A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

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doing mundane things.

"So much for my life as a vampire," she muttered.
Parking the car, she hurried into the neighborhood bar.

Inside, she took a deep breath. Compared to the murky atmosphere of The Catacombs, the Driftwood seemed as bright as day. An upbeat tune was playing on the jukebox. There was a low hum of conversation, the sound of laughter, of ice cubes tinkling against glassware. Even the smell was different.

She slid into a booth, ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri, then sat back and closed her eyes. Whatever had made her think she wanted to be a vampire? How could she have even considered it?And Dominic. She could pretend he was human, that he chose to live a slightly different kind of life, but he wasn't human and never would be again.

Vampire.She shuddered as she recalled the hungry way Petrina and the others had looked at her. She couldn't stay here. Even under Dominic's protection, she would never feel safe in Sea Cliff again.

She lifted a hand to her neck. He had taken her blood, and she had tasted his. A bond, he had said, exchanging blood would create a bond between them.

What, she wondered, did that really mean? It means I can find you wherever you go.

Startled, she glanced around, expecting to see Dominic standing nearby. It took her a moment to realize that the voice she had heard so clearly had been in her mind.

It means we can communicate when we are apart; that I can read your thoughts, and you can read mine. Get out of my head!She silently screamed the words.

And then he was there, sitting in the booth across from her.

She stared at him, her heart pounding. "I can't do this anymore." She fisted her hands around her drink to keep them from trembling. "I don't want to be a vampire. I don't want to be part of your world. And I don't want you in my head."

"Tracy…"

"I mean it, Dominic. You said you would let me go if that was my choice. Did you mean it, or not?" "I meant it."

"Then let me go."

"As you will," he said quietly.

She was filled with a wave of unexpected regret. He looked so stricken, so unhappy. Why couldn't she have fallen in love with an ordinary man? She had waited her whole life to fall in love and when she did, it