I reluctantly walked down the stairs. Duncan was waiting by the door, head bowed. He barely looked at me, and I could tell he was upset.

My mom scoffed. "Couldn't you at least have put on a little make-up?" she said and left.

I approached him, feeling a little scared.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"We left off on a terrible note last night. I wanted to talk to you."

"Let's go outside," I said, fearing that the entire house was listening in on our conversation. I was pretty sure at least my mother was.

We sat on my old swing set. I mostly looked at my feet. I didn't want to look at him. I was still too upset.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I…I don't know what came over me. I just…I got so angry. I lost control."

"Why didn't you stop him? Caleb was being very rude to the both of us, and you didn't even try to stop him."

Duncan looked away. "It's complicated."

"He said something about being higher ranked than you. What did he mean by that?"

Duncan shrugged. "It's the world I belong to. It's different, Robyn."

"He also said that you weren't young. What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

Duncan sighed. "I…it's a long story."

"I have all day. If you want me to forgive you and if you want to be with me, then you need to help me understand who you are, Duncan. I can't live like this, not knowing anything about you."

He nodded. "Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

I cleared my throat. "How old are you?"

Duncan bent his head rubbed his neck. His silky soft blond hair fell forward into his face.

"Come on, Duncan," I said. "Is it really that hard to answer? It's a very simple question. It's like one of the first things you ask someone when you meet for the first time. If you can't even answer that, then where does that leave us?"

He turned his head and looked at me with a shy smile. "All right," he said, "I see your point. I guess I can reveal it to you since you are, after all, going to be…one of us." He paused and wrinkled his forehead. "I was born in 1746."

I literally dropped my jaw and stared at him. "You're kidding me, right?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"So, you're what…two hundred and seventy years old?"

He nodded. "Two hundred and seventy-two."

"But…but that makes you…" I paused while trying to calm myself down. "Are you older than my mother?"

He chuckled and nodded. "She's a baby compared to me. She’s only in her late eighties or something like that."

"But…but they all act like you're a child?"

He scoffed. "Well, they've been wanting me to settle down for a long time. I just haven't seemed to be able to…I haven't found the right one to settle down with."

"But…you're at Harvard?"

Duncan sighed. "My dad has been wanting me to join his business for at least a century, but I haven't quite been in a place where I was…ready for it. A few years ago, I decided it was about time. I’ve been living the bachelor life for long enough now. It's time to grow up."

I stared at him, my mouth still wide open. I wanted to say something clever like Ya' think? But I decided against it. Instead, I tried hard to process all this new information. It was a bit much, I had to admit.

"I…I don't…" I paused, not exactly knowing what I was trying to say. Words seemed so weak right now. At least those I could think of.

Duncan reached over and grabbed my hand in his. He lifted his gaze and stared into my eyes.

"I was waiting for you to come along. I’ve waited a long time for you." He smiled and looked at me in anticipation. I wasn't sure what he expected me to say to this, how he wanted me to react.

I pulled my hand out of his and turned away.

He exhaled with a deep groan. "I’ve overwhelmed you, haven't I? I knew it would happen. That's why I tried to keep these things from you. I don't want to scare you away."

I swallowed. It was difficult to hide just how much this overwhelmed me. "I…I might want to…I have to…"

I got up, but he grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"Please, Robyn."

I turned around, and he stood up too. He still held my hand in his. He came closer and looked into my eyes like he would never let go of my gaze again.

"Please. Don't hate me for what I am," he said. "Love me for what you know I can be. When I’m with you, I’m different. I feel almost human again. You do that to me. You have no idea how much I’ve longed to feel that again. I didn't think I was capable of love anymore. But I am when I’m with you. You pulled me out of this deep darkness I’ve been living in for centuries. Don't take that away from me. I’m lost without you."

I could hardly breathe. His sparkling eyes were reeling me in. I felt defenseless against such words. He was right. I had seen more in him. I knew there was more. I hated the vampire in him but was very attracted to the little bit of human that was still there.

"I…I don't know what to say, Duncan," I said in all honesty.

He placed a finger on my lips. "Shh. Don't speak."

He leaned down toward me and kissed me. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, feeling a delightful shiver of cold run down my spine. The kiss was deep and wonderful and completely carried me away. Gone was the fear, gone was the hate and the anger. Gone were even Veronika's first words to me, telling me that in a few months Duncan was going to kill me.