Jules Bennett - One Summer At The Castle

Liam caught his breath. ‘You think that’s all it is?’ He was indignant.

‘Well, I don’t know, do I? I know nothing about vampires.’

‘You know they don’t normally go out in sunlight,’ he reminded her, and she sighed.

‘Everyone knows that.’ And then, unable to resist it, ‘Except Luther Killian, apparently.’

‘Ah, but Luther is only half inhuman. His mother was a witch before she met Luther’s dad.’

Rosa couldn’t help smiling. ‘And he converted her, I suppose?’

‘Vampires always convert their victims,’ agreed Liam, closing the space between them. ‘D’you want me to show you how?’

Rosa backed up. ‘I know how, Mr Jameson,’ she mumbled, not sure if he was teasing her now or not. ‘Please—’ She held out her hand in front of her. ‘I’m not a character in one of your books.’

‘No,’ he conceded flatly, aware that he was in danger of allowing their relationship to develop into something it was not. He turned back towards his desk, hearing her sudden relieved intake of breath as he did so. ‘You’re obviously not a believer.’

Rosa sighed now. She didn’t want to offend him, for heaven’s sake. ‘A believer in what?’ she asked, much against her better judgement, and he turned to rest his hips against the granite surface.

‘In the supernatural,’ he said carelessly, folding his arms. ‘What was it you said on the way here? Ghosts and werewolves—we call them shapechangers, by the way—and things that go bump in the night.’

Rosa shrugged. ‘And you are?’

‘Oh, sure. Anyone who has encountered evil in its purest form has to be.’

Rosa frowned. ‘Are you saying you’ve encountered evil?’

Oh, yes.

For a moment Liam thought he’d said the words out loud, but the expectant look on her face assured him he hadn’t. Thank God!

‘I suppose we all encounter evil in one form or another,’ he prevaricated, having no intention of discussing his experiences with her. He’d already stepped too far over the mark, and he backtracked into the only avenue open to him. ‘Luther certainly has.’

‘Oh, Luther!’ She was disparaging. ‘Who’s only a character in your books.’

‘The main character,’ he corrected her. ‘He’s what you’d call an anti-hero. He kills, but his intentions are always good.’

‘Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?’ she exclaimed at once. ‘How can anyone—or anything—that makes a living killing people be regarded as good?’

Liam shrugged, and as he did so Rosa caught a glimpse of something silvery against his neck. It was either a birthmark or a scar of some sort, and her mouth went dry. It occurred to her that it might have been made by someone’s—or something’s—teeth.

Oh, God!

‘I suppose that depends on your definition of good and evil,’ he replied, diverting her. ‘Isn’t ridding the world of genuinely wicked individuals worthy of some respect?’

Rosa struggled to regain her objectivity. ‘And that’s what your books are about? Some—some vampire bounty-hunter working to make the world a better place?’

‘A safer place, anyway,’ agreed Liam drily. ‘Don’t knock it. You never know what you’d do if you were faced with primal evil.’

‘And you do?’ She sounded sceptical, and Liam had to bite his tongue not to tell her exactly what had happened to him. ‘Come on, Mr Jameson. We both know you’ve lived a charmed life.’

Liam had to tuck his fingers beneath his arms to prevent himself from tearing his clothes aside to show her the kind of evil he’d encountered. ‘Maybe,’ he managed tersely. ‘But I haven’t always lived in Scotland, Miss Chantry.’

‘I know.’ She’d relaxed a little now. ‘I read about you on the Internet. Didn’t you used to work at the Stock Exchange, or somewhere?’

‘It was a merchant bank, actually.’

‘Whatever.’ Rosa shrugged, glad of the return to reality. ‘I imagine you had a fairly good salary. Then you made a lot of money with your first book and bought your own castle. How difficult was that?’

Liam pushed himself to his feet. ‘If that’s what you want to think,’ he said, turning to shuffle the papers on his desk. ‘Which reminds me, I have work to do.’

Rosa felt ashamed now. It wasn’t anything to do with her how he lived his life. ‘Look,’ she said, taking a step towards him, ‘I’ll admit I know nothing about you, really.

And—and if you say you know how it feels to face real evil, then I believe you. But—’

‘But you don’t believe me,’ said Liam sharply, swinging around again, and Rosa was uneasily aware that there was barely a hand’s breadth between them now. ‘You’re humouring me, Miss Chantry, and I don’t like it. I don’t need your endorsement.’

Rosa licked her dry lips. ‘I was only being polite,’ she protested. ‘It’s not my fault if you’re touchy about the veracity of your books.’

‘Touchy about the veracity—’ Liam gazed at her angrily. ‘You haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.’ He dragged a calming breath into his lungs and tried to speak naturally. ‘Let’s just say I have had some firsthand knowledge of evil. But I’d rather not discuss it. Okay?’

Rosa lifted her shoulders. ‘I had no idea.’

‘Why should you?’ Liam wasn’t at all sure he liked the look of sympathy in her eyes any better than the disbelief he’d seen before. ‘Forget it. I have.’

Though he doubted he ever would.

Rosa hesitated. ‘I didn’t mean to suggest your books weren’t believable,’ she persisted, laying a reckless hand on his sleeve. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.’

Offended me?

Liam expelled a strangled breath. Although he was wearing a warm sweatshirt, he could feel the touch of her fingers clear through to his skin. The muscles in his arm tightened almost instinctively, the tendons heating and expanding much like those other muscles between his legs.

‘It’s not important,’ he muttered harshly, concentrating on anything but the feminine scent of her skin. But then he lifted his lids and encountered those anxious brown eyes, and he felt as if he was drowning in their soft depths.

Hardly aware of what he was doing, he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across her parted lips. Moisture that had gathered there clung to the pad, and he didn’t think before bringing his thumb to his mouth to taste her.

For her part, Rosa was almost paralysed by his actions. She’d never dreamt that an innocent attempt to comfort him might have such a disturbing result. Her whole body felt hot and trembly now, and she was aware of him in a way that she hadn’t been before. Or was she only kidding herself? She’d been aware of him right from the start.

When her tongue emerged to circle her lips it was because they’d suddenly gone dry, not to absorb any lingering trace of his scent. Although she did. She heard him suck in a breath and wondered what he was thinking. Dear God, this wasn’t meant to happen. But she knew that Colin had never made her feel anything like this.

When he spoke, however, his tone was harsh. ‘I shouldn’t have done that,’ he said shortly. ‘I’m sorry.’

Now it was Rosa’s turn to take a gulp of much-needed oxygen. ‘It—doesn’t matter,’ she said, glancing behind him at the telephone. ‘Um—’ She had to calm down, she told herself. ‘I was wondering if—’

But that was as far as she got. ‘It does matter,’ he said, raking back his dark hair with a frustrated hand. ‘For God’s sake, you must think I’m desperate for a woman!’

Liam saw the way his words affected her almost before he’d finished speaking. The fact that he’d been trying to reassure himself that his emotions weren’t involved here was no excuse. He realised, belatedly, that what he’d said could be taken two ways, and he wasn’t at all surprised when she turned on him.