Page 69 of Eternal Devotion

I didn’t know what that meant or if I believed him, but I took the small reassurance and clung to it.

We were at an impasse, and I wasn’t sure what to say or do. I’d wanted answers, fiercely, but now that Mordecai stood before me, I was at a loss. Overwhelmed by the truth and unsure where to begin or if he would tell me anything.

He moved suddenly, and I startled.

Stilling, he held his hands in a placating manner and pointed at the floor. “Your phone. I’m going to retrieve it.”

Crouching, he picked it up and stared at the dark screen for a long moment. A stitch appeared between his brows. “Blast. We texted.”

“Yes. It was another clue.”

“Technology will be the true death of me.” With a strained smile, he slid the device across the table toward me. “I’m unpracticed.”

“Meaning?” I pocketed the device, unable to lower my guard.

“I lurk on the outskirts of your world, but I don’t ordinarily interact with humans. Not to this extent. It was a necessity I was unprepared for.”

“Necessity? You were using me.” I glanced at the map. “I was nothing more than a means to gather information, wasn’t I?”

“No.” The hurt in his Bordeaux eyes seemed genuine, but I didn’t trust it.

“Bullshit.”

“Okay. Yes. At first, but… I enjoyed spending time with you. Getting to know you. Pretending that… You don’t understand. What we shared… nothing can come of it. I’m not human, Ensley. We live in two different worlds.”

“So, you take me to bed, allow yourself one extraordinary night of pleasure, then erase my memory, and happily walk away?”

“Happily? I agonized over that decision.”

“Sorry if I don’t believe you.”

“I tampered with your mind for your safety. To eliminate temptation.”

“Goddammit, Mordecai.” I kicked the fallen stool, and it clattered into the wall. “Stop talking in riddles.”

“How much plainer can I be? You know what I am. You have enough understanding of my kind that you should have the answer.”

I wasn’t sure I followed, but the niggling suspicion blooming to life in the back of my brain was only nourished by the way he kept tonguing his sharp teeth and scraping his bottom lip. The longer we talked, the more agitated he became. Jerky movements, shuffling his feet, squeezing his hands to fists.

I kept the table between us, not that it would offer much protection if he decided to come after me, but it might slow him down enough that I could grab a weapon. My greater concern was whether he would let me walk out the door.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now, you leave.” He stared miserably at the window, the skin near his eyes pulling into lines, his mouth a tight slit with a downward tilt. I followed his gaze. With the deepening night, the windowpane reflected the kitchen. A perfect mirror image. Worktop table, counters, fixtures, and doors, me included.

No Mordecai.

Unnerved, I turned away and met his gaze.

“It’s not safe for you to be around me, and I have business to take care of that doesn’t concern you.”

“So that’s it? Hi, I’m a vampire. Sorry about the head thing and pretending to like you, but it’s time you fuck off. You never gave a shit about me, did you?”

“You don’t understand.”

“No, I understand perfectly. You’re trying to scare me.” I eyed the map. “Did you find your uncle?”

“Ensley—”