Connor paced away, deep in thought. "I hired her for a probationary period of two weeks. I could let her complete those two weeks before making a final decision." He glanced at Ian. "Can ye keep yer hands off her for another week?"
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He wasn't sure he could for thirty minutes. "I can try."
"Try? Have ye no' heard of restraint, man?"
Ian gritted his teeth. The more he told himself he couldn't have Toni, the more he wanted her.
Connor sighed. "I'll delay my decision for another week." He headed for the door. "Meanwhile, if ye care for the lass, ye'll bloody well leave her alone."
"I do care for her, but...do ye no' understand how I feel? Have ye never felt the fierceness of... longing?"
A sad look came over Connor's face. "Aye, it is fierce. It rages like a wildfire, but leaves you with naught but ashes." He left the room.
What had happened to Connor to make him such a pessimist? Ian knew that a relationship between a mortal and Vamp rarely worked. Eventually they broke up or the mortal agreed to change over. Shanna had agreed to become a Vamp sometime in the future. Did he really want to involve Toni in a relationship where he'd have to suck her dry till she was dead, so he could change her?
Connor was right. If he really cared for her, which he did, he'd leave her be. He'd let her find love with her own kind. And he would keep looking for love among the Vamps.
"What's wrong?" Shanna asked.
Toni sighed. She knew she looked like a mess. How on earth had Ian found her attractive? She filled a plate with cheese cubes, carrot sticks, and broccoli, and what the heck, a few chocolate chip cookies. "I'm doing my Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer impersonation."
Shanna handed her a cup of punch. "Are you unhappy with your job here?"
"No." She bit into a cookie.
The fellowship hall was filling up fast with churchgoers. Toni hated for everyone to see her swollen, red eyes, but she didn't want to run off just yet. She still needed to talk to Ian. "I have a close friend who's in the hospital. I just came from visiting her, and I was all smiles while I was there, but now..."
"Now the stress has caught up with you," Shanna observed. "I'm so sorry. If you need some time off, I'm sure we can arrange it."
"You're very kind." Unfortunately, she might have lots of time off very soon. Connor was probably going to fire her. Fired for kissing a vampire. Who would have known her life could be so risqué? But she'd known it was against the rules.
Would she do it again? In a heartbeat.
It had been the most phenomenal kiss of her life. Not one of those fumbling ones like she'd had in the past where she'd spent the entire kiss wondering if she was doing it properly, or wishing like hell that the guy knew how to do it properly. There'd been no wondering or wishing at all. She'd simply been swept away into a glorious daze of pure sensation. It was the kind of kiss she'd always dreamed of.
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And Ian was the romantic hero she'd always dreamed of. Strong, but sweetly vulnerable. An endearing mixture of pride and uncertainty. Bold enough to kiss her and damn the consequences. Exciting, noble, clever, sexy--perfect in every way. Except one. He was a vampire.
"Shanna, can I ask you a personal question?" "Sure." "I was wondering how you...well, is it difficult being in a relationship with a vampire?" "Ah." Shanna sipped some punch. "I suppose it depends on the vampire. I lucked out with
Roman." She looked around the room, and Toni could tell the instant she spotted her husband. Her
eyes softened. Roman must have felt her gaze or heard her say his name, for he turned away from his conversation with Father Andrew and smiled at her.
"He's the love of my life," Shanna whispered. "And Constantine, too. I'm totally amazed by them."
"But how do you handle the different hours?" "Tino and I keep late hours. We stay up to one or so in the morning, so we can spend time with Roman. Then we sleep late in the morning. I take dental appointments from three in the afternoon till about nine at night, so I can see both mortals and Vamps. It's a bit of a challenge, fitting in family and a career, but it's that way for all women, so I don't think my situation is all that strange."
"I see what you mean." Toni popped a piece of ranch-dipped broccoli in her mouth. "So which hunky Vamp guy are you interested in?" She nearly choked. Her eyes watered, and she gulped down some punch. "I didn't say I was." Shanna grinned. "Never mind. I think I know who." "It was a hypothetical question," Toni insisted. "I was just wondering how a Vamp and mortal
could make it work, and obviously, you and Roman are doing it well, so I asked. That's all."
"Uh-huh." Shanna gave her a knowing look. "Well, hypothetically speaking, I think he's a great guy, and you'd be crazy to pass him by." Toni wondered if she was referring to Ian, but didn't dare ask. "I don't mean to be a downer, but I
just don't see how it can last, not when the mortal continues to age, and the Vamp doesn't." Shanna nodded. "It was a tough decision, and not one I took lightly." She rubbed a hand over the
bump where her second child was growing. "I've decided to change over eventually, but I wanted to wait till the children are a bit older." Toni gaped. "You're going to become one of them?" Shanna's eyes twinkled in merriment. "Ooh, scary! They're not monsters, you know. I realize it
might take a while for you to see that. It took me a while. Well, only about a week." She laughed. "I fell for Roman so fast."
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Toni could relate to that. There was something so special about Ian. He'd intrigued her from the start. And she could recognize herself in him. If he had to come up with four morning affirmations, she figured his would be identical to hers.
"I feel so fortunate to be a part of their world," Shanna continued. "I have the best husband and
most wonderful little boy--" "He's gone!" A shout came from the hallway, along with the sound of running. Radinka halted at the doorway, gasping for air. "Tino! He's gone!"
Roman strode toward her. "He's not in the nursery?"
"Oh my God." Shanna spilled punch as she set down her cup. She rushed toward Radinka. "What happened?" "I don't know. I only turned my back on him for a second. I don't--" "Dougal, Phineas, go check--" Roman started to give an order, but the two guards had already
zoomed out the door. "I'll take the east wing. Ye take the west," Dougal shouted at Phineas. "Tell Connor!" Roman yelled after them. "And Howard!" All the other Vamps and Father Andrew rushed from the room to help with the search. "Oh my God." Shanna clutched Roman's arm. "What if he was kidnapped? What if the
Malcontents--"
He squeezed her shoulder. "We won't panic yet. He might have just levitated and climbed over the door." "I've told him a million times not to do that," Shanna said. "From now on, I'm stationing a guard at the nursery," Roman said quietly. "I'll check the parking
lot." Shanna paled. "Don't go alone. This could be a trap." Roman zoomed down the hall, shouting for Connor. Shanna and Radinka strode down the hall,
calling out Constantine's name. A wave of panic froze Toni. Would the Malcontents kidnap a child? If they teleported away with Tino, how would Roman ever find him? She wished she could do something to help, but she
didn't know what. For the first time, she actually wished she was a Vamp so she could move faster and fight better. She stepped forward and trod on something. It was the napkin she'd dropped before kissing Ian.
She leaned over to pick it up and spotted something odd. The tablecloth had moved. As the shouts for Constantine grew dimmer in the distance, Toni heard a small, whimpering
sound. She circled to the back of the table and dropped to her knees. She lifted the bottom edge of the tablecloth. Constantine gasped. He was hugging his knees to his chest, and his pink cheeks were wet with
tears.
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"Tino," she whispered. "How did you get here?" "I don't know," he wailed and covered his face. "Mommy's going to be mad at me." "Honey, no." Toni pulled him out from under the table and held him in her arms. "They're just