Dying to Date(29)

“And if I decided not to ally myself with my enemy, you’ll make the choice for me.”

Tarian shook his head. “Don’t ask me to choose between you and my entire race.”

Because she’d lose. Whatever they had in New York, obviously it hadn’t meant to him what it had to her.

“Fine. Whatever you say. It’s not like I have a choice in the matter.”

He didn’t move. “Give me your word you won’t try and escape me. Do it, and I’ll swear not to use my powers on you.”

She inhaled out of habit at the unexpected offer. His powers were his trump card. Never before had she encountered an enemy willing to give up his advantage so easily.

“Why?” she demanded. What sort of trick was he pulling?

“Because despite what you believe, I never wanted to use them on you in the first place. It’s a promise I’ll be happy to make.”

“No power. Not ever. I don’t care what situation we get into, I stay with you, and you keep your creepy magic off me.”

“That’s the deal.”

She chewed her lip as she mulled over her options. There was no denying it was the best deal she could hope to wring from him. Not to mention, given the circumstances, it might not be a bad idea to stick together. Though a phone call would have her father’s men to her in hours, Tarian was right. There would be no hiding such a public rescue, and the vampires would consider this an attack on their race. They’d lose any chance at avoiding conflict, and the resulting uprising would put vampire lives in jeopardy. Her immediate safety was not worth igniting a war. Taking a road trip with a necromancer, however, didn’t exactly sound like her kind of vacation.

“If you break your word, I will never trust you again,” she cautioned. “I don’t care what sort of partnership we build. You use your magic on me, and we are through.”

“You don’t trust me now.”

“You know what I mean.”

He inclined his head. “I will keep my promise.”

Melissa exhaled slowly before she made her decision. “Deal. I’ll stay with you. But if you betray me, I’ll use all of my father’s considerable resources to hunt you down and make you regret it.”

“Duly noted.”

Pushing him back, she jerked away from his grip and paced the length of the room. “How long will it take to drive back to the city?”

“Forty hours, give or take,” he replied. “You didn’t do too well in the trunk, though, so I’d suggest only traveling at night.”

“Four nights or so,” she said, factoring in the average hours of darkness. She could stand his company for that long, especially if she’d either be unconscious or behind the wheel most of that time.

“Fine,” she said. “Then we should get on the road as soon as possible.”

“Ready when you are.”

Melissa smoothed a hand down her dress, noting the scorch marks where the sun had burned her skin. Several red welts still showed on her calves, but most of her daylight injuries were well on their way to healing.

“I’ve got to stop somewhere to change,” she said. “I know the heroines in adventure movies might run from exploding buildings in tight dresses and stiletto heels, but in reality we do better with jeans and running shoes.”

Tarian gestured to the broken down chair in the corner. A gray Wal-Mart bag waited for her.

“I thought of that,” he said. “Once you were settled in, I did a quick run.”

She took the bag and refrained from thanking him for the unexpected thoughtfulness.

“I had to guess at the sizes,” he replied, striding back to the bed.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” she said and slipped into the bathroom.

There she traded her Dior dress and Jimmy Choos for polyester and sneakers. Glancing in the mirror, she saw every trace of a curl had left her hair, and her makeup had more or less vanished. She looked…ordinary. Something she hadn’t been since her human days.

You’re a Redgrave, she told herself. The match of any necromancer, no matter how old.

Rolling her shoulders back, she lifted her chin. In four nights she’d be home. She could do this. As long as she remembered the real Tarian was the one who had forcibly brought her back to this room, not the one who had shown up at her office with lunch and even more delicious kisses. Whatever reason he’d had for pursuing her, she bet it wasn’t because of her awesome dating abilities. Which meant she had to keep her foolish, romantic heart firmly in check. She might have deluded herself into thinking he was the man of her dreams, but she’d never been the woman of his.