“Yes. I asked you to mate me, and the brand appeared. The marking appears because we want it to appear, and that’s what happened.”
Well, wasn’t that a logical explanation? Her heart ached. The beeping slowed down around them. Weird. “I see.”
“My offer still stands.” No emotion showed on his face, and pure confidence lit his eyes. “We’d gain each other’s powers if we mated.” He sighed, his eyes softening. “I like you, Amber. A lot. We would make a good pair, and I’d give you a good life. For centuries.”
The temptation to live forever warred with her need for love. Sure, she wanted immortality—who wouldn’t? But maybe she could find another vampire, one who loved her. Though the hurt in her heart whispered that she’d already fallen for a vampire. A logical, cold, purely methodical scientist. A silly little part of her wondered if she could make him love her. Yeah, that wasn’t how dumb girls got hurt—not ever. Geez. “Thank you for your very kind, very logical offer. But no.”
He sighed. “I think mating would be the best course for us both. Please say you’ll think about my offer.”
Stubbornness lined his jaw. While his words were phrased as a question, the determined set of his head made her wonder. How far would Kane go for what he thought was the best course? How far would he go to save his brother? Amber licked her lips. “I’m not entering forever like I’m signing a contract to buy a car. Period.”
“Okay.” He gently began removing electrodes from her body.
Well, he didn’t have to accept her refusal so easily. Sure, growing up without a father, she might have fantasized about love and what it’d be like to finally have a man in her life. “A lot of people have love. I’ve seen Emma and Dage—they’re in love.”
“I don’t want to argue about love.” Kane finished his task and reached for a notebook, scratching odd equations on a page.
Amber frowned. “What’s that?”
“A combination of string theory, quantum physics, and neurobiology,” Kane said absently.
The paper crinkled more when she fidgeted. Science had never made a lot of sense to her. “Oh. Have you studied all of that stuff?”
“Yes.” He rubbed his chin, frowning at the paper before jotting down more equations. “I’m not sure how many doctorates I have—the diplomas may be in a drawer somewhere.”
“Oh.” She started to swing a leg back and forth. The guy probably wouldn’t be very impressed with her GED—the one proudly displayed in her room on the farm. “So, what about Emma? I mean, does she know physics?”
Kane shrugged, his gaze never leaving his paper. “Maybe some. But her doctorate is in genetics, which has come in very handy. Well, it’s also how the Kurjans found her, so maybe that fact hasn’t worked in her favor. Then again, Dage saved her from the Kurjans, and things have worked out rather well for them. Her sister’s degree is in plant physiology—she always likes to have real plants around.”
So everyone had serious degrees—the PhD kind. Amber swallowed hard and jumped off the table. “Well, if we’re done here, I’m going to check on my grandmother.” She didn’t wait to see if Kane gave her an absent nod or not. This place wasn’t any different from anywhere else she’d ever been—she once again didn’t fit in.
Darn geniuses.
Kane looked up and frowned when the door closed. Where the heck did Amber just go? He shook his head. Man, he hoped she hadn’t been talking to him before she left. The readings on the printouts were fascinating. When he’d kissed her, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in her brain shut down, which was to be expected since it signified control. Satisfaction centered him—the woman had not been in control.
In addition, the amygdala in the brain had lit up, which, considering it dealt with emotions, also made sense. Yet when she tried to attack him with pain or bad images, the thalamus lit up. That area was known to deal with sensory information coming in . . . not going out. Now what in the world did that mean?
Janie slid open the door and glided inside. Her pretty face had gone so pale her lips appeared nearly blue. A much lighter blue than her eyes. “I was trying to meditate and had a vision of Jase. It was seriously dark, and I’m scared.”
Settling his face into calm lines, Kane tossed the papers on the counter. “This isn’t the place.” Taking her hand, he opened the door and led her through several tunnels to his quarters. Once inside, he settled her in the one overstuffed chair and took the sofa for himself.
Serenity flowed through his small space from the deep browns of the rug covering rock to the stunning pictures on the wall. He allowed peace to settle his shoulders. As much as he disliked feeling, he opened his senses as wide as he could. Sometimes he could get readings from a talented psychic. “Okay, sweetheart. Tell me what you saw.”
Janie rubbed delicate hands down her faded jeans. “I saw Jase surrounded by brown rock that kept morphing into faces. The faces told him he was going to die.”
The girl’s fear slammed Kane right between the eyes. His heart kicked into gear, and heat ran along his skin. Taking several deep breaths, he drew enough of a shield into place to block some of the fear. He needed to think, and feelings got in the way of thought. His mind cleared while his heart slowed down. “Tell me more about the faces.”
“I didn’t recognize the faces—they didn’t seem real,” Janie whispered. Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I felt him. He’s . . . drifting away.”
Chills cascaded down Kane’s spine. “Jase is strong—he’ll survive.”
“Maybe.” Doubt clouded her eyes when she looked up. “Mentally, he’s almost done fighting. I could feel him letting go.”
Kane leaned forward. “But you know he’s alive. Jase is alive, and that gives us hope. We need hope, Janie.” A stone lodged into Kane’s gut. The world was classically unfair to make this precious twenty-year-old child see and feel such despair. If he could take the feelings from her, or teach her to shield herself from them, he’d do so in a heartbeat.
Janie reached out to hold his hands and closed her eyes. “Help me get it out of my head.”
Kane scrutinized her pale face. “Deep breaths. One, two, three . . .” He counted to twenty and back down, helping center the girl into almost a hypnotic state. “Now, when you open your eyes, you’ll feel refreshed and full of peace. Open your eyes, now.”
Deep blue eyes flashed open, clear and calm. She smiled and released him. “Thanks, Uncle Kane.” She stood and tugged her threadbare Snoopy shirt into place before stretching her back with a soft sigh. A quick peck on his cheek reassured him and he grinned. Graceful steps propelled her across the room to the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He frowned after her, his mind kicking awake. Janie usually wanted to chat after a meditating session and had never hustled off before. “How odd.” With his own sigh, he tried to turn back to the papers, but his mind kept going to his niece.
What was that girl up to?
CHAPTER 20
Janie hustled through the underground hallways, her mind calm and her body relaxed. She knew she could count on Uncle Kane to get her in the right state of mind. Oh, she’d been having the visions of Jase for some time now and hadn’t thought sharing them would help anyone. But Kane liked to be in the know, so she’d been meaning to tell him anyway. She’d just waited for the right time.
Arriving at her quarters, she shoved open the door to an empty living room. A thick green couch and two matching seats faced a huge television mounted in the wall. A walkway to the left led to the kitchen, a hallway to the right to the bedrooms. Plants of all different kinds took residence on tables and furniture throughout the entire apartment. Her mother did love a nice jungle wherever she found herself living. Of course, so did Janie.