"And you're okay with that?" she whispered.
"I'm okay with anything that keeps you safe."
"This is all so much. My best friends are playing cards with vampire siblings; the man I thought I was falling in love with is talking about killing my ex as if it's the same thing as ordering fast food."
Ethan did a double take as those words spilled from her lips. "You thought you were falling in love with me?"
She frowned as she lifted her head to look up at him. He stepped away from the door; his eyes were back to their normal green hue. The look on his face made her feel as if she were the most cherished and priceless jewel in the world. She'd never thought a man could look at her with so much hope and...love?
Yes, that was what radiated from his eyes. "I did," she breathed, unable to tear her gaze away from him.
"And now?"
"And now, where do I fit into all this? Your world isn't mine, Ethan. Your world is something I can't even begin to understand. How could I possibly allow myself to love you when I'm not sure what would become of me?" He rapidly moved across the room and knelt before her. Taking her hands in his, he held them against his chest as he looked into her tear-filled eyes. "I don't belong—"
"You belong with me," he said vehemently. "My world is not a dismal one; there is love and laughter in it. My family—"
"What about my family?"
He released her hands and slid his fingers across her face to her hair. He brushed it back as he moved closer to her; he needed to touch her. It was the only thing that made the monster growing within him subside.
"There are things we will figure out, if you become like me, you can keep seeing them for at least a few years without question. After, we can work on changing memories—"
"They're my parents," she interrupted. "I can't mess with their minds like that."
"Emma," he groaned.
It was all right there, right before him. The hope she could love him and agree to be with him grew within him. He didn't know what he would do if it were ripped away from him again.
"I love you," he said. Her mouth parted as she gazed at him in awe. "I will love you for eternity. If you tell me to leave, I will, but if there's any chance you will allow me to stay, there is something else you must know about me, about my kind."
She searched his face as he continued to kneel before her. Something in his demeanor made her think she wasn't going to like what he had to say. But she was the one insisting on full disclosure.
"What is it?" she asked.
The bed dented as he sat beside her. The heat his body emitted warmed her to the tips of her toes. Her skin tingled when his arm brushed against hers. It was the strangest sensation to be afraid of someone and so unbelievably attracted to them at the same time. No, she wasn't afraid of him, that wasn't the right word. She was wary of him, unnerved by what he was and the world he existed in, but she knew he would never harm her in any way.
"There's something about vampires that is unique only to us," he told her.
"Something more than drinking blood?"
He chuckled as he took hold of her hand and held it in his lap. "Yes, something more."
"Please don't tell me you can turn into a bat or something. I'm not so sure I can handle having slept with someone who can become a rodent."
"We stay entirely human in shape," he assured her.
"That's good to know. So, what is this uniqueness?"
His thumb stroked the back of her hand. "When we meet the person or vampire we're meant to spend the rest of our lives with, we form an intense bond with them. One that cannot be severed. One that can drive us mad if we happen to lose our mate or if the bond isn't completed."
Emma didn't know where he was going with all of this. It seemed so strange, but then again, there was nothing normal about him or his family. "And how is this bond completed?"
"Sex and the exchange of blood, if one is a human then it's necessary they become a vampire too."
An unsettling feeling was beginning to form in the pit of her stomach. Her hand tightened around his as she struggled to breathe normally, she knew he could hear the increased beat of her heart, and her palm was becoming sweaty. "I see," she murmured.
"My mother and father are mated, so are Isabelle and Stefan. My father nearly lost control of himself before completing the bond with my mom, Stefan and Isabelle tried to stay apart but it almost killed her, and it nearly drove him insane. I've never seen anything like what Isabelle went through while they were separated, she was in such agony, and there was nothing I could do to help her."
"That must have been awful," she murmured.
His gaze was haunted when it came back to her. "It was. I didn't understand it at the time, not completely, but I understand it now."
Though she tried her hardest to keep it from happening, her bottom lip began to tremble. "Ethan—"
"This is your choice, Emma; I won't force you into anything, ever. If you decide this is not the life for you, I will respect your wishes. I’ll make sure you’re safe, and I will go away."
"It can't be me," she whispered. "How could you possibly think I'm your mate in such a short amount of time?"
"It is you, Emma; I have no doubt."
Her head spun as she tried to grasp what he was telling her. She felt the impulse to pace, almost jumped up from the bed, but she didn't think her legs would support her, and she didn't feel like falling flat on her
