Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle) (4 page)

I bit my lips in annoyance, but kept quiet.

“You, of all people, should know that many times life gives us what we don't ask for. Well, this is one of those times, Princess, and you're gonna have to deal with it. I'm here to stay and the sooner we work together, the easier our collective lives will be.”

I listened to him in silence and bit my lip harder. I felt the familiar tears prickling at the back of my eyes and blinked furiously to push them back. I knew what he was referring to of course, and I was mad that he would use what had happened to push home his point. I turned my back, faced the window and wrapped my arms around my suddenly chilly body. I felt like his words had caused a rupture in my soul and I needed to find a way to stick on the Band-Aids that had been holding me together.

“If you're done, I'd appreciate it if you could leave now.” There was none of the former rancor in my voice.

“But we still need to mark out a plan and ...”

“I need to be alone.” I cut him short. “Please.”

My softly spoken words must have gotten through to him because not long after, I heard the door click shut. I climbed on top of the window seat and, leaning my head out of the window, I let the wind dry the tears that I refused to cry.

I stayed in my room without coming out for two whole days. I know Katrina had tried to enter but I'd put a lock-protect spell around my door and she'd kept away. I knew she could have broken through the spell if she'd wanted, but I guess she was letting me get it out of my system. She knew how much I hated to sulk and two days was the longest I'd ever gone. I was already sick of it. Yes, I knew I was sulking and even though it was something I usually despised, I figured this time around, I was entitled.

On the third day however, I'd had enough and I was ensconced in the living room watching reruns of some vampire series when they both came in. Dylan was the first to enter the living room from the guest room and he just stood by the door, staring at me. I pretended to focus on the TV set and totally ignored him. Just because I was no longer in a snit didn't mean I was happy about his presence in my home.

Next Katrina entered, looking glamorous in blush colored silk lounge pants and a crew neck tee. I mentally rolled my eyes and went back to what I was watching even though I wasn't paying attention anymore.

From the corner of my eye, I watched them exchange glances and then Katrina shrugged. I tried hard not to feel resentful that Mister Macho had come into and in so short a time, insinuated himself with my grandmother, but I failed dismally.

“Why on earth a vampire would want to watch human shows about vampires beats me.” Katrina said in a bright voice as she sailed into the living room and sat beside me on the sofa.

I was holding onto a throw pillow and I clutched it tightly. “I like them,” I mumbled.

“I have no idea why humans are so fascinated with vampires, but I suppose I can understand it. But you are a vampire, so what is the fascination?”

“I'll go make breakfast.”

I turned to Dylan then and noted the smile on his face.

“You cook, too? I hope grandmother is paying you enough.” I winced at how waspish I sounded.

“Excuse me,” he said quietly and walked into the kitchen.

I didn't need Katrina's disapproving glance to feel bad. What was wrong with me? I wasn't normally that unpleasant, but he brought out the worst in me. With a sigh, I stood up.

“Where are you going?” she asked, picking up the remote control.

“To apologize.”

She nodded and turned back to the TV.

I sighed again and made my way to the kitchen. I found him busy over the stove, frying bacon and eggs.

“We've come a long way as a race,” he said without turning to look at me.

“Huh?”

“I mean, look at us. We are almost human. We're even eating bacon and eggs and we're a far cry from the vampires the humans are still obsessed with.”

I studied him from beneath my eyelashes and went to pour myself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot, which had been brewing. “It's called evolution,” I said simply. “They're not the only ones who evolved. We just took several centuries to do so.”

“Yeah,” he grunted and didn't say anything else.

I leaned against the counter and sipped from my mug as he emptied the contents of his skillet onto two plates. Ah, he'd already discovered that Katrina didn't take breakfast. He looked up then as though he could read my thoughts, and then looked down again, busy with what he was doing. And maybe he could read my thoughts. I couldn't be certain. Most vampires had that ability but we also could block our thoughts from each other and I’d learned how to do that at a very early age.

“Look I wanted to apologize about that comment I made. I didn't mean to make you feel bad, it was uncalled for.”

He looked up again and I could see the surprise in his expression before he quickly masked it. “Would you like to go out tonight?” he asked instead.

I felt excitement stir inside me, but quickly tamped it down. “What's the point? I've tried every night for the past two nights and there's a protective shield around the house. I can't get out; I'm well and truly trapped.” I shrugged like it didn't bother me much but he must have seen through to my frustration because he flashed a smile then.

My heart went still, then began to beat in my chest. I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I stared at him as though mesmerized and it was only after I noticed him frown in concern that I realized he'd been speaking to me. I shook the haze from my head and lowered my eyelashes to hide my confusion.

“S-sorry, I mean I didn't hear you because you did say something, right? I mean I should have heard you b-but...” I trailed off as I realized that I was beginning to babble.
OMG, I thought in dismay. This was worse than I thought. I took a deep breath and raised my eyes to meet his with difficulty. “I'm sorry, I was lost in thought,” I said more calmly.

He studied me for a few seconds. “I was saying that I put the protective shield up so no one could get in. I'm sorry it's keeping you from getting out, but your safety is my primary concern. However, if you don't mind my company, we could go out later in the night.”

“Talk about Hobson's choice,” I mumbled and was shocked right to my toes when he laughed outright.

It was the most fascinating sound I'd ever heard. It started deep in his chest, and then came out in a nice-sounding rumble. I felt it right to my toes and couldn't help smiling back in return. This time, he was the one who froze. He stopped mid-laugh and just stared at me.

“Hey, are you all right?” When he didn't reply, I decided to try again. “Dylan?” This time I got a reaction.

He blinked slowly and our eyes met across the kitchen. It was like the air around us suddenly went still. All my senses sharpened and beyond the aroma coming from the eggs and bacon, I could smell his very essence. I felt as though I was losing air and took a deep breath. A blend of maleness and fresh pine hit me. I could hear his heart beating and knew he could hear mine as well. I was drowning in his gaze and it looked like he was equally drowning. From where I was standing, I felt his longing, tasted his loneliness and it echoed the longing and loneliness in my heart. Suddenly, I felt swamped with fear and I blinked. Just like that, the spell was broken. We both looked away and while I fiddled with the mug in my hand, he began to set the table for two. When he was done, he cleared his throat and looked at me.

“Would you join me for breakfast?”

I raised an eyebrow, deliberately imitating him and looked pointedly at the two places he'd set before turning to look back at him. “Oh? Were you expecting someone else?”

One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile and he ran a hand through his already tussled dark hair. His eyes twinkling, he shrugged and sat down. “Fine, don't eat then.”

“Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to eat.” I protested, taking a seat across from him. I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth and for the first time in my entire life, I was grateful for evolved taste buds. My eyes widened in surprise and appreciation. “Wow, this is incredible.”

“Thanks.”

We ate in silence and between mouthfuls of food, I studied him unabashedly. Finally, he dropped his fork onto his plate and stared at me with exasperation. I just smiled.

“What?”

“I'm curious about you.”

“Curiousness is
not
a good thing,” he said trying to sound sage. I snorted and he frowned.

“You know so much about me, a dossier worth of information I'm sure. But I know next to nothing about you and that doesn't seem fair, does it?” I asked reasonably.

He went back to eating and I had to wait for him to finish chewing before he replied. “I'm here to protect you. You don't need to know anything about me.”

This time, I gave in to the urge to roll my eyes. “Fine, so you're supposed to be my protector. Isn't that a relationship of sorts, and one which requires some level of trust? How can I trust you when I know next to nothing about you?”

He gave me a considering look as he chewed and I could see he was surprised that I was more than the bimbo most people thought I was, not like I blamed them. I had thick golden hair which I caught in a ponytail behind my head. It reached down almost to my waist and I was reluctant to cut it for reasons I didn't feel like dwelling upon. Then I'd been told I had these big gray eyes, which even in the mirror looked vacuous to me. Coupled with the fact that I'd been cursed with very generous boobs, I wasn't surprised most people didn't expect me to know the word
vacuous.

He sighed finally and placed his arms on the table. “Okay. What do you want to know?

What do you want to know?

Even as I spoke the words, I immediately regretted them. I didn't want to speak about myself, but I'd let those beautiful gray eyes get to me. There was no other explanation for why I'd just given her carte blanche with my life. Not like I was going to answer every question she asked, I wasn't that foolish. Then she smiled at me and batted those eyes at me again and I knew I was a goner.

“How old are you?”

Interesting. I would have thought she'd have started with my experience or my resume. Instead she wanted to know my age. Well, that I could manage.

“I'm twenty-one.”

“Do you have any family?”

I felt like I'd just been sucker punched. Had I just said I could manage her questions? Man, what an idiot I was.

“Yes.” I kept my answer short, hoping she would get the message and leave that line of questioning alone. No such luck.

“Where do they live?”

“Europe.”

“Really? You're from Europe then?”

I could see the excited light in her eyes and I felt like a heel for not giving her what she wanted, but I knew I couldn't.

“I'm American.”

She pursed her lips and I had a sudden vision of those lips on mine. I shook myself mentally.
Sixteen!
I reminded myself sternly. Even if she was of age as a vampire, she was still too young for me.

“You don't want to talk about your family?” she asked gently, like she could understand. Even though our circumstances were very different, I had a feeling she would somehow understand. But I wasn't in a confiding mood.

“I don't.”

“All right then. We won't speak about your family. Instead, tell me about your work. Do you enjoy being a protector? I know it's not an easy life and you're constantly in danger.”