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“We do.”

She took a sip. “Ah. The coffee’s great by the way. And I do have one question. I thought vampires had to wait until full dark to be out and about, even with this level of light.” It was dusk, the sky turning deep blue. “But here you are.”

He shrugged and sawed off a thick chunk of meat. “My grandmother was human.”

She balanced her plate on her lap, and took another sip of her coffee. “Wait a minute. I know you’re old and the Nine Realms didn’t connect with the U.S. until thirty years ago, so how did that happen?”

He shook his head. “What can I say? My vampire grandfather went out hunting and brought a human female back. I didn’t get much from the strain, however, just a very slight tolerance to dusk.”

She liked that she had at least this in common with him, and that he wasn’t pure vampire.

Because she’d fed him two or was it three times, she was famished. She settled in to eat, savoring every bite of the protein-rich meal.

Holding a speared chunk of meat upright, he said, “You know the main reason I brought you here was for the privacy. I needed to be alone with you, and my retreat here seemed like the right place for it.”

“I’m glad you did. I think it suits you being in the trees, being up here in the mountains.”

He nodded. “It does. But I’m rarely here.”

“Why’s that?”

He picked up his coffee and took a drink. “Time, mostly. Usually by the end of the night, after long hours of battling, and flying over Swanicott, all I want is to be in my lighthouse home. I have a staff there that takes care of everything, my meals, my laundry, even making sure the leathers of my uniforms are well-cared for and replaced when needed. When I go home, I shower and fall into bed and I forget about what happened the night before. When I wake up, a meal is waiting for me. After that, I launch into a boatload of Realm business.”

“You have meetings with city officials and the like.”

“You have read some newspaper articles. Or is it blogs.”

“Both.” She smiled as she once more drank from her mug. Setting it back on the table, she cut a piece of steak and added some egg. Perfect first meal.

“I also meet with the leadership of various guilds, with my Troll Brigade Commander, sometimes the various Swanicott presses representing towns and villages.” He paused and cut off another chunk of steak, then stacked a generous portion of egg on top, just as she had. “But since you seem to know all this, I think it’s time you told me more about yourself.”

At that, she released a sigh. She wasn’t used to talking about herself, but it only seemed fair. She shared about her life growing up in the small town of Freeport with her mother, the humiliation of sprouting fur as a child and being unable to control it, being so different from other kids, and her generally isolated upbringing.

He frowned. “Sounds lonely.”

“Yes and no. I wanted to have friends, but back in those days there was a lot of prejudice against Realm-folk. And sometimes I’d get my shifter blood up and hurt the kids while playing sports, which didn’t help my cause. Of course, I never meant to do harm.”

“All that makes sense. Given your general level of power, you have strong shifter blood, eclipsing your human DNA. You probably should have been raised here.”

She shook her head. “I’ve wondered the same thing, but my mom didn’t want to make the move. I’m okay with it all now. I had some counseling and I don’t think my mother would have been happy here in Swanicott.”

She cleared her throat and felt a warmth climb her cheeks. “There is one thing I did want to tell you. The human men I made love with pretty much couldn’t handle what you seem to enjoy a lot.” Just in case he missed her point, she stroked the fur on the backs of her hands.

His eyelids dropped to half-mast and his grassy seaside scent suddenly filled the space. “And I do enjoy it.” He took her hand and drew her fingers to his nose. He nuzzled the fur across the back of her knuckles, sniffing loudly. His lips parted and his eyes closed all the way.

She knew these small acts had thrown him into a state of full arousal.

She leaned toward him and whispered, “Your scent, what you’re releasing right now, makes me so hungry, and not for steak and eggs.”

He opened his eyes and held her gaze. “We have some good stuff going on here, Olivia, but I never planned on being involved with anyone after my wife died.”

“I know. I’m with you on that. But can I ask you something? From the accounts I read online, you never found your wife’s body. Are you sure she’s dead?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “There was blood all over the kitchen. A lot of it. I’m not mistaken, but I wish to hell I was.”

She sat back in her chair and pulled her hand from his grasp. He didn’t try to stop her.

She picked up her knife and fork and sawed off another bite. She set her gaze across the deep row of mountain ridges, uncertain whether to tell him the truth or not about Emily. His wife had moved to Freeport exactly five years ago.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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