magazine come-ons? Yeah, pretty difficult to resist.” In a single, graceful motion that I could never hope to mimic, he moved closer and maneuvered me toward him so that my head rested on his biceps. His other arm curled protectively around my waist. It occurred to me to protest, but since that required energy, and he wasn’t doing anything other than cuddling, it wasn’t worth the effort.
I liked him, liked being touched by him, even now that I knew what he was. I wanted, suddenly and fiercely, for him to know my real name. I wanted to hear him say it.
“If I asked you very nicely to stop taking risks, would you?” he asked, a firm edge to his tone that made it sound like a serious request. A little laugh escaped me.
“I go to the gym. I go to work. I go home. When I’m feeling snappy, I go to the movies. I don’t take risks.” Not anymore . The other runners still referred to me as a wild child, but I hadn’t jumped out of an airplane or driven a snow machine past an avalanche warning sign in a long time. Hell, I barely even drank. I’d gone from sixty to zero in a little over a year.
My eyelids drooped. I shifted into a more comfortable position that brought our legs into contact. He slid one thigh between mine and I smiled. If I wasn’t so tired, if I didn’t hurt everywhere, I might have been tempted to explore the position.
“You came back for me when you should have stayed in the hospital. That wasn’t safe.”
“I couldn’t leave you there,” I murmured, breathing in the spice and soap smell of his skin. His arms tightened around me for an instant, pulling aches from my bruises, before he relaxed.
“Bronson would have sent someone eventually.”
“Why do you call him that?” I asked. “Instead of …”
“Because he didn’t change me. He isn’t my master.” Malcolm shifted, and I raised my head so he could recover his arm. He stared at the popcorn ceiling for a couple of minutes, and I nearly drifted back to sleep.
“I found myself in possession of something he thought belonged to him,” Malcolm said. “He offered me the choice of service or an end to my existence. I’m not interested in true death.”
“How does one find oneself in possession of something?” I asked, and Malcolm shrugged and frowned at his hands. He was uncomfortable, which was so precious that I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my God, you stole from him! There’s a rule against that. How long is this period of service? Do you have to, like, pick up his dry cleaning and laugh when he makes bad jokes?”
“Twenty years. I’m bound to do anything he requires.”
I sobered abruptly. He rolled back toward me, not quite looking me in the eye. If Bronson had turned him, he wouldn’t have any choice but to comply with an order. And, while he would have resented it, there would have been a kind of relief in knowing when he acted against his conscience it wasn’t by choice. But he was bound by an oath, which he was honoring, so when Bronson ordered him, he had to force himself to act. To march straight past his opinions and his beliefs, and do what he was told. I couldn’t imagine a worse situation.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.”
“Some of my duties aren’t so bad.” He smiled, traced the lines on my palm with his fingertips.
I wanted to twine my fingers with his, to press myself against him and engage in all sorts of acts I had never contemplated with a vampire. Instead I cleared my throat and tried to think of other important matters. Like why we were here in the first place.
“Who was trying to kill you?” I asked. His hand stilled and he grimaced.
“The bomb detonated after being opened to the air. I suspect the chemical detonator required a certain duration of exposure to oxygen before it went off.” I stopped breathing. Malcolm stroked my back gently, making a soothing noise in his throat.
“What are you saying? That…that…”
“That it was meant for you,” he said.
I liked him, liked being touched by him, even now that I knew what he was. I wanted, suddenly and fiercely, for him to know my real name. I wanted to hear him say it.
“If I asked you very nicely to stop taking risks, would you?” he asked, a firm edge to his tone that made it sound like a serious request. A little laugh escaped me.
“I go to the gym. I go to work. I go home. When I’m feeling snappy, I go to the movies. I don’t take risks.” Not anymore . The other runners still referred to me as a wild child, but I hadn’t jumped out of an airplane or driven a snow machine past an avalanche warning sign in a long time. Hell, I barely even drank. I’d gone from sixty to zero in a little over a year.
My eyelids drooped. I shifted into a more comfortable position that brought our legs into contact. He slid one thigh between mine and I smiled. If I wasn’t so tired, if I didn’t hurt everywhere, I might have been tempted to explore the position.
“You came back for me when you should have stayed in the hospital. That wasn’t safe.”
“I couldn’t leave you there,” I murmured, breathing in the spice and soap smell of his skin. His arms tightened around me for an instant, pulling aches from my bruises, before he relaxed.
“Bronson would have sent someone eventually.”
“Why do you call him that?” I asked. “Instead of …”
“Because he didn’t change me. He isn’t my master.” Malcolm shifted, and I raised my head so he could recover his arm. He stared at the popcorn ceiling for a couple of minutes, and I nearly drifted back to sleep.
“I found myself in possession of something he thought belonged to him,” Malcolm said. “He offered me the choice of service or an end to my existence. I’m not interested in true death.”
“How does one find oneself in possession of something?” I asked, and Malcolm shrugged and frowned at his hands. He was uncomfortable, which was so precious that I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh my God, you stole from him! There’s a rule against that. How long is this period of service? Do you have to, like, pick up his dry cleaning and laugh when he makes bad jokes?”
“Twenty years. I’m bound to do anything he requires.”
I sobered abruptly. He rolled back toward me, not quite looking me in the eye. If Bronson had turned him, he wouldn’t have any choice but to comply with an order. And, while he would have resented it, there would have been a kind of relief in knowing when he acted against his conscience it wasn’t by choice. But he was bound by an oath, which he was honoring, so when Bronson ordered him, he had to force himself to act. To march straight past his opinions and his beliefs, and do what he was told. I couldn’t imagine a worse situation.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.”
“Some of my duties aren’t so bad.” He smiled, traced the lines on my palm with his fingertips.
I wanted to twine my fingers with his, to press myself against him and engage in all sorts of acts I had never contemplated with a vampire. Instead I cleared my throat and tried to think of other important matters. Like why we were here in the first place.
“Who was trying to kill you?” I asked. His hand stilled and he grimaced.
“The bomb detonated after being opened to the air. I suspect the chemical detonator required a certain duration of exposure to oxygen before it went off.” I stopped breathing. Malcolm stroked my back gently, making a soothing noise in his throat.
“What are you saying? That…that…”
“That it was meant for you,” he said.
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