“There has never been a vampire-necromancer pairing,” she whispered.
“Because it isn’t possible, or because there was never an opportunity?” he asked. “We could check the Fated Match website right now, and I guarantee the number of necromancers signed up would be less than a handful. Hard to mingle when every other race runs at the mere sight of you.”
“What are you saying, Tarian? We were meant to be?”
The pause before he responded was the longest moment of her hundred years. Part of her hoped he scoffed at the notion just as she had. A deeper, more secret part, however, waited for a different outcome.
“No,” he said at last. “My mate will never abhor me. I was attracted to you, still am, but you’re not the woman I’ve waited lifetimes to find.”
I’m not bleeding, she told herself. His words don’t affect me. But his denial that she could ever be more to him than a bedmate cut her in ways she hadn’t thought possible. She’d rather face a brush with the sun than the absolute certainty in his eyes.
My luck strikes again. Perfect man, imperfect circumstances.
“Good,” she said, lifting her chin so he’d never know how his confession pained her. “I feel exactly the same. Obviously our flirtation in New York was ill conceived.”
“It seems we agree on something at last.” He waved at the waitress to bring the bill.
Melissa gazed out the dark window by her side. It didn’t matter what he said or what he believed. All that mattered was getting home. That was her end goal. Not roping Tarian into her life along the way. It was good that they’d dispelled any lingering doubts she’d had. It wasn’t like she’d been hoping for some star-crossed happily ever after with the man. Had she?
“Thank you,” she said, not looking at him.
Tarian turned to her, passing cash to the waitress as he did. “What?”
“I know you came for me in order to help your people, not mine. You might even have come because you thought I was…important to you. It doesn’t matter. Whatever your reasons, thank you. For saving me.”
He sat in silence for a long moment before replying. “I have many regrets in my life.”
Melissa closed her eyes as she waited for his next words. Surely he’d add helping her to the list. The ungrateful vampire heiress who couldn’t look past her own prejudice, even when her life depended on it.
“Rescuing you is not one of them.”
She turned to him then. There was nothing pleasant in his expression. No joy, no hint of hope. He knew as well as she did that no matter what became of their romance on this road trip, it wouldn’t last past the city limits.
A relationship with an expiration date, she thought. No matter what choices you make on the road, they won’t follow you home. Two more nights and you’ll be safe in your own bed. Won’t you regret not knowing what it felt like to be Tarian’s, even if only for a night?
“Here’s your change, sugar,” the waitress interrupted, setting the receipt back onto the table.
“Thank you,” Tarian said, breaking eye contact with Melissa.
She mentally shook her head. When she pushed from the red booth she was back to her normal self. No regrets, no wishing things were different. A necromancer and a vampire had no future in today’s modern world. Even if a part of her wished otherwise.
“After you,” Tarian said, holding the door open for her.
“Thanks.” She stepped out into the night and wished it held its usual comfort. Instead she wrapped her arms around herself and headed for the car.
They nearly reached it when a child’s scream cut through the night followed by the smell of burning rubber and the squeal of tires skidding against the asphalt.
“Tarian,” she said, but he was already gone, running across the parking lot.
Melissa hesitated. She was alone. For the first time in days, no one watched her. She could use her speed to run as fast and as far as she could and never look back. Tarian might not be able to track her. She’d be free.
But that child’s cry sliced through her mind. What if she could help?
A human life, her inner voice whispered. What is that compared to yours?
Melissa turned to look out over the flat plains around her. It’d be so easy, so simple. This was her chance to escape. She could leave behind the necromancer that challenged her beliefs and made her life far more complicated than it should have been. This was her chance to run and escape, not only her pursuers but also the looming choices she was going to have to make about Tarian. If she left now, she’d never have to fight her attraction for him again. She’d never have to contemplate the ramifications of yielding to that pulsing, ever present desire.