Don't Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1)(11)

“We have a bit of a situation,” Henry says.

I nod quickly, remembering last night’s conversation with Parker outside the club. “Yeah, your missing vampire. I’m sorry for you, but I really don’t know anything about it.”

“I do hope for your sake that’s true.”

He smiles as if we’re having a cordial conversation, while shivers race down my spine at the threat. He’s being pleasant, and using the manners and grace of a gentleman, but he can’t mask his underlying aura of danger. This man can and will kill me if he wants to.

My face pales, and my voice escapes me. I can only whisper as I shake my head. “I swear. I don’t have the answers you want.” My eyes flick quickly to Parker. “How many times can I say that?”

Henry comes to a stop at the end of the couch. He’s maybe four feet from me now. My pulse spikes even higher, and Henry pauses, cocking his head to the side as if he can feel it. Or hear it. “I believe you may be genuine,” he says, as if he’s surprised by his own faith in me. “However, I need to know for certain, and there are other things that don’t add up.” His eyes narrow. “Parker seems sure that you are hiding something, even if it’s not information about Nadine.”

I glare at Parker. He stares right back. “How do you know about the underworld?” he asks. “I swear you read my mind last night.”

The spike in my pulse confirms his suspicion. Henry nods as he files away that truth and takes a step closer to me. He rests his hand on the back of the couch and smiles again. The grin is slightly more predatory now. “How do you have such an extraordinary gift? And how is such a frail little thing like you involved in the underworld?”

He uses that same calm voice from his vision, as if he’s attempting to seduce me. His eyes are penetrating as well. I’m afraid he’s going to try to compel me. I drop my gaze to my feet and shake my head. “Believe me, I wish I wasn’t.”

In the blink of an eye, he comes around the couch and gently lifts his hand to my face. I flinch away from his touch, but his skin comes into contact with mine anyway. “I am not a monster,” he whispers, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand. “But I do need to know what you know of our world. I need to know how you’re involved with my missing vampire. I need to know what you’re hiding from me. If you will cooperate and try not to fear me, then I shall try to control my needs and desires.” His eyes rake over my body, and he swallows. “Though you tempt me so greatly.”

I don’t trust him, but hope explodes within me anyway. “Cooperate with you how? I already told you I don’t know about your vampire. What else do you want from me?”

He crowds my personal space again. I begin to tremble as fear twists my stomach into tight knots. I yelp when he suddenly grips my head in his hands. “I just need the truth, but I’m afraid I can’t trust your words. I will have to use my gift.”

Fear keeps my voice a whisper. “Your gift?”

“Don’t be afraid, Nora. If you don’t fight me, I won’t hurt you. I’m simply going to take a look at your memories. Memories cannot lie.”

He intends to sift through my memory? I’ve heard rumors of stronger vampires who could do amazing things with their compulsion powers. Clan leaders—masters—usually have extraordinary gifts that set them apart from other vampires. Make them stronger. I’d always hoped those stories weren’t true. But they are true. I can feel it in his thoughts and intentions.

Henry is going to get in my head and look at my memories. He’s very excited to do it. He’s curious about me—a human with the power to read minds who walks among his world.

I know the moment he accesses my mind. I feel his presence slip inside my head. The invasion of privacy is unbearable, and I automatically try to kick him out. Pinching my eyes shut, I mentally push against the unwelcomed presence. He fights back, pushing hard against me. “Do not resist me.”

“Get out of my head!”

Pain pounds behind my eyes, crushing against my brain and my skull. It hurts so badly I have to fight the urge to vomit. My nose begins to bleed. A tortured scream rips from my lungs. Still, every instinct I have propels me to eject him from my mind.

I fight as hard as I can. I’m strong, but Henry’s stronger. He breaks through my mental barrier, shattering my will. I collapse in his arms.

Parker dashes toward me. “Nora!”

“She’s all right,” Henry reassures Parker as he lays me on the nearby sofa. “She will not resist me anymore.” He smiles at me, swiping my hair off my forehead. “Will you, love?”

I want to shout and curse and scream at him, but I don’t have the energy. My brain is mush, and I’m barely hanging on to consciousness.

Henry wipes the tears from my cheeks and places his hands on my head again. “No,” I croak.

“Forgive me. I must.”

He enters my head again. I try to fight it, but I can’t. My memories surface against my will. While Henry absorbs them, he’s still touching me, and so, gives me a running commentary of his own thoughts at the same time. He starts with my most recent memory, because he’s curious as to why I’d screamed. He sees me wake up, sees me touch his bedpost, and gasps when he watches me fall into my vision.

I’m stuck in the memory, but I can hear Parker close by our side. “Sire, what is it?”