kind of hard to be afraid of a vampire who apologizes for using harsh language in front of a lady.”
Could he really be so lucky? “I’m not a vampire.”
“And I’m not a lady.” She motioned to the bed. “Stop worrying about how I’ll react, sit down before you fall down, and explain all of this to me.” She started to step back, then paused. “Wait. Scratch that. I need to do something first.” Slipping her arms around his waist, she pressed her face to his chest and hugged him close.
Heart pounding, Richart wrapped his arms around her.
“There was a moment last night,” she murmured, “when I thought you were dead. You lost consciousness and your chest stopped rising. I couldn’t find a pulse.” Her hold tightened. “I’ve only felt that overwhelming despair and helplessness once in my life, when police showed up at my door and told me John’s father had been killed in a car accident.” She burrowed closer, her breath warm on his chest. “I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
Richart buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry.”
Many long moments passed while they clung to each other.
Sighing, Jenna loosened her hold and looked up at him. “Feelings that deep aren’t going to dissolve overnight because I found out your eyes are prettier and your teeth are sharper than I thought they were.”
Richart dipped his head and captured her lips with his own, pouring everything he felt into the contact until both were breathless.
When she placed a hand on his chest and applied gentle pressure, he reluctantly withdrew.
“I need you to explain everything to me before we get too distracted.”
Nodding, he sank onto the bed, stretched his legs out, and leaned back against the headboard, then pulled her down beside him, catching and holding her hand.
“Now they’re even brighter,” she said, her eyes locking on his with fascination.
“You do that to me,” he admitted. “I’ve had a hell of a time hiding it from you.”
Swiveling to face him, she sat with her legs crossed and toyed with his fingers. “So . . . how old are you?”
He grimaced. “Two hundred and thirty.”
She shook her head. “I feel so stupid for making such a big deal out of being older than you.”
“Please don’t. I was the one who feared you would reject me if you knew my true age.”
She offered him a small smile. “I won’t lie. If you actually looked your age, I wouldn’t have given you a second glance.”
He laughed. “I don’t blame you.”
“How can you be so . . . ?”
“Old and young at the same time?”
She nodded. “And not be a vampire? I mean, the fangs . . .”
“I’m infected with a virus. A very rare symbiotic virus that behaves like no other on the planet. We don’t know where it originated. We know only that it first conquers, then replaces the immune system, lending those infected with it far greater strength, speed, and regenerative capabilities. It heightens our senses, causes extreme photosensitivity, and . . . we don’t age. Essentially, we are immortal, and call ourselves such.”
Jenna stared at him, her thoughts reeling. “A virus.”
“Yes, one that can only be transmitted through a bite.”
“Do you drink blood?”
“I do require frequent infusions of blood. The virus depletes my body’s supply as it repairs damage. But I don’t drink it. During my transformation, I grew a pair of retractable fangs that function like IV needles. When I bite into a blood bag, my fangs siphon the blood directly into my veins.”
“Do you ever bite people?”
“We all did before we were able to collect and store blood donations in our own blood banks. But we never frightened or killed the donors.” He grimaced. “Well, not unless they were fiends who preyed upon the innocent.”
“So you’re an immortal, not a vampire.”
“Yes.”
“But Sheldon mentioned a vampire king, so vampires do exist.”
“Yes. I was different from other humans even before I was infected, as were my brother and sister and all of our immortal brethren. We called ourselves gifted ones. We didn’t know it then and still don’t know why, but our DNA is more advanced—a great deal more advanced—than that of ordinary humans.” He shrugged. “It’s why I can teleport.”
“That isn’t a result of the virus?”
“No. I could teleport as a child. My brother and sister are both telepathic. Some can heal with their hands. Others can move things with their minds. The eldest of us can do far more.” He toyed with her hand. “As you