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vampire gives you an order, can you ignore it?”
    Aislinn almost smiled at the switch in conversation. “When a who does what?”
    “If a vampire says like ‘come here; you’, can you blow it off?”
    She nodded. “Yeah, in fact, one of them tonight acted like I was just going to trot right over to him.”
    “Yeah, some of them are dumb like that. For some reason, we aren’t susceptible to vampire suggestion. That’s initially why Kenshin approached me to be in the PIA. Well, that and the whole Talon thing. He’ll probably ask you, too.”
    “What if I don’t want to join?” Aislinn asked.
    Joelle shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess you won’t, but hell, what do you have to lose? I mean vampires are after you, and from experience, I can tell you this place is the safest. Also, what do you have to go to? Not to be mean or anything, but we know what’s out there, and obviously, no one believed you.” She climbed off the bed. “Look, I’ve thrown a whole hell of a lot at you. I’m going to go get you something to eat, and then you can rest. If you need anything, just let me know. And, Aislinn, you don’t have to be afraid.”
    After the door closed behind Joelle, Aislinn almost burst out laughing. She held it in, though, because if she started, she didn’t think she could stop. Afraid? Joelle didn’t want her to be afraid? Aislinn wished she was just afraid. Right now, she thought she was nearing overwhelmingly terrified. She closed her eyes as the entire situation overwhelmed her. A vampire had attacked her…bitten her…opened her wrist to the bone. And yet, she was alive, with only scars to show she’d been assaulted. How? Joelle had never answered the question. Did she know? Aislinn bet she did, but then, why wouldn’t she tell her if she knew?
    The door opened, but instead of Joelle, Charon walked in carrying a tray. Vampire . The thought screamed through Aislinn’s mind. He paused and studied her. Attractive , was the next flitting thought, and she almost rolled her eyes. Well, hell, was she afraid of him or impressed? Couldn’t she be both?
    “I won’t hurt you,” he said, interrupting the argument in her mind. “If I wanted to, I could have done it long before now.”
    “Wow, that makes me feel so much better,” she said, without thinking.
    “And there’s the smartass I’ve grown to know.”
    With the one comment, she realized that being afraid of him was ridiculous. She knew him, and he’d never hurt her. In fact, he’d only helped her. Besides, she hated being afraid. She’d been afraid for most of her life and refused to allow it to happen again.
    “What did you do to me?” She held her healing wrist out to him. “I don’t remember a lot, but I know he used me as a chew bone.”
    He put the tray down across her legs and lifted the lid. Steak met her eyes and nose. Saliva gathered in her mouth, and she thought she’d start drooling. Damn, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had something other than hospital food. Without a moment’s hesitation, she picked up her silverware and dug in.
    She ate quietly for a few moments, enjoying the novelty of a real meal. But she still wanted her question answered. She held up her arm between bites. “Well?”
    Charon sat in a chair near the bed. His hard chiseled features were still as his nearly black eyes tracked her movements. “I stopped the bleeding.”
    She snorted indelicately. “I figured that out. How?”
    “My saliva has properties that stop bleeding. Because I’m an Ancient, it works much more quickly and efficiently.”
    The fork she was bringing to her mouth froze as she watched him. “You drank my blood.”
    “It was the only way I could stop the bleeding,” he said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t realize it would heal you the way it has. We usually just stitch ourselves up.”
    “I’m not sure what to say.” She shook her head. “Thank you.” She meant it, too, but the idea that the man…vampire