The Immortal Hunter(34)

"What am I thinking right now?" she interrupted abruptly.

Decker shook his head. "As Lucian said, I can't read you, Dani."

"I can," Justin said, drawing her gaze. "You're thinking of your sister."

Dani turned to frown at the man. "That was too easy. Of course I'd be thinking of her. Try again," she ordered, searching her mind until she came up with something else.

"A giraffe," Justin said.

"Again " she demanded.

"A purple elephant." This time he answered almost before she finished asking. "Shall I control you now?"

"Can you?" she asked, eyes narrowing, and then glanced down with shock as her hands rose and clapped several times.

"Enough," Decker barked, taking her hands in his.

"She asked," Justin said defensively.

Dani stared at Decker, her hands unmoving in his, and asked a little shakily, "How? Why can't you if he can?"

He met her gaze, and then glanced away without answering. It was Justin who said, "Because you're his life mate."

Dani's gaze flickered to the man, her mind recalling Lucian mentioning this earlier, but she turned to Decker when she asked, "What is a life mate?"

He let his breath out on a sigh. His gaze dropped to their hands, rose to meet hers again, and finally he said, "The nanos don't just allow us to read mortal's minds. We can read each other too if we don't keep our guard up to block others from intruding on our thoughts. It makes life somewhat..." Decker shook his head. "It can be exhausting. So much so that some immortals avoid others as much as possible just so that they don't constantly have to be on guard. But isolating oneself can lead to depression, rage, and madness, and an immortal going rogue." He paused briefly, and then explained, "A life mate is that very rare person whom we can't read and who can't read us. They can be mortal or immortal, but being with them is like an oasis of calm. We can relax and be ourselves around them without fear that they'll hear every thought we have. And, since we can't read them, we aren't bombarded with their thoughts either. They can be a true mate, someone we can't read or control and whom we can spend our long lives with, happily."

Dani stared at him, recalling exactly what Lucian had said: I'm an immortal. . . or as you people seem to insist on calling us, a vampire . . . Everyone standing here is one ... including Decker, who is the only one here who can't read or control your thoughts. That makes you a possible life mate for him, but you 'II be the one to decide.

He'd said possible life mate and that she'd have to decide. Did that mean she might not be? Or that she was Decker's life mate, but that she could reject him if she wished? Before she could ask, Justin suddenly said, "Decker?"

He turned reluctantly away from Dani to glance at Justin. "What?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm speeding and we've picked up a radar cop. I could try to handle him myself, but I don't want to take my concentration off the road."

"I'll handle it," Decker said, and glanced out the rear window.

Dani twisted in her seat to watch what could have been an instant replay of their first encounter with the other officer. The flashing lights on top of the cruiser were suddenly shut off and the car slowed and dropped away. When she could no longer see it anymore, Dani turned back to Decker. "You controlled him and the other officer who was on our tail earlier."

When he nodded solemnly, she asked, "But you can't control me?"

He shook his head, and Dani's eyes narrowed. "But Justin can?"

His nod this time was almost reluctant, as if he suspected a trap.

"So it was Justin who made me sleep in the back of the van after the incident in the clearing?" Dani asked, already suspecting she knew the answer. It would explain why she couldn't recall actually getting into the van and going to sleep.

Decker winced at her sharp tone, but nodded.

"What else has he made me do?" she asked, her voice going cold.

"Nothing," he assured her solemnly.

"Why should I believe that when you've done nothing but lie to me from the minute I met you?"

"I only lied because, had I told you the truth, you would have thought us mad... and you were already shaken up after your encounter with the rogues and were hardly in the mood to trust us," he said firmly. "We are Council enforcers, Dani. Vampire cops, if you like. Our people have laws and we have to enforce them. We hunt rogue immortals that break our laws."

"What kind of laws?" Dani asked, relaxing a little. She could hardly argue that he should have told her the truth from the start. Decker was right. She hadn't been in any condition for this little revelation then. Heck, she wasn't sure she was ready for it now, but she was beginning to accept it, and a lot of her fear was slipping away with every passing minute.

"The first and most important one is not to feed off of, or harm, mortals."

She liked that law, Dani decided. "What else?"

"Couples are allowed to have only one child every hundred years."

That one made her frown. "Why?"

"It's intended to keep our population low. We need blood to survive. Having too many of us with that need could be a problem."