his protectiveness made me feel warm, fuzzy, and gooey on the inside.
I wasn’t developing feelings for a man, let alone a vampire.
It wasn’t happening.
And if it was, I hoped my talents of self-denial were powerful enough to pretend it wasn’t.
19
Cara
Ever since Lucian wiped the memory of my roommates, we’d managed to avoid another confrontation. The morning after the gunfight in the woods, we weren’t so lucky.
Zack was standing in the kitchen when I came down. Of course, I was also trailed by a pale, breathtakingly gorgeous man in a suit. Lucian amusingly went to sleep fully dressed in his suits and ties, but he managed to keep them wrinkle free by some mysterious magic as well.
I had to admit some of his adherence to vampire clichés was a little bit adorable. I’d even caught him trying to talk to a bat he “mistook for a friend of his.” When I pressed him about whether he could actually turn into a bat, he claimed the whole thing had been a joke.
“Uh,” Zack said. “Is this your lawyer or something?”
I was getting used to introducing Lucian to Zack for the first time, over and over again. Maybe this time he’d survive with his memory intact.
“Yes,” I said. “I keep a lawyer in my bedroom. Just in case.”
Lucian walked up to Zack. Zack was an inch or two taller than Lucian, but somehow Lucian still seemed like the bigger, more intimidating man. I guessed it was that Zack was thinly muscular and boyish while Lucian was still well over six feet tall and more thickly made. He also had that rough edge of manliness that came with a few hundred years more experience, I guessed.
They shook hands, and I could see the suspicion on Zack’s face. “How do you know Cara?”
“Quite well,” Lucian said.
I wanted to face palm, but the dynamic of the conversation left me standing several feet away and feeling unable to effectively jump in. It was up to Lucian and his total lack of vampire charm to navigate this one.
“How did you meet her?”
“She approached me in a cafe.”
Zack looked past Lucian, who I was already suspecting I was going to want to punch when this was through. Zack’s eyebrows were rising. “Cara approached you? Since when does she care about anything but school and blood?”