Lost in thought, she stood there until a recorded voice announced the mall would be closing in ten minutes.
Sheree was outside, waiting for a cab, when Derek appeared beside her. “Need a ride home?” he asked.
She stared at him, her heart pounding. Did he know what she’d done?
“Of course I know, you little fool.” Grasping her forearm, he propelled her down the street to where his car was parked and practically shoved her inside.
His face was a mask of anger when he slid behind the wheel.
“Have you been spying on me?” she asked angrily.
“Damn right!”
Sheree hugged her handbag to her chest. The proverbial shit was about to hit the fan. “So, why did you let me meet with Pearl?”
“I wanted to see how far you would go.” He shook his head. “You’re willing to risk your life on something that’s been tested on three young vampires? I gave you credit for being smarter than that.”
“Well, I guess you were wrong.”
“I’m beginning to think you need a keeper.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re a bully.”
He pulled up in front of his house, grabbed her by the arm, and transported the two of them inside.
Sheree twisted out of his grasp. Hands fisted on her hips, she glared at him. “It’s my life. I’ll do what I want.”
“No, you won’t. I swear, I’ll lock you in the dungeon for the rest of your life if I have to, but you’re not taking that damn formula.”
“How do you know it won’t work?”
“I don’t, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Well, I am!”
He took a deep breath in an effort to calm his anger. “Sheree . . .”
“You were willing to take one of Pearl’s potions not too long ago,” she reminded him.
“And you talked me out of it.”
“Nothing you can say will change my mind.” Closing her eyes, she tried to dissolve into mist, but nothing happened. “Are you stopping me?” she demanded, her eyes shooting sparks at him.
“No.”
“Then why can’t I dissolve into mist?”
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll find you wherever you go.” He took a deep breath. “Sheree, please don’t do this. I love you. I know that, under all that anger, you love me, too. We can be happy together if you’ll let us. Being a vampire isn’t so bad. I think you’ll find that the good outweighs the bad.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I’m not even a good vampire or I’d be able to turn into mist like everybody else.”
“Maybe you’re trying too hard. Just think about it and it will happen.”
“I’m afraid,” she admitted, chin lifted defiantly. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to get my own form back and I’ll be stuck in some nebulous shape forever.”
“As far as I know, that’s never happened.”
Sniffling, she said, “There’s a first time for everything.”
“So there is. I know you can do it. Try again.”
She closed her eyes and pictured herself becoming invisible, and when she opened them again, she was floating above the floor. She couldn’t speak, but she could see the room around her. It was like looking through gauze.
She could leave now and he wouldn’t be able to see her go. Would he be able to sense her whereabouts in this form?
She willed herself to go higher, and the next thing she knew, she was hovering near the ceiling. There was a cobweb in the corner. For some reason, seeing it made her laugh, which broke her concentration.
With a wordless cry, she plummeted toward the floor.
And landed, with a soft oomph, in Derek’s arms.
Staring into his eyes, she tried to summon her anger; instead, she remembered all the nights she had spent cradled in his arms, the warmth of his kisses, the sensual pleasure of giving him her blood. Was that pleasure lost to her now that she was a vampire?
“It works both ways, love. Did you find no pleasure in drinking from me when I made you?” he asked with a knowing grin.
Her gaze slid away from his. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
She let out a huff of annoyance. Why did she bother lying when he could read her mind? He could read her mind because he was a vampire. She frowned. Well, so was she.
She knew the moment her mind brushed his by the sudden intake of his breath. For a moment, he blocked her, and then, with a sigh of resignation, he let her inside. It wasn’t so much his thoughts she read as his feelings—his lonely childhood, his love for his mother, his regret at having never known his father, his respect for Logan. But stronger than all of these was his love—and his need—for her.
It was the reason he had been able to resume his own form when she was dying, even though it should have been impossible for him to banish the werewolf while the moon was full.
It was the reason he had dragged her back from the brink of death.
It was the reason he was here now, even though she had repeatedly claimed she hated him.
How could she not love such a man? “I’m still mad at you.”
A faint smile twitched his lips. “I know.”
“You can put me down now.”
“Maybe I don’t want to.” His gaze searched hers. “Are you ever going to forgive me?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Persuade me.”
A slow smile spread over his face as he carried her swiftly to bed and showed her, with every heated kiss and caress, just how much he loved her.
Later, while Sheree slept, a satisfied smile on her face, Derek dumped Pearl’s serum down the toilet, then tossed the bottle in the trash, thinking how mad his lovely bride would be when she discovered what he’d done.
And how much fun it would be to kiss and make up again in the years to come.
Chapter Forty-Five
Eight months later
Sheree smiled at Derek as he released a young couple from his thrall and sent them on their way. Hard to believe there had been a time when she was upset about being a vampire. Once she accepted it and decided to make the best of it, she wondered why she had made such a fuss in the first place. True, she’d had to give up some of the things she loved, but she’d gained so much more in return.
“Happy, love?” he asked.
“More than happy.” Folding her hands over his shoulders, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him.
His arms slipped around her waist. “So, you’ve forgiven me for everything?”