Rebecca Zanetti: Fated

The director eyed the door. “Mr. Kayrs can explain the whole situation to you while Janie and I hunt up more doughnuts.” He stood.

“No, wait,” Cara grabbed for Janie’s hand.

“Cara,” Talen’s deep voice thickened. “We need to talk. Alone.”

Janie leaned forward. “It’s okay, Mama. I’ve dreamed about Talen. He’s okay. I know it.”

Cara shook her head, dread pooling in her stomach as Janie left with the director. A slow anger began to burn away the dread. She glared at Talen. “So talk.”

He took a deep breath. “The discovery of your daughter has ended nearly three centuries of peace between my people and the Kurjans.”

“Janie? What people?”

Talen pursed his lips, a frown settling between his eyes. Shrugging, he yanked a brown contact out of one eye, then the other.

“What the—” she gasped. Luminescent gold eyes glowed like molten lava. She pushed away from the table only to have Talen grab her wrist, flattening her hand under his.

“Stay. There’s a lot more.” He smirked and rolled her chair closer.

“This is a trick.” She glared at the impossible golden hue, the heat of his hand overpowering the coolness of the table beneath her own.

“No trick, Cara. I am a protector of the Sanguisuga race.”

“Sanguisuga? Isn’t that Latin?” She’d taken only two semesters of the language in college.

“Yes.”

“For what?”

His grip tightened on her wrist. “Vampire.”

Cara coughed out a laugh. “You’re a vampire?” Her gaze swung to the door. Where was Janie?

Issuing another of the deep sighs she was starting to equate with him, he smiled. Two sharp canines instantly emerged.

“Oh God.” Cara struggled to yank back her hand.

“Do I need to bite you for you to believe me?” Interest and something darker wove through him, into her. She fought to block herself from his emotions.

“No. No biting.” Her mind reeled while reality spun away. “This can’t be true.” She shook her head. “But you were out in the sun. It was early, but the sun was out.” This wasn’t happening.

“The sun only bothers the Kurjans, Cara. We’re fine with a day at the beach.”

“They’re vampires, too?”

Talen shrugged. “No. They’re monsters.” His canines retracted.

“But they have fangs and drink blood?”

“Yes.”

“And you drink blood?”

“Only in extreme situations.”

“Extreme?” This couldn’t be happening.

“During a fight or sex.” His voice lowered to the growl he’d uttered just before deepening their earlier kiss. Something skittered through her belly in response.

“Oh.” Her mind flashed, unbidden, to his fangs. And sex. Her heart thumped once. Hard. “Why?” She stopped fighting. For the moment.

“Why what?” His thumb traced heated circles on the pulse point of her wrist, his golden gaze dropping to her neck.

“Why Janie? Why do they want women with odd abilities?”

Talen ran a hand over his jaw, his eyes returning to her face. “Janie’s special. You know that. Her psychic abilities are the strongest we’ve ever seen.”

Cara straightened her spine. As fear cascaded down it. “But how do you know? How did they find her?”

Talen scowled. “Both races can sense such abilities in humans, but we need to be in close proximity to do so. We don’t know how they found Janie. It could’ve been a fluke, but I doubt it.”

“How did you find us?”

“We have sources in the Meridoze gang; we heard about the extraction plan just in time.”

Cara stamped down on the panic fighting to rise. “Your peace has ended?”

“Yes. We were at war for hundreds of years until we both suffered too many losses. A treaty was signed prohibiting any contact with humans.” Talen shrugged. “Peace lasted much longer than anyone predicted.”

Cara narrowed her eyes. “You don’t sound sorry peace is over.”

Deceptively normal canines flashed in a grin. “We were made to fight. Plus, living among you, yet having no contact, has been difficult. We need humans.” Golden heat ran over her face.

“For blood.” Nausea rose within her.

“That too.” His voice lowered.

Everything in her stilled, and even her heart may have stopped for a second. She lacked the focus to block the feelings coming from him now. “What else?” Her voice cracked.

“Both races are born male. Only. Our mates are human. And Cara”—his voice dropped to a rumble—”you’re mine.”

This time Talen let her go.

Cara jumped up, knocking over the narrow chair. “Not a chance in hell.” She didn’t recognize the snarl echoing in her own voice. She was in a safe building protected by the U.S. Marshal’s service, for goodness’ sake—she had nothing to fear here.

Slowly, Talen pushed to his feet and strolled across the conference room.

Cara took a step back, her breath hitching.

Smiling, he leaned against the closed door.

She’d need to go through him to get out. God, he was huge. Even if she had known how to fight, she doubted she’d stand a chance when faced with such size and obvious strength. A feminine fear and a flutter she refused to identify whispered through her.

“I won’t hurt you.” His voice lowered, deepening to a tone that increased her flutter. He relaxed his stance against the door, his muscled arms crossing. “I won’t let anyone harm either of you. Ever.”

Okay. Fine. He was too big for her to fight, but she did have a brain. “Listen, Talen,” she kept her voice soft, soothing. “It’s great your dating pool just opened up and all, but I’m not looking for—”

A dimple winked in his cheek, stopping her words. She fought to keep her tone mild. “Am I amusing you?” Her chin lifted.

“Yes.”

“Why?” She could even feel his amusement in the air, damn it.

“Your people. I’ve never understood why you ignore fate. She has her own plans.”

“Fate?” He was throwing destiny at her? Come on.

He nodded. “Fate.”

“Wow. That’s poetic, Talen.” Sarcasm replaced the softness. “But there’s no way fate is involved here.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Prove it.”

“Okay.” He lifted his right hand, palm out. A crest, an intricate one, spread across his calloused skin. Thick and black, a webbing of arcs together formed a knot with what might be an elaborate K in the middle.

“A tattoo?” She quirked an eyebrow, wondering if he had other tats on that magnificent body.

“No. A brand of sorts. It appeared earlier after I took your arm.”

“A brand?” She snorted. “Bullshit.”

Talen shrugged. “It’s true, Cara. The mark usually doesn’t appear until the mating act, but there are exceptions.” Golden eyes pinned her. “Our bond must be strong.”

“No.”

Talen lifted a shoulder.

Her mind rebelled at the physical evidence before her eyes. “I said, no. I choose to ignore your fate.” How could the mark have appeared? Conviction sat easily upon his face and her stomach rolled at the question of how far he’d go to follow his fate.

“That is your choice,” he agreed.

“Damn straight.” She searched his face for a trick, determination tightening her own jaw. A raised eyebrow met her glare. “But, you don’t know anything about me. I could be married.”

“You’re not.”

“How do you know?”

He shrugged. “My brother Dage shot your file to my smart phone.”

Smart phone? Vampires used smart phones? Come on. “Where were you?” Damn her curiosity.

“In a meeting with my other brother, Conn.”

Geez. Sounded like a family-oriented creature of the night. Or day. Or whatever. She tried another tack. “Besides, I have a date tonight.”