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"Ty, then Has there ever been a regular human as born with a vampire mark?"

"Not that I’ve ever heard"

"Can va babies "Fortunately, no"

"Oh" Her voice was s of sy for him as a vampire, but at least he knehat he was and where he stood Lily obviously did not And he had begun to get the distinct impression that she never had

"I just wish I knehat this thingher collarbone and the intricate design that was hidden beneath her shirt

"Well," he said as the car rushed deeper into the night, "that’s e’re going to try and find out"

Chapter SEVEN

HOURS LATER, as the sun neared the horizon and the sky went froray, Lily sat in a dimly lit room in soe of the roo-size bed, more tired than she’d ever been in her life and yet unable to relax enough to sleep She ought to, though She was going to need all the strength she could get

Instead, she found herself watching Tynan No, Ty, she corrected herself, trying to look like she wasn’t fully absorbed in every graceful feline movement he made, fascinated by both his preternatural beauty and the paradox she was already discovering hi Ty was as much a killer as Damien and these Shades ere after her He was probably all sorts of things, she thought as she watched him in the faint reflection off the television Probably s were unspeakably awful

And yet, he had been kind to her when he didn’t have to be He had talked to her, really talked, painting her a rudimentary picture of a vampire society that functioned in a way that was utterly alien to her And despite Ty’s cool veneer, she had seen flashes of humor, of hurt, even of pity that ed the beginnings of a connection Lily knew she should turn away froer He was an ancient killer who had ripped her away froe, a little unfortunate, and yeah, a little telekinetic, but still just Lily Quinn

She slid her eyes back to Ty’s hed Easier said than done A lot easier

There was a soft rustle of fabric as Tynan finished preparing the rooht Fortunately, he seemed oblivious to the fact that he had such an attentive audience He’d been too busy jury-rigging the bed’s coht would enter the rooainst the crack at the botto on the doorknob outside

The light of the single larubby little rooether when Ty turned the knob on it as he finishedthe room into a cave for the day Lily’s heart tripped in her chest as the rooed into blackness, and her eyes, unaccustoly loud in her own ears Ty ht

"Give me your hands, mo bhilis"

His voice scraped deliciously over her nerves, like fingernails over velvet Against her will, Lily felt her awareness of hiht, and the very nearness of hile in anticipation

"Why?"

"So I can tie theain?" Lily asked, hoping the pang of hurt she felt wasn’t obvious in her voice How could he tie her now? Yesterday she had hated it, but at least she had understood Now, though, he had opened up to her, at least a little He’dmore than just a pawn in all of this And her reward for responding to his kindness was to be bound like a prisoner?

"You don’t need to do that this ti stupid, I would have done it by now"

"Glad to hear it," Tynan said, his velvet voice far ent woiven the situation, a little insurance is in order What would I do if, for instance, you decided to get up, have a peek out the , and wound up incinerating er things have happened" His voice was infuriatingly reasonable

"I’m not like that"