Page 71 of Shadows of Eternity

“Not this time. I promised your dad I’d be home in time to fix his dinner.”

“You spoil him, Mom,” Leia teased.

“I know, but it’s too late to stop now. Lord help me, I love that man.”

Leaning over, Leia kissed her mom’s cheek. “See you soon.”

After getting out of the car, Leia reached into the back seat to retrieve the garment bag holding her gown and veil and the shoe box.

She waved as her mother pulled out of the parking lot.

Rohan was waiting for her on the sofa when she stepped into the apartment.

“You’re up early,” she said, hanging her dress in the hall closet and placing the shoe box on the shelf.

“What did Trent want?”

Leia blinked at him. “How did you know he was here?”

“I can smell him. What did he want?”

“He warned me you were dangerous, a killer, and tried to talk me out of marrying you.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Did he succeed?”

With a sigh, Leia closed the distance between them and sat on his lap. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m a fool for asking.”

“I think you’re right.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “He said he was going to kill you when the time was right.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s not much of a threat to me, love. I’m pretty powerful, if I do say so myself. I know he’s dedicated to his work. He’s fairly good at it. And he enjoys it.”

“But?”

“Old vampires don’t have much to fear where most hunters are concerned. If you live as long as I have, it’s not easy to sneak up on us.”

Leia shuddered. How could anyoneenjoykilling? “How does he … you know?”

“Vampires are pretty hard to kill,” he said. “A wooden stake through the heart will do the trick. Fire. Beheading. They all work.”

Leia grimaced, sorry she’d asked as grisly images flashed through her mind.

“Don’t think about it,” Rohan said. “I’ve lived this long, and now that I have you, I intend to live a lot longer.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And now I need to go out.”

She forced a smile. Hunting was a part of him, not a part she particularly liked, but it went with the territory. She frowned as a new thought crossed her mind. When he drank from her, it was an amazingly erotic sensation unlike anything else. Did the women he fed on experience that same pleasure?

“You think of the darnedest things,” Rohan muttered.

She felt a faint flush warm her cheeks. But she had to know. “Do they?”

“As a rule, no.”

“As a rule? What does that mean?”

“It’s up to me whether they do or they don’t.”

“And how do you decide?”

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