Page 25 of Discovery of the Vampire
10
BROGAN
After Killian and Lizzy went to their bedroom, I chatted with Dae privately in the front sitting room, catching him up on all of my previous interactions with Esme. There wasn't much more to tell, at least nothing that had to do with the djinn. Only what she'd told me tonight, all of which he already knew, but he liked to have his bases covered. Anything else that had gone down between me and her was none of his fucking business, or anyone else's, for that matter.
When we were finished, I found Esme alone in the kitchen, sipping her glass of water as she waited for me. She turned in her chair when I entered, her tired eyes meeting mine. An unmistakable tension hung in the air as we faced each other.
"Hey," I said, leaning against the counter.
"Hey yourself." She set the glass down on the table. "I'm not quite sure what to do from here," she admitted softly. "Or what to say."
"Was it real?" I blurted. The words had tumbled from my lips before I could stop them.
A look of confusion crossed her gorgeous face. "Was what real?"
"That kiss tonight. And the kiss in the locker room. Were they real? Or was it desperation?" I asked, my voice low and uncertain as I searched her face for the truth, both desperate and terrified to hear it. "Because it sure as hell felt real to me, Esme. More real than anything I've felt in a long time. But I need to know if you felt it too, or if I'm just fooling myself here."
She didn't respond right away, and my heart stopped its incessant pounding in my ears as fear overtook me. When she finally did answer my question, it wasn't what I was expecting to hear. "It was desperation, yes, but not in the way you think."
"I don't know what that means."
"It means it was real," she admitted.
My heart staggered, stuttered to a stop, then began to beat again, quickly catching a steady rhythm. But even hearing the words, I still had trouble believing them. "Don't say it if you don't mean it. I'm not going to throw you back out onto the street alone. I'm a better male than that."
She straightened in her chair. "I might flirt. And I might tease a bit. But I wouldn't use my body to get my way. I'm a smarterwomanthan that," she retaliated, not breaking eye contact.
She was either telling the truth, or she was a really good liar. But it felt like the truth. Or maybe I just wanted to believe it. Either way, I'd have to take her word for it or admit that she’d made a complete and utter fool out of me.
"Fair enough," I told her. "So now tell me this, why did Marcus come after your family?" The question had been buzzing around in my head ever since she first told me what happened.
Her dark eyes found mine, then skittered away. "I don't know."
Thatwas a lie. She knew why. "Don't give me that shit."
To her credit, she didn't continue with it. Instead, she said nothing at all.
Frustration gnawed at my insides and I pushed away from the counter, studying her for a moment before I joined her at the table. "Esme, look at me."
She took a shaky breath as she stared down at the floor before turning in her chair to face me. Reluctantly, her eyes rose. They were guarded when they met mine.
"Why would he come after your family?" I repeated. "In my experience, the djinn view humans as little more than pests. No better than bugs. Definitely not worth the time and effort to do something like what you described. So there must be something else you're not telling me."
She still didn't respond.
I laid my hand on the table between us, palm up. "Give me your hand."
After a pause, she did, and I tightened my fingers around hers. "You came to me for help. But I can't help you if you don't trust me."
She studied our joined hands.
"Youhaveto trust me, darlin'."
I let my eyes roam over her face as she considered all her options, and for a moment, I wondered if that stubbornness inside of her would win out. But Esme was a smart woman, and she finally started to talk. Slowly at first.
"He thought…he thought myabuelahad something he was looking for."
“Your grandmother?”
