business?" Mr. X asked. "Did something else go wrong?"
Those brown eyes flared, but Mr. O didn't snap. More proof of improvement.
"I want to build some storage units in the new facility."
"For what? Our purpose is not to keep the vampires as pets."
"I expect to have more than one subject at a time, and I want to keep them for as long as I can. But I need something they can't dematerialize out of, and it has to shield them from sunshine."
"What do you have in mind?"
The solution Mr. O detailed was not only feasible, but cost-effective.
"Do it," Mr. X said, smiling.
Chapter Eighteen
When Rhage pulled into the Excel parking lot, he drove right past the car attendants. Even if the GTO didn't have a finicky clutch, he wasn't about to leave his keys with someone else. Not with the kind of weapons and ammo he had in the trunk.
He picked a spot around back, one that was right next to the side door. When he flipped off the ignition, he reached for his seat belt and...
And did nothing with it. He just sat there, hand on the clip.
"Hal?"
He closed his eyes. God, he'd give anything just to hear her say his real name once. And he wanted... damn, he wanted her naked in his bed, her head on his pillow, her body between his sheets. He wanted to take her in private, just the two of them. No witnesses, no half-assed shield of his trench coat. Nothing public, no quickie hallway/bathroom action.
He wanted her nails in his back and her tongue in his mouth and her hips rocking under his until he came so hard he saw stars. Then he wanted to sleep with her in his arms afterward. And wake up and eat and make love again. And talk in the dark about things both stupid and serious -
Oh, God. He was bonding with her. The bonding thing was happening.
He'd heard with males that it could be like this. Fast. Intense. Nothing logical. Just powerful, primordial instincts taking over, one of the strongest being the urge to physically possess her and mark her in the process so that other males would know she had a mate. And would stay the fuck away from her.
He glanced over at her body. And realized he would kill any member of his sex who tried to touch her, be with her, love her.
Rhage rubbed his eyes. Yup, that whole marking urge was definitely at work.
And it wasn't his only problem. The odd hum was back in his body, egged on by the explicit images of her flashing through his head and the smell of her scent and the soft sound of her breathing.
And the rush of her blood.
He wanted to taste her... drink from her.
Mary turned toward him. "Hal, are you - "
His voice was like sandpaper. "I need to tell you something."
I'm a vampire. I'm a warrior. I'm a dangerous beast.
At the end of this evening, you aren't going to remember you ever met me.
And the idea of not even being a memory of yours makes me feel like I've been stabbed in the chest.
"Hal? What is it?"
Tohr's words echoed in his head. It's safer. For her.
"Nothing," he said, releasing the belt and getting out of the car. "It's nothing."
He went around and opened her door, holding out his hand to help her up. As she put her palm against his, he lowered his lids. Seeing her arms and legs uncoil made his muscles twitch and a soft growl come up into his throat.
And damn him, instead of stepping out of her way, he let her come up close so their bodies were almost touching. The vibration under his skin grew tighter and stronger along with his roaring lust for her. He knew he should look away because surely his irises were glowing a little. But he couldn't.
"Hal?" she said thinly. "Your eyes..."
He closed his lids. "Sorry. Let's go inside - "
She pulled her hand from his. "I don't think I want to have dinner."
His first impulse was to argue, but he didn't want to bully her. Besides, the less time they spent together, the less there was to erase.
Hell, he should have just scrubbed her the moment he drove up to her house.
"I'll take you home."
"No, I mean, will you walk with me a little? Through the park over there? I just don't feel like getting stuck at a table. I'm too... restless."
Rhage shoved the car keys into his pocket. "I'd love