He could see her mind working.

“But that would mean…” she started, her eyes widening.

This was his opportunity to tell her about his species, and that they needn’t be feared. “Yes. That’s exactly what that means. Vampires can bond with humans. For life.”

“Why would a human agree to that?”

“Many reasons: love being the strongest. And the advantages for the human are without equal: through their blood-bond the human feeds off the vampire’s immortality.”

“The human becomes immortal? No. You mean the human is turned into a vampire.”

“No. The human remains human. Who would the vampire feed off if he turned his human mate into a vampire? No, he needs her to remain human, because he can only take nourishment from his mate. He will only ever feed off his human mate.”

“I don’t understand. He won’t bite another human?”

“He couldn’t, even if he wanted to. The blood-bond is so strong that he would get sick from drinking another human’s blood.”

“That still leaves all those other vampires.” She pointed toward the door indicating the world outside their four walls. “The ones who’re not that tame. Those who don’t have human mates.” She shivered visibly, as if the thought disgusted her. “Vampires like Ronny, and the one who attacked me.”

Slowly Blake nodded. “Yes, there are those.” He looked at her, searching her eyes, making sure he had her full attention. “That’s why Scanguards came into existence. To protect humans from evil vampires.”

She waved her hands nervously. “But how? I felt how strong that vampire was. How could a human possibly have a chance against something like that?”

“A human wouldn’t.” He waited, letting the words sink in.

“But if not a human then…” Her eyes moved, her irises widening, swallowing up most of the white in her eyes.

“Scanguards was founded by a vampire named Samson Woodford. He still runs the company today, over two hundred years later. Many of the employees are vampires who’ve pledged their lives to protect the humans in their care.”

Lilo’s head moved from side to side, her chin dropping. “No, no, I can’t hear anymore of this. This is crazy. This can’t be true. Please tell me none of this is true.”

He met her pleading look. “I wish I could. But there’s one more thing. Something I wanted to tell you before we ended up in bed.” He hesitated, but there was no way back now. She deserved to know.

“Lilo, I’m one of them. I’m a vampire.”

23

Lilo’s heart stopped. Her lungs stopped working. Her muscles froze. Paralyzed, she stared at Blake, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. His words still echoed in her ears, but they couldn’t be true.

Her mouth could only form one word. “No.”

Maybe if she said it enough, it would become true, and the nightmare she found herself in would end.

“I’m sorry, Lilo, but it’s the truth. I became a vampire fourteen years ago.”

She continued shaking her head, not wanting to believe his words. Because believing them would mean she’d have to admit that she’d kissed a vampire, touched him, slept with him.

Blake leaned closer, and she involuntarily shrank back into her corner of the sofa. Immediately he made a calming gesture with his hand, easing back again. “I have no intention of frightening you or hurting you in any way. On the contrary. I want you to know everything about me. I want you to understand me, and why I had to keep this from you. I need you to trust me.”

“Trust?” She laughed hysterically. “Trust a vampire? Like Hannah trusted Ronny?” She expelled an angry breath. “See where that got her! She’s probably dead already!” Tears welled up in her eyes now, but she forced them back. No, crying wouldn’t help now. She had to remain strong. “Hannah would have never gotten involved with a vampire, had she known what Ronny was. Never!”

“Hannah met Ronny through her job. She knew what he was.”

“No! He lied to her, just like you lied to me!”

“Hannah works for Vüber. Scanguards created Vüber for the sole purpose of providing vampire-safe transportation during daylight hours. Every single client is a vampire. The human drivers know that. We retrofit their cars to make them vampire-safe. Hannah knew who she was transporting. She knew what Ronny was even before they started dating.”

Lilo pressed her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

“Hannah went into this relationship with her eyes open. Ronny didn’t lie to her.” He sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t claim the same for myself. But I knew, from your reaction when I picked you up from the police station, that you’d never let me make love to you if you knew what I was.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Hell, by telling you this I’m probably making things even worse for myself.” He shot her a pleading look. “But I can’t lie to you any longer. I want you, Lilo. The thought of never again touching you, kissing you, making love to you, is killing me.”

“Like Ronny wanted Hannah?” she ground out. “As if I don’t know what that means. You know how many times Hannah complained about Ronny’s possessiveness? His demanding nature? His jealousy? It all makes sense now. He’s a vampire, an animal. Just like you.”

He flinched, and quickly closed his eyes, but she’d seen it nevertheless: a red flickering in his irises, as if he was about to lose control.

“You’re right, Lilo.” He rose and turned his back to her. “I’m an animal. And I’ll tell you why: I love my family, and I would do anything to protect them. That’s why I asked my fourth great-grandfather to turn me. So I could protect those I love. Scanguards is my family. The boys you met here—Sebastian, Adam, and Nicholas—they’re my charges. They’re hybrids. The sons of Scanguards’ senior management. Thirteen half-vampires, ten boys and three girls, rely on me for their security when their parents are otherwise occupied. Yes, I’m an animal, because I’ll protect them to the death.”

The words shocked her to the core. Such passion. Such devotion. Such honor.

Could a vampire really possess those traits? Could he really live by such a code?