explain much. Who is this Destiny?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I wish I knew, Ivy. She surfaced sometime around 1600 and popped up in southern Italy around the turn of the seventeenth century. Though she’s been on the hunt list ever since, she’s beautiful, crafty, and elusive. We’ve only gotten close to her once before, back in the mid-1800s.”
“Don’t you and your hunters have hundreds of years of experience?”
“Yes.”
“And you haven’t even been able to get close to her?”
“No.”
“Until now.”
He shrugged and turned the beer mug between his hands. “Yes and no.”
“Well, that certainly clears things up.”
“Hey. Give me a sec.”
She wasn’t being fair. But that happened after a crappy day.
“I’m sorry. Go on.”
“All right, here it is in a nutshell. After hundreds of years, we’ve managed to stamp out all but a few remaining vampires. Now, I’m really close to Destiny and I’ll take her down. My order has been busy throughout the years, eliminating what never should have been in the first place. Things like Destiny are not meant to exist. This isn’t her time or her place.”
His voice was cold, unbending. Ivy knew hatred when she heard it, and Colin clearly hated vampires down to his very soul.
What had made him feel this deeply? What happened to make him view existence in such black-and-white terms? Ivy didn’t have the benefit of the knowledge an ancient order could provide, and perhaps she didn’t see the big picture as he did. Even so, not all vampires were evil.
“You mean people like Riah.” Her voice was low and steady as she gripped the almost-empty mug.
Her words seemed to hit home and he had the grace to look a little surprised. Across the table, he studied her face for a long moment. When he spoke again, his words were slow and measured.
“Ivy, you’ve got to cut me a little slack. I’ve spent the better part of my life chasing these things down and destroying them. Though they were once human, what they’ve become isn’t right. This,” he waved his arms as if to encompass the world, “is for the living.”
“Why, Colin? Why are you so certain they’re all bad?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and Ivy wondered what was going through his mind. Opening them at last, he met her gaze once more. “Because, I’ve yet to meet a vampire who possessed a single redeeming quality. At least, in the existence they now possess. Whatever they might have been in life, they’re evil in undeath.”
“You’re wrong.”
Colin probably had very good reasons for his strong beliefs.
She couldn’t begin to imagine the things he’d seen or the evil he’d confronted through the years. It didn’t mean he was right.
Since Riah’s confession to Ivy a decade earlier, her own world had been colored something completely different. Still, none of it changed the hard facts. Riah Preston was a vampire, and Riah Preston was a good, kind person. Never once had Ivy thought of Riah as a thing, a creature or a monster. Humanity continued to exist inside her.
Colin pulled one of Ivy’s hands away from the mug, taking it into his own. It was large, strong, and warm. “Maybe,” he said softly.
She gazed back at him and tried to read his face. He needed to understand or they could never work together. “She’s not evil.”
He stroked the soft skin on the top of her hand. “Forty-eight hours ago, I’d have vehemently argued the point.”
“And now?” She didn’t pull her hand away.
He met her eyes. “Now, I’m open to the idea maybe things aren’t as cut and dried as I’ve always believed.”
It wasn’t exactly what she was hoping for. “A bit ambiguous, don’t you think?”
He shrugged and smiled. Tiny lines crinkled around his eyes and softened his face. “Old dogs, you know.”
Even the slightest hint of a smile made him very sexy. “You’re not old, not a dog, and I bet you can learn all sorts of new
He ran a hand through his hair. “I wish I knew, Ivy. She surfaced sometime around 1600 and popped up in southern Italy around the turn of the seventeenth century. Though she’s been on the hunt list ever since, she’s beautiful, crafty, and elusive. We’ve only gotten close to her once before, back in the mid-1800s.”
“Don’t you and your hunters have hundreds of years of experience?”
“Yes.”
“And you haven’t even been able to get close to her?”
“No.”
“Until now.”
He shrugged and turned the beer mug between his hands. “Yes and no.”
“Well, that certainly clears things up.”
“Hey. Give me a sec.”
She wasn’t being fair. But that happened after a crappy day.
“I’m sorry. Go on.”
“All right, here it is in a nutshell. After hundreds of years, we’ve managed to stamp out all but a few remaining vampires. Now, I’m really close to Destiny and I’ll take her down. My order has been busy throughout the years, eliminating what never should have been in the first place. Things like Destiny are not meant to exist. This isn’t her time or her place.”
His voice was cold, unbending. Ivy knew hatred when she heard it, and Colin clearly hated vampires down to his very soul.
What had made him feel this deeply? What happened to make him view existence in such black-and-white terms? Ivy didn’t have the benefit of the knowledge an ancient order could provide, and perhaps she didn’t see the big picture as he did. Even so, not all vampires were evil.
“You mean people like Riah.” Her voice was low and steady as she gripped the almost-empty mug.
Her words seemed to hit home and he had the grace to look a little surprised. Across the table, he studied her face for a long moment. When he spoke again, his words were slow and measured.
“Ivy, you’ve got to cut me a little slack. I’ve spent the better part of my life chasing these things down and destroying them. Though they were once human, what they’ve become isn’t right. This,” he waved his arms as if to encompass the world, “is for the living.”
“Why, Colin? Why are you so certain they’re all bad?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes and Ivy wondered what was going through his mind. Opening them at last, he met her gaze once more. “Because, I’ve yet to meet a vampire who possessed a single redeeming quality. At least, in the existence they now possess. Whatever they might have been in life, they’re evil in undeath.”
“You’re wrong.”
Colin probably had very good reasons for his strong beliefs.
She couldn’t begin to imagine the things he’d seen or the evil he’d confronted through the years. It didn’t mean he was right.
Since Riah’s confession to Ivy a decade earlier, her own world had been colored something completely different. Still, none of it changed the hard facts. Riah Preston was a vampire, and Riah Preston was a good, kind person. Never once had Ivy thought of Riah as a thing, a creature or a monster. Humanity continued to exist inside her.
Colin pulled one of Ivy’s hands away from the mug, taking it into his own. It was large, strong, and warm. “Maybe,” he said softly.
She gazed back at him and tried to read his face. He needed to understand or they could never work together. “She’s not evil.”
He stroked the soft skin on the top of her hand. “Forty-eight hours ago, I’d have vehemently argued the point.”
“And now?” She didn’t pull her hand away.
He met her eyes. “Now, I’m open to the idea maybe things aren’t as cut and dried as I’ve always believed.”
It wasn’t exactly what she was hoping for. “A bit ambiguous, don’t you think?”
He shrugged and smiled. Tiny lines crinkled around his eyes and softened his face. “Old dogs, you know.”
Even the slightest hint of a smile made him very sexy. “You’re not old, not a dog, and I bet you can learn all sorts of new
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