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A thin smile spread across her lips, and I knew I’d given her all the answer she needed.
For the next hour we didn’t speak. She found the radio and contented herself with a pop station. I hated every other song, but I didn’t argue because it meant she wasn’t asking me anything. When we were within view of the city skyline, she dropped a bomb on me.
“I used to be in love with Desmond. ”
I slammed on the brakes before colliding with a car that had slowed to a stop ahead of me. No longer moving, I turned and fixed my eyes on her.
“What?”
“Desmond. I w
as in love with him. ”
“Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugged. “It’s not like it means anything. I was only fifteen, and he wanted nothing to do with me. We grew up together, so I was like a sister to him. But I guess I know what it’s like. Loving him, I mean. ”
I didn’t think Kellen had any grasp on what it meant to be soul-bonded. She was human, so she’d given up her claim on experiencing the werewolf version of finding one’s soul mate. I doubted her fifteen-year-old schoolgirl crush on a then twenty-something Desmond was anything like what I felt for him. But how do you tell someone what they feel is wrong?
Chapter Twelve
After dropping Kellen off on the Upper East Side, I returned home. I walked into the apartment expecting to trip over shoes. When I didn’t, I hesitantly took off my Louboutins—now destroyed from their foray into the pool—and dropped my purse on the floor. It fell with a loud thunk where the gun met the carpet. At least the gun hadn’t gone swimming with me.
The apartment still smelled of vampire, and I sighed. Sig had said he would take care of the Brigit situation for me. Stupid, unreliable vampire.
“Brigit? Are you here?”
Rio the kitten plodded over and started rubbing against my bare ankles again. If the kitten was here, the blonde vampire couldn’t be far. My vision had adjusted to the darkness, and though there was no one else in the room, it felt like I wasn’t alone.
I shooed the kitten away with my foot, which seemed to please her because she began to purr. Hopefully Sig had fulfilled his promise about the power, because even though I could see in the dark, I didn’t necessarily want to live without light.
I found the switch on the wall and flicked it up, expecting nothing. Instead, the room was flooded with warm light, and I could see my apartment for the first time since I’d gotten home. At least Sig had been true to his word on that point. There was still the matter of the vampire I smelled, though.
“Brigit? Seriously, I’m getting annoyed. More than usual. ”
I moved towards my bedroom and started to think I was a little crazy. The smell must have just lingered from all the months she’d been living here, because Brigit wasn’t anywhere to be found. In my bedroom, the invitation of my bed was almost too strong to avoid. But first I needed to shower.
Feeling restored once three days’ worth of blood, sweat and pool water had been cleaned off my skin and out of my hair, I towel-dried my curls and threw caution to the wind by not blow-drying them. Tomorrow my hair would be a mess, but I didn’t have the energy to dry it tonight.
Wrapping a towel around me, I walked to my room with the carefree manner of someone who was truly alone for the first time in months. The second I crossed the threshold into my bedroom, I knew how wrong I’d been to ignore my initial instincts.
There was no time for me to react once I realized I wasn’t alone. In one instant I was aware, and before I could open my lips to express shock, I was pushed hard against my bedroom wall with a hand covering my mouth and a strong, cool body pressed onto me.
The dark eyes and pale face looking back at me were so familiar I swore for a moment I must have been dreaming. But there was nothing erotic about this situation. Holden Chancery was in my bedroom, but this time he was altogether too real. My eyes were wide, but my pulse was slow and even. I was surprised, but at this point I still wasn’t afraid.
I was, however, wishing I had on more than a towel.
When I didn’t struggle, he stopped holding me so hard, but still firmly enough I couldn’t get away. I may have been strong, but most vampires were still stronger. Conversely, I could kick most werewolves’ asses in a fair fight. Maybe I was the perfect pack protector.
“Are you going to scream if I move my hand?” he asked.
I glared at him as if to say you’re kidding me, right? He pulled his fingers away.
I took a deep lungful of breath, now that his hand wasn’t blocking my mouth. I looked at him, trying to connect the man in my room to the Holden I knew. He was paler than usual. His skin had taken on a worrisome gray tone beneath the standard vampiric white. His brown eyes, which were always dark, were now almost black, and his pupils were huge. His hair, like in my dream, was longer than I remembered and too wild for him.
“Holden?”
“Welcome home. ” There was more than a little sarcasm and anger in his voice.
