Callie blinked at him. “You consider movies to be technology.”
“They’re new to me.”
Callie couldn’t get her mouth to close as those words sank in. “Um, yeah, I guess they are.” He did consider the United States the New World, after all. “Anyway, in the movie, they have this device that allows them to erase a person’s memories, and then they leave new ones behind. Are you eventually going to get into my head and rearrange things like you did with those guards and the people you stole the cars from?”
“No. I would have done that already because the longer a person’s memories remain intact, the tougher they are to change.”
“I see. So, you’re not going to take my memories away from me?”
“No.”
“Why not? It can’t be good for you, or your friends, to have a human who knows about you.”
“If I took the memories from you now, it would be dangerous for you. The Savages won’t hunt down the others whose memories I changed; theywillcome for you. If ten years from now, they knock on your door and you have no idea to be alert for them, you’ll let them in.”
“But you could put that in my head. You could stick me away and tell me to stay hidden and not to invite strangers in, and I would do it, wouldn’t I?”
“Yes, you would.”
“Then why not do it?”
“Because I won’t fuck with your head.”
Callie could sense her questions were irritating him as a muscle in his jaw twitched and he focused on something over her head. Maybe pushing the vamp wasn’t the best idea, but she had to understand him and this whole situation better.
“Why not?” she asked.
Lucien wasn’t ready to delve into that. First of all, they didn’t have time for it. Second of all, he’d never been one for introspection, especially when his thought processes still weren’t up to par.
“I don’t know.”
“Lucien—”
“I don’t know why.”
He made himself relax as he rested a hand on her shoulder. For a second, she flinched before covering it up and lifting her chin. However, though it was brief, he’d seen it, and he realized he’d seen it a couple of times now.
Anger flared in her eyes, but it wasn’t at him. No, it was anger at herself as she stared defiantly at him. Before, he was too out of his mind to put a name to her reaction, but now he knew what it was… fear.
And not fear of him but of something else. What happened to her? He almost asked the question but decided against it. She was guarded enough right now without him pushing her further. He’d learn the answer eventually, but now was not the time.
He waited for her to pull away, but she remained unmoving beneath his touch. When he turned his hand over and cradled her cheek in his palm, he expected her to cringe, but she lifted her chin and stared up at him.
“I won’t mess with your mind, Callie. Can you accept that?”
She wanted real answers from him, but he didn’t have them for her. He didn’t know why he wasn’t treating her like he’d treated the others, and she had no idea what she hoped to hear him say.
What was she looking for from him? To admit she was different than the others, but different how?
She had no idea what he would do with her, but she wasn’t going to press him on that either. First, she would shower and sleep, and when she woke up, she would try to figure out her future.
“I can accept that,” she said.
Lucien stared at her, and before he could think about it, he pulled her close and crushed her against him. She stood unmoving in his arms before lifting hers and embracing him. He held her close as her body melded to his. She felt so right in his arms.
Something tickled at the edge of his mind, but he pushed it away. He didn’t have time to deal with anything more than getting her somewhere safe. Later, he would take the time to think about everything that happened but not now.
Reluctantly, he released her and stepped away. “We should go.”
