Chapter 20

For a split second, Remy froze, immobilized by the very act he'd believed would never happen again.

Ephie.

Was.

Kissing.

Him.

Then he snapped out of his disbelief and kissed her back. He slipped his arms around her waist and tugged her against him. The warmth of her spread through him, urging him on. He deepened the kiss. She didn't resist. In fact, she leaned closer. Curious, for a woman who claimed she was over him.

So curious, he almost laughed. He managed to stifle it at the last moment but apparently not well enough.

She pulled back. "What was that?"

"A kiss." He gave her a skeptical look. "Odd you wouldn't know that, considering you started it."

She playfully smacked his arm. "I meant that little noise you made."

"I made a noise?"

She rolled her eyes. "It sounded like you were about to laugh." She backed away. "I know I shouldn't have done that. I just wanted to see if … you know."

He genuinely didn't know. "To see if what?" Then it dawned on him. "If you still had feelings for me?" He grinned. That kiss had definitely felt like feelings. Serious ones. "So? Do ya?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but his impulses took over. He grabbed her and pulled her close again, kissing her a second time. This time, he put more effort into it, holding her near, hands on her hips, and when he let her go, her eyes stayed closed for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Oh," she breathed.

"Oh, indeed. You, Ephelia Moreau, most certainly still have feelings for me."

Her eyes were wide open now. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

She frowned again. "And you don't for me?"

"Did I say that?"

"No, but—"

"Because I am nuts about you." If she needed him to say it first, so be it. He had no problem doing that. Although his ring still being on her finger gave him a fair idea of where she stood. "In fact, I've never stopped being nuts about you."

She seemed to melt slightly. "Are you being totally honest with me? Don't play with me, Remy. It won't go well."

"I wouldn't play with you. And I wouldn't lie to you, especially not about something like this." He would have asked her to marry him again right then and there, but he sensed that, much like the first time, it wouldn't be well received.

"I thought…" She shook her head as if completing the sentence would open an old wound.

He understood. If there was anything keeping them from each other, it was emotional scar tissue. "Twelve years ago, we both screwed up. I was too impulsive. I wanted too much too soon. I scared you away, I know that. I'm sorry. But my intentions were pure. I only wanted to give you the best possible life. To protect you in the only way I knew how. To make forever with you a reality."

She gazed into his face, her own unreadable. She reached for him, putting her hands on his shoulders and tucking her head under his chin as she settled against him and exhaled. "I should have told you then that I wasn't ready. I shouldn't have run away. But you did scare me coming on so strong."

He wrapped his arms around her, his hold on her loose and easy. He reveled in having her so close again. He could have stayed that way for hours. Her presence in his arms filled gaps he hadn't realized existed. He felt complete. "I know."

She stayed there, sighing softly. "My mother put such a fear of vampires into me that I didn't know what to think at that moment. At least not until I got home and really examined what I was feeling. I did love you. But I was afraid of that love. Of what my mother would do if I told her the truth. Of what being with you would mean. I wasn't brave enough to accept the changes loving you would bring. But I didn't want to lose you, either."

She lifted her head to look at him. Tears shone in her eyes. "I was going to tell you all of that the very next day. I looked for you everywhere. On campus. Places where I knew vampires hung out. Clubs. Cemeteries. Anywhere I could think of. But you were gone."

"I had no idea." He'd already been on his way to Nocturne Falls.

"I know." She blinked the tears away before they fell. "Funny how life works sometimes."

"Do you … think you could love me again?"

She hesitated. Choosing her words, maybe. "Remy, there's a part of me that never stopped."

"But?"

She smiled. "We're different people now. Which is a good thing. We need to get to know each other again. I've changed a lot in the last twelve years."

He nodded. "You're somehow more beautiful, I know that."

Her smile widened. "You always were a sweet-talker." But the smile didn't last. "Do you really think I'm in danger?"

"I do." He watched her carefully for any sign she might not be able to handle the truth, as her mother thought. Any sign she might crumble. "Doesn't mean anything is going to happen to you. Not while I'm here. And I'm not going to leave you, so while you need to be cautious, there's nothing to lose your head over."

"What about when you have to go to work?"

That was a problem. "We'll figure something out. A different place for you to stay, someone to stay with you, something."

"I don't want to put anyone out."

"Eph, please." He grabbed her hand. It felt so good to hold it again. "This is your life we're talking about. And the safety of the townspeople and visitors, too, for that matter. Being proactive about this isn't putting anyone out."

She took a deep breath. "Then let me get my phone sorted out and we can go to the drugstore for a burner phone."

"How long do you need?"

She looked toward the guest room. "Ten minutes, maybe twenty. I'm not sure until I get in there and see how deeply embedded the tracking info is. All depends on how sophisticated their tech person is."

"Okay. I have a few things I can do until you're ready to go."

"Can you do them in the same room as me? I don't want to be alone right now."

"I'm all yours." He followed her into the guest room, where Jean-Luc sat on the window ledge, looking out.

She set herself up on the bed with her laptop, phone, and a connector cable and went to work.

While she did that, he texted Birdie the photo of the SUV he'd taken along with a message. Possible suspicious vehicle. GA plate. First three digits X45. Black Lincoln Navigator probably less than five years old.

He knew Birdie would be asleep, but this way she'd get the text first thing.

"Unbelievable," Ephie muttered.

He looked up. "What?"

Irritation masked her pretty face. Angry sparks gleamed in her eyes. "I've only had this phone for about a month. I got a notice about a free upgrade recently, and who wouldn't take that, right?"

"Right."

"Yeah, well, there's a tracking program on it. One I did not install," she fumed. "The absolute nerve."

"Turner."

"Has to be. But now that I've confirmed its existence, we can go. There's nothing I can do to find out who installed it, because it'll just show that I did it. Which I didn't, obviously."

He nodded.

She smiled at him. "Let's go get me a new phone and a box to mail this one back in. And then I really need some sleep."

He got to his feet, putting his phone in his pocket. "Just let me get my keys."