Page 19 of Vampire's Breath

She shook her head; her gaze still not meeting mine.

The urge to lift her chin, to make her look at me, was sharp, but I held back, waiting, hoping she might choose it on her own. She didn’t.

“Briar… I’m over here.” Her throat moved as she swallowed, still not looking up. I kept my words gentle. “There is no need to be embarrassed. I’m sure I have nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“But—”

“No buts.” I dipped my head to find her eyes, catching them and smiling at her. “Thank you for the delivery, although I thought I was going to come pick it up.”

Briar’s breath hitched. I saw the slight twitch in her neck as she hesitated, her fingers tightening around the plant. “I needed to talk to you about the journal.”

My smile fell. “Set the plant wherever it will do best.” I waved my hand around the garden. “Then join me on the porch. Can I get you a drink?”

“You’re sure your girlfriend won’t mind me staying?” Her voice wavered as she asked the question.

“Is that what this visit is about?” I laughed. “This is a bachelor pad through and through.”

“Just had to check since you never got back to me about coffee.” She set the plant on a large rock. “Don’t forget to water it once a day, twice after you plant it.”

“Sure, and here.” I thrust the money toward her. “For the tea, the plant, and the donation.”

“Thanks.” She folded it and put it in the pocket of her long, loose skirt that accentuated her hips. I ached to wrap my hands around them and pull her to me.

“Why is the name Lorcan O’Cillian in my journal as the Marquess of Dún Na Farraige?” Her words were firm, and her eyes narrowed as she searched my face.

I gestured to the chairs and followed her as she sat down. I looked at the chair close to Briar and stood by the wall. I hadn’t known Lady Isobel had ever mentioned me by name in her writing, but I supposed it shouldn’t have surprised me. She was forever scribbling in that book when I visited her in the Tower.

I forced a shrug, although my pulse quickened as I searched for the right words. “I don’t know. Do I look old enough to be the same man?”

Briar chuckled. She must have forgotten her embarrassment. “Well, Lady Isobel believed in vampires.”

I scoffed as I leaned against the doorframe. “But we’re smarter than that now, aren’t we?” As much as I wanted to sit next to her, I feared reaching out for her hand and digging myself in deeper.

The smile faded from Briar’s face. “We are. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a unique name—and it’s one you carry. If you know something about Lady Isobel that you can tell me, it would really help. This was all my mother wanted. It’s the last thing she asked of me.”

Her words tugged at something deep inside me, but I had left that world behind. Indeed, I was the Marquess of Dún Na Farraige—but so were my brothers and father.

I crossed my arms, my fingers gripping my upper arms as I clenched my jaw. I took a deep breath before forcing the words out. “My family was involved. But if I give you the information I have, do you promise that will be the end of it? I’m not proud of my O’Cillian heritage, nor do I want to remember it. As soon as I learned how dark and twisted the family was, I walked away from my research and never looked back.”

Briar’s eyes widened. “Dark and twisted? What do you mean?”

I scrambled to find something I could say. “Let’s just say that my family could be violent and leave it at that.”

My throat tightened as I spun a half-truth that resembled my story but wasn’t entirely accurate. I couldn’t tell her the truth—that it was me Lady Isobel had written about. But I couldn’t let her keep struggling when I had the information to help her. Something made me want to soothe her pain. Maybe helping her finish her mother’s project would let her move on, and as much as it would hurt me not to see her, I could go back to being anonymous. Ice crept through my heart as my lips begged to feel hers just once before we parted.

Briar straightened as she met my gaze. “I understand. I won’t ask for anything else if you tell me what you can and where to start looking.”

A smile touched my lips. “Well, I already told you who to contact.”

A flicker of worry crossed her eyes even though her voice remained steady. “You did. And I’m trying my best to come up with the money to travel to England, but this is the worst possible time. I know Amy would watch the garden center, but I need to find the money for flights and make a plan.”

I nodded. “It’s not exactly a quick weekend getaway, is it? But… I have some journals that belonged to him. I’ll see if any of them mention her.” Of course, I knew they did, but did they also out me as a nine-hundred-year-old vampire? The thought of herfinding out sent a chill down my spine. I rested my head on the wood and closed my eyes. I needed to get away from this, away from her, because once she knew me, she would see there was nothing to love, nothing but the pain I caused her family.

Briar’s voice broke through my thoughts, soft and worried. “Are you okay, Lorcan?”

I raised my head and forced a small smile. “I’ll be fine. I was just trying to remember where they were. I promise to drop anything I find off at the garden center.”

Her lips parted in a smile, the shadow of worry lifting from her face. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

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