or the reformed band or the time he’d spent working on the album.
This was about Lil.
He ran his hand down her arm, half expecting her to brush him off. “What’s wrong?”
Her face scrunched, then she took a breath and blinked, finding calm where there was only turbulence. “Do you love me?”
“You know I do.” He could prove his love, but not until she knew the truth about him. He’d learned that mistake the hard way, thinking it would be easier after the wedding. It hadn’t been. In the end he’d said nothing and headed off to war.
He cupped her face. “I won’t do any more all-nighters.”
What he felt ran deeper than the casual love most humans experienced. The last time he’d cared this much, he’d walked away with a broken heart.
“I don’t care about the nights or the days or—”
“Then what? What is it? I thought we understood each other. I thought we had something.” He kissed her to see if he could taste the lie on her tongue.
She responded to his touch and her lips parted as his tongue swept past, enticing a response that couldn’t be hidden behind cold words or washed away by tears. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. His cock hardened and pressure built behind his incisors. The scent of her blood pulsing beneath her creamy skin was a delicacy he craved to sample. Lil never wore perfume to mask the sweetness. Every time they lay together, he longed to taste her. He couldn’t lose her. Whatever the problem was, he would fix it.
Her hands landed on his chest and she shoved him back. It was too late though, he’d seen through her act and it gave him hope. He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight, not while she loved and wanted him.
“I love you, Lil. We can work through this, whatever it is.”
“I’m dying.” Her words were rough, as if each one cost her dearly.
“Everyone is dying.” Except him and the other Vampires and Lil while she was with him, sharing the energy that surrounded him—but she didn’t know that yet.
Lil stared up at the ceiling and blinked. “Maybe I should leave. It would be better than watching you run.”
Those were the first truthful words she’d spoken, but they cut deep. “Why would I run?”
What secret could she have that would trump his? His secret made most people reach for the nearest sharp implement and aim at his chest. His heart slowed. Was she really dying?
She stared at him, her lips tight and thin. “I have cancer. I have three months. Maybe four.” The words shattered in the air. The brittle points cut everything they touched and tore open his now still heart.
Not again.
Memories of his first wife, his only wife, rose from the grave. Her frail body had fought to hold on until he’d gotten home from patching soldiers on the front.
“No. They catch it early these days. There are treatments.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and held the back of his head to stop the memories from spilling out. His house was filled with too many ghosts and too much pain. This wasn’t happening. Not to his Lil.
“I was treated three years ago. It came back.”
“There must be something. It’s 1998, not 1888. Surgery. Chemo.” His mind scrambled for solutions he’d read about. He knew of the advances, had kept up with the latest studies even though he no longer practiced medicine. At first he’d done it only to convince himself he’d done everything he could to save Eve. Then it had become habit.
“It’s chemo resistant. Last time they cut it out…this time they can’t.”
“Why not?” Miracles happened every day in medicine.
“It’s around an artery.” Lil spoke without emotion. She’d had time to plan her answers and come to terms with her mortality.
He hadn’t.
Aidan turned his back and snarled. His fangs dropped. His fists clenched at his side as molten rage stripped his control. He struggled for composure and failed. Cancer was once again trying to steal what he loved because it couldn’t
This was about Lil.
He ran his hand down her arm, half expecting her to brush him off. “What’s wrong?”
Her face scrunched, then she took a breath and blinked, finding calm where there was only turbulence. “Do you love me?”
“You know I do.” He could prove his love, but not until she knew the truth about him. He’d learned that mistake the hard way, thinking it would be easier after the wedding. It hadn’t been. In the end he’d said nothing and headed off to war.
He cupped her face. “I won’t do any more all-nighters.”
What he felt ran deeper than the casual love most humans experienced. The last time he’d cared this much, he’d walked away with a broken heart.
“I don’t care about the nights or the days or—”
“Then what? What is it? I thought we understood each other. I thought we had something.” He kissed her to see if he could taste the lie on her tongue.
She responded to his touch and her lips parted as his tongue swept past, enticing a response that couldn’t be hidden behind cold words or washed away by tears. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. His cock hardened and pressure built behind his incisors. The scent of her blood pulsing beneath her creamy skin was a delicacy he craved to sample. Lil never wore perfume to mask the sweetness. Every time they lay together, he longed to taste her. He couldn’t lose her. Whatever the problem was, he would fix it.
Her hands landed on his chest and she shoved him back. It was too late though, he’d seen through her act and it gave him hope. He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight, not while she loved and wanted him.
“I love you, Lil. We can work through this, whatever it is.”
“I’m dying.” Her words were rough, as if each one cost her dearly.
“Everyone is dying.” Except him and the other Vampires and Lil while she was with him, sharing the energy that surrounded him—but she didn’t know that yet.
Lil stared up at the ceiling and blinked. “Maybe I should leave. It would be better than watching you run.”
Those were the first truthful words she’d spoken, but they cut deep. “Why would I run?”
What secret could she have that would trump his? His secret made most people reach for the nearest sharp implement and aim at his chest. His heart slowed. Was she really dying?
She stared at him, her lips tight and thin. “I have cancer. I have three months. Maybe four.” The words shattered in the air. The brittle points cut everything they touched and tore open his now still heart.
Not again.
Memories of his first wife, his only wife, rose from the grave. Her frail body had fought to hold on until he’d gotten home from patching soldiers on the front.
“No. They catch it early these days. There are treatments.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and held the back of his head to stop the memories from spilling out. His house was filled with too many ghosts and too much pain. This wasn’t happening. Not to his Lil.
“I was treated three years ago. It came back.”
“There must be something. It’s 1998, not 1888. Surgery. Chemo.” His mind scrambled for solutions he’d read about. He knew of the advances, had kept up with the latest studies even though he no longer practiced medicine. At first he’d done it only to convince himself he’d done everything he could to save Eve. Then it had become habit.
“It’s chemo resistant. Last time they cut it out…this time they can’t.”
“Why not?” Miracles happened every day in medicine.
“It’s around an artery.” Lil spoke without emotion. She’d had time to plan her answers and come to terms with her mortality.
He hadn’t.
Aidan turned his back and snarled. His fangs dropped. His fists clenched at his side as molten rage stripped his control. He struggled for composure and failed. Cancer was once again trying to steal what he loved because it couldn’t
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