“Good work,” he praised the young hybrid. “Let’s see if we can find the dog. Maybe he’s with her.”

Next to him, he noticed Lilo draw closer, hope lighting up her features.

“I’ve already put a request in to get the info for the chip. We should have it soon, and then IT will trace it,” Ryder reported.

“Thanks, Ryder, I really appreciate it.” Then he motioned to the living room. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Take the boys out for pizza. I need to talk to Lilo alone.”

Ryder cast a quick look at Lilo, then nodded. “Not a problem.” Then he called out, “Nicholas, Adam, Sebastian, we’re going for pizza.”

While the boys came running, Blake asked, “Sebastian is here, too?”

“His mother dropped him off earlier,” Lilo said.

Sebastian was already coming toward them. Blake pulled him into a quick hug. “Hey, buddy. Good to see you.”

The boy beamed back at him. “Hey, Uncle Blake.”

“We’ll hang out later, okay? I’ve just gotta do a few things first, while you guys go for pizza, alright?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, guys, let’s go,” Ryder commanded. “I’ll take the van?”

Blake nodded. “Keys are inside.”

Moments later, the house was quiet. He looked at Lilo. She was shivering now, and there was a watery sheen to her eyes.

“Come, let’s talk.”

She sniffled, drawing up her shoulders. “They’re ugly, evil monsters.” She raised her face to look at him. “They’ve hurt her. I know they have.”

“Lilo, please, you need to calm down.”

“Calm down? I can’t. Don’t you see what’s happening? Our very existence is being threatened by these… these vile creatures. They’re abominations! They shouldn’t even exist. Blake, why is this happening?”

Tears dislodged from her eyes, and he couldn’t bear seeing her like this. Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her. “Oh, baby, everything will be alright. I promise you.”

“How can it?” she wailed. “How can anything ever be alright again when awful creatures like that exist? Vampires! Bloodsuckers! Out to kill us all.”

The words stabbed into his heart like blades. It wouldn’t be easy to convince her that not all vampires were bad. That in fact the majority of vampires he knew were good and decent people. People who’d vowed to protect humankind.

Blake pressed a kiss into Lilo’s hair. “Let’s look at the evidence first. We don’t really know what they’ve done.” Though he was certain they were behind Hannah’s disappearance. “Why don’t we talk?”

She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso. “I don’t want to talk. I want to forget. I want to not think about what I saw. I wish I’d never seen it. How will I ever sleep again? How will I ever be able to feel safe again?”

“Some things aren’t always like they appear at first,” he tried to pacify her.

“We’re not safe, Blake. We’ll never be safe again.” She looked up at him, her eyes round and brimming with tears.

To see fear etched so deeply in her features hurt him to the core. “You’ll always be safe with me.”

She lifted one hand and reached for his face, stroking her fingers over his cheek. “When I’m with you, I can almost believe it.” She brought her face closer. “When you hold me, the nightmare seems to be less real.”

He felt his blood heat at her nearness, his vampire side registering the change in her demeanor. Where fear had reigned only moments earlier, hope was blossoming, and arousal was growing.

“Maybe if you hold me closer, we can make this horror disappear. Maybe then I’ll wake up from this nightmare.”

Her lips beckoned, looking more enticing than ever. He already knew what they tasted like, and that fact made resisting even harder.

“Lilo, it’s not going to make this go away. I have to tell you—”

“Please, Blake, I know you don’t find me unattractive…” She sniffled. “I felt it when you kissed me.”

He sighed. “That’s not the point, Lilo, but you’re vulnerable right now. It wouldn’t be fair if I took advantage—”

“You’re not taking advantage.” She lifted herself on her toes, bringing her head level to his, her lips even closer now. “I’m taking advantage of your goodness. Please make love to me. I need this now. I need to forget.”

Blake’s heart thundered out of control. “Lilo, please, you don’t know me. You might regret this.”

“Regret going to bed with a man who’s done everything in his power to help a friend? No, I won’t regret that.” She brushed her lips over his.

“Lilo,” he murmured, still trying to hold onto his control.

“Unless you don’t want me…”

“Of course I want you!” he ground out. “But I’m not who you think I am.” But he was a man, one who couldn’t deny that the sexual attraction between them was burning like a wildfire now. One he wouldn’t be able to douse.

“Then make love to me. Because tomorrow we could all be dead. Killed by those evil things.”

Despite his better judgment, he yanked her to him. “We shouldn’t do this,” he said before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

No, they wouldn’t be dead tomorrow, but by tomorrow Lilo would know that he was a vampire, and then she’d never allow him to touch her again. And the thought that he might never find out what it felt like to lose himself in Lilo’s body and find ecstasy with her, was something he couldn’t bear. And though he knew it was wrong, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom, not for a single second letting go of her hungry lips.

He knew he would pay for this sin in short order, but right now he didn’t care.

Right now he was all man, all vampire, hungry for a woman who tempted him like no other.

20

Blake kicked the bedroom door shut with his heel and carried her to his bed. He knew he was beyond stopping now. Soon, Lilo would hate him for what he was about to do. The least he could do at this point was give her more pleasure than she’d ever experienced. Then maybe, just maybe, once she found out the truth, she would remember how gentle his touch had been. Not like a vampire, but like a man worshipping her.