major effort of sighing and lifting my wrist to study my watch.
Zane noticed. “I think Chloe’s trying to tell us something.”
“I have to meet Luke and Rhonda in thirty minutes. And the wolf here has an appointment with Rita and some ancient coins.” I made a point of raising an eyebrow at my vampire transporter.
He refused to meet my questioning gaze. If he abandoned our plan, I’d be stuck traveling the old-fashioned way. Even worse, I’d have to find an unguarded route into a locked down psychiatric facility on my own. Not a feat carried out by any untrained mortal.
Our initial plan had us rendezvousing at the wildlife park, where I’d hide my car on a back road, and teleport, with Alcuin, to our first stop in Portland.
Hopefully, that stop would be our only one. I needed to find out what Joshua Smart had seen. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t with his mother. He’d seen something more than his father’s brutalized body, as if that wasn’t enough. Whatever he’d witnessed that night had scared him into complete silence; landing him, if I was correct, inside a state-funded, psychiatric, research center. Not a place I’d want my kid, regardless of his mental capacity.
“I’ll see you at the park, Chloe. Zane would like me to be your escort,” Alcuin stated, all business. “I’ll keep out of sight; your boss won’t know I’m there.”
Luke and Alcuin would need to provide the same explanation to my whereabouts, and without Luke knowing about Alcuin, I had yet another thing to worry about.
Alcuin vanished and left me facing Zane, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. Revealing my most secret sins didn’t seem wise under the circumstances.
It was regretableregrettable Zane didn’t share my concern. “Babe, you wanted to tell me something?” He leaned back against the Corvette.
“I’m afraid we don’t have time. I’ll tell you telepathically on my drive to the park.” I knew I was taking the — I’m-a-chicken-escape-route — but didn’t care. I couldn’t bear to see his face when he learned of my indiscretions.
I snuggled against him, inhaling his exclusive wild and musky scent for what might be the last time. He was, after all, an alpha male, not willing to share what he considered his with anyone else, least of all a master vampire.
Even if he forgave my mishaps, there was the chance I could get hurt, or worse, attempting to break into a secured mental facility. Either way, the thought of losing him was almost more than I could handle.
“I love you,” he whispered into my mouth before devouring it.
Following an extra long kissing session, I pushed away, blaming the time, and hit the highway. My thoughts remained on Zane, and the way his heated kisses had branded my lips. How I could have thought, even for a moment, that Valamir had anything over Zane. The only explanation was his vamp voodoo. Sure, he was sexy. And indeed he was a force to be reckoned with. But he lacked one very important asset: a pure heart.
Regardless of Zane’s lifestyle as a werewolf, there was something clean, refreshing, even heartwarming about him. He oozed sex appeal, but he didn’t use it to control me like Valamir.
I’d be at the park soon. It was now or never.
Are you there? I reached into Zane’s mind.
I’m headed to Rita’s. Before I forget, Stryder is ready to be released. If you need him, the key is in the kitchen drawer. It’s embossed with a number one. What did you want to tell me?
First, I love you. I’m ready to do whatever is required to be your mate.
Are you sure?
I’m very sure. But …
But what? All you have to do is face a full moon and proclaim your love for me. Claim me as your mate forever, and mean it. A symbol will appear around your ankle, like a tattoo. You’ve made me the happiest werewolf around.
It sounded easy enough … if I could just skip the next part. Choosing my words, I shared what happened in Vegas, including my vague memory of Valamir drinking my blood.
Zane remained uncharacteristically silent. I forced myself to continue with the incident at The Crab Cove, and, lastly, I shared last night’s bedroom encounter. Ashamed, I told him about my body’s betraying reaction to his blood feeding.
He didn’t say a word, but growled. The throaty rumbling swelled until it sliced through my mind, shattering my heart.
I slammed on the breaks. A truck I hadn’t noticed behind me, swerved, breaks squealing, around