Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(83)

“Are they following us?” I asked between coughs.

“No,” he said, still in the water. “They probably didn’t want to get their hair wet.”

“How did you do that trick with your breath?”

He climbed up next to me, his wet hair dripping down his face. “A Vampire can do a great many things.” He looked over his shoulder. “We’re safe now.”

I sat up and squeezed out the ends of my wet hair. “Do you think those men we took out were their friends? They looked like they were part of some gothic Vampire club. Only black-haired douchebags need apply.”

He chuckled softly and stood up. “Perhaps you should have applied.”

I took his hand, a little unsteady on my feet. “You’re not my friend anymore.”

“I’ll remember that next time you’re hanging on to my crotch for dear life. Let’s get out of here before they change their minds.”

I dragged my feet, one of my socks missing and the other flopping around. I reached down and tossed it into the water. “I always thought underground rivers were something in the movies.”

“Where do you think spring water comes from? Subterranean rivers are a real thing, Raven. The world is bigger than you imagine it to be.”

I shivered. “So I’m learning.”

We continued at a sedate pace, Christian impervious to the biting chill. His teeth weren’t chattering like mine were, and he made no effort to squeeze the ends of his drenched T-shirt. The walkway bordered one side of the river, and the light in the distance glittered off the murky water like fireflies in the dark.

Christian slicked his hair back. “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea.”

“That’s pretty. What’s it from?”

“Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Jaysus, didn’t your schools teach literature?”

“We read Shakespeare and learned the anatomy of oysters. I guess it wasn’t in the budget. Do you think he was talking about this place?”

Christian wiped the droplets of water off his beard. “He wrote it while high on opium. Chances are slim to none.”

I touched my chest, relieved my necklace hadn’t fallen off. “Can we sit down? Just for a minute?”

He looked in both directions. “Aye. Just for a moment.” Christian led me to a stone slab within a recessed wall.

“I changed my mind,” I said, collapsing onto the rock.

“For feck’s sake. We just sat down.”

“Not about that. About my father.” I shivered hard when the cold air licked over my skin.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to end up like Shepherd with unresolved issues. At first, he was the poster boy for closing the door to my past. But I can’t. It’s eating away at me. My father won’t live forever, and it’ll be the biggest regret of my life if I don’t see him one last time.”

“Even if it means him despising what you’ve become?”

I squeezed the end of my wet tank top. “Even if it means him not loving me anymore. I never got the chance to say good-bye. I need him to know that I didn’t seek out to hurt him. He deserves to know how great of a father he was and how ungrateful of a daughter I was.”

Tears welled in my eyes but easily blended in on my wet face.

Christian put his arm around me. “Did you know penguins huddle for warmth?”

I laughed against his shoulder. “You spend too much time reading encyclopedias.”

“Every man needs a hobby.”

“Is that where you learned your mating technique?”

“You’re one to talk, praying mantis.”

“The men I lured into bathrooms weren’t prospective lovers.”

He reached around and squeezed the ends of my wet hair in front. “Neither are the women I bed. They’re just… recreational. Lover is a serious word. It implies commitment and devotion.”

“I thought that was marriage.”

“That’s an archaic tradition for humans. Some Breeds mate or bond, but that requires exclusivity.”

“Lovers aren’t exclusive?”

His thumb traced across my clavicle. “Haven’t you ever taken a lover?”

The air between us crackled.

I no longer had the fear of him charming me and stared deep into his bottomless eyes. Maybe it was foolish to trust a Vampire, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. His dark lashes matched his hair, and serious eyebrows framed his black eyes. Despite being a Vampire, he had wolfish characteristics. I tried to imagine how handsome his blue eyes must have been against his roguish features, but I couldn’t. Black eyes were the only color that seemed fitting for Christian, and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. They had a luster and mystery to them all their own.

“Will you take me to see him?”

“Aye, Precious. I’ll make good on my promise.”

My voice fell to a whisper. “Why do you have this effect on me?”

The pad of his thumb smoothed over my lips, and he looked upon me with fascination. “Your lips are soft.”

I got up and walked away. “We can’t do this.”