Love is Darkness (A Valerie Dearborn Novel) by Caroline Hanson Page B

his middle and ring finger. His hand stayed still, allowing her to touch him without interruption.
     
    “They are from swords and knives when I was a boy.”
     
      Val could imagine him with a sword, an avenging angel who could kill with an effortless swing. His scars were intriguing, humanizing, the flaw adding to his perfection since it was a reminder of his former humanity. His vampiric good looks were almost harsh in their otherworldliness, intimidating, while the scars made him seemed fragile, approachable.
     
    Fallible.  
    Val realized what she was doing and yanked her hand away from his, hiding it beneath the table. He was watching her almost warily.
     
    Sure, big bad wolf afraid of Little Red Riding Hood .
     
    “I take great care to keep the killings down. Vampires have feeding partners, which ensures some stability and keeps loss of life to a minimum. We become attached to mortals, just like mortals do to each other. To take blood elsewhere can even be an affront to the relationship if a bond is strong enough.”
     
    WTF? “Where’d this come from? You make it sound like there is some kind of, what, love involved? Equality? I've seen what vampires do to their victims. I know how they…eat. If this is how you think vampires are, then no wonder you do such a crappy job policing them.” Her heart started pounding. What the hell was wrong with her? Did she want to die? There was no way it was a good idea to push him.
     
    “You are a Hunter’s daughter and therefore you only seeing a vampire at their very worst, when they have behaved so poorly that the world notices. Why would you think there was anything kinder?”
     
    Closing her eyes, Val tried to calm herself, wanting distance from her emotions so she wouldn’t keep provoking him. “Can I just apologize, very sincerely, for saying things that are...bad for my life expectancy. I have no idea why I can't seem to shut up.”
     
    He was silent and finally she opened her eyes to see him watching her with an almost curious fascination. “Do not concern yourself, it is in your nature to provoke.”
     
    Huh. Maybe he does know me. “Is that on my face too?” she said sarcastically.
     
    Lucas blinked slowly, then drummed his fingers on the tabletop.
     
    That night, long ago when he'd saved her and forced her to kill the attacking vampire, he'd said he wouldn’t kill her, maybe he'd even said he'd never harm her. She couldn’t remember. Not if he’d actually said the words, implied them, or if she’d made that up in her mind.
     
      But her idea of him, the golden vampire who’d saved her, would never hurt her. She trusted that like she trusted the news from the National Enquirer, and yet….Shit.
     
    His hand smoothed across the checkered tablecloth in a gentle and distracted gesture, as though he were brushing bread crumbs away from him. It was an oddly human gesture but she suspected he was angry, that the gentler he became the more worrisome it was for whoever pissed him off.
     
    Lucas sighed, and again it was a surprisingly human gesture.
     
    “There was a time when things were different. There was a balance in the world. There were Others . Not only vampires, but werewolves, fae , witches, empaths —   they were all real. All powerful. If one group became too bloodthirsty or powerful, the others could unite long enough to restore a balance.” A long moment passed.
     
    “What happened?”
     
    “Only vampires remain and I rule them all.” His tone held no inflection, he was simply reciting facts, and the depth of his detachment raised goose bumps on her arm. It was really weird.
     
    “Vampires have changed. Grown darker. The humanity leached out of them, stewards to nothing. There is no longer a balance.”
     
    “Hindsight’s a real bitch.”
     
    He gave a Gallic shrug.  
     
    Lucas turned his head away to look outside. People passed by on the street, talking on cellphones, carrying groceries, and shopping.
     
    A sliver