"Or," Donny continued, "do you think any of those scientists at Argeneau Enterprises might ever find a way to reverse the flaw or something? Reprogram the nanos or whatever?"
Beth waited curiously for Scotty's answer, but he merely asked solemnly, "What do you think, lad?"
"I think they've been working with those nanos an awfully long time and not figured out anything," he answered. "And I think even though they know it's the natural order, maybe people are mostly afraid to die . . . including the scientists. So, maybe they don't really want to find the fix for the flaw in the nanos."
"And I think I was right before. Ye are a cannie lad, boyo," Scotty said, sounding impressed.
"So, that would be a no?" Donny asked in a wry tone. "No, they won't find the way to fix the flaw?"
"Would ye mind if they did no'?" Scotty queried, sounding curious.
"You're asking if I'd mind staying young and strong forever?" he said on a laugh. "Of course not."
They were both silent for a minute and then Donny added solemnly, "I do miss having family, though. I mean, mine weren't the greatest, but they were family."
"I ken family is usually thought o' as forged by blood, lad, but blood does no' always make fer good family. Just look at Cain and Abel, or Constantine. Sometimes a better family can be forged through friendship and time." He paused, apparently to let that sink in, and then added, "Once ye're a full-blown hunter, ye'll find yer partner and coworkers becoming family to ye. Immortals ken the importance o' family and recognize that ye have none now and will adopt ye into theirs."
"Maybe." Donny sounded dubious.
"I'm surprised Leigh and Lucian have no' pulled ye into their family already," Scotty commented.
"So you were awake for that part of the ride back to the house too, were you?" Donny asked on a chuckle. Scotty didn't respond, at least not verbally. He must have nodded or something, though, because Donny grunted, and then said, "As for Leigh and Lucian, they kind of have tried to include me in their family, I think. I mean, Leigh invites me for every holiday and tries to get me to come out, but . . ."
"But ye're no' comfortable with them?" Scotty guessed. "Mayhap ye still feel some guilt for Leigh's getting turned because o' ye?"
"Yeah," Donny said on a sigh. "And then there's the fact that I don't think Lucian likes me much."
"Really? Why would that be?" Scotty asked with interest, and then must have read his mind because he said with certainty, "Ye still ha'e a crush on Leigh."
"Well, sure," Donny said as if that should be a given. "I mean, Leigh's beautiful, and smart and awesome and--"
"I do no' think Lucian does no' like ye," Scotty interrupted dryly.
"Really? Why? Has he said something to you about me?" Donny asked eagerly.
"Nay."
"Then why?" he asked with confusion.
"Because if he's read the thoughts in yer mind about his Leigh and has no' yet beat ye to a pulp, then he must like ye a great deal. He also has more patience than I ever credited him with," Scotty said dryly.
"Oh," Donny muttered, sounding embarrassed.
"Oh, is right," Scotty said with disgust. "Did ye have such X-rated thoughts about my life mate, ye'd no' be long fer this world. At the very least ye'd get a sound thrashin'." He paused briefly to let that sink in and then added, "Ye ha'e to learn to control yer thoughts, lad. Ye must remember any immortal older than ye can read every thought out o' yer head."
"Right," Donny said on a dejected sigh.
"Ye need to learn to not think except in private."
"Not think?" Donny echoed with disbelief. "That's not even possible!"
"O' course it is," Scotty assured him. "Ye just pay attention to everything around ye and cut out the commentary in yer head until ye're alone."
"The commentary?" Donny asked uncertainly.
"Aye, that voice in yer head that says, 'Hot damn, those candy-apple-red shoes are fine. I want to strip off every bit o' clothing she has on, licking her from top to bottom as I do, and then, once she's left in only those shoes, back her up against the wall and screw her slow and hard.'"
Beth blinked her eyes open and gawked briefly at the two men before catching herself and closing them again. She couldn't believe those were the words in Donny's head . . . and about Leigh too! Damn, he was lucky Lucian hadn't killed him. That amazed her, but no more than how hot the young man's thoughts were! Especially when spoken in Scotty's deep, sexy voice. She'd actually envisioned all that happening as he spoke the words . . . only to her, wearing her candy-apple-red shoes. And it hadn't been Donny but Scotty doing the stripping, licking, and slow screwing.
Damn, Beth knew what she'd be fantasizing in bed tonight. It was just a shame she couldn't actually act it out with Scotty for real. But the man was over eight hundred years old. Unmated immortals started losing interest in food and sex and things like that sometime after their first hundred years as an immortal. By their two hundredth year they were usually pretty much off both, and they stayed that way until they met their life mate.
Beth had been an immortal for nearly a hundred and twenty-five years now, but hadn't found her hungers waning at all yet. She loved food, all kinds of it, and she enjoyed sex . . . most of the time . . . well, maybe half the time. The truth was, she hadn't really been fussy on sex while mortal, but that probably had more to do with her situation than anything. Since the turn, though, she'd wanted sex, but was most often left feeling unsatisfied by it. Beth had no idea why. It wasn't like she didn't have orgasms or anything. She did. It was just . . . the best way she could think to describe it was that it was like when you were craving cherry pie, but had only apple. It could be the most amazing apple pie in the world, but still wasn't the cherry pie you were really yearning for, and you were left feeling slightly dissatisfied. That's how Beth found sex since the turn. Like it was good, but it just wasn't quite measuring up. Weird.
"But how do you cut out the commentary?" Donny asked now with frustration. "It just comes out. I don't know how to not think."
"Ye do. Ye just ne'er try to censor yourself because ye're used to thinking yer thoughts are yer own," Scotty said firmly. "I'll no' lie, it'll be hard and 'twill take some time fer ye to learn, but ye can do it. We all had to. And 'tis better to make yerself do it ere a stray thought has an older immortal thrash ye, or worse."
"Or worse?" Donny asked warily.
"I ken o' immortals who ha'e been killed fer stray thoughts they did no' control," he said solemnly. "And I'd no' like to see ye added to that list."
"Neither would I," Donny said unhappily.
"I'll do what I can to help ye with it."
"Thank you. I'd appreciate that," Donny said sincerely.
Another brief silence fell and then Donny asked, "Your life mate?"
"What?" Scotty sounded confused.
"Earlier you said, 'Did ye have such X-rated thoughts about my life mate, ye'd no' be long fer this world.'" Donny reminded him. "So? You do have a life mate?"
"Nay. Well, aye, I do," he confessed. "But I have no' claimed her."
"What! Why?" Donny asked with an amazement shared by Beth.
"'Tis a . . . delicate situation," Scotty said uncomfortably.
"Delicate how?" Donny prodded.
Beth half expected Scotty to tell the boy to mind his own business. Instead, he muttered, "She was no' ready yet."
Donny was silent for a minute, and Beth could almost hear his brain ticking as he tried to work that out. And then he said, "Like she's not ready because she's too young? A kid?"
"Something like that," Scotty muttered evasively.
"How young?" Donny asked with obvious curiosity.
"It does no' matter," Scotty said shortly, and ended the conversation by saying, "I did no' sleep well last night. I'm going to get some shut-eye."
Beth lay awake for a while. At first she was hoping Donny would get Scotty to say more, but then she got to thinking about the fact that Scotty had met his life mate. It might be the re
ason for his suddenly being nice to her. After all, that would make anyone happy. Of course, his not being able to claim his life mate because she was too young was a wrinkle. Especially since, having met his life mate, all of his hungers would now be reawakened. He'd have a taste for food again . . . and sex. Food wasn't a problem, but if his life mate was too young to claim, he would have no way to sate his reawakened urges for sex other than to look elsewhere.
For a moment, Beth briefly toyed with the idea that he might be open to an affair with her. The idea of actually having real sex with the man instead of the fantasies and dreams she'd been enjoying for over a century was not something she'd ever even considered. Now she did, and just the thought of it set her body tingling.
It wouldn't be like cheating for him either, she assured herself. After all, if his life mate was too young, and he hadn't yet claimed her, they weren't a couple. That sounded reasonable to her.
The stumbling block was that Scotty had never seemed to like her very much. And still might not, she considered. His behavior toward her had been pleasant enough so far, but it wasn't like they'd had much of a chance to talk. No, she was probably the last person he'd be interested in bedding. Which might be a good thing, she decided. After over a century of sexual fantasies about the man . . . well, it wasn't likely that he'd be able to live up to the Scotty of her dreams. That would be terribly disappointing.
Sighing, Beth let the brief idea go and allowed herself to finally drift off to sleep.
"I don't see anybody," Donny said. "Do you see anybody?"
Beth stifled a yawn as she glanced around the small airfield where they'd landed. It was made up of a long strip of tarmac, at the end of which was a large hangar, and a small building with huge glass windows making up the wall that overlooked the landing strip. Not spotting the standard black SUV either parked or driving toward them, she shrugged and suggested, "Maybe they're a little late."
"Maybe," Donny allowed. "Or maybe Mortimer wasn't able to get a hold of anyone. He said to call him if no one was waiting here for us. I better call."
"Be my guest," Beth said wearily. Once she'd fallen asleep, she'd fallen hard and hadn't woken again until Scotty had shaken her awake to let her know they'd landed. She still wasn't quite awake. She needed a coffee. Her gaze focused speculatively on the small building next to the hangar, and then she headed for it. They might have a coffee machine or something. Maybe. Hopefully.
"Wait!" Donny said, lowering his phone when she started away. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see if they have any coffee inside. Do you want one too?"
"But--Scotty's still talking to the pilot. Shouldn't we wait for him?"
Scotty had taken on the duty of retrieving the envelope Mortimer had mentioned from the pilot. Beth had been too tired to be annoyed at his taking over again and had merely headed out of the plane to see if their ride was here. Now she paused and turned back to say, "Yeah, and you can do that. I'm getting coffee and coming right back. Again, do you want anything?"
"Uh . . ."
Shaking her head, Beth turned to walk away, saying, "One regular coffee coming up."
"A hazelnut latte if they have them," Donny called after her. "With skim milk, and sweetener."
Beth just shook her head and kept walking. What did he think? Was he expecting there to be a fancy cafe inside serving lattes, cappuccinos and biscotti? And . . . really? A hazelnut latte with skim milk and sweetener?
"Dear Lord, he's a girl in disguise," Beth muttered to herself as she reached the building. Opening the door, she stepped inside and cast a quick glance around the small, empty waiting area. It wasn't very impressive. The floor was a dull gray tile, the walls a muddy cream. A single row of six upholstered seats sat on a supporting beam that was bolted into the floor facing the windows, but the faux leather of the seats was torn in several places and marked with graffiti. Beth noted two doors on her right--a men's room and ladies' room--and then focused wholly on the vending machines along the wall on the left. She headed for the one with a picture of a cup of coffee on the top and another picture, this time of coffee beans, on the bottom.
Much to Beth's surprise, the machine offered more than standard coffee, and she had her choice of coffee, cappuccino, mocha, Americano, espresso, hot chocolate, tea, apple cider, and yes, even a latte. However, it was just a straight latte, not a flavored one, and she was quite sure it was made with a flavor packet and hot water, not milk of any kind.
"Donny's going to be so disappointed," she murmured with amusement, digging in her pocket for change.
"Who is Donny?"
Beth glanced around with a start to see a tall, good-looking and slender dark-haired man crossing the waiting area toward her. He'd obviously just come out of the men's room. The door was still closing behind him. She stared at him blankly for a minute, surprise battling with recognition, and then whirled around squealing, "Oh my God, Matias!"
Before she'd fully turned, he had crossed the room. Grabbing her by the waist, he whirled her around, laughing.
"Is good to see you, Beth. You are beautiful as ever," he said warmly, pulling her into a bear hug as he stopped turning.
"You too," Beth said with a smile, and then pulled back to look at him. "How long has it been? Two years?"
"Si, so long," he groaned, hugging her tightly again and this time lifting her off the ground. "I think about you all the time. And I miss you every day."
Beth chuckled at his words, then wrapped her legs around his waist and used the position to force her upper body back so she could look him in the eyes. She did hate dangling in the air like a child. "I think about you often too, Matias," she assured him solemnly. "Spain just wasn't the same after you left."
"And so you followed me here to Canada, si?" he teased with a grin.
"Actually, I followed Drina," she said almost apologetically.
"Ah, si, I heard she found her life mate here," he said seriously. "I am very happy for her. But for me," he added, the solemnity falling away to be replaced by a wide grin, "I am happy because you are here."
"And I'd be happy if someone'd explain just who in the bloody blazes ye are."
Beth blinked in surprise at those words in a deep growl, and turned her head to see Scotty standing just inside the door to the terminal, scowling at her like she was a misbehaving child. Her eyes widened slightly, but she merely smiled and said politely, "Scotty, this is Matias Argenis. My cousin."
"Your cousin," he echoed dubiously.
"Si, she was adopted by the Argenises as a sister to Drina, and family to all," Matias said with a wide smile. "And we are the kissing cousins."
Beth grinned when he kissed her nose, and then leaned forward to kiss his nose back. "Now you'd best put me down ere Scotty has a conniption fit on the spot. I think he believes our behavior is inappropriate."
"Hmm." Matias eyed Scotty's furious face briefly and then turned back to her and raised one eyebrow. "He is English, no?"
"Scottish," she corrected him.
Matias shrugged, the action jostling her up and down slightly. "Is the same thing. English, Scottish, they are all the cold fish."
Beth grinned in response, but she also unhooked her legs from around his waist, and pushed at his chest until he set her back on the ground. Straightening her clothes, she asked, "Did Mortimer send you to collect us?"
"Si. Mortimer, he is a slave driver. Do this, do that. Collect the beautiful Beth from the airport, take her back to the house, massage her feet, make the mad love to her."
"Idiot! He didn't say that," she protested with a laugh.
"No, but he would have did he know of my great passion for you," he assured her.
Shaking her head, Beth moved around him, muttering, "I need a coffee."
"Coffee is good," Matias said, turning to watch her drag change out of her pocket and pop it in the machine.
"Coffee is bad," Scotty countered. "It affects certain immortals like speed."
"Fortunate
ly, I'm not affected by it," she assured him, and then added honestly, "much."
"Neither am I," Matias announced.
"Hey! Hey! Beth! Scotty!" Donny cried excitedly, rushing into the building with his phone in hand. "Mortimer says he did get a hold of the guy from the satellite house out here. His name is Matias and he should be here somewhere, but I--This is the guy, isn't it?" Donny interrupted himself to say, his gaze sliding between Matias, Beth and Scotty.
"Yes," Beth said with a smile. "Donny, meet Matias Argenis. Our ride, my cousin, and apparently our host here." She watched the men nod to each other in greeting and then turned back to select Americano coffee as she asked, "How did you end up working for the hunters here, Matias? I thought you left Spain to go to college."
"I did," Matias assured her. "I am in school here, but I am a poor student, and needed somewhere to live, so Papa called Lucian, and he said I could stay at the Enforcer house. All I have to do is the odd chore once in a while like collect beautiful ladies from the airport, supply them with a bed, feed them amazing takeout pizza and ply them with Sweet Ecstasy."
"You're not getting me to drink Sweet Ecstasy," she assured him dryly, and then raised her eyebrows and asked, "Takeout pizza?"
"You know I cannot cook," he said with a shrug. "But the pizza is amazing. It is nothing like I have ever tasted. You will love it."
"And the reason Mortimer had trouble getting a hold of you?" she asked with a grin as she waited for the machine to make her coffee. "Her name would be?"
"Ah, Justine," he said, clutching his heart and rolling his eyes. "She is the most beautiful girl, but not as beautiful as you," he assured her. "And she is so greedy. She hid my phone and pants and would not let me leave. Naughty girl!"
"Oh, Matias, you're incorrigible," Beth reprimanded him with a shake of the head as she retrieved the steaming cup.