Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [51]
Ian bowed his head. “Thank you. If there’s anything I can do for you, I would be honored.” He stepped back. “But I shouldna take up any more of yer time. Ye have a great deal to do tonight.”
“I do?” she asked.
Ian looked surprised. “Connor dinna tell you?”
“I was just about to,” Connor growled. “But we were interrupted.”
Ian’s mouth twitched. “Try no’ to be such a grouch. She’s an angel, ye ken.”
Connor arched an eyebrow.
Ian’s eyes glittered with amusement as he turned to Brynley. “Do ye need a lift back to school?”
“Yes.” She jumped off the couch and waved at Marielle. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, thank you.” Marielle waved back.
Ian walked over to Brynley and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “ ’Twas an honor to meet you, angel.” He vanished, taking Brynley with him.
Alone at last. Connor watched as Marielle shoved her long blond hair behind her shoulders. She seemed deep in thought and momentarily oblivious to him. He took advantage, letting his gaze wander slowly down her body. Her clothes, borrowed from Emma, were better suited to a slimmer, more athletic build.
The T-shirt was a sky-blue like Marielle’s eyes and stretched tight across her chest. Those soft, full breasts had filled his hands to overflowing when he’d fallen on top of her on the couch. Doona think about it. He shifted his gaze lower. Her jeans hugged nicely rounded hips and, as she would say, a complete set of female private parts.
Doona think about it! He lifted his gaze to her face, so lovely and angelic that surely his thoughts would become more chaste. She chewed on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her mouth. Her words in the closet came rushing back. I’m not giving you a blow job.
Bloody hell, he was pathetic. He grabbed another bottle of blood from the fridge and stuck it in the microwave. How could he lust so badly for such an innocent? He was unworthy to touch her toes, and yet he longed to take her in his arms and worship her with his mouth. He must have been out of his mind when he’d told Angus at the meeting last night that he would take charge of her safety and training. The poor angel was not safe around him.
“Ian’s wife is pregnant.” She frowned, still deep in thought. “Then she must be mortal?”
“Aye.”
She turned toward him. “And their child will be another hybrid like Shanna’s children?”
“Aye. And there are others on the way. Jean-Luc and his wife had twins.”
“Do they have both human and vampire characteristics?”
Connor nodded. “They appear like normal children, awake during the day and eating real food. But they have other . . . gifts, like levitation, teleportation, an ability to heal.”
Her eyes widened. “How fascinating. I would love to meet some of these children.” She sighed. “But I’m afraid it would be too dangerous.”
Connor shrugged as he removed his bottle from the microwave. “Our community is always dealing with some kind of danger. Casimir and his Malcontents would like to destroy us all. And if the mortal world ever learned of our existence, they would want to kill us, too.”
She frowned. “Maybe humans would accept you once they learn you’ve been protecting them from the Malcontents.”
He lifted his bottle. “Before Roman invented this stuff, we were feeding off humans. We dinna kill them, but I canna imagine they would be pleased. They’ll see us for what we are: bloodsucking parasites. Unholy creatures of the night.”
She winced. “I won’t have you talking that way about yourself. You’re a good, noble man. And all of your friends seem perfectly lovely.”
He snorted. “Ye’re still thinking like ye’re in heaven. This is Earth, and humans will believe it is their sacred duty to kill us. That’s why nothing is more important than keeping our existence a secret.”
“Then we’re in the same boat. I need my existence kept secret, too.” She sighed. “Until I can get back to heaven. If I can get back.”
“Ye will get back. We’ll make sure of it.”
Her eyes softened and the tips of her mouth curled up. “Thank you.”
His heart squeezed in his chest. Bugger, how would he