Redson Read online

  “Why would he send you here now? Was it only because he couldn’t flee with you?”

  She hated how tight her chest felt. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Emma.” His tone implied he wasn’t about to let it drop.

  “We had a safe house near the one we lived in, but he said ‘last resort’ to me. That was our code for me to come here. I had a lot of time to think while I was traveling to Alaska, and I’m sure he didn’t want me to go to our safe house in case he couldn’t get away from all those Vampires. They could have tortured my location out of him. But even Eduardo would hesitate to come after me in VampLycan territory.”

  “How many?” He growled the question.

  “How many what? Vampires that showed up?”

  “How many lovers had you had?”

  The abrupt change of topic shocked her. “What?”

  “How many lovers have you accepted into your bed?”

  “I’m not answering that unless you do.”

  She smirked, figuring that would end the conversation…and she was right as the silence stretched. She closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep.

  “Twelve.”

  The number surprised her. She figured Lycans, even half-breed ones, would chase a lot of tail. The fact that he was half Vampire also should have meant a string of lovers left behind. Vamps loved sex while feeding. She knew way too much about her grandfather’s habits after growing up with him. He’d had a lot of women spend the night to keep himself fed.

  “How many?”

  She bit her lip, opened her eyes to the darkness, and sighed. “Two.”

  The silence stretched again, and she relaxed.

  “Why only two?”

  Her teeth clenched. “Why only twelve? You’re older than I am, and a guy.”

  “I’m picky about who I touch, and I don’t travel far from home.”

  “Small town, slim pickings,” she guessed aloud.

  He softly growled. “Wrong. I don’t touch the ones in my clan. One day I may find my mate, and I don’t want to make the mistake of causing her pain.”

  Interest sparked. “How would that hurt a potential mate?”

  “Would you enjoy living in a town where a bunch of the women had slept with your mate?”

  Put that way, she could understand. It was quite sweet that Redson would consider the feelings of someone he’d never met before. The big guy was full of surprises. “So you only slept with ones who didn’t live in town?”

  “Yes. I was never attracted to any unmated women in my clan.”

  “That woman in the store was beautiful.”

  “It’s not a matter of beauty. My clan is a close-knit one. The women feel more like family to me than potential mates. We don’t get many females who travel to Howl who aren’t already mated, but the ones who do are potential mates I’ve tested compatibility with.”

  “What about this girlfriend of yours?” She was curious about the woman.

  “She’s not my girlfriend by human definition. She travels this way to see family who are a part of my clan, and we enjoy sex together. We’re both lonely and have been discussing sharing a home.”

  “How do you know when you find your mate? My grandfather didn’t tell me that much about Werewolves. I know Vampires fall in lust, usually it results in obsession, and they often take companions.”

  “Lycans, not Werewolves,” he corrected. “You avoided answering my question. Why only two?”

  She hesitated. “I have shitty taste in men. Two big mistakes were more than enough. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  The mattress moved as he shifted his position on the bed again. His hot breath fanned her neck and his leg rubbed against hers. She guessed he’d turned fully on his side to face her and was proven right when he spoke.

  “Explain. I answered your questions. I’m curious, and you did wake me. I don’t fall asleep easily.”

  She sighed. “In high school, I seemed kind of weird to other kids. I couldn’t invite them to sleepovers, since no parent would send their daughter to spend the night with someone being raised by my older brother. That’s the story we told everyone to explain my grandpa looking so young. He couldn’t pretend to be my dad after I hit my teens. He might pass for twenty-six or possibly thirty at most. He needed me with him at night in case we were found. So that meant I couldn’t go stay over at a friend’s home. I didn’t have many friends anyway. I had to be secretive to protect my grandpa. I didn’t exactly encourage anyone to grow curious about my life. My first boyfriend came along while I was in college. I lived in the dorm for a few months before I met the guy. I thought I fell in love. It turned out he was a douchebag.”

  “Excuse me?” Shock sounded in his voice.

  “It’s a derogatory term to call a guy with messed-up morals. I guess I screamed ‘virgin,’ since I was so shy. He made a bet with his friends that he could nail me. I didn’t know he was only pretending to care about me until after I let him take me to bed.” Humiliation still burned inside her chest at the memory. “He told all of his friends, they told other people, and I left that school. I thought he loved me. He really made me believe he did…but I was just a way to earn him a few bucks and pats on the back.”

  “I hear pain in your voice.” His tone deepened into a growl.

  “It wasn’t a breeze being laughed at and snickered over. Some of those girls were flat-out mean. He broke my heart by not being who I thought, and I just went home to Grandpa. He offered to kill the guy but I asked him to leave it alone. I avoided men for a long time.”

  “You said there were two.”

  “I was turning thirty, and that’s rough on some women. I decided to start going out, to meet guys. I found one but he turned out to be a cheating bastard. He probably would have gotten away with it because he was a skilled liar, but I have a heightened sense of smell. I knew he’d been with another woman. He stood there lying to me with her scent all over him. The bastard hadn’t even showered or changed his clothes after he’d banged her.”

  She remembered her question. “How do you know when you find your mate?”

  He hesitated. “It’s part attraction, part feelings, and tasting.”

  That piqued her interest. “Tasting?”

  “Supposedly, when we taste their blood we know for sure, but there’s strong attraction first.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You drink blood? I assumed you were more Lycan than Vampire.”

  “We sometimes bite during sex.”

  “Oh.” She nodded into the darkness. “I got it. You don’t need to explain that one to me. I accidently walked in on my grandpa with a woman once. I heard loud noises coming from his room when I came home from band practice and rushed in, thinking he was hurt.” She chuckled. “I don’t know who was more embarrassed. Probably me. I’m just glad the woman didn’t remember it. That would have been really awkward, since Linda lived next door and I saw her all the time until we moved.”

  “He didn’t kill her?”

  “My grandpa isn’t a murderer. He only takes what he needs to survive.” She was starting to feel offended. “Whatever you’ve heard about Vampires, don’t apply it to him. He’s not some blood-driven fiend who kills his victims. He’s old and powerful. The woman next door kept hitting on him. One night he was really hungry, and his defenses were down. One thing led to another. He fed from her, they had sex, and he made her forget. While he was in her head, he told her that she was no longer attracted to him. He’s good at that hypnotic stuff. She moved on to date the mailman.”

  “What did you see when you walked into the bedroom?”

  She wrinkled her nose, remembering. “Grandpa had her bent over in front of him while they were going at it. He was taking blood from her neck.” She paused. “She didn’t seem to mind.” She cleared her throat. “That was a sight I wish I could forget. I know my friends think he’s very attractive since he looks so young, but to me, he’s just…my grandpa.”

  “That’s how Vam