Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(97)

“Nothing.”

Halle-freakin’-lujah. She allowed the trapped air to escape from her lungs but held her unconcerned fa?ade. “Maybe the strange aura is just part of the whole allergy to the sun thing.”

“Maybe.”

He wasn’t letting this go, not inside that iron-tight mind of his. She smiled in spite of her apprehension and said in a lighthearted tone, “You going to arrest me over suspicion of being unusual?”

“I don’t arrest anything.”

This conversation had taken a serious turn. “That’s right. You shoot to kill and send your goon squad as limo drivers.” Sometimes attitude was the best weapon handy. She stood up. “Dinner was wonderful. I really appreciate it and the curb service.”

“I still have a question.”

“I still have a busy schedule. Save it for our next clandestine dinner.”

“How long have you been talking to Nightstalkers? None of them ever see you during the day either.”

Crud. If she walked out now he’d take that as fear, and that wasn’t happening. She sat down. “I already told you why I don’t go out in daylight. What do you want, Isak?”

“The truth.”

That wasn’t going to happen. Tzader had warned her that Isak was after Alterants and to stay away. Coming here hadn’t been her idea. What truth could she give Isak that might end his suspicions and open the door to finding out about his intel?

“One more time. The truth is that I was born with a severe reaction to the sun. It will kill me. I’m not a demon or a monster.” Most days. “My parents were human. My mother died in childbirth. The woman who raised me was an aunt, if your definition of being raised is being kept in a basement twenty-four-seven for eighteen years, where I got fed every day.”

He frowned at that but didn’t interrupt her.

“She did teach me to read, write and speak so that I wouldn’t require as much care. She hated my mother and told me my father didn’t want some freak for a child. I do see spirits and can sometimes talk to them. I work at the morgue and do not harm humans, animals or aliens who don’t harm me. What else?”

“Would you remove your glasses?”

If he knew what Alterant eyes looked like—which he probably did, since he’d killed one—seeing her pale green eyes would end all bluffing.

She’d been put on display and turned on a pedestal to be observed from all directions since escaping her aunt. He could kill her if he wanted, but she would not sit here and grovel. “You’ve reduced me to a specimen under a microscope and now you want me to risk my vision just to appease your curiosity. I’ve answered your questions and met my commitment for a meal. What’s it going to be, Isak? You going to blow me to pieces to protect the world from a freak of nature or let me go?”

When he didn’t answer, she rose and stepped away from the table, heading for the door. “I’m leaving unless you shoot me.”

The rustle of clothes reached her ears before his voice did. “Wait, Evalle.”

And his voice sounded different. Huskier.

Pausing a step from the door, she turned around to find Isak close. Very close. She could smell his freshly showered body. She expected to see the steely look of a man bent on protecting the world from monsters like her.

But when she raised her face to his, she was surprised to see the discomfort in his gaze. Standing close in this low light, he could see the shape and movement of her eyes through the protective glasses, but not the color.

He lifted his hand slowly, as though being very careful not to make the wrong move.

Don’t touch my glasses. Her heart thumped wildly.

One of his fingers touched her cheek, then lifted a tiny strand of hair off her face. “I have a responsibility to protect humans every minute of every day, but I don’t think you’re a demon or a monster. I do think you’re unusual. One of the most unusual women I’ve ever met.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then her cheek.

She couldn’t have moved if the building had been on fire.

Cupping her face with his massive hand, he leaned down and kissed her. Her heart raced out of control the longer his lips worked magic over hers. He had a persuasive mouth that convinced hers to kiss him back.

He tasted like the last sip of wine he’d had.

When he ended the kiss, she had her hand on his wrist, holding on for support.

What had she been thinking to kiss him? She let go of his wrist, dropping her hand to her side.

She hadn’t been thinking. Her empathic side had been opening the door to emotions she’d never allowed to surface before. This was dangerous. First Storm, who was just as spectacular at kissing, and now Isak.

He ran a finger along her neck. “You’re different and beautiful.”

If she hadn’t truly believed he was human, she’d have thought he was spinning a spell right now. Was she putting out pheromones to men these days? Did Alterant pheromones work on humans?

Or was she dealing with a hormone overload to feel a sizzle from standing this close to a man who’d threatened her entire world just a minute ago? Had to be her empathic sense maturing.

She needed to get that under control.

He gave her a long gaze. “I want to see you again.”

When she was nervous, her sarcastic side came out. “You made that pretty clear by snatching me off the sidewalk. Do you grab all your dates that way?”