My Lord Immortality (Immortal Rogues #3)(38)

More astonishing, if she were to close her eyes she knew she would be capable of knowing the precise location of Sebastian, and, to a lesser extent, her brother. She even feared she might be able to sense the distant presence of Mr. Ramone.

As if to prove her point, a sudden rash of goose bumps tightened her skin. Turning her head, she watched as the door to her chamber was opened and Sebastian stepped in.

Beneath the cover, her body trembled. Not from fear. As she had admitted last night, she could not bring herself to believe this man would harm her. No matter what he was. But that did not stop the stark realization that he was not the person she had presumed him to be.

He was mysterious, dangerous, and intent upon ful-lulling his duties. Duties that she must force herself to acknowledge were far more important than her or her happiness.

The silver gaze was guarded as he studied her sleep-flushed face. Then, with slow steps, he crossed to settle upon the edge of the mattress.

Amelia was immediately conscious of his male heat. Vampire or not, he was still compellingly beautiful, his burnished hair framing the pale, finely chiseled features and his muscular body attired in a golden coat and ivory breeches.

And he still managed to send a thrill of sensuous awareness searing through her blood.

Warily she forced herself to meet the piercing gaze, futilely hoping that he couldn't read the wicked direction of her thoughts.

"Good morning, Sebastian," she managed to croak.

"Amelia." He continued to search her countenance, as if seeking reassurance that she was not about to plummet into hysterics. "How are you this morning?"

She suppressed an absurd desire to laugh. How was she?

Confused, terrified, and wishing that she could convince herself that this was all some horrible nightmare.

She clutched the covers closer to her chin. "I am well. Have you seen William?"

"Yes. He is eating his breakfast in the kitchen."

"Oh." It took a moment before her brows abruptly drew together and the terrible memory struck at her heart. "But your housekeeper..."

The elegant features hardened with a dangerous anger before he began to ease the tension from his body. It was not gone. Amelia could still feel the frustrated heat smoldering, but it was more under control.

"Thankfully I am capable of producing a passable meal when called upon." He gave a faint grimace. "Well, perhaps passable is a rather generous choice of words, but it is edible."

With a faint pang, Amelia realized that she had not even considered Sebastian's own loss. He would no doubt blame himself for the death of his servant.

"Thank you for caring for William," she said softly.

" 'Tis nothing, my dear."

"It is far more than most gentlemen would do," she uttered unthinkingly before abruptly blushing in confusion.

Swiftly realizing the cause of her discomfort, Sebastian offered her a wry smile.

"I may be a vampire, Amelia, but I also hope that I am a gentleman."

Her blush only deepened at his words. "Of course you are. I am sorry."

Regret, and something that might have been pain, flashed through the silver eyes as he studied her bewildered unease. Reaching out, he lightly touched a curl that lay against her cheek, his touch sending a poignant sweetness through her body.

"Perhaps we should finish our conversation," he murmured.

She bit her lip. A cowardly part of her wanted to close her ears and pretend that none of this was occurring. Perhaps if she ignored it all, it would simply go away.

But the greater part of her rebelled at such foolishness. She had always faced the world as it was, not as she desired it to be. Even this.

"Yes."

His fingers continued to toy with the stray curl, but a distant quality entered the silver eyes, as if he were looking within himself.

"I will not bore you with a long history of vampires, any more than to say that once my brothers roamed freely among humans. Unfortunately, the tales of our savagery were not a myth.

A vampire is both blessed and cursed by bloodlust."

She shivered in spite of herself. "Bloodlust?"

"It is a vampire's hunger to consume the warm blood of mortals. By taking the life and soul of a human, we are granted many powers. We possess great strength and are capable of changing our form."

Her breath caught in her throat. She had to distance herself from his words to keep the horror at bay.

"Such as becoming a shadow?" she demanded, anxious to keep talking.

His eyes darkened, easily sensing her raw nerves.

"Precisely. But along with such powers it also brings with it the curse of being vulnerable to both fire and sunlight."

Her brows rose as she noted the pool of light that even now surrounded him.

"Sunlight?"

He smiled faintly. "I speak of the years before Nefri, our leader, created the Veil."

She struggled to follow his peculiar explanation. "What is the Veil?"

"It is a boundary that separates our worlds. Beyond the Veil, vampires are no longer plagued by the hot passions that once ruled us. We live at peace with one another, able to devote our considerable intelligence to elevating ourselves far beyond the brutal predators we once were."

Perhaps unconsciously, his features softened as he spoke of his home. She did not need to be told that he deeply felt the loss of being with those of his kind. "The Veil also purified the curse of blood-lust. Unless I were to consume the life of a human, I remain immune."