Then… not. Nope. Not awkward at all. Apparently, there were some things one really didn’t forget even after a thousand years. Brigid groaned in frustration and threw the knife into the opposite wall, where it stuck.

She was going to hell. And she wasn’t walking, she was running, because she felt her fangs descend at the thought of Carwyn’s mouth. The earthy spice of his scent when she ran her fangs along his neck. What would his blood taste like? She bit her lip. Carwyn had touched her before. Embraced her even. But the twisting, curling flood of his energy as it poured from his lips and ignited her senses had brought the fire to her skin.

“I want you. More than I have ever wanted any woman in a thousand years.”

She pressed her palms to her eyes and tried not to cry in frustration. Nothing about her was worth waiting a thousand years for! She was prickly and defensive. Damaged and carrying more scars inside than the ones she’d branded Carwyn with. She wasn’t even all that pretty. Her nose was pinched and her lips were too thin. Her elbows were bony and her eyes—which she had once thought were her best feature—were completely inhuman. Whisky brown that looked like they had charred along the edges. They were a perfect metaphor for everything she had become.

Strange. Unnatural. Frightening.

“You can argue with me, but it doesn’t change anything.”

Brigid shook her head and pulled the flowered scarf he had given her from beneath her pillow. She draped the bright silk over her eyes and looked up into the brilliant color before she closed them. The memories assaulted her. His lips pressing against hers. Soft, then harder. The power of his amnis when it touched her own in passion. Carefully banked desire held back on a razor-thin leash. His massive hands holding her so gently. The earth itself pushing her into his arms.

“Ridiculous man,” she whispered. “Don’t you know? It does change everything.” Unrequited desire was one thing. But this?

There was a knock at the door.

“Brigid?” It was Cathy. “Tavish and Max took him to town for the night, so you can come out of hiding.”

Brigid opened the door with narrowed eyes. “I’m not hiding.”

“Of course you are. Let’s go down to the lake.”

Cathy turned and walked down the hall. Brigid peeked out, but she couldn’t hear anyone around the house. There was a television playing in the study and a faint human heartbeat. It was probably Cathy’s driver and assistant who was back living on the grounds when they weren’t in Edinburgh. Brigid wouldn’t feed from him, but her fangs descended automatically at the smell.

“Cathy,” she called. “I’m going to grab some dinner before we start practice.”

“No, you’re not!” She heard a faint reply. “Hunger is part of what we’re doing tonight, so don’t eat.”

“Heinous cow…” Brigid muttered, stomping out the front door before she sped down to the lake, the dog racing after her. Cathy was already waiting, and Max was with her.

Brigid halted. “I thought you said they were gone!”

Max smiled. “I sent them a bit ahead. I’ll follow in just a minute, but we needed to give a demonstration first.”

“What?” Brigid asked. Max was a great friend, but he never helped with her lessons. He was an earth vampire.

An earth vampire who reached over, grabbed his wife, and started kissing her very enthusiastically. Right in front of Brigid.

“Well then…” She cleared her throat and said, “Do I really need to be here for this?”

Cathy finally broke away from Max’s mouth and grinned. “Yes, you do. And more importantly, Max had to be here for this.”

Max gave Cathy one last kiss, then strode over with a smile. He held up his hands and said, “You don’t have to say anything. I just want you to look.” He stood in front of Brigid and turned his neck to the side. Brigid wanted to look away in embarrassment, but her curiosity overwhelmed the awkwardness when Max loosened his collar and spread it for her eyes. “Just look, Brigid.”

There was a slight reddening where Cathy’s fingers had been holding him, but no burns. As passionate as she knew their relationship was, Max bore no visible scars from his lover. Brigid didn’t say anything, just turned her face away and nodded. Max walked back to Cathy gave her a quick kiss before he sped over the hills and out of sight.

Cathy said, “Being a fire vampire is tough. We have to have mountains of self-control. We’re always seen as a threat, and we’re targeted because of it.”

“I know.”

“Some of us—” She stepped closer. “—spend our whole lives alone.”

Cathy didn’t talk about her past. Brigid knew she was far older than Max, but didn’t know by how much.

“Hundreds of years… an eternity.” Then she smiled. “But sometimes, we find the right person.”

The longing almost overwhelmed her. “I’m happy for you, Cathy. For you and Max, both.”

“Being a fire vampire doesn’t mean that you’re going to hurt anyone you get close to. Don’t use it as an excuse to run away.”

Brigid stiffened and turned away. “I appreciate the useful information. Please thank Max as well. Now, I’m going to go to the kitchen and get some—”

“You hurt him more by running than you did by burning him.”

Brigid spun around and hissed, “That’s none of your business.”