Pretend that he was not a vampire? Holy hell, what was he babbling about? She might pretend that eating a hot fudge sundae was a balanced meal as long as it had peanuts and whipped cream on top. Or that Johnny Depp was her true soul mate if only he would take the time to get to know her.
But the fact that this man was not a vampire?
Ha.
Oddly, however, as she opened her mouth to inform him that he was off his rocker, she abruptly hesitated.
Rats. Could she honestly say that she hadn't at times during the past few hours attempted to forget the truth of Dante? Times such as during his tender seduction in the bathtub? And when she had clung to him in the dark as if he were her guardian angel?
It was certainly her stock and trade to ignore what she didn't want to see.
Lowering her lashes, she battled a ridiculous urge to blush. "We should be getting up."
"Abby, please don't shut me out," he said, his voice softening to a dark, pleasant rasp that feathered down her spine. "I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just…"
Against her will, her eyes lifted to clash with his silver gaze. "Just what?"
"I want you to know me for who and what I am, not as some sugar-and-spice image of what you wish I could be."
"I saw you fight that demon, Dante. I know what you are."
Surprisingly he grimaced in the dusky shadows. "No, you don't, but you will before all this is said and done. And that's what I fear."
Suddenly Abby understood. This was about more than just her uncertain opinion of vampires. It was about faith. Trust. In him.
"We both know I would already be dead if you were a human. I'd be a hypocrite to wish you to be anything but what you are," she admitted, a reluctant smile touching her lips. "Besides, my record with men of the human species doesn't precisely make me anxious to be saddled with one for an eternity."
His features thankfully softened at her rueful confession. "No knights in shining armor?"
"Knights? More like mooks."
"Mooks?"
"Well, my last boyfriend dumped me for our mailman, and I do mean mailman, and the one before him stuck around just long enough to steal my ATM code so he could clear out my savings account."
"Worthless vermin." He narrowed Ms gaze.
"Unbelievably they were an improvement to my first boyfriend, who thought the best way to end an argument was with his fists."
There was a stark silence as he studied her face. "He hit you?"
"Only once. I at least learn from my stupidity."
"Do you want me to kill him?"
Abby blinked, not at all certain he was teasing. "Ah… well… a tempting offer, of course, but I suppose I should pass."
He shrugged. "It's an open-ended offer if you change your mind."
"Actually, I prefer to simply forget they ever existed," she assured him.
"A solution of sorts." His gaze swept down to the fullness of her lips before lifting. "But do you think it wise?"
Abby frowned. Surely to God she was not about to receive dating advice from a half-naked vampire who just happened to be perched on top of her?
A deliriously sexy half-naked vampire.
"I would say it's at least wiser than having them eaten," she forced herself to mutter.