“Yes,” he whispered, his voice packed full of emotion she wished wasn’t there.
“And now what?”
“You belong with me, Avery. I feel it in my gut.”
Her head snapped up, her stomach fluttering with butterflies. “When you say belong… you mean…?”
Throwing her a wicked smile that would thaw the iciest of hearts, Brennus replied, “As in belong with, as in my friend and eternal lover.”
She dropped her head in her hands, shaking uncontrollably. “This can’t be happening, this isn’t happening, I’m going mad-”
“Avery, stop,” he snapped and she felt the breeze of blurry movement as he knelt before her, only inches from her now. He moved supernaturally fast. His warm hand reached up and yanked her hands away from her face so she’d have no choice but to look at him. All she could see were his eyes; the paleness of his face and horror of his scar just a blur compared to the sharp clarity of those eyes.
“You’re warm,” she said dumbly.
Brennus grunted, “You expected different?”
“Cold. I expected you to be cold.”
He snorted. “I’m not a vampire, Avery.”
Her eyes widened. “Do they exist?!”
His eyes closed and he shook with suppressed laughter. Finally his lashes fluttered and he opened his lids, pinning her to the wall with his black gaze. “No. They don’t.”
Trying to pull her wrists out of his grasp, Avery muttered, “So you really think I belong with you, huh?”
“Didn’t you feel it when we danced?” he whispered sensually, his hot woodsy scent enveloping her.
“Stop that!” she snapped, snatching her hands back.
Brennus frowned in confusion. “Stop what?”
“That.” She gestured vaguely. “That intoxicating, drugging thing you do with your heat and smell…” She drifted off at his languid grin. She huffed, “You’re not doing anything, huh?”
He shook his head smugly.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re expecting from me but you’ve got the wrong girl,” she insisted.
Brennus went back to glaring. “I’m not wrong.” He heaved an exasperated sigh. “I know I’m not much to look at, Avery, but if you gave me a chance…” He gulped in a breath and shook his head. “I’ve lived a long time, Avery, and I know that you’re the one. The Ankou are destined to live forever performing the duties of their obligation to the dead… unless…”
“Unless?” she whispered.
“Unless they fall in love with a mortal who loves them back. The mortal frees them from their obligation and joins the Ankou in immortality. They live forever together, the Ankou no longer tied to the world of the dead.”
Slowly realisation dawned and for some reason she felt a stab of pain in her chest. “You’re using me!” she hissed, her eyes narrow slits of rage. “You’re using me to get out of being a reaper!”
Brennus threw her a disgusted look. “Of course not! I have to love you and you have to love me. It has to be real. Or it won’t work.”
“Well I’m sorry to burst your little fantasy, mister, but I don’t love you.”
The air thickened around them. A chill, tight and cold, descended over them and Avery knew Brennus was responsible for it. “You’ll give me a chance, Avery. Spend some time with me. Please.”
“No.”
“Avery-”
“I said no!” she growled aggressively in his face. “You took my parents!”