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She shook her head. “No. But he offered me a job.”
“What?” he cried.
His deep rich voice flowed over her, and she forced herself to take a small step backward. Everything he did, everything he was, sent shock waves of desire through her body. “He wanted me to join his ranks. He said he would give me anything I desired and now I see he really wasn’t kidding, was he?”
“No.”
“I told him I couldn’t work for him. I could never work for such a man.”
“But you’ve been treating him.” Sort of a question.
She sighed. “I don’t think you could ever call what I was doing ‘treating him.’ He had an ability to manipulate the sessions. I often ended up revealing things about myself I didn’t want to, very Hannibal and Clarice. Though he never spoke directly of his wrongdoings, he shared a great many fantasies with me, which generally involved an advanced level of brutality. Of course he would insist he would never think of acting out these fantasies. If … if I truly can believe that you’re real, and that Darian is from Second Earth as you’ve said, then it would explain a lot but oh-my-God saying these things out loud makes me think I’m headed for the loony bin.”
He smiled suddenly. “I didn’t know loony bin was a clinical term.”
She couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Well, I confess it helps to laugh. But Second Earth. Mortal Earth. Really?”
“Where do you suppose I’m from?”
Once again, Alison shook her head. “I have no idea but for the past fifteen minutes I’ve been trying to determine if I’m going insane or not.”
He smiled. Even his teeth were beautiful, although it was weird to see the tips of his fangs showing, not nearly as pronounced as when he’d been fighting. In fact, they were hardly noticeable.
“You’re not insane,” he said.
“What is Second Earth like?”
His gaze softened, something she hadn’t expected. “In developed areas, where ascenders congregate, the architecture is amazing and there are gardens everywhere.”
“You mean like public gardens?”
“In part. Just imagine a world of gardens, where the most sought-after prizes are given for horticulture and design.”
The image, juxtaposed with leather-kilted warrior vampires, jolted her mind. “Gardens?”
“For miles. But at the same time, these gardens are only allowed within the town and city limits. Beyond designated areas, Second Earth is in a raw state. The Colorado River is still without dams and goes through regular tidal bores since it empties, without hindrance, into the Sea of Cortez.”
A world still full of primitive wilderness yet thoroughly civilized.
She thought he had just described himself, raw, in a wild state, yet civilized. The impression struck a chord. She trembled, and desire once more sent a shock wave through her body. He closed his eyes, flared his nostrils again, and winced as though she had just hurt him.
What returned was his scent, that exotic cardamom smell that once more invaded her body. She restrained a gasp then swallowed hard. She forced herself to the point.
“So why the same place-names, or are they different on Second?”
“Same.” He smiled, just a crooked slant to the side of his mouth and absurdly sexy. “Keeps everything simple.”
She nodded. Made sense. “I have so many questions. Can you stay for a while? Talk to me?”
He searched her eyes but shook his head. His jaw took on a stubborn line, which didn’t bode well for the request. “Unfortunately, Alison Wells, I don’t have a legal precedent to allow you to retain any of what’s happened here this evening.”
“What?” She took yet another step away from him. She shook her head. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. “But what are you saying … exactly?”
Before she could react, he closed the distance in one long impossibly fast stride, clamped his right hand to her forehead and his left to the back of her head. Warm waves of power pulsed through her.
“No,” she cried. “Don’t! Kerrick, please don’t.”
He released her and spoke softly. “Don’t fight me. I have to do this. We have rules. A lot of rules.”
Tears stung her eyes. “You don’t understand. I’m alone here. I mean, I have family, but they don’t really understand me, what my life is like. I want to know more, about you, about this.” She waved her hand to encompass the now deserted courtyard.
“You’re not ascended, and the presence of a warrior in an environment like this is never a call to ascension. Not even Darian Greaves’s presence. As I said, we have careful rules about this. I’m sorry.”
“I want to ascend,” she cried. She felt panicky, like her future had just arrived on a strong ocean wave but an equally strong tide was dragging it back out to sea.
“I’m sorry, this isn’t the way it’s done. There are reasons for the steps we take. You have to be called to ascension. A warrior in a location like this is not a call.”
He caught her head again, a hand before and behind. The strength of these new waves paralyzed her. Tears ran down her cheeks. “No,” she whimpered staring into his eyes. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he muttered between gritted teeth. “But for God’s sake relax or this is going to hurt like hell.”
“No,” she whispered. She couldn’t lose this memory, not when for the first time in her life she had actually seen other beings do what she had been able to do since childhood.
“Please stop fighting, Alison. I don’t have a choice.”
The frequency of the waves increased. Knives sliced through her head.
He leaned close. “Relax, beautiful one,” he whispered against her ear. “I don’t want to hurt you, but my God you’re powerful.”
She knew she didn’t have a choice. The pain increased and she surrendered abruptly.
She had a sense she had fallen into his arms.
When her brain started functioning again, she heard a very soft, almost chuffing sound. Warm sweet breath flowed over her face and down her neck. More of his incredible leathery spicy scent drifted into her nose all over again. Desire engulfed her as well as tremendous relief.
He hadn’t done it.
He hadn’t taken the memory.
She drew in a strong breath, opened her eyes, then met his amazing green eyes, shards of emerald glass, sparkling, longing. She drifted the back of her fingers over his cheek. “You’re magnificent,” she whispered. “Please don’t go.”
