The FBI had determined that Syracuse University was the most likely place for Apollo to strike next. Even so, they were covering all the bases. Female special agents were checking bulletin boards at several colleges. Whenever the flyer appeared, Lara would be called into action. She'd attend the seminar and get herself kidnapped.
But what if Jack was right, and her immunity to mind control backfired on her? It wasn't a problem she could discuss with the special task force. How could she tell them about mind-controlling vampires? The only one who would understand was her friendly neighborhood mind-controlling vampire, Jack.
Her heart raced as she entered her single dorm room and locked the door. Would he call soon? Would he come to see her? Did he still love her?
No! She wouldn't think about love. She would accept his help, then say good-bye. But what if he looked at her with that pain and sadness in his beautiful eyes? She couldn't bear to hurt him.
We're not all bad, he'd told her.
She leaned over the desk to peer through the window blinds. The sun was completely gone now. She removed her new cell phone from her handbag and set it on the desk. She stared at it, willing it to ring.
If what Jack said was true, then there could be good vampires and bad ones. Did the good ones attempt to keep the bad ones in line? LaToya had told her that Jack was trying to locate Apollo, but hadn't succeeded so far.
She paced across the room. The damned phone would never ring as long as she stared at it. What was Jack doing now? Was he drinking synthetic blood? Taking a shower? Getting dressed? Did he still love her?
The phone rang. She whirled to face it. Jack. She approached slowly, letting it ring again. "Hello?"
"Lara."
The sound of his voice poured over her like a hot bath. She just wanted to soak in it for hours. She mentally splashed cold water on herself. This was strictly business. "Hello, Jack. LaToya mentioned your offer to help me hear psychic voices. I'm willing to learn, if you're available."
There was a pause. She wondered what he was thinking.
"I have cleared my schedule for the next few hours," he said finally. "We could start immediately."
Lara exhaled with relief. He was acting businesslike, too. Thank God. "Just a moment, please. I'll check my schedule." She glanced down at the bare desk and drummed her fingers on the wooden surface. One-one thousand. Two-one thousand. "Yes, we're in luck. I can fit you in this evening. Do we need to do this in person?"
"Yes, we do."
She frowned. There was a strange echo on her phone.
"You can hang up now," he told her.
"Excuse me?" She heard a click behind her and turned. "Ack!" Her phone tumbled to the carpet.
With a hint of a smile, he slid his closed phone into a pocket of his black leather jacket. His gaze drifted to her bare desk. "So kind of you to fit me in."
She grabbed her phone off the floor and set it back on the desk. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
"I thought you were expecting me." He walked toward her.
She jumped out of his way.
He paused briefly, frowning, then continued past her to the desk. With a silent groan, she realized he had been headed for the window all along.
He peered through the blinds. "This is Syracuse University?"
"Yes. Day Hall. The girl Apollo kidnapped from here last August lived in this same dorm."
"Does anyone remember her?" Jack asked. "Is her roommate still here?"
"The roommate graduated last December. I asked around, but everyone thinks the missing girl dropped out of school and went home." Lara perched on the edge of the narrow bed that was pushed against a wall. "She never made it home."
Jack paced back and forth down the length of the tiny room. She cast a few furtive glances his way, not wanting to be caught admiring his lean, graceful stride or his broad shoulders.
"Is there any way I can convince you to quit?" he asked.
She lifted her chin. "I'm not a quitter."
"Are you sure about that?" he muttered under his breath as he continued to pace.
Was he referring to their relationship? Lara's cheeks heated with indignation. He was a two-hundred-year-old vampire, for Pete's sake. Was she supposed to be happy about that?
"I'm not a quitter, either." He removed his leather jacket and draped it on the back of her desk chair. "I'm going to find Apollo before you end up doing something foolish."
"Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence." She glared at him.
He glared back as he sat down. "You're plenty tough for a mortal, but you're still no match for a vampire."
She looked away. "Exactly. I shouldn't be matched with a vampire."
"Let's get started." His voice sounded strained.
"Fine by me." She turned back to him and clasped her hands in her lap. "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing. I do all the work, and you just try to be... receptive to me."
She gripped her hands tighter. "Okay."
He leaned forward, his elbows braced on his thighs, and studied her intently. The gold flecks in his eyes seemed to grow until the entire iris was gold and gleaming.
Lara looked away, uncomfortable with the fierce energy radiating from his stare. The room seemed awfully hot. Her skin began to tingle all over. Especially her breasts. The tingling sensation took a sudden turn south. She pressed her thighs together. She was suddenly desperate to feel a man inside her. And not just any man. Jack.
"Do you feel that?" he whispered.
She gulped. His eyes were actually glowing now. "What are you doing?"
"Turning up the power. This is how a vampire lures people in."
She stiffened. "So you can bite them?"
"I haven't bitten a woman since 1987, when synthetic blood was introduced."
"How considerate of you." She lifted her chin and gazed nonchalantly across the room. "I guess you're a bit rusty, 'cause I'm not feeling much of anything."
"Maybe you're just insensitive."
She shot him an annoyed look.
His mouth twitched. "You are feeling it. Your heart is pounding. Your temperature has increased. I can feel the heat coming off you like-"
"All right." She clenched her teeth. "Is there a point to this? I thought we were going to concentrate on hearing voices."
"I'm trying to assess your capabilities. Your sense of touch seems to be working fine. I think it's only your hearing that's off-kilter."
A blast of cold air nearly knocked Lara on her back. With a shiver, she righted herself.
"You felt that." He watched her closely.
"Yes." The cold air swirled around her, sweeping icy tendrils across her brow. "You're trying to invade my mind?"
He nodded. "Normally, I would be in by now."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "You don't make people squawk and do the chicken dance, do you?"
Now he gave her an annoyed look. "Do you hear anything at all?"
She shut her eyes and focused. There was a buzzing behind her ears that sounded like radio static. "Are you saying something now?"
"Yes."
She wondered what. She squeezed her eyes more tightly shut, frowning with all the concentration she could muster. The buzzing sounded louder and more masculine, more like Jack, but she couldn't distinguish any individual words.
With a sigh, she opened her eyes. "This isn't working. All I'm getting from you is a buzz."
His mouth curled up. "Was it good for you?"
"No." She scowled at him. "It's like having a pesky mosquito in my head."
"Damned bloodsuckers. I hate them."
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"
He smiled slowly and leaned closer to her. "I need to touch you. Now."
She gulped. "I... but..."
"On your head," he explained, still smiling. "I can make a stronger connection that way."
"Oh." She recalled how he had touched Megan's head in order to release her suppressed memories. "I guess that will be all right."
Her heart speeded up when he sat on the bed beside her. Icy currents swirled around her, brushing against her skin and raising goose bumps. She shivered.
He rested a hand on top of her hand. "Concentrate."
She closed her eyes, and the buzzing returned. It was deep and masculine now. It ricocheted from one ear to the other, a jumble of words that she couldn't isolate. The harder she tried, the more her temples throbbed.
"Can you hear me?" he whispered.
She shook her head.
His fingers tightened their grip, digging into her scalp. A sudden burst of pain stabbed like an icy dagger between her eyes. With a gasp, she fell back and broke contact.
"Ow." She rubbed her brow. "What the hell was that?"
"I used too much power. I'm sorry."
"It's just a headache." She massaged her throbbing temples. "It'll be worth it if this helps keep me alive."
"I would do anything to keep you alive."
"That makes two of us." She scooted back on the bed so she could rest her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, willing the pain in her head to subside.
I'm still in love with you.
Her eyes flew open. "We shouldn't talk about that."
"I didn't say anything."
"But..." She could have sworn she'd heard him speak. Had it been wishful thinking? She caught her breath when she realized what had happened.
She'd heard his thoughts. He was still in love with her! Before she could think of a response, her mind filled with static. The throbbing increased, then she heard a few words.
... hear me?
"I heard the end of that." She gave him a wary look. "Can you hear my thoughts?"
He shook his head slightly. "Not very well. I mostly feel your pain."
"Oh, sorry." Though she was greatly relieved that he couldn't read her mind. She sure didn't want him to know that she still loved him. Don't even think that. Think about pink elephants. She winced as a damned elephant galloped across her brain.
At least the cold air had dissipated. That had to mean that Jack had stopped trying to communicate with her telepathically.
She motioned toward her desk. "I have some aspirin in my handbag."
Apparently, he could take a hint. He jumped up and passed the bag to her. "Do you need anything to drink?"
"Yes. There's a vending machine down the hall."
"I'll be right back." He left the room.
"Aargh." Lara collapsed on the bed. His incredible thought kept echoing in her aching head. I'm still in love with you. What was she going to do? The most wonderful man on earth loved her, but he was a vampire.
Her reclining position made her head hurt even worse, so she sat back up. She retrieved the aspirin bottle from her handbag and struggled with the childproof cap. Dammit. She'd be able to do this if her hands weren't shaking. I'm still in love with you.
Jack slipped back into her room, carrying a diet cola and bottled water. "I didn't know which one you'd want."
The world was a bizarre place when the most considerate man she'd ever met was a vampire. "I'll take the water. Thanks." She popped two aspirin in her mouth and drank.
He set the cola on her desk, then sat in the chair.
Lara rested her head against the wall. Talk about something safe. "So... do vampires ever get sick?"
"It hurts like hell if we're deprived of blood," he answered quietly. "We can be poisoned, burned, or wounded, but we usually heal during our death-sleep."
"Death-sleep?" She grimaced, then stopped because it hurt too much. "You're actually dead when you sleep?"
He gave her a wry look. "That's why we're called the Undead."
She shuddered. No wonder he'd never returned her calls during the day. He wasn't being rude, just dead. As far as excuses went, it was pretty good, but she hated to think of him as dead. "Are you fully alive now?"
His mouth thinned with annoyance. "You've heard my heartbeat. I'm as alive as any mortal right now. And, in case you've forgotten, I'm fully functional."
She looked away to keep from glancing at his jeans. She'd felt an erection there several times. Time to change the subject. "So... are you really the son of Casanova?"
His frown deepened. "Yes."
She'd fallen for a real Casanova. "Why don't you use the Casanova name?"
He shifted in his chair. "Are you feeling any better now?"
"Not really." She wondered why he'd changed the subject. "You didn't answer-" She stopped when he suddenly removed one of her athletic shoes. "What are you doing?"
He pulled off the other shoe, then removed her socks. "You're in pain. I want to help you relax." He scooted the chair forward so he could rest her feet in his lap.
She stifled a moan when his thumbs pressed into the soles of her feet. It felt so good. Her feet had been sore from wandering all over campus to check the residence halls for Apollo's flyer. "Have you ever had trouble before? I mean, invading someone's mind?"
"No. You're the only one." He tugged gently on her toes. "I think it has something to do with the car accident you were in."
She winced. "You know about that?"
He nodded and turned his attention to her other foot. "I read a newspaper article about it online. I'm very sorry for the suffering you endured."