you?”
“Nothing, this is going to take time to heal. Give me a minute and help me to my bed.” He closed his eyes again.
“Why didn’t the sun burn me as badly?”
“You have not completely transformed yet. The virus takes a while to work its magic.”
“How long?”
“It is different for everyone, but probably a few more days for you. Even then, it will be years before the process is truly complete and you have all the powers of a mature vampire.”
“Is there any way to reverse it? Can’t I stop it somehow?” Kenzi felt an unfamiliar hope rise.
“Not that I have ever heard of. If there was, it would be your people that knew of it.” Connor grimaced as he began to move. “Help me to my bed.”
Kenzi tried to support him gently as he rose, but she could still feel his scorched skin crackle against her hand. Connor stifled a moan and they shuffled to his bed. Kenzi noted the satin sheets as she pulled them back to let him lay across the giant mattress.
Connor sighed in relief as he sank down onto the soft surface.
“I shouldn’t have heard you go out on the balcony. We sleep very deeply during the day; it’s when we are at our most vulnerable. Some sense just warned me.”
“Lucky me,” Kenzi said with quiet sarcasm as she sat next to him.
Connor reached out and grabbed her arm. “In time you will see how lucky you are. Just give me time to explain.”
Kenzi gently pulled his hand away. “Is there anything I can get you? Would some kind of lotion help?”
Connor chuckled. “You think vampires keep skin lotion around? You think that’s part of our beauty regimen?”
Connor faded into silence and appeared unconscious, though due to his natural daytime slumber or as a result of his burns she didn’t know. He had the unnatural stillness of a sleeping vampire, and she could see how the people of a simpler time had been deceived into believing these monsters were dead.
Kenzi sat next to him, battling the growing lethargy she felt and wondered why she didn’t kill him. He was this thing she had sworn to hate and destroy, regardless of his tales of killing other vampires. And yet….
Sitting cautiously on the bed, Kenzi studied this creature before her. Even through the sun-blasted skin, she could see the muscles in his arms and chest, and the flat stomach that tapered to this waist. He had the build of an athlete from a sport like swimming or running, as though built for speed.
Kenzi turned her attention to his legs. Like the rest of his body, his legs were heavily muscled though still long and lean. Her gaze finally settled on the boxers he still wore. Staring at the only portion of Connor’s form still covered, she blushed.
The reaction both surprised and amused her. She had never been shy; in the aftermath of combat she had sought out physical comfort openly and without coyness. Kenzi had also always been honest with herself. She knew this creature lying helpless before her was a vampire. She also knew his body was pleasing to the eye.
Chapter S ix
It was a low moan that awakened Kenzi. She was disoriented for a moment before she turned to the figure next to her. In the dim light she recognized Connor, stretched out next to her in his bed, her leg now over his. Sleep had come so quickly she didn’t remember lying down next to him.
“I’m grateful for the company, but could you move your leg?” Connor said with a rasping laugh.
“Oh God! I’m so sorry,” Kenzi gingerly moved off Connor’s damaged skin. “How do you feel?”
“Better,” Connor answered. “It’s just going to take a little time.”
“I thought you’d heal faster,” Kenzi said.
“I should have, but the sun gets more dangerous to us as we age, and I haven’t fed in a while.”
“How long is a while?” Kenzi asked.
“A couple of weeks, I guess.” Connor shifted and winced