“A hint of a frown touched his mouth. “I told you that wasn’t about feeding.”“No, it was about you making your point.” I skewered a bite and chewed. “Next time, maybe use something other than myjugular as your Exhibit A?”

“Then he leaned down, breath warm on my neck as he whispered his next words. "You've wondered if I felt differently about you since your abilities diminished. Let this serve as your answer.”

“Are you having performance issues?” I asked in surprise. “Bite your tongue,” Vlad said, with a snort. “I was seeing if Dermot understood sign language, but from the look on his face, it seems not.”

“I opened my mouth-and had nothing to refute that with. Damn people who argued using logic. Talk about unfair.”

“No one feels like you do, so every brush of your skin is a cruel reminder of what I’ve lost. I can barely stand the sight of you because you’re more beautiful than I’ve allowed myself to remember, and when I cut that wire off Maximus and smelled you all over him, I wanted to kill him more than I’ve wanted to kill anyone in my life, yet I couldn’t because of my promise to you.”Slow tears continued to trickle down my cheeks, but for a different reason this time.“You care.”The words were whispered with a despairing sort of wonder. He wasn’t willing to rescind his loveless vow, clearly, but I was wrong about the apathy I’d thought he felt. That he admitted all the above was surprising enough; the fact he’d done it within earshot of his pilots was no less than shocking.Vlad grunted. “Don’t worry. I intend to kill them as soon as we land.”

“When I heard the ghouls coming for you, all I cared about was reaching you in time. How often must I tell you that you mean more to me than vengeance? I can live without defeating my enemies, but I cannot live without you.”

“No matter what happens, you will never lose me, I am forever yours, Kitten, in this life or the next.”