Page 89 of Burn Falls

“Have you ever been in love?”

“You really want to know?” he asked.

“I’m assuming you have since you’re over 100. That’s a lot of time to not feel love.”

“I haven’t felt love for almost ninety years.”

I tilted my head a little, confused because I could have sworn that was how long Draven had been a vampire. “Ninety years?”

“Well, it’s been more like eighty-eight years.”

“So since you’ve been a vampire?”

“No. It took me awhile to get over her.”

“Who was she?”

Draven stared into my eyes. “Again, you really want to know?”

“I want to know everything about you, McNaughty. That’s what relationships are all about.”

“Okay.” He grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. “When I was twenty-four, I was dating a woman named Mary. We’d been dating for almost a year, but back then dating was different from what it is now. We had to sneak around, but I loved her, and she loved me. I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together because she was the one person who understood poker was in my blood.”

“Poker?” I asked.

“That was how I made my money. It was during the Great Depression in the back of speakeasies or in underground casinos. I was good. Really good. Most nights you could find me at a table. My family didn’t approve since gambling was illegal, but like I said, it was in my blood. Mary would sometimes come and distract the guys while we played so I could get a beat on their tells. It was harder for them to bluff if they weren’t paying attention. Anyway, the night I was turned, she told me she thought she was carrying my child.”

“You’re a father?”

Draven turned his head toward the curtain-covered window. “No. While I was running a table, Renzo, my sire, killed her.”

I gasped.

“When I left the club, they snatched me too. I’ll save you all the details, but he turned me, and I fed from her lifeless body.”

I sucked in a breath. “No …”

“Over the years, I’ve obviously controlled my hunger, but I still have nightmares about that night. And the night he made me kill my family.”

“He made you kill your family?” I whispered.

Draven gave me a tight smile. “Yeah, a month after I was turned to prove he was in control.”

“Draven …” I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t even imagine.”

“Like I told you before, there are monsters in this world. And I’m one of them.”

I pulled back and straddled his hips. Grabbing his face, I said, “You’re not a monster. You’re anything but. You don’t kill. You don’t feed from humans—”

“I feed from humans.”

I blinked. “You do?”

“It’s not a habit of mine, but yes, I feed before I fuck.”

“Oh.” We didn’t say anything as I processed everything he was telling me. “Are you still?”

“Still what?”