"Oh wow." Allie leaned over the paper. "Did it change in vampire ways?"

"Yes."

Her gaze met Jane's. She covered her hand with hers. Sympathy flowed along the connection. "This is huge. Does Slade know?"

"No. I'm scared, Allie. I don't want to live long enough to see the things that will change."

"You're a scientist."

"I don't want the responsibility of fixing things forever."

"Ahh. Like with Joseph."

"Yes. Because it's not always a win and the losses add up."

"I bet they do, but what makes you think you have to?"

"I've seen how you are with Slade."

"So have I in the last few months. It can't continue. We lean on him too much."

"You don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice if you look for it. We've just been a bit lazy looking for it."

"You're a dyed-in-the-wool optimist, aren't you?"

"I prefer to think of myself as practical."

"I don't think I was cut out for this career. I got caught up in the puzzle and didn't look where it would lead me."

"Where did it lead you?"

"To starving villages all over the world."

"And you watched people die."

"Yes. Over and over, sometimes because I couldn't help, and sometimes because I wasn't allowed to."

"You couldn't keep your distance."

"No."

"That's not a bad thing."

Jane closed her eyes against the memories of the faces, the hope, the tears. "Sitting here, no. Sitting there, yes."

"But you're not there."

"No, I'm here. And there's no walking away from Renegade problems."

Allie slid off the desk. "I don't think I'm the person you need to have this conversation with."

"I disagree. You've been where I am."

"Not quite. I wanted Caleb from the minute I saw him. h.e.l.l, I even wore a Wonderbra for him."

Jane chuckled. She couldn't help herself.

"I would have done anything to spend forever with that man," Allie added. "There are only two things I regret about my conversion. One, I didn't get the kick-a.s.s powers others have."

"You were gypped?"

"Yes, I was. I'd been looking forward to that."

"What was the other?"

"I didn't get to make the choice of my own free will."

Like you. The unspoken hung between them.

"I think your way is easier," Jane said softly.

"It would seem that way, but you and Slade have an opportunity to work things out your way. To proceed without resentment. That's the way it should be. I don't know what's going on with your blood, and I don't know what's going on between you and Slade, but you need to find out. Life, even vampire life, is too d.a.m.ned short for stupidity."

"I apologize for my wife," Caleb said from the doorway.

"I've really got to start setting the alarm," Jane muttered. Her glare was wasted on Caleb. His attention was completely on Allie. His expression was stern, but his energy was ... indulgent?

"I thought we agreed Slade's love life was none of our business."

"No, you lectured and I merely grunted noncommittally."

"Are you looking for a spanking?"

The s.e.xual energy in the room spiked dramatically. Allie ambled over to Caleb with an exaggerated sway to her hips. "Could be. You've been distracted lately."

His mouth softened and his eyes narrowed. "Maybe we'll have to take care of that later."

"Maybe?" He hooked his hand behind her neck and pulled her in. Allie went with the pull, leaning against his chest, smiling up into his face. And that fast they were in their own world. "I've got to warn you, I've been feeling restless."

"Then definitely."

She laughed and pulled him down for a kiss. Jane had to look away. If she'd ever wondered if vampires truly felt love, she had her answer.

"Jane." She looked up as Caleb called her name. He tossed her the energy damper. She fumbled it twice before finally getting a grip on it. Why did everyone a.s.sume she had athletic ability?

Caleb waited until she set the device on the desk. "If you don't want Slade finding you, I suggest you put that on and get out of here."

"He's looking for me?"

"Yup." Caleb put his arm around Allie's shoulder and steered her out of the room. "And looking as cheerful as a thundercloud."

"Wonderful."

Allie leaned back over Caleb's arm. Her blue eyes were sparkling with humor. "If he gets too persnickety, Jane, you can always do what I do."

She was almost afraid to ask. "What's that?"

"Start unb.u.t.toning b.u.t.tons until his att.i.tude changes."

The blush started at her toes. By the time it reached her cheeks, Caleb was laughing. "Allie girl?"

"Yes?"

"Hush."

18.

JANE fondled the energy damper and watched the door shut behind Caleb and Allie. The solid thunk it made didn't give her that twinge of satisfaction she normally felt at the exclusion of the outside world. A lab had been her shelter for many years, fulfilled all her needs, but even before Slade's little Vamp Man icon had popped up on her computer screen, she'd been getting ready to leave. She could see that now. Reaching out to him had been her first step. As first steps went, it was a doozy, but she had been in the process of emerging from her coc.o.o.n when he'd contacted her. Accident or by higher design? Allie would no doubt say the latter.

Tapping the top of the vial of her blood, Jane pushed the chair back from the desk. Her sneakers made little sound as she crossed the tile floor. Keying in the combination, she reopened the door. Immediately, the aroma of chili, what the McClaren weres were having for dinner, surrounded her. More proof of the life she'd been missing. Her stomach rumbled. A whisper of sensation touched her mind.

Slade.

She looked over her shoulder. They'd met in this environment. It should feel right that they talk here. But it didn't. Punching the code in the panel, she closed and locked the lab before climbing the stairs and heading for fresh air.

Once outside, she started toward the corral. The night was clear, the stars hanging like party lights in the big sky. The moon was full. Her lips quirked in a smile. If a higher design was at work, they were bringing out the full cliche. Meeting a vampire to discuss their future under a full moon? Leaning against the top rail, she rested her chin on her hands, studying the horses as they lazed in the far side of corral. It did have its amus.e.m.e.nt factor.

She felt Slade before she saw him. The slide of his energy over hers was featherlight. Her breath caught. If he was downwind, he'd probably tell her he could smell the rise of her desire.

"I'm not, but I could be."

She did love the timbre of his voice. Just hearing it made her knees weak. With a smile, Jane turned. He stood a couple feet away. A tall, broad-shouldered silhouette in a Stetson, so quintessentially the cowboy, so completely s.e.xy. "I can't imagine why you'd want to be."

He came up on her right side, lifting her hair off her neck, nuzzling his lips against that oh-so-sensitive spot just beneath her ear. "Because you smell very sweet."

She turned into his arms, resting her hands against his chest. Beneath her palms, his heart beat steadily, dependably. His fingers threaded through her hair. Beneath his smile she saw the tension he was keeping from her. The man was nervous. "Caleb told me you were looking for me."

His thumb stroked the side of her neck. "I thought you'd be in the lab."

"I've decided to expand my horizons."

"I see."

She could tell from the caution in his expression that he didn't. "What about you? Where have you been for the last twenty-four hours?"

"Gnawing at my bonds."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry I lost my temper."

"Are you ready to tell me why?"

"Maybe."

She waited.

"You tied my hands early on in this relationship, sweetness. Necessary or not, I think we need to renegotiate."

Her stomach knotted. "How so?"

He rested his forehead against hers. "I want a future with you."

The knot began to unravel. "You said I was allergic to you."

"There's only a risk if I convert you."

"So what you really mean is you want a limited future with me."

"I'll take anything I can get."

She bit her lip and rocked back on her heels. His hand slid down to the hollow of her spine. This was the moment she'd been fearing. Looking into Slade's face now, though, feeling his energy wrap around her with the same strength of his arms, she couldn't think why. "What are you giving me in return?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm giving up children, a man to grow old with me, sunlight. What are you giving me in exchange?"

"You know."

She rolled her eyes. You'd think she was asking him to tattoo a rose on his b.u.t.t.

He smiled at the gesture. "You've been hanging around Allie too much."

"I like her."

"So do I."

"She sparkles."

Emotion darkened his eyes, scented his skin. Musky and masculine. She took another breath, holding it inside, shivering as it sank deep. Only Slade smelled this good, felt this good. The soft drag of his thumb across her sensitive lips brought every nerve ending to a tingling awareness. "While you burn with a seductive fire."