Fangs For The Memories. Kathy Love

he understood what must be happening in Rhys’s muddled head.

      Rhys wanted Jane, but as a vampire, Rhys would never allow himself to grow attached to a mortal. He’d already lost too much in his vampire state. Been hurt too much.

      But if he could go back—before the losses, before the vampirism—maybe then he could have Jane.

      Sebastian knew his brother’s connection to the little mortal had been very strong. That had been the main reason he’d brought her back here, and even put her in Rhys’s bed. So Rhys would sense her near, and he could rest easier and heal. But Sebastian had no idea the extent Rhys wanted her.

      Not until now.

      He wanted her enough to forget what he’d been for almost two hundred years. Rhys was forcing himself to forget he was a vampire, simply going back in his head to before Lilah, to before they crossed over.

      That had to be why he didn’t seem fazed by this apartment or the modern conveniences. To question how those things could exist in the nineteenth century would ruin this fantasy world he had created.

      But Sebastian decided to put his theory to the test.

      He pointed at the lamp on the end table. “What is that?”

      Rhys glanced at the light, then gave his brother a wry look. “It’s a lamp,” he said slowly, as if Sebastian was the one who’d lost his wits.

      “And that?” He pointed to the state-of-the-art stereo system on one of the many shelves.

      “A CD player.”

      “And that?” He gestured toward the wall.

      “The thermostat. Listen, is there any point to this little game of twenty questions?”

      “I’m just pointing out all the fine things you have to offer Jane,” Sebastian told him. “Not many men in London at this particular period of time could offer his bride so much.”

      Rhys stared at him for a moment, then shook his head, clearly thinking Sebastian was mad.

      Sebastian wasn’t mad; he was brilliant. Rhys was suppressing only the bits of his past that he couldn’t accept. The loss of all the things he loved. Elizabeth. Christian. His life.

      But even as he was pleased with his own deductive reasoning, he was also stunned by the extent of his brother’s pain. He knew Rhys had never been able to accept himself as a vampire—but Sebastian had never truly realized the agony and guilt he felt. But it did make sense. Rhys had always been the head of the family. And he’d lost the most when he lost Elizabeth and Christian.

      Sebastian watched his brother for a moment, trying to decide what would be the best thing for him. Finally he decided. He couldn’t give him back their sister or their brother, but he could help him with Jane. He could give him a chance to love this little mortal who had managed to touch his brother’s heart. A heart that had been frozen for…Forever.

      Chapter 6

      Jane sat at the dining room table, sipping tea and trying to decide what to do. She considered leaving several times, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave without knowing that Rhys would be okay. Plus, she wanted to find out what had happened to her the night before, too.

      She nibbled her toast, but she didn’t have any appetite. She picked up her plate and carried it back into the small galley-style kitchen. Glossy, black granite counters lined one wall, and there was every appliance a cook could ask for, all in ultramodern brushed stainless steel. The room was ultramodern, but no one seemed to have ever used all the luxuries. The cupboards were practically bare. And the fridge had only a few items on its many racks.

      She supposed that wasn’t particularly strange—she couldn’t picture either Rhys or Sebastian being big culinary aficionados. They were probably the type who grabbed a bite on the go.

      One thing she did know for sure, these two brothers were rich. Her judgment about Rhys when she’d first seen him in the bar had been accurate. His home screamed culture and sophistication. A far cry from where she’d grown up, in an ancient Victorian with half the old rooms used as a funeral parlor.

      She wandered back into the dining room, which was so different from the kitchen. When she was in this room she felt as if she had somehow fallen into a time warp and sat in a grand dining hall in an ancient English manor.

      One of the doors, which connected the dining room from the hallway, opened, and Sebastian strolled in. Considering his brother was acting more than a little weird, he looked very calm.

      “First, you will be happy to know you aren’t married to my brother,” he told her.

      Jane had already, more or less, made up her mind that they couldn’t be married. But the relief she’d expected to feel at the confirmation wasn’t as strong as she’d thought it would be.

      But before she could wonder at her lack of reaction, Sebastian added, without any real concern in his voice, “He has amnesia and apparently thinks he’s a viscount from nineteenth century England.”

      “What?”

      “Yup.” Sebastian came to sit at the table across from her. “He can’t remember much of anything about his present life.”

      She frowned at his wording, but he quickly added, “I guess present isn’t the right phrase—his real life.”

      Jane nodded. She’d seen television movies about amnesia, but those depictions were fictional. Or maybe they weren’t. This sounded as fantastic as any movie she’d seen. “Is this how amnesia usually works?”

      Sebastian shrugged. “Amnesia can manifest itself in many different ways.”

      Again Jane was struck by Sebastian’s cavalier attitude toward Rhys’s problem. A viscount from England? That seemed like a reason to worry to her. “Shouldn’t he go to a doctor? What if this is something more?”

      Sebastian looked a little ill at ease, but the expression disappeared almost before Jane saw it. “We have a family physician. I called him. I explained Rhys’s behavior, and he told me it was amnesia.”

      “Without seeing him?”

      “He said there was really nothing else it could be.”

      “But what if he has an injury to his head? Something that needs medical attention?” She couldn’t believe a doctor would make a diagnosis like that over the phone.

      “He is going to come see Rhys. Tomorrow. But he didn’t think Rhys should leave the apartment, because—since he does believe he’s from another time period, the current world, cars, skyscrapers, that sort of thing might freak him out. Apparently that could be devastating to Rhys.”

      Jane supposed that was reasonable. And these men certainly appeared to have enough money to get a doctor to make a house call.

      “Well, it’s good the doctor believes that he will be fine. Did he give you a time frame when you could expect Rhys’s condition to improve?”

      Sebastian shook his head. “No. He will get better, but it could be weeks, or months.”

      Her heart went out to Rhys. The poor confused man. That was a horrible way to live. Her father hadn’t been completely delusional, but he had wanted so desperately to believe that Jane’s mother was still alive that he’d act as though she was there. He’d talk to her. His behavior had broken her heart.

      Rhys wasn’t trying to get back people he’d lost, but this broke Jane’s heart, too.

      “I’m so sorry for him, Sebastian.”

      “I know you are.” He smiled warmly.

      Jane sighed and then started to rise. She should go. She knew that Rhys would eventually be okay, and she had no other reason to hang around. Dejection filled her, although she couldn’t say why exactly.

      “Jane.”