Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(22)

“You told me it took Devon hundreds of years to be able to walk in the sun as freely as he does,” she reminded him.

“It did, but I’ve always been faster and brighter than he is. Also, I’m far better looking,” he added with a sexy smile and a playful tug on her hair.

Every muscle in her body longed to melt against him. She kept herself restrained from doing so. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“I’m already able to withstand the sun’s direct rays for ten minutes at a time and the indirect rays for nearly an hour. I will get there.”

“Julian—”

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect you. I’ll be fine. Believe me, the pain is worth losing this weakness.”

She flexed her healing fingers against his chest. “You’re a crazy vampire.”

“That’s one of the many reasons you love me.”

“Maybe,” she muttered as she gazed at his nearly healed chest. There was no point in arguing with him; he was determined to do this.

She turned to the window of the hotel and gazed out at the parking lot as the sun dipped behind the horizon. After speaking with the vampires the other night, they’d spent the entire following day in the RV, with Cassie and Devon following in Devon’s car while they drove as far from her old town as they could get. The vampires hadn’t known they resided in the town, but they all believed it was better to move on.

Clint and Hawtie had followed them in their RV last night until they’d arrived here. A lump formed in her throat as she recalled Clint’s gruff good-bye and Hawtie’s bone-crushing hug. The scent of lilacs still lingered in her nose from being clutched against Hawtie’s chest. Quinn knew she would see them again, but they’d been a constant presence in her life for the past three years, and she already felt a hole in her chest from their absence.

Once their RV had vanished from view, Julian had taken her hand and led her inside. They’d checked into this hotel for the next couple of days. They all needed a chance to relax and get some rest. She didn’t know what state they were in and she didn’t particularly care. She needed to simply be for a bit in order to process everything that had happened.

She’d left her entire life behind with her waitressing job and her apartment. Her apartment was small, but she’d worked hard for everything in it, and she’d loved it. It had been the first place she’d stayed for any length of time since she’d lost her family. Over time, she’d made friends in the small town. She enjoyed working for Clint and been content with the simple flow of her days and nights.

Now, she was surrounded by people she’d also come to think of as her friends and family, but she felt out of sorts in her new life. For the past three years, she’d known what every day would bring. Then Julian walked into her life and turned it upside down, but she’d still had some stability. Now, she had no idea what next week would bring or where she’d be.

Stepping back, her hand went to the heart-shaped locket around her neck. It had once belonged to her cousin, Betsy, and was the one possession she cherished most in her life. Besides clothes, it was the only thing she’d taken from her apartment. She shoved aside the sadness threatening to bury her when memories of her family swelled to the forefront.

She was starting a new life; it was time to move on from her past. She’d never forget the family and friends she’d lost, she would love and grieve them every day for the rest of her life, but she couldn’t allow guilt and sorrow to weigh her down. Not anymore.

Draining her uncle upon first turning would forever be the darkest stain on her soul, but she now had a chance to make sure no one else ever had to experience such horror. She would fight for that chance with everything she had. Her uncle would have understood she’d been out of control with her hunger; he’d loved her as much as his own children. He uncle would have forgiven her for what she’d done, and it was time she did the same.

Turning away from Julian, she walked toward the small, blue bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said over her shoulder to him.

“I’ll join you.”

She opened her mouth to respond when one of the disposable phones he’d stocked up on before their meeting with the vamps started ringing. Julian had kept his own phone, but their core group were the only ones who had the number to it.

“Ignore it,” he said as he stalked toward her, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

“You can’t ignore it,” she retorted as she danced toward the bathroom. “It could be important. Your duty is calling you.”

He cursed but changed course and headed for the phone on the nightstand. “Vern,” he muttered when he saw the number.

Quinn ignored her twinge of disappointment and walked into the bathroom as Julian answered the phone. She blinked against the harsh fluorescent light when she turned the switch on.

They’d left the meeting with five regulators, one of which was originally from England and another from China. Both of them were going to return overseas to help spread the word around Europe and Asia. They had decided to stay together while doing this. The three regulators in the U.S. were Vern and two women named Hadie and Prue. The three of them also planned to work their way through this country together.

Julian said he intended to go to Europe at some point, but first he wanted to head north to find more vamps in the Northeast and Canada. It would take time to get everything situated and everyone organized, but they’d already made a good start. Julian’s plan would work; she was certain of it. One day they would all know a peace she’d never dreamed of finding in her life.