“But she’s terrified of you.”
I clench my jaw. Perhaps for once I should listen to Neli. I have never dealt with a mate before, and I wish for this to go smoothly. “Very well. Stay. She will learn by your calm example. She trusts you.”
We return to the bed, but Stella isn’t there. She’s fully dressed, staring out the window. At least she didn’t leave.
“Stella, you might want to take a seat,” Neli says.
I watch as my mate moves in a daze and sinks heavily into a nearby chair.
I sit on the bed across from her, but she refuses to meet my eyes. Neli remains standing by my side, showing her loyalty. “Stella.”
She slowly lifts her head. “You killed a man.”
“Stella, I am very aware of your feelings on the shocking matter we are about to discuss. I merely ask that you keep an open mind and hear me out before jumping to any conclusions.”
Stella continues staring, but doesn’t argue. Perhaps a good sign.
I clear my throat. “The supernatural world you once spoke of is real. It is not fiction. It is not an invention of wild human imaginations. It is very real, and I am an eight-hundred-year-old vampire, but I only kill those who deserve it. And you, my sweet Stella, are my mate.”
Stella’s brows shoot up.
“It’s true,” Neli puts in. “All of the signs are there. The witch’s curse was lifted when you returned home. He woke from the five-hundred-year nap he was forced into.”
Stella blinks rapidly. “Witches? Vampires? You expect me to believe any of this nonsense? I know what you are, Boz. You’re a killer.” She narrows her eyes at Neli. “And you’re an accomplice.”
“I know it’s hard to process,” Neli says gently. “I told you he had supernatural powers of seduction. You felt that was true, right?”
Stella strokes her neck where I bit her, her brows furrowed.
“Stella, with time—” I start.
She stands abruptly. “I’d like to leave now.”
“Of course you are free to go,” I say.
She nods once and walks briskly to the door. I appear at her side in a flash and open it for her. She does a double take at my swift movement. I want her to see my powers in small doses until her mind is ready to accept the full truth.
“I will see you tomorrow at sundown at the competition,” I say.
Her mouth opens and then closes before she bolts, her heart hammering loudly enough to make my own chest ache.
“Well,” I turn to Neli, “that went better than I imagined.”
Neli groans and shakes her head. “I’ll go take care of the body.”
“Shouldn’t you go speak to Stella? Pre-immortal woman to post-immortal woman?” Couldn’t hurt for Neli to do a little selling on the perks of being mated to a vampire. For example, the sex is amazing and we have excellent taste in wine—something that could only prove to be advantageous to her family.
“Give her some space to digest; she’ll come around.” Neli sounds more hopeful now, but the look in Stella’s eyes gives me cause to worry.
“But you will talk to her. Yes?” I press. “You will make her understand how important she is and that her feelings for me are real.” I know Stella senses our connection. She has to. The question is, will she embrace it, or will her fear of the supernatural destroy a love that I now know has been missing from my life for over eight hundred years?
Neli’s green eyes are intense. “Trust me, Boz, there is nothing more important to me than this. I want to be free. And if that means getting her on board, then consider it done.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Stella
The next day, Friday, I tour the exhibition hall with my parents for the competition that means so much for the future of my family’s vineyard, and all I can think about is Boz. He’s a killer, yet he claims this fantastical story, trying to convince me I’m his mate. I could never be his mate. Who even says that? Does he mean wife? I could never marry a cold-blooded killer.
The judges are making their way through the tables set up for tastings in their three-piece suits and fancy dresses. Our fate lies in their hands. My parents are talking excitedly about some of the tastings they’ve done at a table set up with last year’s winners. The wine is available for sale there. What if that’s us next year? How huge would that be to return in triumph and dazzle all the fellow vintners?
And it never would’ve happened without Boz’s help. He went above and beyond taking the time to work on a blend for us using his award-winning wine, arranging for this trip, paying for everything. I can’t reconcile the man I thought he was and the man I saw last night. My mind rebels instantly at the idea of him being a vampire, sucking that man dry. That can’t be what I saw. He must’ve broken that man’s neck using his powerful jaw. That’s the only thing that makes sense. He bit me too, but that was sex play. I’d be dead if he was a bloodsucking vampire, right? Just like that man. Chills rush through me, and I cross my arms, rubbing them.