Page 39 of Fighting for Her Heart

“Why have you come indoors?” Zuben asks. “You are not burned and there are eighty seven minutes before sunset. Did you sense a change in how the sunlight felt on your skin?”

Ryker kisses me softly, and then I slide down his body and lean in, one of his arms draped over my shoulders.

“I do not understand.” Zuben’s head cocks to the side. “Why have you prematurely ended this stage of the experiment?”

“Because I got fucking bored? Okay? Lonely. Horny.” He pats my butt, then he turns and we walk into the living room.

Sitting on one of the easy chairs, Ryker pulls me onto his lap and nuzzles my neck as he strokes my thigh.

The other three come in to the room. Mom and Axe sit at opposite ends of the sofa and Zuben stands—stiffly—facing Ryker and me.

“It is imperative that you take this experiment seriously,” Zuben scolds. “Crucial. Your casual attitude is beyond selfish. Vampires have sought clarity about the Illuminant for millennia. Never before has there been this level of cooperation between vampires and a keeper of magic.”

Ryker’s hand slides higher on my thigh. “What the fuck difference does a few minutes make?”

“Eighty seven is more than a few.” He shakes his head. “I designed the experiment with precise timings to ensure—”

“Ryker has a point,” Mom interrupts Zuben, and he turns to her, his brow furrowed.

“As long as the guys go out into the sunlight a few times a day,” she continues, “we’ll still be able to know how long it lasts.”

“Not with anyprecision.” Zuben’s head tips slightly.

“Sure.” Nora smiles at him. “But if the myths of the lambent vampire are true—”

“What the fuck does lambent mean?” Ryker asks.

“That’s the term for vampires able to walk in the light,” Mom replies. “They are called lambent vampires. And if the myths are true, then at some point the effect of Ember’s blood will be permanent. At that point—” she turns toward Zuben “—the precise number of minutes, or even hours or days, will be irrelevant.”

“But…” Zuben shakes his head, but then he sits in the other easy chair and smoothes back his hair with his hand. “You do have a point, Evanora.” He nods sharply. “Now that Ryker has removed himself from the sunlight, violating my experimental design yet again, I see no benefit in fretting over something that is broken and cannot be repaired.” Shaking his head, he looks at Ryker with clear disappointment in his eyes, like my pirate’s a toddler who failed to share his toys.

“The ongoing experiment will be less efficient, and less precise,” Zuben continues, “but it is possible to salvage our testing process. If at some point Ryker can no longer take sunlight, that will prove he did not feed enough times to become lambent. Should that happen, we must restart the experiment from the beginning to determine the precise timing.”

His gaze lifts above our heads, as if he’s spotted something high on the wall, and I can clearly see all the wheels spinning in his head as he redesigns his plan.

He clears his throat. “But it is imperative that Ryker not take Ember’s vein again until after he burns in the sun.”

“Fuck that!” Ryker glares at Zuben. “If Nora’s right, I mightneverburn again.”

“I’m with Ryker on this one,” Axe adds.

Frowning, Zuben says nothing.

“No fucking way am I waiting until I burn before feeding from Ember again.” Ryker squeezes my thigh and I snuggle against his hard body. “Every minute away from you is torture,” he says against my ear, “and I am beyond hungry for your blood—not to mention the other delicious juices your body has on offer.”

My cheeks flaming, I kiss him softly, catching his hand before it slides fully between my legs.

“Can you explain that word lambent again?” Axe asks Zuben.

“It’s part of the myth,” Mom answers for him. Tucking her feet under her loose skirt, she sits cross-legged on the sofa and turns toward Ryker and me.

“The stories hold that vampires who feed enough times from the Illuminant will eventually becomelambentand therefore able to walk in the light forever.”

“Forever?” Axe asks, his voice a deep breathless whisper.

Ryker pulls me in tighter against him. “You’re fucking amazing, little dove.”

“And Ember is the only one who can do this?” Axe asks.