Without saying another word, she left Katya’s chambers. Drago cursed roughly and followed her into the corridor, grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Her expression was defiant as she glared up at him. Her eyes welled up and a tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away furiously.
‘You can’t stop me,’ she said on a rising sob.
Drago’s heart thudded in his chest. He understood her pain. Wouldn’t he want to rip the limbs from anyone who harmed his son? ‘How do you propose to get past all his Lycan and vampire soldiers? It’s suicide.’
‘I’d rather die than stand by and let him get away with what he did to my daughter.’
‘Balkathan deserves to die, but nothing will be accomplished if you march into his hideout without an army. The attack will require planning, strategy.’
Her face quivered and his heart slowly thawed. He wished he could erase what he imagined were horrifying scenes from her mind when she’d gone into her daughter’s thoughts, but he couldn’t. For the first time in his life he felt helpless.
‘Drago, my daughter was raped. Repeatedly. She was starved and beaten and…’ Her face crumbled.
He was unmanned. Grimacing, he gathered her tightly in his arms and held her close to his chest. ‘I’m sorry, Eve,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m very sorry.’
Even though she stiffened against his chest, he was surprised she didn’t struggle out of his arms. He rested his head gently on the top of her head, tightening his hold around her. Slowly, his compassion faded as a more significant development arose.
In her tight warrior garb, he felt every contour of her body…the sultry curve of her hips, her firm breasts and her small waist. He stiffened. He knew it was comfort she wanted and if he kept holding her body against his, like this, it was more than comfort he was going to give her. He gritted his teeth. It was that damn leather outfit she was wearing. He fought his aroused wolf. Gently, he pushed her away and stared down at her pale face.
‘I want nothing more than to plunge my own silver into that demon’s chest,’ he said, ‘but Balkathan’s army is huge. Bigger than my Lycan guards. To destroy him, we need to take him by surprise. My son is returning from his honeymoon in a few days. Twenty of my finest guards are with him. When they return, we will attack and I promise you, we will avenge your daughter. The best time to attack will be during the day when his vampires are asleep. It will lessen the numbers against us.’
‘I’ve travelled under sunlight before.’
He took her hand and showed her the scar on her thumb. ‘A mere sunbeam scarred you. If something should happen and you’re exposed to the sun, you will die. I will not allow that to happen, Eve.’ The thought of her burning to a crisp shook him and for the first time in two hundred years, fear pulsed through his frame. The realisation stunned him.
‘I’m already dead, Your Highness,’ she said, her eyes dimming with regret.
Suddenly, something tight inside of him unraveled and before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed her shoulders and dragged her into his arms. He silenced her gasp with his mouth on hers and he kissed her. Shock reverberated through his frame. Her lips weren’t cold and lifeless. They were warm and soft, their touch inciting a fire within him he thought long extinct. He gathered her body close to his and a rush of heat flared through his veins.
She tasted sweet and he deepened his kiss, moving his mouth hungrily over hers. This was madness. He wanted to taste all of her. He released a low groan and slid his hands over her bottom, pressing her body against his erection. Damnation, was she bewitching him with her vampire magic? She must be, he thought, because he desired her like no other. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. He just wanted to prove to her that she was still a woman capable of feeling. Somehow that reasoning flew out the window the moment his lips touched hers. Now all he wanted to do was take her upstairs to his bedchambers and make love to her.
He cursed his inexplicable lust for her. Lycans did not mate with Vampires.
He dragged his mouth from hers and pushed her away from him. ‘If you were dead,’ he said, his breathing laboured, ‘your heart wouldn’t race as it does now.’
Her expression shifted, the passion he’d seen on her face disappearing. ‘I felt nothing. As you just mentioned, Lycans do not mate with Vampires.’
Realisation hit him in the gut and he growled. ‘You went into my thoughts.’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she said. ‘It just happened. Besides, what harm is there when we both agree. This is madness.’
Having her agree didn’t sit well with him. ‘You lie. Your response to me was real.’
‘A very small remnant of my human self.’ Her face hardened and she went back to being the cold, undead beauty. ‘Balkathan’s lair is a three day’s ride from here. In bandit territory, behind the waterfall below Mount Trotus. That settles our deal. I will be leaving with my daughter after sunset.’ She turned away from him.
He knew he should let her leave, but for the life of him, he couldn’t let her go. ‘Don’t go.’ He clenched his jaw, realising what he was going to say next was ludicrous. He barely knew her, dammit, and she was a vampire. ‘Stay here with your daughter. I can offer you both a home, security, protection.’
‘Thank you, but I don’t need anyone to protect me.’
‘Then stay for a few days, until your daughter has completely recovered.’
She remained silent and he could tell she was thinking this through carefully. He also knew she loved her daughter very much and would think of Katya’s comfort before her own.
‘All right,’ she finally said. ‘I’ll stay until Katya is well enough to travel.’
He nodded, disturbed by the extent of his relief. ‘Follow me,’ he said.
He’d wanted to ask her so many questions about herself. When did she turn into a vampire? If she had a daughter, where was her husband?
Yet he refrained. He needed to keep his distance from her. In the short time he spent with her, he went from loathing her because she was a vampire to understanding she was a woman whose demons ran deep and there was also that small matter that she made his blood boil to distraction.
He had to stop it before he lost control.
* * * *
As she strode beside him down the long corridor, her thoughts kept going to their embrace. She didn’t know if she should be disappointed or offended that he’d thought it was insane to kiss her. Yet, he was right. Vampires and Lycans did not mate. Could she fault him for thinking the obvious?
She had had lovers the past four hundred years, but none of those men occupied her thoughts as much as Drago did. She didn’t understand her attraction to him and she wasn’t about to analyse their connection. Vampires didn’t have happily ever-afters, only eternal hell. The Lycans were the lucky ones because they stood at chance at love. Legend was there was one mate for every Lycan. She thought about her daughter and wished Katya would find her one, her soul mate.
He stopped in front of a door and opened it, moving aside to let her enter. She walked past him, her shoulder briefly skimming his massive chest, and she tensed, hurrying to get inside.
The room’s lovely décor stilled her thoughts and she looked up in surprise at Drago’s face. She couldn’t tell what he was feeling or thinking because his face was etched in granite. ‘This chamber is too extravagant. I can sleep with my daughter in her room.’
‘Not until I know she’s cured. You’ll be safe here.’
‘My daughter would never harm me.’
‘She is a Lycan, Eve. Her strength is greater than yours and until she remembers who you are, you will stay here.’ He pointed to a small door in the corner. ‘That is your bath chambers. Lena will be your personal maid. If there is anything you require, let her know.’ He pointed to the white drapes covering the windows. ‘Those drapes will remain closed and this candelabra will be sufficient to light your room. Dinner will be served after sundown.’
‘I don’t eat.’
His mouth thinned. ‘Perhaps you can join me just the same?’
The less time she spent with him, the better, she thought. ‘I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to remain here in my chambers.’
He narrowed his gaze on her. ‘Do you have any belongings that need to be brought in?’ His gaze fell on her daggers and stakes strapped to her body. ‘Or anymore weapons?’ he asked dryly.
‘No.’
‘A horse that needs tending to?’
‘No.’ She didn’t think this was the time to tell him exactly how she travelled. ‘I’ll just take a bath and retire for a few hours before the evening. I haven’t slept in two days and I usually sleep during the day.’
‘As you wish,’ he said brusquely.
He was going for the door, when she realized something. ‘Wait!’
Slowly he turned and stared at her with his dark, brooding gaze.
‘I just wanted to say thank you for looking after my daughter. She’s all I have left and I’m deeply grateful to you, Your Highness.’
He remained silent for the longest time as he stared at her. ‘Call me Drago,’ he finally said. ‘And you’re welcome.’
She remained lost in thought, seated on the edge of the bed for a long time after he left. She brought her hand up to her lips, remembering their kiss. Something inside her had stirred and awakened and a wave of emotions washed over her. Confusion, passion, fear. She could still feel his warm, sensual mouth on hers, his hard muscles pressing against her body.
Angrily, she rose from the edge of the bed and began removing her weapons. She had survived four hundred years because she had never let her heart rule her head. Warriors didn’t let their guard down, ever.
Lycans did not mate with Vampires, Drago had thought.
Frowning, she pushed her thoughts of him away and ignored the little voice in her head that said she was far more interested in the king than she dared to admit.
