Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Tymber Dalton Page A

spent three fucking days in a car with you,” she said to Matthias.
    He nodded. “Hollywood lied. Imagine that.”
    He sensed her choke back a reluctant laugh.
    He smiled. “Anastazia,” he said, “just let us explain—”
    “So, I’m going to be some sort of sick blood feast for you?”
    “No!” all three men yelled in unison, making her jump.
    “It’s not like that,” Matthias said. “If I called it something else, a shared genetic mutation, would that make it easier to understand?”
    “No. And a ‘shared genetic mutation’ doesn’t explain you murdering that guy.” Taz stood, circling the room and avoiding Tim and Albert. Matthias remained seated.
    “I didn’t murder him. You saw him. He had a knife. He was attacking you. Thank God—” He stopped before getting into further details about Murry. She had enough on her plate to deal with. The issue of their talking cat could wait. “Thank God we came back when we did. I would never forgive myself if anyone hurt you.”

    * * * *

    Taz wanted to go to Matthias, hug him, but she felt too pissed. Why couldn’t he be a sweet, cute guy without the crazy bullshit? “I’m having a hard time understanding this. Am I losing my mind? Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming, right? I’m asleep in my office right now, and I’ve dozed off at my desk…”
    All three men shook their heads.
    Matthias stood. “Please hear me out. Let me tell you some things, and we can go from there.”

Chapter Twelve

    “We don’t need blood to feed,” Matthias explained to Taz. “That’s a myth.”
    “What about sunlight?” she asked. “You don’t blow up?”
    He turned to the conference-room window and opened the blinds. The late afternoon sun streamed in, making her blink. “Another myth,” he said. “Our eyes are sometimes extremely sensitive to it. And yes, we can get sunburned like anyone else. You’ve seen me outside.”
    “Break out the SPF 5,000,” she quipped.
    His lips curled in a smile, but he didn’t reply.
    “So, you aren’t a bloodsucker?” she asked.
    He looked like he wanted to weigh his words. “There are,” he answered, “some old traditions, old rituals. I’m not sure I can adequately explain the full workings of them to you right now.”
    “Because, what, I’m not worthy?”
    “No, because I don’t know how to explain them without you understanding everything first.” He turned to the city beyond the glass. “Centuries ago, you couldn’t drive down to GNC for the latest vitamins and iron supplements. Animals, plants, and people were it. Less refined people, people with more advanced forms of the condition, frequently felt a craving sort of like some pregnant women get.”
    “This is way more than pickles and ice cream,” she snarked.
    “I’m not trying to justify it. I’m trying to explain it.” He turned from the window. “Do you know what it’s like outliving everyone you love? Having to move every few decades and give up your life to create a new one because you don’t want to answer uncomfortable questions? Having to watch the world embrace those horrible books, movies and”— he shuddered—“role-playing games romanticizing all these myths?”
    “So why aren’t there more of you?”
    He walked around the table and took his seat. “We cannot all breed and produce someone with the genes to pass it on.”
    “Such a romantic. I’m surprised you’re still single.”
    “Do you want answers or not?”
    She held her hand out for him to continue.
    “It’s like trying to breed a horse and a donkey. You get a hybrid. Not all hybrids are able to reproduce. Or look at it like a recessive gene. You have to find someone who carries the right combination of DNA to have a baby that has the traits to carry the line. It’s not uncommon for those of our kind to have children, but the vast majority of them are all human without the genetic mutations, or weak hybrids without enough of the DNA to pass on. We cannot interbreed