“That’s good.”
She glared at him. “And I’m rapidly moving into the royally pissed stage.”
He winced. “How long does that one last?”
“As long as I want it to.” She stood and paced across the room. “You should have told me. You know how much I value honesty. You should have been honest with me from the beginning.”
He turned in his sitting position to face her. “Be honest with yerself, Olivia. If I had told you the truth up front, ye would have refused to see me again.”
“We talked for months and you never told me. You purposely deceived me.”
“I fell in love with you. That was no’ a deception.”
She didn’t want to talk about love. It had happened so quickly on Patmos, as if it were magical. She’d thought she was falling for the perfect man, but now she realized she didn’t even know him. “Who—what are you exactly? Are you dead or alive or something in between?”
“I’m alive right now. My heart is pumping blood. My mind is thinking how beautiful ye are. My eyes have noticed ye’re no’ wearing a bra.”
She crossed her arms and winced at the feel of her damp, sticky sweatshirt. “And during the day, when you never call or e-mail, are you sleeping or unconscious?”
“I’m dead.”
She gave him a dubious look. “Seriously…dead?”
“Aye.” He nodded slowly. “’Tis a major drawback to my condition.”
“I should say so.”
“When I doona respond to yer messages during the day, ’tis no’ because I’m being rude or neglecting you.”
“Right. You’re not emotionally unavailable. You’re just dead.” She rubbed her brow. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
He frowned. “’Tis no’ all bad, being a vampire. We have some excellent perks. A prolonged life—”
“How old are you?” she interrupted.
“I was born in 1719.”
Her knees buckled and she sat on the other bed. He was almost three hundred years old. He didn’t age. And she did. This was terrible. “What other…perks?”
“I have superior strength and speed. Heightened senses. I can levitate, teleport, or use mind control.”
She stiffened as her anger flared back to life. “Some of your friends used mind control to make Harrison and the sheriff leave.”
“Aye.”
“Harrison drove all the way home, and he has no memory of ever coming here.”
Robby nodded. “We can erase memories if we need to.”
Her anger escalated to a boil. “So you manipulate us mere mortals whenever you feel like it?”
His jaw shifted. “We doona do it unless we have a good reason.”
Like making sure a woman fell in love really fast?
She jumped to her feet, glaring at him. “Did you ever use mind control on me?”
His mouth thinned. “Aye.”
She cried out with rage. “You bastard!”
He stood. “Let me explain.”
“
“Nay! I only controlled you once. Ye were in the sea and freezing to death. I told you to sleep so ye wouldna see me teleport you to the patio—”
“You teleported me?”
“Aye. So I could put you in the hot tub. I was trying to save you.”
And she’d been so grateful, so impressed, so ready to fall completely in love. But what if he’d manipulated the whole thing? “Did you arrange it all? Did you know about the panther?”
“I dinna know Carlos was planning to frighten you.”
“Carlos?”
Robby winced. “Carlos Panterra. He’s a shifter.”
She stumbled back a step. “Carlos was the…?”
“Panther, aye.”
“He’s a cat?” And her boss was a dog. She shook her head. Was her next door neighbor a goldfish? “He scared the hell out of me. Why?”
“He was playing matchmaker. He thought if I rescued you—”
“I did save you. Ye were freezing to death.”
She paced away, her hands clenched. Was nothing the way she’d thought it was? She whirled around to face him. “Was any of it real? Can you swear that you never manipulated my thoughts or feelings?”
“Never. I wouldna want yer love if it was false. Yer feelings were yer own. And they have always been real.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “What would you know about my feelings? I’ve gone through hell and back because of my feelings for you!”
His eyes glimmered with pain. “I have, too. I love you, Olivia. I have always loved you.”
She covered her mouth to keep a sob from escaping. Damn him. She walked away, headed for the vanity area of the motel room. She spotted herself in the mirror, her eyes glistening with tears and her mouth twisted in pain.
She jerked to a stop. Robby wasn’t there. She spun around. He was there. She glanced back at the mirror. He had no reflection. He wasn’t a real person.
She doubled over as pain stabbed her gut. She’d fallen in love with an illusion. She could never have a real life with Robby. All her dreams of a future with him were gone.
“Olivia, sweetheart.” He took hold of her shoulders.
“No.” She pulled away as tears streamed down her face. “I wanted it to be real. I wanted to love you forever.”
“Ye can. Sweetheart, we can work this out.”
She collapsed on a bed and covered her face.
The bed shifted as he sat beside her. “We’ll be all right, Olivia.”
She sniffed. “I’m not angry anymore.”
“Then ye’ve accepted me?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m…in mourning. I’ve lost the future I thought we would have together.”
He sighed. “If I could be a normal man for you, I would.”
She sat up and pulled at her sticky sweatshirt. “I can’t sleep in this. And I didn’t pack another shirt.”
“No’ a problem.” He vanished.
She started. “Damn.” She looked around the room. He was really gone.
And she was really in love with a vampire. How could this ever work out? A few minutes later he reappeared with something clutched in his hand.
“You went to my apartment?”
“Aye. I brought you something to wear.” He handed it to her.
It was the nightgown she’d put on that he’d promptly removed the night he’d taken her virginity. Her eyes misted with tears. What was she going to do? It hurt too much to just reject him. She needed to learn more about him.
She took a deep breath. “Tell me everything.”
He told her about his job, and how he and his friends were battling the evil Malcontents. A vampire named Casimir was their leader, and he was the one who had tortured Robby.
“Casimir murdered the people at the farmhouses?” she asked.
“Aye. He and his minions.”
“How many…minions does he have?”
“Just a handful, we believe. He needs to replenish his army. He’ll either find more vampires or make them.”
She grimaced. “Why didn’t he change the people at the farmhouses into vampires?”
“They were probably good people. Good people turn into good vampires.”
“Like…you?”
Robby nodded. “Death doesna change a person’s nature.”
She thought about that a moment, then inhaled sharply. “The children! Oh my gosh, with everything that’s happened, I forgot.”
“What children?”
“There were children living in those farmhouses, and they’ve disappeared.”
Robby grew pale. “Bloody hell. Casimir must have taken them.”
“Why? Why would he take innocent children?”
“They’re lighter and easier to teleport with. They’re an easy food source.”
Olivia gasped in horror. “They’re snack food?”
Robby stood. “I need to go.”
She rose to her feet, too. “Can you find them?”
“We’ll do our best.” He touched her cheek.
She stepped back. “Don’t. Please. I’ve had a lot thrown at me in one night. I’m not sure I can handle this.”
He gave her a wry look. “Ye’ll get over it.”
“How can you be so sure?” Her heart felt so heavy, so burdened with pain.
“Because ye love me.” He vanished.
CHAPTER 24
