hoped their "date" could go back to being a tad more normal. She glanced at Sebastian and Mina. Okay,

not normal, but...

Just then, Jolee and Christian walked up to the table. Jolee placed a gla.s.s of soda in front of Elizabeth as Christian approached Jensen.

Elizabeth watched her brother nervously, worried that Christian might say or do something aggressive,

but all he did was set a gla.s.s of club soda down on the table.

"Sorry about how I acted back at Elizabeth's," he said begrudgingly, and Elizabeth suspected that Jolee had made him apologize.

Jensen glanced at Jolee, obviously thinking the same thing. But he nodded. "I would be pretty angry if

someone upset my sister, too."

Christian shifted slightly, which Elizabeth found a little amusing. There was something rather funny about a tough, two-hundred-year-old vampire shuffling his feet sheepishly because his woman had called him to task.

But she was pulled out of her amus.e.m.e.nt when Jensen suggested that Christian and Jolee also join them.

"For a minute," Jolee agreed with one of her warm smiles. "We are still pretty busy."

Christian didn't look as if he wanted to sit, but he did. Jolee really was a powerful lady. She knew how

to keep her arrogant brother in line.

For a moment, everyone sat, uncertain what to say, the uneasiness thick in the air. But gradually, again thanks to her sisters-in-law, everyone began to talk. Eventually, the conversation flowed rather easily, and Elizabeth found herself relaxing. She watched Jensen chat with her brothers, the awkwardness slowly disappearing. But while he made conversation, he also kept watching her, his gaze making her feel warm all over.

And for a moment, Elizabeth allowed herself to imagine what her life could be like with him. It was so easy to picture. He was all the things she'd believed she would have. But she couldn't let herself imagine too much. She still was what she was, and she was tied to someone else. Jensen deserved so much more than what she could offer.

Maybe because she knew her time with this man was limited, she found she didn't want their first official date to be spent with her family. Even though she was pleased that a truce had been reached.

Of course, before she could even figure out a tactful way to ask them to go, Christian rose.

"I guess we should let you two have a little time alone."

This was a time when a vampire's keen perception came in rather handy.

"Jensen and I were just discussing the pros and cons of club soda versus tonic water."

Mina nudged him. "You can talk about that another time. I think we are interrupting."

"No, we aren't," Sebastian said, genuinely confused.

"Sebastian," Mina took her mate's arm. "The band's nearly finished playing."

Sebastian frowned at her and then at the stage. Ren belted out the lyrics to a rocking '80s. .h.i.t. Again, Sebastian frowned at Mina. "They still have at least a few more songs left."

Okay, it rather scared Elizabeth that Sebastian and Mina had followed this band enough that they seemed to have memorized the set list.

But Mina stood, her hand still on his arm. "Maybe they do, but I'm all finished listening."

She purred the words with an allure that Elizabeth wouldn't believe her uptight friend could pull off. But she did, very well.

Sebastian's eyes widened with realization, then he grinned. "Yeah-sorry, Jensen. Great talk, but we have to go."

He rose, tugging Mina along with him.

When Elizabeth looked at Jensen, he was smiling, too. They both laughed at her brother's overeager behavior.

"Your brothers are actually nice," he said, once they had stopped chuckling.

"Yes. They are. Do you have any siblings?"

Jensen shook his head. "No. Just me. My mother and father might have planned to have more kids. I'm not really sure. They were killed in a car crash when I was six."

Elizabeth reached across the table and touched his hand. "I'm sorry."

Jensen shrugged. "I don't really remember them. My granddad and grandmother raised me. They were really the only parents I ever knew. And in truth, losing my grandmother was harder than losing my parents. That sort of sounds terrible, doesn't it?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. Not at all. My parents died when I was thirteen. It was terrible, but it was far worse when I thought I'd lost my brothers. They were the ones who'd taken care of me after my parents died."

"How did you lose them?"

Elizabeth fiddled with the napkin under her drink. How did she answer that? Somehow, telling him that she'd believed them all killed by an evil vampiress didn't seem like the best idea. Or an explanation that he would even remotely believe. She couldn't even tell him what happened to her. And these were the very reasons a real relationship was doomed.

But still she tried to find a way to explain. "I was-I thought that they had been killed, and because of that I got involved with a rough crowd."

Jensen studied her. He'd seen this before-her reluctance to talk about her past. But he wanted to understand. The whole story seemed almost fantastical.

"How did you believe they were killed?"

She hesitated again, and he got the feeling she was weighing how much to tell. He wasn't sure-he just saw hesitation there in her pale eyes.

"I believed that they had been murdered."

"Murdered?"

She nodded. Then she took a deep breath and the words just started to flow from her.

"I was attacked and left for dead. I was found, but it took me several weeks to recover. Once I did, I went back to my family home to find my brothers, only to find them gone. The property had been sold to a distant relative, and they were just-gone."

"Where did this happen?" The story trulywas fantastical. And horrifying.

"In England. You wouldn't have heard about it," she a.s.sured him, as if she'd known that was exactly what he was thinking. It was just the type of sensational story that hit the media big in this country.

"So I ended up staying with the-people who discovered me. I was with them for many years before I left, realizing that I would never fit it. That I didn't want to fit in."

Jensen frowned, finding her words disturbing. Disturbing in part because of the things she wasn't saying. He started to ask more. He wanted to know about these people she had been with. Foster parents? A gang? What had she lived through, all the while believing she had to stay there, because she had no one?

But she spoke first, her question obviously shifting the attention from her to him.

"When did your grandmother pa.s.s away?"

"Nearly twelve years ago. Then it was just my granddad and me. That's part of why I came back here.

To help him out."

"That's nice."

He shrugged. "He's my only family."

She studied him for a moment. "Why is that? I'd think a guy like you would have long since been married."

"A guy like me?" He chuckled. "I could say the same for you."

Her own smile disappeared, and again he got the feeling there was a lot more to that story, too.

"You know," she finally said, another smile curving her lips, but this one looked strained as if it was almost hurting her to smile. "I really am tired. Maybe I should head home."

For the first time, Jensen did notice the purplish shadows under her eyes. Immediately, he worried that the strange and sudden illness she'd had the other night could be returning.

"You do look tired. Do you feel all right?"

She nodded. "Just tired."

He stood, moving to put a hand on the back of her chair to help her rise. She allowed him to catch her elbow as she rose. Then his hand slipped to the small of her back. He half-expected her to pull away. There was a reticence to her. But she didn't move away from his touch-if anything, she leaned into it. Which made him feel a little better.

She didn't want to talk about her past, but she did want him. He'd learn about the past eventually. She just needed time to trust him. He had a feeling trust was a real issue for her. Given what she'd told him about her attack and the loss of her brothers, he could easily understand why.

Despite the speed of much of their relationship, he longed to go slow, too. That was all he wanted, he realized. To take all the time in the world to get to know her. Not much to ask, really.

Despite his wanting to know everything, the ride home was silent. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, while he was lost in thoughts about her.

When they pulled into her driveway and he parked the truck, he was rather surprised when she turned to him rather than just excusing herself with a quickly stated,Good night.

"I'd ask you in, but I think it might be a bad idea."

He'd agree with that. He knew he couldn't be alone with her and not want to touch her. And touching her would very quickly escalate to other things. She had that effect on him. But then he wanted to take forever to explore her body, too.

"I think you do need some sleep tonight."

She nodded.

"But I'd like to see you tomorrow."

She smiled, something akin to surprise in her eyes.

"You don't understand why I'd want to see you, do you?"

Only the slightest shake of her head was her answer. But it was still an answer he couldn't believe.

Could she really have no idea how fascinating and beautiful and spellbinding she was? She'd had his attention from the very start, and he'd started to believe she always would.

"Well, I do want to see you. In fact, I'd like you to go to an anniversary party with me."

She straightened. "A party?"

"Yes, my receptionist at the office is celebrating her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. And since she's talked of little else, I happen to know it's going to be a big to-do."

Jensen was sure he saw hesitation in her eyes again. But then she nodded, although her smile didn't quite reach her pale eyes.

"I'd love to go."

Chapter 16.

d.a.m.n, they'd been together again. Brody had been sure that the other night had been the end. He'd been sure that he'd grab her tonight. He'd seen enough. He knew enough. And he would take her tonight. There was no doubt about that.

Initially, he'd been amused that his uptight, frigid little mate had found her h.o.r.n.y side. But now, he knew more was going on here than he'd first realized. And he couldn't risk her doing something stupid.

The pack would not know what she'd done, and he'd make certain she didn't utter a word about her s.l.u.tty side. She was still his ace in the hole. She was the one who would get him back what he deserved. Bring back his respect and his status.

There would always be someone who wanted to bring him down, but it sure as h.e.l.l wasn't going to be his unfaithful mate and her weak, useless human lover. She was going to get Brody his life back, no matter what he had to do to her to make her cooperate.

Tonight, he was going to take her back where she belonged. By his side. Where the pack could see he was strong, in control, and superior.

Elizabeth rummaged through her bureau, looking for something to sleep in. She hadn't been making up excuses with Jensen. Exhaustion had just seemed to overtake her. She supposed it was all the drama of the night. There certainly had been a lot.