Fangs For The Memories yb-1

by Kathy Love

  CHAPTER 6

  Jane sat at the dining room table, sipping tea and trying to decide what to do. She considered leaving several times, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave without knowing that Rhys would be okay. Plus, she wanted to find out what had happened to her the night before, too.

  She nibbled her toast, but she didn’t have any appetite. She picked up her plate and carried it back into the small galley-style kitchen. Glossy, black granite counters lined one wall, and there was every appliance a cook could ask for, all in ultramodern brushed stainless steel. The room was ultramodern, but no one seemed to have ever used all the luxuries. The cupboards were practically bare. And the fridge had only a few items on its many racks.

  She supposed that wasn’t particularly strange-she couldn’t picture either Rhys or Sebastian being big culinary aficionados. They were probably the type who grabbed a bite on the go-one thing she did know for sure, these two brothers were rich. Her judgment about Rhys when she’d first seen him in the bar had been accurate. His home screamed culture and sophistication. A far cry from where she’d grown up, in an ancient Victorian with half the old rooms used as a funeral parlor.

  She wandered back into the dining room, which was so different from the kitchen. When she was in this room she felt as if she had somehow fallen into a time warp and sat in a grand dining hall in an ancient English manor.

  One of the doors, which connected the dining room from the hallway, opened, and Sebastian strolled in. Considering his brother was acting more than a little weird, he looked very calm.

  “First, you will be happy to know you aren’t married to my brother,” he told her.

  Jane had already, more or less, made up her mind that they couldn’t be married. But the relief she’d expected to feel at the confirmation wasn’t as strong as she’d thought it would be.

  But before she could wonder at her lack of reaction, Sebastian added, without any real concern in his voice, “He has amnesia and apparently thinks he’s a viscount from nineteenth century England.”

  “What?”

  “Yup.” Sebastian came to sit at the table across from her. “He can’t remember much of anything about his present life.”

  She frowned at his wording, but he quickly added, “I guess present isn’t the right phrase-his real life.”

  Jane nodded. She’d seen television movies about amnesia, but those depictions were fictional. Or maybe they weren’t. This sounded as fantastic as any movie she’d seen. “Is this how amnesia usually works?”

  Sebastian shrugged. “Amnesia can manifest itself in many different ways.”

  Again Jane was struck by Sebastian’s cavalier attitude toward Rhys’s problem. A viscount from England? That seemed like a reason to worry to her. “Shouldn’t he go to a doctor? What if this is something more?”

  Sebastian looked a little ill at ease, but the expression disappeared almost before Jane saw it. “We have a family physician. I called him. I explained Rhys’s behavior, and he told me it was amnesia.”

  “Without seeing him?”

  “He said there was really nothing else it could be.”

  “But what if he has an injury to his head? Something that needs medical attention?” She couldn’t believe a doctor would make a diagnosis like that over the phone.

  “He is going to come see Rhys. Tomorrow. But he didn’t think Rhys should leave the apartment, because-since he does believe he’s from another time period, the current world, cars, skyscrapers, that sort of thing might freak him out. Apparently that could be devastating to Rhys.”

  Jane supposed that was reasonable. And these men certainly appeared to have enough money to get a doctor to make a house call.

  “Well, it’s good the doctor believes that he will be fine. Did he give you a time frame when you could expect Rhys’s condition to improve?”

  Sebastian shook his head. “No. He will get better, but it could be weeks, or months.”

  Her heart went out to Rhys. The poor confused man. That was a horrible way to live. Her father hadn’t been completely delusional, but he had wanted so desperately to believe that Jane’s mother was still alive that he’d act as though she was there. He’d talk to her. His behavior had broken her heart.

  Rhys wasn’t trying to get back people he’d lost, but this broke Jane’s heart, too.

  “I’m so sorry for him, Sebastian.”

  “I know you are.” He smiled warmly.

  Jane sighed and then started to rise. She should go. She knew that Rhys would eventually be okay, and she had no other reason to hang around. Dejection filled her, although she couldn’t say why exactly.

  “Jane.” Sebastian reached out and caught her hand. His fingers enveloped her smaller ones. They didn’t feel nearly as big as Rhys’s, as strong. “Rhys needs to be watched all the time. The doctor said it was important to keep him under close supervision, because so many things could shock him.”

  Jane nodded, not understanding why he was telling her this.

  “This apartment is actually located over a nightclub. The nightclub that Rhys and I own. And at night, we are usually down in the club. It is popular-and without Rhys to help me, I’m going to be very busy. I won’t be able to watch him and run the club. So that’s where you come in. Is it possible that you could stay and take care of Rhys?”

  Jane’s eyes widened. He wanted her to stay here-with them. With Rhys.

  “Is-isn’t there someone else you could get?” She couldn’t take care of Rhys. She could barely look him in the eyes after this morning, much less watch his every move. Besides, there was something absurd about the idea of her watching a man like Rhys anyway. He was too potent, too powerful.

  “Well, the thing is, he still believes he’s engaged to you,” Sebastian told her. “So you would be the perfect one to be with him. He wouldn’t question it.”

  That did make sense, but why would Rhys continue to believe they had a relationship? She supposed it could be because he woke up with her spread-eagle in his bed. She was probably lucky he had assumed they had a relationship. He could have decided she was a prostitute or something.

  “I–I don’t know.” She pulled her hand out of his hold. She didn’t know these men. She couldn’t very well move in with two strangers.

  “I really need your help,” Sebastian told her.

  “How am I supposed to stop him from leaving the apartment if he really wants to?” Why was she asking this? Why was she even considering staying?

  Sebastian’s lips curled at one corner. “I think you can control him quite easily. He’s fascinated with you.”

  His words didn’t lessen the tightness in her chest. Although they did make her skin tingle again.

  She was losing it.

  “And I’d pay you, of course,” he added. “You said you were in a hotel, right? The room here would be free.”

  She looked around. She did need a place to stay until she could get her finances in order. She had her few traveler’s checks, but she wasn’t sure those would last her until her new bank card and credit cards were sent. This might not be a bad solution until she could find an apartment and a steady job.

  She glanced at Sebastian, who watched her intently.

  Still, she didn’t know these men. They could be serial killers for all she knew. Weirder things had happened-most of them to her in the past two days.

  No, Sebastian and Rhys didn’t look like homicidal maniacs. Of course, she’d already proven she wasn’t the best judge of character.

  “And,” Sebastian added, pointedly, “Rhys was there for you when you needed him.”

  He had her there. Rhys had saved her life. Did serial killers bother to save a person just to kill them later? She wasn’t sure, but she decided it was unlikely. Plus, something inside her did trust Rhys.

  She hesitated a moment longer, then said softly, “All right.”

  Smug satisfaction filled Sebastian at his well-executed lie. He hadn’t even felt remorse at her pained look
when he’d thrown out his ace in the hole, Rhys saving her. Okay, maybe he felt a twinge of guilt, but it was worth it. Rhys needed this woman.

  And, man, did she ever want Rhys. He’d felt flashes of overwhelming desire throughout their conversation. All he had to do was mention Rhys’s name, and she exuded longing.

  Damn, he wished he had a sweet thing like her lusting for him. Oh, wait, he did. Lots, actually.

  But he didn’t get too long to bask in his success.

  Jane straightened in her chair and said in a firm voice, “I will stay-but only a week. That should give you time to find someone else to watch Rhys, should he need it. And that will give me time to find my own place.”

  A week? Sebastian frowned. Rhys needed more than a week to get this woman to fall for him. He breathed in with frustration, ready to argue, when he smelled again the lust that was permeating the apartment. Damn, a week just might be plenty of time. If they needed more, he’d worry about it later. Right now, she was staying. Good enough. And she would keep Rhys in the apartment. Sebastian needed that time to figure out who had attacked Rhys and why. Rhys, in his confused state, would be an easy mark if the attacker had been after him specifically. It was best to keep him here-safe.

  “A week is great.”

  She nodded, obviously relieved he hadn’t pushed for longer.

  But now Sebastian had the peculiarities of being a vampire to deal with. Being a vampire was easy. Being a vampire who didn’t know he’s a vampire; that might be tricky. Rhys could end his existence with one short stroll in the sunshine. Or if his hunger wasn’t appeased regularly, Jane could die from one overzealous chomp.

  “Watching Rhys should be quite easy,” he said, contradicting his thoughts, but he didn’t want to scare her away. “There are really only three things you need to be careful about.”

  Jane listened, her green eyes wide.

  “He has an allergy to the sun, so he cannot go out in the direct sunlight, which generally isn’t a problem. Since we work nights, his sleep schedule usually keeps him out of the sun anyway.” All of that was basically true.

  “Can he go out on overcast days?”

  “Yes. But only totally overcast. Sun is poison to him.”

  She nodded.

  “Also, Rhys has a lot of weird food allergies, so he generally sticks to a high protein drink.”

  “He doesn’t eat?” She looked dubious.

  “He does, but only rare meat. Very rare. He’s doing this weird, Atkins type thing, too. It seems to keep the whole allergy thing under control.” He threw up his hands as though the whole concept was strange to him, too. “I don’t even ask.”

  “But will he remember that?”

  “I don’t know, but I think we better continue it. He’s lived on this stuff so long-I wouldn’t want to screw up his digestive system or something.”

  She nodded, but the slight wrinkling of her nose stated she still found the idea odd.

  “And-and this was exactly what the physician told me-we must humor Rhys for the time being. That is important. Otherwise we could fracture his memories, again the doctor’s words, and his real memories might be lost permanently.”

  Jane looked stricken.

  God, he was good.

  She still appeared apprehensive, but she said, “Okay.”

  “Great. So let’s discuss money. How is fifteen hundred dollars?”

  Sebastian didn’t think it could be possible, but her eyes widened more. “That-that’s too much.”

  Sebastian shrugged. “I love my brother. And I want to see him happy.”

  “I can’t take that kind of money. That is… It’s too much.”

  Sebastian smiled, impressed by her shocked reluctance. He’d thrown out a large sum, assuming the amount would definitely clinch the deal, but obviously he hadn’t needed to. Jane was too ethical to accept it comfortably.

  “If I didn’t want to pay it, I wouldn’t.”

  She hesitated again, but after a moment, she offered her hand to him. “Okay.”

  He smiled. Did he mention he was good?

  CHAPTER 7

  Jane couldn’t believe this. She had agreed to live with two men she didn’t know. One of them was paying her an inordinate amount of money to do so, and the other… the other thought he was engaged to her. Oh, and he thought he was living in nineteenth century England.

  Who was the crazy one in this whole scenario? They’d probably have to draw straws at this point.

  She looked around the bedroom that Sebastian told her would be hers during her stay. Well, the digs were definitely good.

  She wandered to the bed, running her hand over the luxurious blue velvet duvet that covered the mattress. Then her fingers brushed the wispy silk that created a canopy over the top and around the perimeter. Definitely a lot different than the creaky brass bed she’d slept in most of her life.

  She moved over to the windows and parted the thick damask curtains. It was evening, but she couldn’t even make out the city skyline. Thick frosted glass muted all light.

  For a moment, she was disappointed. She wanted to see the view and, hopefully, get some bearings of where she was. Then she realized the windows must be for Rhys. To protect him from the sun.

  Rhys sure had a lot of strange ailments. He didn’t look like a man with any afflictions. Physically, he appeared perfect.

  She pushed the image of that perfect body out of her mind. She had to get her attraction to him under control-somehow.

  She thought again about his allergies. How strange to never go out in the sunshine. But she supposed she didn’t spend much time in the sun, either. She hated sun bathing-it just made her freckle and burn. And she always got her second wind in the evening-often reading into the wee hours of the night.

  Food, however, she couldn’t give up. Who didn’t love a yummy hot fudge sundae or a gooey pepperoni pizza?

  Sighing, she let the curtain drop and headed to explore the bathroom. She had her own bathroom, another convenience she’d never known in her house. But this bathroom went far beyond simple convenience. It was downright opulent.

  She touched the smooth white marble of the sink. Then she wandered over to the tub. The huge, inset tub was easily big enough for two. Then there was a separate shower. This was luxury.

  But as luxurious as it was, she knew she couldn’t stay any longer than it took her to sort out her finances.

  She walked back out to her bedroom and moved her new suitcase over the bureau. Someone named Mick, a security guy for the club, had driven over to her hotel and gathered her stuff. She unzipped the case and started to pull out a stack of clothes, to place in the dresser. Then she rethought the idea and dropped the clothes back into her luggage.

  There was no point in unpacking or getting too comfortable. Even though she’d like to cling to the reasoning that the situation was just too strange, the real reason she couldn’t stay was that she was so ridiculously attracted to Rhys. And she couldn’t be attracted to a man who didn’t even know who she really was. Heck, he didn’t know who he was. That was a relationship that was doomed from the get-go.

  She sighed and pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a green turtleneck sweater and underwear.

  Maybe a long, hot bath would help her put things in perspective and maybe even help her remember what happened last night.

  The only explanation she’d been able to come up with for her lost memories was the tequila. Or maybe a combination of the tequila and the stress of all the horrible events of yesterday.

  But what had happened to cause Rhys’s amnesia? Could both their memory losses be connected? Short of alien abduction, which probably wasn’t out of the question given how weird things had been, she couldn’t figure out what could have happened to them. Maybe she would talk to Rhys’s doctor, too. He might have some ideas. About mass amnesia? Yeah, right.

  She dropped her clothes onto the closed lid of the toilet, then perched on the edge of the tub to close the stopper and turn on the fauc
et.

  She watched the steaming water for a few moments, then went to the sink to look for soap. As she searched, she caught her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

  She looked a wreck. Her hair stood out all over her head, and she had traces of mascara under her eyes. The smudged makeup made the purplish circles under her eyes look even darker.

  Why would a gorgeous hunk like Rhys be fascinated with her? Sebastian had to be mistaken. But she had been in bed with Rhys. And he’d…

  Her cheeks flamed, making her complexion a colorful pink, mottled against the purple under her eyes.

  She closed her eyes, releasing a hitched breath. She couldn’t remember last night, but she could certainly remember the feeling of Rhys’s hands on her when she woke up.

  Heat drained from her flushed cheeks to pool in her belly, then lower. She’d never felt anything as wonderful as Rhys’s fingers against her.

  As if by their own will, her fingers moved to the buttons of her blouse. Not opening her eyes, she pretended it was Rhys’s fingers loosening the buttons, parting the white cotton. The wisps of steam from the hot water filling the tub moistened her skin, and she pretended it was Rhys’s kisses warming her flesh.

  What was she doing? She’d never been the type to fantasize about men. And especially fantasies like this. But she’d also never had a man touch her like Rhys had. It had been so… thrilling.

  She let her blouse fall to the floor, and she moved her fingers to the front clasp of her bra. The filmy material separated, and her nipples peaked against the humid air.

  Embarrassed, but unable to stop herself, she brushed her fingers over them, trying to remember exactly how Rhys’s lips had felt suckling her.

  Her eyes snapped open at the sound of a quiet cough, and she spun toward the open doorway.

  Rhys stood there, watching her.