“I wasn’t responsible for that.”

“Lemme guess, it was Laura’s idea?” I asked, and Zach nodded in reply. “There’s a big surprise. Doesn’t she outrank you, vampire-wise? What’s stopping her from taking me out whenever her panties get in a twist?”

Zach chuckled, apparently amused at the image. “I won’t let that happen.”

“Exactly how are you going to stop her? Sure, you’ve got more money than some third-world countries, but you’re just a baby by vamp standards. I’m surprised she listens to you at all.”

“Because I am stronger than she is, but it’s nothing you need to be concerned about. I’ll escort you back to your room now. I’m sure you’ll need time to think things over. Would you like to take the strawberries back to your suite?”

I eyed them for a moment, and then decided it would be a crime to let them go to waste. “Sure.”

The trip to my luxury cell was silent, and I still couldn’t memorize the twists and turns of the hallway maze. Something about the faerie ward must have messed with my internal sense of direction. I wasn’t sure what Zach intended to do once we reached our destination, and to my surprise he walked into the suite behind me, set the tray of strawberries down on the table, and then stood gazing around the room.

“If you’re looking for the disaster area it’s in the closet, otherwise I’ve been very well behaved.” Folding my arms across my chest, I followed after the vampire as he went to investigate my destructive tendencies. Unlike Laura’s somewhat violent reaction, Zach merely surveyed the slaughter with quiet curiosity.

“Nice.” He shook his head, bemused.

“You’re taking it much better than Laura. She tried to hit me.”

“Did she?” Zach turned toward me. Touching my chin, he tilted my face from side to side as though checking for bruises he hadn’t noticed before. “Obviously she only encountered your shields. You should consider yourself lucky. Laura isn’t a woman easily trifled with.”

“Hmph, if I were lucky I wouldn’t be here in the first place,” I muttered. When he didn’t remove his hand from my face I leaned away from his touch.

“Have we been so cruel to you?”

“You bit me.”

The vampire sighed. “Aside from that incident, has your stay truly been that bad? Were you dressed in rags and chained in the dungeon with only bread and water to survive on? Tortured? Interrogated?”

“No.” I squirmed under his regard.

“You look at me and you see the demons from your past, but I am not the monster you would make me out to be,” he said quietly. “Is that so difficult for you to accept?”

“Yes, it is.”

“There are those who would not be so accommodating in this situation, vampires who are truly worth your ire. At the very least I want us to be able to work together peacefully.”

“At least? What more do you want?” I frowned up at him, and he slowly leaned down toward me. I backed away and bumped into the doorframe that connected the bedroom and the closet, and I winced as I struck my head against the wood.

“I’m not going to bite you or bespell you,” he assured me before I attempted to put up my shields.

“What are you going to do?”

“Kiss you.”

Before I could argue, he moved forward and pressed his lips against mine. I prepared myself to fight off a wave of vamp magic, but none came. Instead he simply kissed me. For a second I stood stunned, because while I expected him to try magic and trickery, an average, everyday kiss was a complete surprise. Okay, to be honest average is probably a poor word choice. Though Zach was more forceful than I’d like, the man definitely had skills, but I probably should have expected that considering his nature. Like the kiss he had stolen before, there was no spark, no electric zing or heady tingling response that I felt with Lex. It only made me feel uncomfortable, like the awkward ending to a bad date. Sensing my unease, Zach pulled away and studied me.

“I really don’t understand you,” he said, shaking his head.

“Yeah I’m just full of mystery.” I stepped away, putting safe distance between us. “I thought you were going to leave me alone to think.”

“Of course. I will see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Right.” I nodded unenthusiastically.

“Give me a chance, Catherine. You’ll find that I’m not entirely terrible to be around. Rest well.”

With that he left, and all I had for company were my troubled thoughts. I wasn’t going to take his offer, no matter how generous it might be. The vampire was the serpent trying to tempt me into partaking of forbidden fruit, to toss away my morals and my better judgment and allow myself to be a pawn of the undead. A necromancer, like my father. Everything I fought against, everything I was opposed to, and yet living the straight and narrow life had netted me what? Years of hard work with little to show for it. Instead of a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids, I had a tiny apartment and two borderline obese housecats. Instead of a loving husband, I had a man who wasn’t willing to change his life in order to be with me, and a gorgeous vampire offering me everything a girl could want in return for a little blood and sympathy.

All I had to do was give in to the dark side and I could live a life of wealth and ease. Happily ever after. Forever.

Frustrated and upset, I didn’t sleep well, my dreams Lex-free and frightening. When I awoke the next morning I once again tasted blood, but this time I couldn’t explain why, and that was even more troubling than the nightmares.

Chapter Nineteen

The king vampire showed up at my door promptly at noon. His pretty green eyes were hidden behind an expensive pair of sunglasses, just as they had been when we met that day at the airport. I felt underdressed standing next to him. Zach wore another expensive dark suit, and I’d picked out a plain black blouse and slacks. I’d wound my hair up into a bun, and with the lack of color in my outfit it gave me a very rigid, severe look, like a Star Trek villainess. For a moment I’d worried that too much time in Vampire Central had been a bad influence, forcing me into an all-black outfit, but I hadn’t found anything else in the closet I didn’t instantly hate.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed Zach down the hallway.

“To meet some people. Be advised, we’ll be leaving the building. I have a feeling your faerie family may make an appearance once we’re outside the wards, and I’d appreciate it if you would calmly explain to them that you’re here as my guest.”

“Well I can’t guarantee I can call off Portia before she stabs you in the chest. She’s more than a little upset over losing her only brother.” I folded my arms across my chest, and he nodded.

“Of course. As I’ve said, I had nothing to do with that, and I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than ‘sorry’ to call off my clan.”

“I know.”

We took the elevator down to the parking garage, where a black stretch limo was waiting for us. I climbed in, relieved that there was no Lovely Laura waiting for me in this one, and Harrison followed after me. The sun was shining brightly as we drove out into the street, though it was barely visible through the tinted windows.

“Doesn’t this bother you?”

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The sunlight? It’s noon. Shouldn’t all good little vampires be a-snooze in their beds?”

Zach smiled, shaking his head. “I suppose that’s your proof that I’m not a good vampire. But to answer your question, yes, it does bother me, but I can withstand it. There are a few powerful individuals who can endure direct sunlight for long periods of time.”

“And you’re one of them?” I asked, and he nodded. “But you’re practically a baby, how does that work?”

“Good genetics,” he replied, smiling his perfect smile at me. Before I could question him further, our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Faust as the faerie popped into the seat on the other side of Harrison. “I thought I asked you not to do that.”