Meant to Be Immortal (Argeneau #32) - Lynsay Sands Page 0,88

what this meant for her. What she wanted it to mean.

Fifteen

“Why the hell would you tell her that?” Mac asked Bricker the moment CJ had disappeared into the house.

“Because you’d boxed yourself into a corner saying she couldn’t give you HIV,” Bricker said with a shrug. “You couldn’t explain why without telling her the truth about our kind, and doing that would have been a huge mistake at this point.”

“How do you know?” Mac asked resentfully. “She might have taken it well.”

“If you thought that, you wouldn’t have hesitated,” Bricker said quietly. “Besides, what if she had? Then you’d always have had that niggling worry that she turned to be free of HIV.”

“We’re life mates. It doesn’t matter why she turns. We are meant to be together,” Mac argued impatiently.

“But wouldn’t it be nice to have a chance to actually woo her?” Bricker asked. “To fall in love before she knows about our kind? You’ve got a chance to do that. Few immortals do. Holly was turned before we even met. She was in a state of confusion and married to a mortal, for Christ’s sake. The start of our relationship was one hell of a mess,” he said with regret. “And then there’s Decker. Dani knew about us before he could try to woo her too. In fact, I can’t think of an immortal who’s had the chance to actually woo their mate. But you could. You could date her, woo her, win her love and trust, and tell her you want to spend your life with her, and if she sounds agreeable, then tell her about our people, that she could be immortal and never have to worry about illness again.

“It might not seem important but . . .” He hesitated and then admitted, “I realized a while back that I dated and romanced a lot of women in my life, but not the one I love and who deserved it the most: my wife. I wish I’d been able to. I wish we had those kinds of memories, instead of just a leap to life mates.” Expression troubled, he added, “And I wonder sometimes if Holly doesn’t wish that as well, and feel a bit cheated because she didn’t get it.”

Mac considered what Bricker had said, and silently debated the issue. Tell CJ everything now and use her illness to gain her, or win her in a more traditional way and then tell her about immortals and that he was one. The first way would be fast and dirty; the second way would take longer, but would mean he would never wonder why she was with him.

Part of him just wanted to claim her any way he could, even if it meant bribing her to be his with her health. The other part, though, wondered if Bricker wasn’t right. Would he regret it later if he forced the leap to life mates by revealing what he was to her?

“You’re both assuming that she’ll see being an immortal as a cure. But what if she sees it as another disease? One even worse than HIV? I mean, having to consume blood isn’t for everyone.”

Mac turned to stare at the woman mounting the steps to the porch, his eyes widening as they slid over her blond hair and athletic build.

“Oh, by the way, your sister is here,” Bricker said wryly. “She arrived shortly after you went up for your nap.”

Mac gave him a speaking look for the delayed announcement, and then turned his irritation on Katricia. “I told you I didn’t need help, Kat.”

“Yes, you did,” she agreed with amusement as she stepped up to hug him, completely ignoring how stiff he was. Pulling back, she then added, “And if you were even considering telling CJ that you’re immortal so early in the game, you were wrong. You do need my help.”

“She’s sick,” he argued at once.

“She’s mortal, Mac. Being sick is a part of the mortal condition. But it doesn’t guarantee she will embrace becoming immortal. Or that she won’t be horrified and try to stake you once she learns you aren’t mortal.”

“What?” he asked with amazement. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you so sure? She hasn’t known you long,” she pointed out.

Mac frowned at that truth as he realized he had only met CJ the day before yesterday. The thought was somewhat staggering. It already felt to him like she had always been a part of his life. Which, thinking about it, was somewhat bizarre. The only explanation