His pulse began to pound in his ears.
Love.
Krysta loved him.
After learning she’d been engaged, Étienne had feared her heart would always belong to Michael, but . . .
She really did love him. Him. Étienne.
She was afraid to believe it, because it had happened so fast. But she loved being with him. Hunting. Talking. Laughing and teasing. Making love. Watching television. Sharing a sandwich. Even just sitting quietly on this campus or that, their shoulders and thighs touching as the night breeze caressed them.
And he felt the same. Étienne hadn’t realized he could fall in love so quickly, but living with her these past two weeks and spending so much time together . . .
He couldn’t get enough of her and was astounded that she felt the same way.
Dipping his head, he took her lips in a long, passionate kiss.
She drew back. “Damn it! I didn’t want you to see that!”
“See what?”
“How I feel about you! That’s why you kissed me, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
She covered her face with her hands and spoke something so jumbled into them that he couldn’t decipher it.
“Krysta, sweetheart.” He pried her hands away from her pink face. “I feel the same way.”
“You do?” she asked uncertainly.
“Yes.”
“But it’s too soon.”
“I know it feels that way. But it’s not like we’re dating and only see each other a couple of nights a week. We’ve been together constantly since you and Sean moved in, only parting to sleep.” He smiled. “And there were times we didn’t even do that.”
At last, he managed to coax a faint smile from her. “True.” She sighed. “You didn’t see anything else up there that would embarrass me, did you?”
He winked. “I saw some very interesting fantasies you’ve been fabricating around me.”
“Of course you did,” she acknowledged dryly.
“Would you by any chance care to explore a couple? No, make that a few. We have all day.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Unless you aren’t ready—”
“I’m ready.” She shook her head. “Wait. We’re getting distracted again. Are you going to transform me?”
“I will take the request to Seth and, if he gives his permission . . .”
She leaned forward.
“Yes, I’ll transform you.”
Grinning, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close, those tantalizing breasts pressed to his bare chest. “Thank you.”
He slid his hands up and down her back, loving the feel of her soft, soft skin. “There is one thing though . . .”
“Crap.” Releasing him, she plopped back onto her heels. “What?”
“Younger immortals are always weaker than older immortals.”
“That’s what Sean said.”
“Sarah isn’t. She was turned only two or three years ago and should be weaker than I. Instead, she’s as strong as her husband, Roland, who turned her.”
“Isn’t he like a thousand years old?”
“Close to it, yes. We don’t know if she’s so strong because of his age or because he’s a healer. But you might consider having Roland turn you.”
She scrunched up her face. “I’d rather you do it.”
“You won’t be linked to him emotionally afterward, if that’s your fear,” he assured her.
“Euw. I didn’t even think of that.”
“You would be stronger than me,” he said, even as he wondered how he would talk Roland into doing it.
“If you turned me, would I be as strong as you or weaker than you?” she asked.
“I don’t know. If the age of the immortal and not his gift is the determining factor, then you would have the same strength I possess, I would imagine. Perhaps slightly less.”
“I’m good with that.”
“Don’t be so hasty, Krysta. Being stronger would be an advantage. The stronger you are, the safer you are in battles against mercenaries and vampires. You’ll move faster. You’ll heal faster. You’ll have a greater tolerance for the sun.”
“I want you to transform me.”
He took her hand. “Just think about it.”
“I don’t have to. If I spent a month mulling it over, I would come to the same conclusion. If Seth says I can be transformed, I want you to be the one to do it,” she insisted.
And he wanted to be the one to do it. But he wanted her to be safe even more. “Okay. Then mull this over. When we first met, I came to your rescue each time you were in over your head. And,” he continued when she started to protest, “you were in over your head. Even you know you would have been killed coming up against the numbers of vampires you did if I hadn’t jumped into the fray and aided you.”#p#分页标题#e#