Deadly Attraction

“No, I was only joking. What brings you by?”

Jade pointed to the desk in the corner. “Typewriter. Will it bother you if I peck away a bit more? I’ve decided I am going to write a book. At least attempt to, though it’ll take me several years at the pace of my clicking on the keys.”

“I told you, you’ll get used to the arrangement and will gain more speed. But the machine is also designed for slower progress so you don’t jam the metal arms that hit the paper.”

Lisette came over and demonstrated, pounding out a slew of letters that caused the short rods to stick in a clumped mess before they could tap the paper and leave their mark.

“Gotcha,” Jade said. “Slow and steady isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

She discarded the sheet and inserted a fresh one. Having no real idea where to begin, she let her instinct and her heart guide her.

Chapter One

Not all humans are good. Not all demons are evil…

* * * * *

“You didn’t enjoy the veal, my Lord?” Sheena asked as she swept into the main dining hall.

It was well past midnight and the diners had long since dispersed. Darien had not joined them earlier, opting to eat alone, as he’d done for over a week now. Tonight he’d merely picked at his food, not having much of an appetite.

Ignoring Sheena’s question, he asked, “Have you been to the village?”

“Not since the night of the battle.” Sinking into a chair at the long, wide table that sat fifty, she said, “I feel bad about that. I chastised Jade and told her she wasn’t in this alone, and then I stopped seeing her. That’s not how friends treat each other.”

Darien agreed but then again… He’d not spoken with the woman he loved since that fateful night either. Therefore, he took great interest in Sheena’s reason for her actions. ?

?Why haven’t you gone to see her?”

The vampire shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Her gaze lifted to meet his. “Why haven’t you?”

Darien pushed aside his plate. Surprisingly, his answer came without thought. “I’ll cave if I do. I’ll let her convince me she did the right thing by disregarding my orders. And I’m not inclined to let her off the hook.”

“But you’ll forgive her someday, won’t you?”

He stood. “Forgiveness isn’t the issue. I owe her that, if for no other reason than the things I’ve done that she’s forgiven me for. But accepting her actions will only encourage her to continue doing as she pleases, without much thought to her own safety.”

“I disagree,” Sheena said in a low tone.

He stared at her, perplexed. “Meaning?”

“She’ll be this way regardless of whether you condone her behavior. You can’t change her, my Lord.” Sheena stood as well. “And isn’t that one more thing you admire about her?”

She left the dining hall without another word. Darien hung his head and sighed. With a half-snort, he wondered why he couldn’t have fallen in love with a woman with an obsequious and pedantic nature.

But then a sentiment Jade had shared with him one night came back to him.

How boring would I be if I did everything you asked me to do?

Jade Deville could never be boring. Nor could she ever truly be safe. Unless, of course, he married her and granted her immortality.

He walked out of the room as he stewed over the conundrum. By the time he reached his study, he wasn’t any surer of his situation with Jade than he’d been a week ago, following the fight. Maybe humans and demons weren’t meant to interact socially. Perhaps they were meant to stay on their sides of the border, coexisting from afar.

Naturally, the painful part of this theory was the obvious fact he loved Jade. Deeply. More than he’d ever imagined loving anyone. He agonized over how desperately he wanted to see her, how much he missed her. Conversely, he’d still not gotten beyond wanting to wring her neck.

So he poured a glass of brandy and sat at his desk. He had ample work to do, particularly correspondence amongst the stewards under his charge and the kings on the six other continents that would occupy his thoughts and time. Keeping Jade from his mind was not easy, but it was necessary.

Chapter Sixteen