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what I was, so& She shrugged.
Will waited for a moment. Then, when it became apparent she wasn t going to say
anymore on her own, he asked, What happened?
He attacked me. Stabbed me with a letter opener. Here. She touched her left
shoulder. And here. She laid a hand over her chest, just to the right of her heart.
Will s eyes widened.
Once he realized what he d done, he panicked and started to scream. I put him in a
trance and spent the night locked in the bathroom, waiting for the wounds to close. I
made a real mess. Had to scrub down the floor and tub afterwards to get all the blood
off.
God, he whispered. That s& that s horrible. That someone who knew you,
someone who was close to you, could still believe you were a monster& I just don t
understand it. How could anyone be so blind?
Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes, and she blinked them away. People fear
what they don t understand. I understood that even when I was a kid, but I thought Brian
might be an exception. Of course, it's one thing to wear fake fangs and pretend you're a
vampire. It's another to encounter the real thing. To be fair, I did a terrible job of breaking
the news to him. I should have expected his shock, should have been prepared, but I was
too in love to think clearly& and when he didn t react the way I thought he would, I got
angry. I yelled at him, called him a hypocrite. Looking back, it s really no surprise he
panicked and tried to hurt me. If I d done things differently, maybe&
Will squeezed her shoulder. You can t blame yourself. You never could have
predicted that he d react so violently. What happened afterwards?
I erased his memory of that night and broke up with him, gave him some lame
excuse about wanting to concentrate on my studies and not having time for a serious
relationship. I dealt with it in the most cowardly way possible, but at the time I didn't
know what else to do. The experience taught me a valuable lesson, though. Since then,
I ve been much more cautious about letting humans into my life.
Warm, calloused fingertips touched her cheek. You can t judge an entire species by
the reaction of one person. But you know that won t happen with me. I would never hurt
you like that.
I know. I trust you. But I m not sure I trust myself not to hurt you. And there s still
Victor to consider.
At the mention of Victor s name, Will s eyes burned bright with anger, and the hot,
chemical smell of testosterone tickled her nostrils. It made her want to sneeze.
You can t live your life in fear of him, he said firmly.
If we became lovers, and he found out&
How could he know?
He d smell it. He d smell your body on mine. She looked away. She felt so tired.
Something ached inside her, a bone-deep ache that couldn t be touched. Will you hold
me? she asked softly. Just hold me?
His arms surrounded her, pulling her close, against the solid wall of his chest. I ll
hold you all night, if you want.
She tucked her head under his chin and nestled close to him. His smell and warmth
made her ache for more. It felt so natural, so right. How is it that I feel so comfortable
around you? she whispered. I met you less than a month ago, yet I feel like I ve known
you for years.
I feel the same way about you.
She rested her cheek against his shoulder, and he rubbed her back, the movement of
his hand rhythmic and soothing. After a few minutes, she pulled away. You should get
some sleep. I ve kept you up too long already. You re probably exhausted.
He frowned. Are you sure?
Eyes downcast, she nodded. I ll be fine.
She heard the squeak of the couch cushions as he stood. He squeezed her shoulder,
leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. I ll see you tomorrow.
The creak of his retreating footsteps echoed through the silence. She squeezed her
eyes shut and clenched her hands into tight fists. Her nails dug into her palms, but she
didn t feel any pain, didn t even realize she d broken the skin until she looked down and
saw blood oozing between her knuckles. She forced herself to unclench her hands and
watched as the ragged crescent-moons in her palms shrank and vanished. Damn it, she
whispered. Tears stung her eyes. She curled her hands into fists again, hiding the blood
under her nails.
She d thought Will would be safer here tonight, but she d been wrong. Victor wasn t
the only danger. She dropped her head into her hands.
She missed her mom that wry, lopsided smile, those warm dark eyes, those strong,
caring arms. Mom always made her feel safe. But Mom was dead. A vision of wide,
glassy eyes and blood-spattered skin flashed through Ashley s mind, and she flinched.
Even after all these years, the memory still cut deep. She could still hear the rough,
growling voice and mocking laughter of the rogue who d killed her. Ashley had riddled
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