Free About a Vampire by Lynsay Sands Page A

vampire.”
    â€œBut if it has fangs, sucks blood and still has a beating heart and a soul, it’s an immortal,” he countered.
    Holly merely stared at him as the last part of his comment repeated itself through her head. So she still had a beating heart and a soul?
    â€œYou should know you do . . . at least the heart. It’s thundering up a storm right now. Surely you can feel it?”
    Holly glanced to him sharply. “I thought you couldn’t read me.”
    â€œI can’t,” he said with surprise.
    â€œThen how did you know I was wondering about that?”
    â€œBecause you said it aloud,” he explained, his words gentle.
    Holly was silent for a moment, concentrating on paying attention to her body. After a moment, she became aware of the frantic thudding coming from her chest, as well as a pulsing in her head. Her heart was pumping, thundering up a storm as he’d said. She was alive. The news was such a relief that Holly nearly fell over. At least her knees went weak and she would have fallen had he not reached out to steady her. Once she was solid again though, he released her as if she were a hot potato. Holly found it oddly insulting.
    Clearing his throat, he moved several steps away and then turned to say, “I’ll need to train you.”
    â€œTrain me for what?” she asked, wary now herself.
    â€œFor survival,” he said grimly. “We have laws, rules, a certain conduct that is expected from us. Breaking the laws can see you punished and then beheaded.”
    â€œB eheaded ? Are you kidding me?” she asked with amazement. When he shook his head, she protested, “But that’s positively feudal.”
    â€œWe’re an old race,” he said with a shrug and then shifted impatiently and moved toward the door. “You’ll need to dress so we can go.”
    Holly blinked and glanced down at herself, becoming aware for the first time that she was still wrapped only in a towel. She supposed she’d been so shocked to see those fangs protruding from her mouth in the bathroom mirror that she’d forgotten everything else. She found it surprising, though, that she hadn’t lost the towel when he’d grabbed her and dragged her down here. She was also rather surprised that James hadn’t noticed and chased after them.
    â€œMy husband—­”
    â€œIs in bed sleeping,” Justin assured her. “In his mind, he thanked you for the nice back massage and then crawled into bed.”
    â€œHow do you know that?” Holly asked.
    â€œBecause that’s the suggestion I put in his thoughts as I grabbed you when you were going to bite him.”
    â€œYou controlled James?” she asked, outrage seeping out in her voice.
    â€œHe can’t know about any of this,” Justin said with a shrug.
    â€œBut . . . he’s my husband. I shouldn’t keep something like this from him.”
    â€œYou’ll have to,” he said simply.
    â€œBut—­”
    â€œHe’ll just think you’ve had a nervous breakdown and are crazy. That’s what you thought when I told you about us, isn’t it?” he pointed out.
    Holly felt herself flush guiltily. It was exactly what she’d thought. That he was a madman. It seemed he wasn’t so mad after all. He had turned her. Did that mean she really had hit her head and fallen on scissors? She peered down, her hand moving slowly across the skin exposed above her towel as she wondered where the scissors had gone in.
    â€œIs the turn why I can’t remember anything that happened?” she asked finally.
    â€œI don’t know,” Justin admitted. “It shouldn’t be from the head wound since that’s healed.” His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and then he added, “Or at least the visible part of it is healed. Marguerite did once say that the turn can continue long after the turnee is up and walking again.