Liam grew silent as he seemed to drift off to another place. It appeared he forgot she was there as he relived his own, tortured memories. "What about the others?" she prompted.
Liam's gaze remained briefly unfocused before settling on her again. "The others are my fault," he mumbled bitterly.
"You changed them?" she blurted.
"No. She did."
"Then how is that your fault?"
"She changed them to get to me. When I refused her, she went after them. She thought if the others joined her, I would come to her too."
"But they didn't?"
"No, they didn't. Their reactions were just as strong, and volatile, as mine. When I found out what she had done, I swore I'd kill her if I ever saw her again."
"Have you seen her since?"
"No. She changed David last, probably because she found him last, and then she disappeared. None of us have seen her since."
"Is that why you came back here to college?"
He picked up another sweater and dropped it in the drawer. "Yes. David's coming back at the end of this semester. It's easier when we're all together, and the frat house is a perfect place for us."
"Why?"
Liam winced as he realized the mistake he’d made. They had just gotten off this topic, and he knew he was going to have to tell her the truth. "Because there are lots of girls who we can control, and attract to us, even if they're sober. But when they're drunk it's easier to make them forget we fed off them."
"They remember?" she asked in astonishment.
Shrugging, he grabbed another sweater. "Sometimes they know what's going on, but we can make it so they don't."
Her hand fluttered to her throat. "Have you ever done that to me?"
The sweater dropped from his hand. "No, I haven't. I wouldn't do that to you."
"Well, why not?" she demanded.
"Because those girls are more like cattle. I care way too much about you to do that to you."
She was suddenly very confused. She didn't want him drinking her blood, yet she didn't want him going elsewhere for something she could give him. Mostly, she just didn't want him not to want her that way.
"Is there something wrong with me?" she inquired.
"Are you serious?"
She nodded, unable to speak.
"There is nothing wrong with you, Sera. Would you have preferred it if I took it from you, without your knowledge?"
"No."
"All right then."
"But—"
He sighed angrily and slammed the bureau drawer shut. "There are no buts, Sera. I wouldn't drink from you without your permission."
Sera couldn’t meet his gaze. She felt like a fool. She was acting like an idiot.
"I can tell you I've been very tempted," he said.
Her eyes flew back to his as she gaped at him. He gave her a sly smile as he leaned against the bureau and folded his arms over his chest.
"Seriously tempted,” he said. “Your neck is very delicate, appetizing, and I can smell your blood, even from here. It's amazingly sweet."
The feral gleam in his eyes was utterly thrilling, and terrifying. A shudder worked its way through her as she instinctively responded to him.
She forced herself to take a deep breath. There was still so much she wanted to know, and she couldn't allow herself to be distracted now. "Did you attract me to you?" she asked.
"No. I talked to you; it's different."
Sera's forehead furrowed as she recalled how the world seemed to disappear the first time she’d seen him. Had he used whatever powers he possessed to make her feel like that? Had he been using his powers on her all along? "I have never used anything on you."
"That first time I saw you..." her voice trailed off as her throat constricted.
"Never, Sera. I felt something the first time I saw you too, but I have never used my powers on you. I could have made you forget what you saw the other night, changed your memory, but I didn't do it."
"Why not?"
"Because for better or worse I wanted you to know, I needed you to know who and what I am."
Sera's heart melted, and she found herself suddenly able to breathe easier again. "Then what is this ability to attract people?"
"There's a power inside me that draws people in, but they don't do anything they wouldn't want to otherwise."
"Even letting you feed off them?"
"We have to survive, Sera, what would you suggest we do? Kill them?"
"No!" she cried in horror. "But it seems wrong."
"Because it's not the nicest thing to do to a person, but most of them don't know what we're doing, and the ones who realize it, well, we just bend their will to ours and force them to forget it. No one leaves unhappy."
"Bend their will?" she croaked. "How?"
"It's easier when someone has been drinking. You just make them forget. It doesn't hurt them, and they don't even know we're doing it."
Sera wished again she hadn't started this conversation. Her mind was beginning to spin. She didn't want to know what else he could do. What all of them could do, but there was one more thing she had to know. "How have you been feeding since we got together? Are you still sleeping with all these girls?"
"No!" he cried indignantly. "Of course not. Sleeping with them was a bonus. It was a bigger rush, more power, more thrilling."
Nausea twisted in her stomach as she shook her head, attempting to clear her befuddled mind. "More thrilling?"
Liam was silently kicking himself in the ass. He should have kept his big mouth shut, but she was being so obstinate and aggravating right now. His brain wasn't having enough time to tell his mouth to stay closed.
"Sera, come on; you don't want to hear this."
She bit her bottom lip. No, she probably didn't want to hear this, but she had come this far, and
