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“Kristen!
Get out of here!” His anger was understandable, but she placed
herself only feet from him. He still grimaced in agony, while holding his
injured hand.
“I
just want to help.” If he was burnt, he needed help and she would not oblige
his pained tantrum. If he could be stubborn, she could too. She reached for his
hand and pulled it toward her. Blisters! The UV light had caused blisters, but
how? It wasn't logical. She had placed her own hand on the light and had felt
nothing.
She
had expected him to pull away, but he didn't. His face became expressionless, as
if he was studying her. The back of his hand seemed to take on a life of its
own. First the blisters heaped high with watery bubbles. These heaved and waved
upon the back of his hand like a creature running under the skin and then they
flattened by themselves. Next, they seemed to dry out, leaving a thin brown
scab. Finally, the dry scab disappeared and his flesh cleared, like a Biblical
leper cleansed by a miracle.
It
scared the crap out of her and she dropped his hand. “Iiieee!” His uninjured
hand moved faster than she could see and caught her upper arm. Terror gripped
her. She had to get out of here, but he held her much too tightly. She stared up
into his startling blue eyes.
“What
do you see?” His voice was edged with bitterness. Horrified, like a rabbit
caught in a spotlight, she couldn't stop staring at his hand.
She
straightened her face as much as possible, but the quiver of her lips would give
away inner turmoil. “I don't know what you mean?” It was a lie, but she had
to deny this craziness or be crazy.
“If
you don't know what I mean, why are you afraid of what you see before you? Or
should I say, of what you don't see anymore?” He clasped both her arms this
time. His face reddened. His eyes glowed. The blues of his eyes changed
color and looked like red neon
lights.
Chaotic
thoughts wanted to control her. There had to be a trace of realism somewhere in
the depths of her mind, but logic fast slipped away. What did all this mean?
Only in fantasy stories of vampires or werewolves, the undead, the supernatural,
did creatures heal like this. That was impossible, wasn't it? Myths were just
that, myths, and she didn't believe in them.
But
earlier she had thought he had drunk blood. It would explain that too, adding to
the sequence of strange incidences, but how could she possibly believe in a
myth? Everything had rational answers. If she argued with herself, it wouldn't
stop her foolish thinking, and as a scientist, she needed facts, not fantasy.
“I
asked what frightened you. What you see or don't see.”
She
met his glowing gaze, but shied away.
It had to be a trick of the bathroom lighting.
“I don't know, Ethan. I just
don't know. I'm totally confused how you could heal like that and your eyes
could look glowing red embers…instead of normal blue.”
Fear
grew and made her nauseous. She leaned against the basin but she couldn't take
her gaze off his. He didn't look as angry, but what did she know of him? In
a matter of seconds, the eyes that had glowed so red had changed to their
beautiful sapphire blue. Was Ethan Travis a creature? Inhuman?
Ethan's
anger ebbed. It was his own fault. He should not have let her see him like that.
He hadn't expected her to follow him. That's why he had fled to the men's room.
If only he had pulled his hand away and made her leave. Now regret surged
through him.
He
released her arms. She couldn't get very far if she did try to run. With his
strength and speed, she couldn't get away even if she didn't know it.
Ethan
kept his gaze locked with hers. Endless seconds slipped into endless minutes.
What was he going to do? After all these years, he had never let anyone remember
him. He could entrance her, but she would hate him. Adjustment wouldn't come as
easily as Peggy, because he and Kristen hadn't shared the same intimacy.
Besides, he might have to leave and take her with him because her father would
question her devotion to Ethan. Peggy had been a rolling stone, a free-spirited
woman of the nineteen-sixties. Her father hadn’t been an issue.
Ethan
wanted more than just another entranced servant, but what? After working close
to Kristen these weeks, his feelings fast approached love, and he hadn't known
how much until tonight. She felt something too. During the kiss, he had sensed
emotions in her that he had never sensed before tonight. No doubt, she was
attracted to him, but the overshadowing mistrust that he had for humans hovered.
What hope of a relationship could he have? And what did he do now?
“What
does it mean?” she asked. Her voice sounded timid and he had never known her
to be timid. “Please tell me, what does it mean?”
“You're
a scientist-in-training.” His voice dripped with bitterness that he couldn't
hide. His extended years had not been fair to him. “Can't you figure it out or
are you still lacking some of the facts?”
Kristen's
brows knit together. “What I'm thinking is foolishness. Myths. I've always
thought myself too educated to believe in such myths, especially when there is
no logical reasoning behind them. There must be a rational explanation to why
your skin heals so quickly, and why your eyes looked like they glowed red.”
She hesitated, but her gaze continued to search his face. “I just can't come
up with any reasonable answer, right now.”
He
sighed. “Tell me what you're thinking and I'll tell you if it's logical.” His
quiet voice belied his inner turmoil.
She
licked her lips. Blast it. Why did she have to be so danged enticing? Why didn't
she just spit it out? You're a vampire.
“Myth
has it that vampires heal abnormally fast...because they can't be killed... by
normal means that is. And --.” She stopped as if afraid to finish her words.
In
shame, remorse, he turned his face from her questioning gaze. She knew his
secret and all doubts in both their minds had been chased away. He dreaded to
hear her thoughts put into words. “And what?” he asked.
“I
thought I say you drinking blood this morning.”
Truth
slammed into him. He had known it but hadn't wanted to believe it. Curses on
himself for not pulling his hand away and preventing her from witnessing his
regeneration. Had he wanted her to know? But why? He must make her forget him
and make her want to return to another shift because of their incompatibility.
He had to make her think that they could never work together.
“Sometime
myths are based on facts.” His voice sounded as solemn as he felt. He returned
his saddened
gaze to hers. The final decision weighed
his heart down. His growing love
for her, which he wished he could deny, made him not want to block out his
secret. He longed for a friend like Ramon or like Victoria at the first of their
relationship. Coward that he was, he couldn't trust Kristen.
“But
that's impossible.”
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