Fangs For The Memories

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." Sebastian reached out and caught her hand. His fingers enveloped her smaller ones. They didn't feel nearly as big as Rhys's, as strong. "Rhys needs to be watched all the time. The doctor said it was important to keep him under close supervision, because so many things could shock him."

Jane nodded, not understanding why he was telling her this.

"This apartment is actually located over a nightclub. The nightclub that Rhys and I own. And at night, we are usually down in the club. It is popular-and without Rhys to help me, I'm going to be very busy. I won't be able to watch him and run the club. So that's where you come in. Is it possible that you could stay and take care of Rhys?"

Jane's eyes widened. He wanted her to stay here-with them. With Rhys.

"Is-isn't there someone else you could get?" She couldn't take care of Rhys. She could barely look him in the eyes after this morning, much less watch his every move. Besides, there was something absurd about the idea of her watching a man like Rhys anyway. He was too potent, too powerful.

"Well, the thing is, he still believes he's engaged to you," Sebastian told her. "So you would be the perfect one to be with him. He wouldn't question it."

That did make sense, but why would Rhys continue to believe they had a relationship? She supposed it could be because he woke up with her spread-eagle in his bed. She was probably lucky he had assumed they had a relationship. He could have decided she was a prostitute or something.

"I–I don't know." She pulled her hand out of his hold. She didn't know these men. She couldn't very well move in with two strangers.

"I really need your help," Sebastian told her.

"How am I supposed to stop him from leaving the apartment if he really wants to?" Why was she asking this? Why was she even considering staying?

Sebastian's lips curled at one corner. "I think you can control him quite easily. He's fascinated with you."

His words didn't lessen the tightness in her chest. Although they did make her skin tingle again.

She was losing it.

"And I'd pay you, of course," he added. "You said you were in a hotel, right? The room here would be free."

She looked around. She did need a place to stay until she could get her finances in order. She had her few traveler's checks, but she wasn't sure those would last her until her new bank card and credit cards were sent. This might not be a bad solution until she could find an apartment and a steady job.

She glanced at Sebastian, who watched her intently.

Still, she didn't know these men. They could be serial killers for all she knew. Weirder things had happened-most of them to her in the past two days.

No, Sebastian and Rhys didn't look like homicidal maniacs. Of course, she'd already proven she wasn't the best judge of character.

"And," Sebastian added, pointedly, "Rhys was there for you when you needed him."

He had her there. Rhys had saved her life. Did serial killers bother to save a person just to kill them later? She wasn't sure, but she decided it was unlikely. Plus, something inside her did trust Rhys.

She hesitated a moment longer, then said softly, "All right."

Smug satisfaction filled Sebastian at his well-executed lie. He hadn't even felt remorse at her pained look when he'd thrown out his ace in the hole, Rhys saving her. Okay, maybe he felt a twinge of guilt, but it was worth it. Rhys needed this woman.

And, man, did she ever want Rhys. He'd felt flashes of overwhelming desire throughout their conversation. All he had to do was mention Rhys's name, and she exuded longing.

Damn, he wished he had a sweet thing like her lusting for him. Oh, wait, he did. Lots, actually.

But he didn't get too long to bask in his success.

Jane straightened in her chair and said in a firm voice, "I will stay-but only a week. That should give you time to find someone else to watch Rhys, should he need it. And that will give me time to find my own place."

A week? Sebastian frowned. Rhys needed more than a week to get this woman to fall for him. He breathed in with frustration, ready to argue, when he smelled again the lust that was permeating the apartment. Damn, a week just might be plenty of time. If they needed more, he'd worry about it later. Right now, she was staying. Good enough. And she would keep Rhys in the apartment. Sebastian needed that time to figure out who had attacked Rhys and why. Rhys, in his confused state, would be an easy mark if the attacker had been after him specifically. It was best to keep him here- safe.

"A week is great."

She nodded, obviously relieved he hadn't pushed for longer.

But now Sebastian had the peculiarities of being a vampire to deal with. Being a vampire was easy. Being a vampire who didn't know he's a vampire; that might be tricky. Rhys could end his existence with one short stroll in the sunshine. Or if his hunger wasn't appeased regularly, Jane could die from one overzealous chomp.

"Watching Rhys should be quite easy," he said, contradicting his thoughts, but he didn't want to scare her away. "There are really only three things you need to be careful about."

Jane listened, her green eyes wide.

"He has an allergy to the sun, so he cannot go out in the direct sunlight, which generally isn't a problem. Since we work nights, his sleep schedule usually keeps him out of the sun anyway." All of that was basically true.

"Can he go out on overcast days?"

"Yes. But only totally overcast. Sun is poison to him."

She nodded.

"Also, Rhys has a lot of weird food allergies, so he generally sticks to a high protein drink."

"He doesn't eat?" She looked dubious.

"He does, but only rare meat. Very rare. He's doing this weird, Atkins type thing, too. It seems to keep the whole allergy thing under control." He threw up his hands as though the whole concept was strange to him, too. "I don't even ask."

"But will he remember that?"

"I don't know, but I think we better continue it. He's lived on this stuff so long-I wouldn't want to screw up his digestive system or something."

She nodded, but the slight wrinkling of her nose stated she still found the idea odd.

"And-and this was exactly what the physician told me-we must humor Rhys for the time being. That is important. Otherwise we could fracture his memories, again the doctor's words, and his real memories might be lost permanently."

Jane looked stricken.

God, he was good.

She still appeared apprehensive, but she said, "Okay."

"Great. So let's discuss money. How is fifteen hundred dollars?"

Sebastian didn't think it could be possible, but her eyes widened more. "That-that's too much."

Sebastian shrugged. "I love my brother. And I want to see him happy."

"I can't take that kind of money. That is… It's too much."

Sebastian smiled, impressed by her shocked reluctance. He'd thrown out a large sum, assuming the amount would definitely clinch the deal, but obviously he hadn't needed to. Jane was too ethical to accept it comfortably.

"If I didn't want to pay it, I wouldn't."

She hesitated again, but after a moment, she offered her hand to him. "Okay."

He smiled. Did he mention he was good?