"I heard you talking to Bastien through the bathroom door. You said you couldn't erase my memories. Besides, everything would have been a lot simpler for you if you'd just made me forget everything that had happened. So, why couldn't you read me or erase my memories? Are there many you can't do that with?"

Thomas grimaced, wishing she'd forgotten her question at least until after he'd got to his room and consumed a couple bags of blood and his brain was in better working order again.

"Thomas?" she asked insistently.

"No, there aren't many mortals an immortal can't read, control, or wipe memories from," he admitted grimly.

"But you couldn't do any of those things with me?" Inez asked with a frown.

Thomas nodded, his eyes slipping to the elevator lights. They were almost to their floor.

"But you said Wyatt could and Bastien would send him over to do it for you if I didn't come with you to Amsterdam and allow you to explain," she pointed out and then asked, "Is Wyatt an older, stronger vampire? Is that why you thought he could do it when you couldn't?"

Before Thomas was forced to come up with a lie, they arrived at their floor and the elevator doors opened. Nearly gasping with relief, he hurried off the elevator, glanced at the sign pointing out the direction to take to reach their room numbers, and hurried that way.

"You really aren't comfortable with this conversation are you?" Inez asked dryly as she hurried up the hall behind him.

Thomas knew he was being rude not measuring his pace to hers, but he was almost desperate to get to their suite. He was sure if he could just slap a bag or two of blood to his teeth his mind would clear and he would know exactly what to say about lifemates and that she was his own.

He'd just stopped in front of the door to their suite when his phone began to ring. Tugging it from his pocket, he handed it to Inez.

"Say h.e.l.lo to Bastien," he growled, turning his attention to unlocking the door as she flipped the phone open.

"h.e.l.lo, Bastien," Inez said cheerfully. "Why can't Thomas read my mind or control me and why is he so rattled by the question?"

The door clicked open, but Thomas hardly noticed, his attention had turned to Inez. The woman's eyes were sparkling with amus.e.m.e.nt. She was aware of and enjoying his discomfort over the matter. Women! He would never understand them. They were supposed to be the softer s.e.x yet took great pleasure in tormenting a man.

Leaving her to follow as she liked, he strode into the room, relief pouring through him the moment he spotted the A.B.B. cooler on the table in the sitting room of the suite.

Thomas felt his teeth shift and slide out in his mouth as he strode quickly across the floor to the cooler. Flipping the lid open, he reached in, grabbed a bag, and promptly popped it to his teeth. The bag was nearly empty, the blood soaking into his system and easing the cramps at once when he realized Inez had gone very quiet. Suddenly anxious, he turned with the bag at his mouth and peered toward her. She had followed him into the room and now stood by the sofa, her expression grim as she listened to whatever Bastien was saying. Obviously, she wasn't pleased at his explanation of lifemates, or perhaps she wasn't pleased that she was his lifemate.

Shoulders slumping, Thomas turned back to the cooler and pulled out a second bag, holding it in his hand as he waited for the one in his mouth to finish draining. He was about to switch bags when Inez suddenly appeared at his side.

"He wants to talk to you," she said, holding out the phone.

Thomas pulled the now empty bag from his mouth, dropped it on to the table, and reached for the phone.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Nodding, Inez turned and moved off, heading straight for the door leading into the rest of the suite. No doubt in search of her room, he realized with worry. Her expression had been terribly solemn when she'd handed him the phone, all the amus.e.m.e.nt drained from it. In fact, she'd looked rather pale to his mind. Now he really wanted to know what Bastien had told her.

Sighing, he lifted the phone to his ear, his eyes slipping to the full bag of blood he still held. He absently read the label on the blood as he opened his mouth to say h.e.l.lo, and then stiffened, dropped the full bag to the floor, and reached for the empty one on the table, reading that label with growing horror.

"Thomas? Thomas are you there?" Bastien was asking over the phone.

"Oh s.h.i.t!" was his answer.

Chapter Five.

It was only nine o'clock at night, but Inez was exhausted by the events of the day when she entered the first bedroom of the suite and peered curiously around.

Thomas had said that Bastien was arranging to have some clothes there for her, but she didn't see any evidence of that. The room was neat and tidy and absent of anything personal that she could see. Inez was about to back out of the room, when she suddenly thought to check the closet.

Crossing the room, she opened the first door she came to and found herself peering into a huge, beautiful bathroom. She spotted the toiletries at once and moved forward, her eyes sweeping over the items lined up on the marble countertop. There were at least three lipsticks in varying shades and a mirage of other cosmetic items, half of which she didn't even recognize.

Inez had never bothered much with makeup; a bit of face powder, a little lipstick, maybe some blush, and she was good to go.

She rarely bothered with eyeliner, and shadow, and all the other things she saw laying there, at least not for work. Still, they'd been provided, as had a brush, a comb, and various hair supplies. Anything she might want appeared to be there all lined up and ready for use.

Turning away, Inez moved back into the bedroom and found the closet, not terribly surprised to open it and find the hangers full of clothes, including a couple of nightgowns and a robe. A quick check rea.s.sured her that they were all in her size. Stepping back, she glanced down to see a variety of shoes; slippers, running shoes, casual shoes, and high heels. Something for every occasion.

Shaking her head, she turned away and moved to the drawer beside the bed, nodding when opening it revealed a selection of panties, bras, socks, and stockings.

Inez didn't bother to check their sizes, knowing they would all be her size too. Bastien Argeneau was a man with an attention to detail. She wouldn't be surprised to hear he had the size and color preferences of every member of his staff on file somewhere, just in case. It was either that, or the man had sent someone from the company to get her landlord to let him into her flat to check the sizes on her clothing.

Inez turned to survey the filled closet again and shook her head. There were enough clothes there for a two-week stay, but then the Argeneaus didn't do anything by halves.

Sighing, Inez sat on the side of the bed and then fell back on it and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, she was also still annoyed. The clothes and other goodies had not lightened her mood. Bastien had refused to explain why Thomas couldn't read or control her, insisting it was something Thomas would have to explain himself when he was ready. But from his reaction to her questions, she suspected Thomas wouldn't be ready to answer them for some time.

Inez grimaced. She had never been a very patient person, and hated feeling ignorant. Being left in the dark on this matter simply made her think it was important and something she really should know.

Frowning as she became aware of a pounding coming m.u.f.fled from the next room, she stood and moved to the door to the sitting room, her eyes finding Thomas still standing by the table with the cooler on it. His back was to her and his shoulders hunched as he listened to whatever Bastien was saying on the phone and made notes on a notepad on the table.

Her gaze slid to the door to the hall as the pounding continued, and then back to Thomas, but if he heard, he didn't care that there was someone at the door. He was now hissing rather urgently into the phone in tones too low for her to hear. Worried that Bastien may be giving him bad news about Marguerite, she frowned with concern and moved to the door to the suite to bring an end to the pounding. At this rate, whoever was at the door was going to have the people in the neighboring hotel rooms calling hotel security.

Irritated at that possibility, Inez was scowling when she opened the door. She only opened it a little ways, an effort to keep whoever it was from seeing Thomas, the cooler and the empty bag of blood. She didn't want to upset housekeeping or whoever it was. However, the man on the other side of the door was already upset, his expression a strange mixture of worry, apology, and relief as she opened the door."Yes?" Inez asked, relaxing a little as her gaze slid over the black nylon jacket he wore with the A.B.B. logo on it. The same logo that was on the cooler he carried as well as the one on the table in front of Thomas. A.B.B., Argeneau Blood Bank; it was one of the companies under the Argeneau Enterprises umbrella. It was also a company she didn't know much about. Inez had always been kept away from anything having to do with A.B.B. Now she understood why, of course.

Her gaze jerked back to the man's face as a spate of Dutch was spat at her in anxious tones. Inez shook her head with a small frown. "I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Ah! English." The man nodded. "I have made a mistake. I delivered the blood here earlier."

"You didn't leave it with the front desk, did you?" Inez asked curiously, wondering how they would explain why a cooler of blood would be delivered to one of their hotel rooms.

The man blinked, obviously not expecting the question. Still, he answered, "No, of course not. I found out the room number, brought it up, and found a maid to let me in to leave it. But I made a mis-"

"Mind control?" Inez asked.

He peered at her, his expression confused.

"Did you use mind control on the maid to let you in?" she explained.

"Oh, yes," he was frowning now, and becoming a bit annoyed. "But I left the wrong cooler. The one I left was to go to the Night Club."

"The Night Club?" she asked curiously.

The man snapped his mouth closed and stared at her, and Inez blinked in surprise as she felt a slight ruffling on the edge of her mind. It was so faint that if the man weren't concentrating so hard on her and she knew nothing about immortals and what they could do, she didn't think she'd even have noticed it.

"You're reading my mind," Inez accused and then frowned. "But Thomas couldn't read my mind."

Whatever he read in her thoughts seemed to make him relax. He even smiled and said lightly, "Lucky him."

"Why lucky?" she asked warily.

The man grinned and said simply, "Who would not think him lucky? He has found his lifemate."

"Lifemate?" Inez echoed the word slowly. She'd heard the word before. Now that the man had said it, she distinctly recalled overhearing Thomas talking on the phone through the bathroom door and saying something about biting his lifemate. She tilted her head and asked the man, "Not being able to read me means I'm his lifemate?"

"Yes." Now he was frowning too. "Has he not explained things to you?"

"No," she admitted and glanced to where Thomas still stood talking into the phone before turning back and asking, "Do you think you could?"

He hesitated and then said, "It's probably something he should explain."

Inez scowled at the suggestion, knowing Thomas wouldn't explain.

"Besides, I really have to trade coolers. The Night Club is waiting on this delivery. They were very upset that I got the coolers mixed up."Inez considered him silently as her business side-kicked in telling her that she had something he wanted and he had something she wanted.

Before she could speak, his eyes grew sharp and he threatened, "I could control you and move you out of the way to get what I want."

Her eyebrows flew up. He'd obviously read her mind again, though Inez hadn't noticed the earlier flutter again. She considered her options and then asked, "Can you control Thomas too?"

When he hesitated, she added, "I'm the vice president of the UK division of Argeneau Enterprises and we oversee all the European operations. In effect, I'm your boss."

A slow admiring smile crossed his face. "You play hardball."

"I didn't get to be vice president by p.u.s.s.y footing around," she said with a shrug and then stood waiting anxiously as he decided whether he would take control of her, get what he needed, and get out-which she definitely didn't think she'd like-or if he was going to answer her question.

Much to her relief, he gave a low chuckle and said, "Okay, guarantee I won't get in trouble for this mix up and I'll play. This could be interesting."

Beaming at the man with grat.i.tude and relief, Inez nodded. "Agreed. I'll talk to your boss. Now, explain lifemates to me."

He shifted the cooler he held from one hand to the other, and then said, "Lifemates are exactly what they sound like, a life partner, the one who matches you, whom you can live with and love and exist with happily."

Inez frowned as she considered his words and then asked, "And not being able to read someone is how your kind recognize a lifemate?"

"We also start eating again, but not being able to read or control them is the most important attribute."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

He frowned and then said slowly, "We can control and read most mortals. Actually, all mortals except for a lifemate."

"All?" she asked with amazement.

"If you can't read them, they are a lifemate," he said simply. "For some that is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, others are lucky enough to find another if they lose the first, but there are often centuries between one and the other, centuries of being alone. It's not a horrible circ.u.mstance, but it isn't a happy one either. Everyone needs someone they can share the centuries with, someone with whom to enjoy life's pleasures and sorrows."

"So," Inez said slowly, "while Thomas can't read or control me, every other immortal can?"

He nodded. "I could shut you down, move you out of the way, and wipe this from your memory if I liked."

Inez cringed at the very idea. She was someone who liked to be in control at all times.

"I kind of picked that up about you right off," he announced with a grin. "You have control issues."

Inez scowled as she realized that he was still reading her mind despite her not sensing it. "Please stop reading my mind."

"Sorry," he said, however, there was little sincerity behind the words. "But that's my point. If Thomas was able to do this to you...

Well, it hardly makes for an equal relationship, does it? Even if an immortal cared for someone, it would be hard to resist the temptation to take control to get what you wanted when you wanted it. Those sorts of relationships don't work. An immortal needs someone he can't read and control and who can't read and control him or her. It allows them to relax and let down their guards."

"Guards?" Inez asked curiously.

"Immortals can often read other immortals too. It's harder if the immortal is older than you, but if they get distracted, we can even read them. To prevent that, we have to put up guards in our minds and keep them up. But at home, with a lifemate who can't read our thoughts, or control us, we can relax and not worry about such things."

"So it's better to be with someone who can't read or control you," she acknowledged, and then added, "But just because you can't read or control them, doesn't guarantee a happy relationship. What if you met someone you couldn't read or control but who was completely unsuitable to you? What if their personality doesn't suit yours?"

"That doesn't happen," he said with a shrug. "If you are lifemates, you will suit each other."

Inez frowned at his simple a.s.surance and said with disbelief, "Surely just because you can't read each other doesn't guarantee a happy relationship?"

"Yes, it does." When her mouth pursed with disbelief, he a.s.sured her, "I am only a hundred years old, but I have never heard of any true lifemates who didn't suit each other and have a happy union. Oh, certainly they have occasional disagreements, but that is it. They are made for each other."

"But how is that possible?" Inez asked with amazement.

"I don't know," he admitted, not sounding too concerned. "Perhaps the nanos recognize something in the individual that compliments their immortal and prevents their being able to read or control the other so they can be happy together. Or perhaps G.o.d makes a perfect mate for each individual and then puts them in their path. I have no idea, but does it matter? Why question something if it works?"

"You believe in G.o.d?" she asked with surprise.

His eyebrows rose slightly. "Don't you?"

Inez reached up unconsciously to clasp the cross around her neck and he smiled as if she'd spoken aloud and then said, "If you're done with your questions, I really need to switch coolers and get the other one to the Night Club."

Sighing, Inez nodded. "I'll get it for you."

Turning away from the door, she headed across the room. A million questions were running around inside her head, but she had some thinking to do before she would ask them, and if she asked them of anyone, she thought it should be Thomas. She understood enough now to be going on. Thomas couldn't read her. That made them lifemates. Simple. No muss, no fuss.

Actually, it was the perfect arrangement for a woman who didn't have time for a social life, Inez thought as she reached the table and the cooler sitting on it. She glanced to Thomas, opening her mouth to explain about the cooler and mix-up as she saw that he had apparently finished his conversation and was closing the phone, but before the first word was more than formed on her tongue, his phone was ringing again and he was returning it to his ear.

Shrugging, she picked up the bag that lay on the floor and replaced it in the cooler. She spotted the empty bag on the table and hoped the delivery guy wouldn't be in trouble for being a bag short. She'd definitely have to call and talk to his boss now, Inez supposed. She'd promised.

Closing the cooler lid, she carried it back to the door.