Page 76 of The Vampire's Seduction

Not when Olivia waited for him at home.

His heart gave a curious flutter, and an unfamiliar feeling twisted through him. Hope. Like he’d been lost wandering the black wilderness and suddenly saw a single candle at a window.

Olivia. Waiting for him. Home. All foreign concepts. Things he never dreamed he’d have. Or cared to have.

Yet now he wouldn’t give them up for the world.

He ran the rest of the way to Olivia’s room, his need for her overwhelming. Though he knew she was here, for he was constantly aware of her presence even while blocks away, the sight of her sitting primly on the kitchen stool speaking to the tablet with a bright smile filled his heart full to bursting.

When she saw him, surprise flickered in her gaze. Happiness.

Then guilt. Embarrassment.

Nervousness.

“I’m so happy we got to talk,” a woman’s voice said from the tablet. “I’ll have HR reach out to you.”

“Thank you!” Olivia’s response was effusive. Too much even. “I can’t wait to start.”

“If you have a chance, you should stop by the lab sometime.”

Olivia nodded, her eyes flickering to Marek for a second. There it was. Guilt again. The scent of it stood out from her other emotions. “I hope so. It was so nice meeting you.”

“Likewise. Talk to you soon.”

Marek’s brain whirled, and his excitement abated. That sounded like…

“Are you interviewing for a job?” He stiffened as he fought against a rising tide of panic and anger, against the vampire’s instinctual roar of denial. Did she plan to leave him? How long had she been planning it? Where was she going?

Smug laughter. His father’s voice.Your mate’s smart. She knows you’re not good enough for her.

Her smile wavered. “Yes. In Vegas.”

He could catch his breath again. “Vegas? Where? Whatever job, if you want it, it’s yours.”

As long as she stayed.

“It’s with Dr. Casava. She’s the leading VB researcher in the country...” She trailed off, uncertainty coming over her. “Marek?”

A joke. This had to be a joke. His hope went up in flames. For a second, he’d seen red. Even the pungent scent of her fear failed to stifle the rage coursing through his veins.

Marek held his ground at the kitchen entrance, willing his body not to do anything stupid. He was about to risk his life, and she—

“You’re finding another research job? To experiment on vampires?” She flinched at his vicious tone. His vampire shrieked at the pain he inflicted on his mate, but Marek refused to budge. “I forbid it.”

Her mouth set in a thin line, her eyes flashing. Fury replaced fear as her body thrummed with threat of violence. Her already irresistible scent turned intoxicating as magic mingled into the air.

“It’s good then I don’t answer to you,” she snapped. “I believe there’s something called free will.”

“You know my feelings on this.” Marek struggled to rein in his temper. His sense of betrayal. That she would return to experimenting on his kind. They’d put this behind them, though now he realized they hadn’t talked about it at all.

“And you know why I have to.” Her pain cleaved through him. He would always remember her haunting sorrow when she spoke of the accident or her parents, who he’d learned had both died of cancer. He understood her reasons, her need to extend a loved one’s life perfectly, admired her dedication, but it didn’t make her work easier to swallow. She continued, “Dr. Casava’s a vampire. Her lab is in the East Tertiary Tower and is endorsed by the Vegas government. I doubt her work has anything to do with the Organization.”

“You can find another job. One that doesn’t involve research,” he insisted, though he had no idea what.

“I have to do this.” Olivia’s tender gaze smoothed the jagged edges of his temper, and her next words doused the remains. “If I’m to stay in Vegas, I need this job.” A deep breath. “Why does this bother you so much?”

Marek,Darren said.The team’s ready to leave.