The Blackest Night (Dusk Before Dawn 3)

Stephan must have caught that I was hurt by the idea, even though I had no right to be. He sat down next to me and took my hands in his, giving them a little squeeze. “Not just anyone, though. For daywalkers, there’s only one woman for whom we will feel that spark of love and desire, and it often takes us many centuries to find our match.”

“Whoa.” There was a lot to take in from what he said. I wasn’t sure where to start, so I decided to go with the easiest question first. “What exactly is a daywalker?”

His explanation about the existence of two kinds of vampires and how he and his brothers had been born as daywalkers made me realize that none of the things I needed to ask were going to have simple answers. But I couldn’t bury my head in the sand and pretend tonight hadn’t happened. My eyes had been opened to a world I hadn’t known existed, and there was no going back now. Thinking about his reference to some daywalkers waiting centuries to find their perfect match, I dove into the next subject. “How old are you?”

“I’m six hundred and thirty-four.”

I pressed my head against the couch’s back cushions and stared up at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. After I did a little mental math, I gasped, “You’re thirty-two times older than me.”

Stephan’s deep chuckle sent a shiver down my spine as he stretched out next to me and scooted close enough that our bodies were touching from my shoulder all the way down to my knee. I tensed up, trying to stop my reaction from turning into a full-on shudder as he teased, “Age is just a number, angel.”

I rolled my eyes at his playful banter, but the endearment he’d attached to his sentence sent a thrill through my body. “That’s probably easier for you to say since you’re more than six hundred years older than me.”

“True,” he conceded, gripping my chin between his thumb and index finger to turn my head in his direction. When our gazes met, he added, “But we’re on a level playing field where it matters most. When it comes to love, I’m as much a novice as you are.”

I bit my bottom lip, my eyes going wide at his confession. “So, when you said that there was only one woman for a daywalker, you meant—”

I let my question trail off because I wasn’t sure how to word what I was trying to get at. My cheeks were already warm just at the thought of Stephan and sex. If I’d had to give voice to what was in my head, I might have spontaneously combusted. Luckily, he stepped in to save me again. “Yes, you took what I said exactly how I intended. Daywalkers don’t feel passion for anyone other than their fated consort.”

“Oh.” My shoulders slumped because it really sucked that my libido roared to life for a guy who couldn’t return my interest. Hoping to cover up my disappointment by distracting Stephan, I murmured, “There isn’t any way to make finding your consort easier? I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend your life knowing you could walk right past the only person you were meant to be with and never realize you missed out on meeting them.”

Stephan trailed his fingertips over the birthmark that was hidden beneath the white material of my blouse. “Potential mates are born with a mark right here. It’s shaped like—”

“Two brownish red spots?” I gasped, interrupting him.

“Yes.”

“I have that mark.” I wrapped my fingers around his hand and pressed his palm against my shoulder. “Right here.”

His lips curved up in a pleased smile. “I know, Bronwyn.”

“How could you possibly know?” My head reared back in shock as a possibility occurred to me. “Can you see through my clothing?”

“No.” Humor shone from his bright blue orbs as he chuckled and shook his head.

“Hey, it’s not as if I know all the powers vampires have.” I poked him in the chest, marveling over how firm his lean muscles were. “It didn’t seem as though it was a big leap in logic since you appeared out of thin air on your front step earlier.”

“That’s fair,” he conceded as he lifted my hand and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. “But I know about your birthmark because my body’s reaction to you can only mean that you’re my consort.”

Butterflies took flight in my belly at the discovery that my attraction wasn’t one-sided. “I’m yours?”

“Yes, fate finally favored me.” He slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against his chest. “The second our skin touched, I knew you were meant to be mine. I just hate that it took you running from those damn bloodsuckers in the blackest of nights for me to find you.”