Page 42 of Love Bites
Could it be true? Could they be Soul Mates? She looked into his eyes. Could that explain why she felt as if they were opposite ends of a magnet, being pulled forcefully together? Not that she’d minded before, but now that she knew he was a vampire...
Now that she knew he was a vampire, what? Did she like him less than before? Did the simple fact of his nature make her want him any less? It seemed like such a racist idea. It was like saying just because she found out someone practiced the Islamic religion she didn’t want to be friends with them anymore. Or that because someone had African Americans in their family tree she wouldn’t date them.
Maybe she’d blown it out of proportion, she thought. But hehadlied. That hurt worse than the lie itself.
“You still lied to me about everything. You lied to me about who and what you are. I don’t know if I can forgive that.”
Her words seemed to deflate him. He reached out to touch her, but she stepped away from him. She didn’t want Ignacio touching her, didn’t want to risk that fiery sensation to distract her from what she had to say.
“Katheryn,” he pleaded. The sound of her name on his lips was heartbreaking.
“You lied…” Her voice cracked. “And you scared me, you broke my heart.”
He looked, or rather, she felt deep in her chest an emotion foreign to her own body. It took only a moment to realize that she was feeling his distress. His own need to take a knife and plunge it into his heart for what he’d done to her. It was so sincere, that all doubts floated away.
She was bitter, and that wasn’t who she wanted to be. She didn’t like what it did to her. It had made her angry and impulsive. She pushed Ignacio away when every molecule in her body had wanted to reach out to him, to hold him, to kiss him and be with him.
She wrapped her arms around herself to avoid doing that.
“That will be my biggest regret until the day I die.”
Tears prickled at the backs of her eyes at those words. They were the hammer that pounded through her armor and made her give in.
“That piece you were playing, what’s it called?” As if she knew a single thing about music. She didn’t, but it was perhaps the only words that would keep her from breaking down completely.
Ignacio seemed to sense that, because he answered without comment on the abrupt subject change. “Mond Schein Sonate.” When she raised her eyebrows at his perfect German he chuckled and patted the spot next to him. She sat, facing the piano and saw there was no music sheets or anything. He probably had it all memorized.
“Mond Schein Sonate,” he repeated. “The Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.”
“You play very well,” she complimented, running her fingers lightly across the piano keys. “I’ve never known anyone to play that beautifully.” They weren’t just empty words to fill the spaces between them. She meant every word.
“Would you...” Ignacio began. “Would you like me to teach you?”
“Yes.” She felt breathless. “I’d like that very much.”
He smiled at her then darted his golden eyes down to her hands. He held his own hand out. “May I?”
She nodded, and he took her hands in his. In an instant, the sparks and fireworks were back, but she didn’t flinch as his fingers traced lines over hers.
“You have beautiful fingers,” he murmured after a moment.
Katheryn didn’t know what to say. No one had ever said such a thing about her. Hunter certainly never had.
Ignacio brought her hands down over the keys with her fingers lightly on them but not quite pressing down. The ebony and ivory rectangles were cool beneath her fingertips. Ignacio’s hands splayed over hers like a glove. When he pressed down, so did she, making music together.
Her heart thundered in her chest at his nearness, at their joined hands. She was suddenly nervous, nervous about everything. She pulled her hands away from his in order to steady herself.
Ignacio gave her a curious glance but made no comment, merely continuing the lesson while she fought to control her breathing. He pressed on a few keys, picking out a simple melody on the instrument. After a few more notes, he indicated she should try the same. She did, but it didn’t sound quite the same.
“When you play these notes...” Ignacio’s fingers glided slowly over the first few keys. “You have to pause before continuing on to the next few keys. A brief pause, mind you.” He demonstrated, pressing the next few notes. “Now you try.”
She did, executing the notes the same way he had.
“Good, very good.” He smiled.
“I like listening to you play more. I’m afraid I’m no good at stuff like this. But throw me a Petri dish with some mysterious substance and I’ll quickly identify it for you. That’s something I’m good at.”
Her laugh caught in her throat when she realized Ignacio wasn’t laughing along. Instead, he stared down at her with his intense golden eyes. Katheryn suddenly felt self-conscious, but fought the urge to turn away.
