She could feel the corners of her mouth pull up slightly as she answered. “Coffee.” He chuckled, and her jaw ached at his ease. “Then wine … and then food—dessert to be exact.”
“Bread pudding.” She looked at him curiously. “Yes, Ember. I know you loved bread pudding, but I think it’s curious you forgot pizza.”
“Oh yes. Pizza too.” She was smiling. A real smile. She hadn’t felt the tug of her cheek muscles for longer than she could recall, and it felt good. “What about you?” She eyed him in her own curiosity.
“Well, I’ve been dead for over three hundred years, so I’ve experienced nothing of current cuisine. I’ve never tasted pizza, and wine was a far different thing back in my day. But I miss meat. It wasn’t always easy to come by, but I hunted. I loved deer and elk. I miss that the most.”
“What about your family? Did you leave anyone behind when you transitioned?”
“No. My family was all dead. My parents died when I was still a teen, and my younger sister was kidnapped and murdered a couple of years later.” Her face fell at his words, and she suddenly had an incredible urge to touch him. He glanced at her, and seeing her reaction, continued. “I tried to take care of her once our parents passed away, but I was young and away far more often than I should have been.” He shook his head as his jaw clenched. But then he looked to her again. “It’s okay, Ember.” And then she did something that surprised even her. She did exactly what her heart was telling her to do. She reached for his hand that was hovering near the center console. He seemed shocked for a moment as her fingers touched his, but as they did, he laced their fingers together and held her hand tight within his own.
“Do you suppose it’s why you choose to hunt pedophiles and those who would harm children?” Her voice was gentle, and it was the same voice she used when she spoke to the teens at the youth shelter during a particularly intense session. She was obviously feeling comfortable given her suddenly relaxed tongue, and in her comfort she needed to pry, understand, and analyze him. It was just what she did.
He smiled, glanced at her, and then responded. “Most definitely. I’m sure you could have a field day with this one, dear Freudette, and I promise I’ll let you analyze me to your heart’s content someday … just not this day.” And he smirked before squeezing her hand.
When they reached Portland, they went straight to the college. He pulled up in the parking lot she had always parked in for class. Classes were for the most part over for the evening, aside from the die-hard professors who liked to be cruel to their students and actually keep them their full class time. They entered the building, and the halls were silent. When they reached the classroom her history class had been in, he reached to his pocket for a key and unlocked the door. Walking in was strange. So many of her class memories were confused and hazy, and she knew logically it was because he was such a big part of nearly all of those memories, but it was still hard to wrap her brain around.
She entered and saw the seat she always sat in. She could see her small class and where they all sat as well. She could even recall the boy who had asked her on a date, but when she looked at the instructor’s desk at the head of the classroom, it was as if she was seeing it for the first time. She remembered nothing of his lectures, but she remembered the content she’d studied. She remembered nothing of his assignments, but she remembered doing them. He sat on the edge of the desk, and another sudden flash of memory came up. It sent pain through her head and embarrassment through her inner self-consciousness.
She reached to the back of her head, and he smiled. “Knocked your head pretty good. Thought you might have had a concussion after that one. But I enjoyed the excuse to get my hands on you after class—albeit only your head.” He was smirking, and it sent a cold blush through her cheeks that she knew wasn’t really visible anymore; thank God for small favors. “Do you remember giving your speech?”
“Yes. It was atrocious.”
“Indeed, it was.”
She laughed quietly. “I remember it, and yet, there are just so many holes in it. I can’t remember before and after and a lot of things in between.”
“I intentionally sat in the seat next to yours while you gave your speech, knowing I could safely sit next to you for the rest of the evening while the other students gave their speeches.”
“I don’t remember that … but it sounds a bit pathetic,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. He smiled. “Did we have sex here?” She was nervous asking him about sex, and he smiled gently at her obvious discomfort with the subject.
“Yes, but only once. The last night after class ended. I’d been imaging making love to you in here all semester, and I wasn’t about to lose the opportunity. I fucked you on the desk after you sucked my cock and I tasted your pussy.” He smirked at her before shutting off the light and holding out his hand. She took it, and he led them from the building.
When they stepped out into the night, she suddenly stilled and nearly panicked. She looked to the tree nearby and thought for just a moment she’d caught a dark shape lying in wait for them, and as she pulled from Truman, he looked to her with concern etched across his expression. When she glanced back to the tree, there was nothing there, and she shook her head in confusion. He pulled her to his side and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. Just another memory. A particularly bad one, quite frankly. But we’ll talk about that later.”
When they pulled up outside of his home, she stared, hoping for some flash of history, but there was nothing. There were plenty of memories floating around in her head; they popped up constantly. Dr. Bremmer’s hope was that her body’s regenerative abilities would help restore the broken connections, but since there was no real history of someone like her or research on the subject, no one knew for sure. The flashes of memory were common for someone who’d had their brain wiped, but most people didn’t have the same context as she. She knew there were things missing, and so she was constantly searching. The average person who’d come in contact with a vampire who’d affected their brain just saw the images as nothing more than their imagination, a passing spell of déjà vu, or remnants of a dream. Ember, on the other hand, was acutely aware of what had happened to her mind, so when she was hit with a memory, she obsessed over it and waited for the next one to present itself.
In the past twenty-four hours her interest in their history had become more intriguing, or perhaps he had. She wanted to remember him, and not because she felt lost in this world without her memories, but because the idea of these memories was intoxicating in a way she hadn’t allowed herself to consider before. He was beautiful from the first moment she woke in this world, but she’d been terrified, angry, resentful, and she’d reacted cruelly. But she didn’t want to be that person, and allowing herself to close the space between them, she was finally getting a sense of what they had been to one another, and she was desperate for more of these memories.
Chapter 19
When they arrived at his home, he helped her from the car, and they walked in together. His home was beautiful, and she was impressed beyond words. He led her upstairs, watching her carefully over his shoulder with every step. She was suddenly nervous. These memories certainly wouldn’t be innocent ones, and she trilled in excitement and fear. She couldn’t deny her attraction to him, and it left her embarrassed and self-conscious.
When they entered his bedroom, she looked around curiously. It was neat, and the bed was large and inviting. She wanted to be lying next to him, and she was flushed at the sight of the bed she’d shared with him before. Her body warmed and wetness spread. She wanted to feel his hands on her wetness, she wanted him to stroke her skin and touch her desire, and the fact that she knew he would if she allowed it didn’t help matters. She walked to the bed and looked down. He stepped behind her and leaned to her ear. “It’s nice to smell your arousal again. I’ve missed that.” His voice had her knees weak, and images of his nakedness infiltrated her mind.