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The valet held out a hand as I stared up at him and swallowed. Then he grinned, teeth glinting on full display, not fangs, but still sinister, and I understood why Lurch hardly ever smiled. Before I could figure out whether to take his hand or not, Julian was between us, helping me out of the car. A light brush against Lurch’s arm showed me a vision of him taking the vamp mobile for a joy ride, and I suppressed a manic giggle.

“There are currently eighteen vampires on the island,” Julian said as he escorted me up the sweeping steps and through the heavy doors that swung open in welcome. “Twelve of which reside here permanently.”

Intricate carvings graced the walls and towering ceilings with heavy wood beams and wainscotting. Only a few others gathered here and there, stopping to stare at us as we passed, their reflections absent in the enormous mirrors hung around them. Only the old, leather-bound books arranged on shelves all around us gave me a sense of home and security as they reminded me of my father’s study. I thought I recognized one of the volumes in an alcove hugging the wall as Julian led me up the winding steps toward a second floor.

We didn’t stop there. We climbed up four more sets of steps before we reached the top of the mansion. Oddly, I wasn’t tired from climbing, just awestruck at the grandiose enormity of it. Julian gestured to a set of French doors across the gleaming hardwood before us, then led me outside onto a terrace I imagined would be at home in Italy somewhere.

Marble statues stood like guards around the edges of a curved, white balustrade that rimmed the patio. We’d climbed pretty high, since each floor seemed to have fifteen-feet-tall ceilings, and the view confirmed it. The trees barely stretched above us, and the ocean glittered through the iridescent shield protecting the island, spreading out toward a never-ending horizon of night.

At the edge of the railing sat a table for two with a burgundy cloth, two pristine table settings, and a single white rose to the side. Julian pulled out a chair for me and waited.

“Julian,” I breathed, joining him. “This is…” I stopped, unable to find the words.

“Too much?” He guessed.

“Probably.” I set a hand on his over the top of the chair. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just enjoy the meal. I doubt you’ve had much time to take a break and pamper yourself lately.”

He helped scoot me in, and I dropped the napkin in my lap as he took his place across from me. The stars reflected in his eyes, and I became mesmerized. No one had ever done anything like this for me before. But we couldn’t be more than friends. Could we?

He was a vampire. But I’d been so wrong about them.

He was my boss. But weren’t there a million workplace romances?

You’re getting ahead of yourself, Char. Cool your panties.

Julian pulled a bottle of champagne from a silver bucket at his side and popped out the cork one-handed. He poured it into the crystal glasses waiting for us and raised one in a toast.

“What should we drink to?” I asked, plucking mine from the table.

“Fresh starts,” he said, tipping the edge of his until it tinkled against mine.

We sipped and the bubbles danced on my tongue.

“Julian,” I said, feeling brave as the alcohol and empty stomach combined to give me a fuzzy sense of relaxation. “What did you mean when you said you wouldn’t let anyone hurt me again?”

He paused with the edge of the glass to his lips, then set it down again. “Just that I want to protect you.”

“Why though?” I pressed, leaning forward across the table. “Who am I to you? You barely know me. Sure, you wanted to get ahold of me before MorningStar did, but why try to hide it from the general? And before you lie again, you should know that I can tell.” It was a bluff. Sort of. There wasn’t much I could read when there was no aura to give me information.

“You always were so clever,” Julian said, a sadness in his expression as he gazed at the bubbling liquid in his glass.

“You just met me this week.” Panic laced the edges of my voice because, even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t true. And yet, I had no memory of ever meeting him before.

He simply looked up at me, regret written all over his face.

“Did you take my memories?” I grasped the handles of the chair, ready to bolt, even though I knew he was much faster. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to truly fear him. Was that something he’d glamoured me to feel as well?

“We haven’t met. In this lifetime.” Julian’s normally melodic voice was flat.

The words sank in, and I grabbed the rest of my champagne and chugged it.

“We’ve known each other in…a previous life?” I asked in a whisper. Not that there was anyone around to hear me. Or if there were, they had super hearing, so it wouldn’t have mattered. But it felt too fragile to state with surety. Like the truth might break apart and shatter me.

“We have,” he said simply and refilled my glass. “I recognized you immediately.”

“Were we? Did we?” My mouth opened and shut like a fish. I couldn’t pull the right question from the million crowding my head.