Free To Love (Vampire Assassin League Book 21) by Jackie Ivie Page B

there. You took the stake from my back. You saved me. If I was na’ immortal, I would have died.”
    “I’m not a doctor. I don’t know. Maybe you received excellent emergency care.”
    “I’ve
nae
wound, lass. No scar. Na’ so much as a scratch. Would you be carin’ to check?”
    “Don’t do this, Cullen. Please?”
    “I do na’ understand. You just said you believe me.”
    “No. I said you weren’t lying.”
    “Are we speaking the same language? Because none of this is making sense to me,
Ionmhainn.
”
    She sighed again. This one ruffled the material before her, lifting dust motes. It wasn’t his shroud. He hadn’t had one. There hadn’t been a body to bury or mourn, although they searched years for him after his supposed escape. This shroud had been crafted after Culloden. He watched it waver and then it stilled. The material was in need of cleaning and starting to show its age. She was right. It was about time he moved to a better abode.
    But not without her.
    “Please don’t call me that,” she whispered.
    “But, it’s true. I have walked the face of the earth for centuries. Undead. Isolated. Alone. The only thing that could change that was finding my mate. My beloved. You, Marla Sanders. You are my
anam-charaid.
”
    “We just met, Cullen. Nobody falls in love that quickly.”
    “Are you saying last night did na’ happen?” he countered.
    She shook her head again.
    “Then you’re claiming it meant...little?”
    He didn’t realize how he’d tensed up for her reply until she shook her head again. The relief was tangible. Just about every muscle felt it as they uncoiled and cooled.
    “Then what are you saying?”
    “I’m saying that you aren’t lying. You fully believe you’re a vampire. You also believe you’re seven hundred years old. That’s what I said. That’s what I meant.”
    Cullen smiled. Stretched. Used the time to elongate his canines. He’d have a slight slur when he spoke, but that couldn’t be helped.
    “I am a vampire, Marla-love. It isn’t a belief. It’s
nae
story. It’s a fact. And I have some more truth for you, if you feel up to hearing it.”
    “Really? What?”
    “You are partway to becoming one yourself. Perhaps more. I already told you. I was na’ careful enough last eve. I lost control. We shared blood. It has been so long. And you are so bonny. So womanly. I said I may have gone too far. I meant it.”
    She turned her head, and gave him the open-mouthed look he’d seen before. Her eyes were just as wide. This time she really did look close to fainting. And then the most obnoxious pounding happened from somewhere above them. It sent heavy throbs of sound through the crypt and disturbed all kinds of dust and cobwebs and other things he’d rather not name. The area beyond his shroud was alive with the accumulation of centuries of debris as it rained down, dimming the light. She was right. No man brought a woman to a place like this. Especially one he loved.
    “Hello? Anybody down there?”
    The roof opening to the crypt lifted, flooding the interior with late evening light. Marla immediately cried out. Cullen had her bundled in his plaid and atop his lap before another ray of sun could reach her. And then he tilted backwards so he could yell up at the open portal.
    “Nigel! You asshole!”
    “Oh. Fine. Call me names. Hello to you, too, Mister Big, Bad and Bully-the-little-guy MacCorrick.”
    “Shut the hatch!”
    The door slammed. More debris filled the air. It was accompanied by a dark shape that swooped down, banged into the rectangular holder of Cullen’s shroud, ripping it free before the kid landed with a grunt on the floor. Cullen shoved ancient cloth off his head and pushed it behind him. He ran a hand through his hair to clear any dust next. Then he swore under his breath as Nigel regained his feet. The kid was completely covered with a black cloak that doubled his size. It took a few moments for him to unfasten it and pull it