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He sat close enough that my knees pressed against his thighs. The red rose remained between his fingers beside my face.
“What about sight?” I asked.
Stellan looked towards the darkest corner beyond the pool. “Choose somewhere the lamps don’t reach.”
I faced it. At first I saw black stone and the edge of a vine. Then the shadows thinned. Fine cracks appeared in the wall. Water shone inside one of them. A small black beetle moved over a leaf and vanished behind a thorn.
“I can see the insect.”
“I can hear it.”
I turned back to him. The advantages were obvious when his gaze dropped to my mouth.
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
The sharp hearing gave me his slow breath. The scent of roses deepened, mixed with warm stone, water and something darker that belonged to him. I had noticed his scent before. Now I caught blood, clean skin and the faint trace of smoke from the sitting-room fire.
“Can you smell what I’m feeling?” I asked.
“Some of it.” His fingers tightened at my hip. “Fear changes the skin. Desire changes blood flow and body heat. I don’t need either scent when your pulse is this close.”
His thumb settled over the beat in my throat.
The borrowed senses faded, leaving ordinary sound behind. His touch didn’t become less intense.
“You’ve been listening to my heartbeat since I arrived,” I said.
“I’ve tried to be polite about it.”
“Have you?”
“By vampire standards.”
I laughed and put my hands on his shoulders. Silver hair slid over my fingers, cool and soft. His eyes followed my mouth when I moved closer.
“Can you tell when I’m lying?” I asked.
“No. A pulse can change for anger, fear, desire or because you’ve walked across the garden. Anyone who claims it proves a lie is guessing.”
“Can you tell when I want something?”
“Sometimes.”
His voice lowered. He knew exactly where the question was going.
I looked at his mouth.
My heartbeat changed.
Stellan’s lips curved. “That one was clear.”
15
STELLAN
Bryony didn’t look away after her heartbeat gave her up.
Her hands stayed on my shoulders. She stood between my knees, warm against me after a century with no one close enough to touch.
