He saved her life. Eve licked her lips, tasting the last drop of his blood and her heart raced. She wanted more of him, all of him. She licked her lips again and stared up at his dark, brilliant gaze.
‘Stop doing that,’ he said hoarsely.
‘Stop doing what?’ she asked, but she already knew. She’d known the moment she drank his blood how aroused he was. How much he wanted her. She wanted him, too. She couldn’t deny it. Not after what she’d done. Drinking his blood infused her with his life essence and bound her to him in a way that transcended logic. She was his on a level that surpassed the flesh.
‘Stop licking your lips,’ he rasped.
For Drago it was still all about the flesh. He wanted to have sex with her. She could see it in his eyes, the way he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her mouth. And lower, beneath his loin cloth, his rigid shaft that was pressing hard against her thigh.
She rose slowly and Drago followed suit. He stared down at her upraised face.
‘How long have you been putting your healing blood in wells?’ he asked abruptly.
‘Since I turned four hundred years ago and discovered my blood’s power to heal.’
‘You’re four hundred years old?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’ve been curing people ever since without anyone’s knowledge?’
She stiffened. ‘Curing an illness will never make me human again. Please don’t glorify my actions. Anyone in my position would do the same thing.’
‘Would they?’ His mouth tightened. ‘A vampire cannot control their thirst and yet you said you do not feed on humans. And tonight, you could have easily fed in my kingdom, but you came out here.’ He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. ‘You’re more human than you realise, Eve.’
‘Let me go!’ She struggled out of his hold and glared up at him. ‘I won’t let you do this.’
‘Do what?’
‘Make me…hope.’ He reached for her and she drew back. ‘You are a Lycan. You have a chance at living a happy life because you have a destined mate. I am a vampire. And vampires don’t have soul mates. Leave me alone. Find someone else to pass your time until you find your one,’ she added on a rising sob.
His face hardened. ‘I see. So that is what you think of me.’
Eve immediately regretted her outburst. Hadn’t he taken care of Katya the past month with shelter, food, clean clothes and a warm bed? Hadn’t he been gentle and kind with Becca in the well? ‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly, her energy spent. ‘I…I know you’ve been kind to my daughter.’
His expression softened and he reached for her again. This time she let him gather her in his arms. She closed her eyes against the comfort of his embrace and felt an uncharacteristic rush of security.
‘What makes you think vampires are destined to be alone?’ he asked quietly above her head.
‘I’ve been alone for four hundred years, Drago.’ She paused, inhaling shakily.
‘What of Katya’s father?’
She detected a hard edge to his tone. ‘He was a good man who came into my life when I was very lonely and needed to feel human warmth. I wanted to live like a human. I wanted to feel love. I was tired of death all around me.’ She drew in a shaky breath. ‘So I pretended to be human for a short while. Katya was the result of our first night together. I stayed with him in his home and managed to conceal what I was from him and the villagers. Everyone thought I suffered from an allergy of the sun and could only go out at night. I hated lying to them because they were all so kind to me, but the truth would have destroyed them.’ She paused. ‘Caleb died two years to the day of meeting him. One evening he was playing with Katya and his heart just stopped. The village healer said it was a heart attack and there was nothing anyone could do.’ She paused, swallowing. ‘My blood cannot revive the dead.’
‘I’m sorry.’
She looked up at him. ‘I’m grateful I met him. Otherwise I would not have Katya.’
‘When did you tell Katya you were a vampire?’
‘When she was old enough to talk. It was our secret and no one ever found out. One evening, I went out to feed in the forest near our home. When I returned, I saw the devastation Balkathan’s army of demons did to our village. If I’d been there, if I hadn’t left, I could have done something…prevented some…’ She couldn’t speak.
‘You couldn’t do anything, Eve. Don’t blame yourself for what happened.’
‘What do you know of what I felt? Drago, I could have saved some lives. I could have…have saved my daughter.’
His face darkened. ‘You could not save any villagers nor your daughter any more than I could have saved the queen.’ He paused. ‘After Balkathan’s army turned my castle, two hundred years ago, the queen couldn’t live with what she’d become. The Gods were on our side that night because we managed to drive his army away, but it came with a dark price. The queen went mad. She refused to speak to me or our son, Vasilis. She kept herself locked up in her private chambers. One day I found her on her bed with a silver dagger in her chest. She killed herself and there was nothing I could do to stop it.’
Horrified, she raised a hand to her mouth. ‘I’m so sorry, Drago. I didn’t know.’
Grim-faced, he nodded. ‘So you see, I do know what you feel. I could have placed her under constant supervision. I could have had Hesta care for her day and night until she grew well, but I didn’t. I…I didn’t know how mad she had become until the very end.’ He gave her an unreadable look. ‘Do you miss your husband?’
‘We never married, but I do miss him. He was a kind man.’
‘Do you love him still?’
‘I cared deeply for him, but I don’t think I loved him. That part of me died when I turned all those centuries ago. I am not able to love.’
His face hardened. ‘You love your daughter.’
‘That’s different. I’m talking about the love between a man and woman.’
‘I see.’
Gently, she stepped out of his grasp. ‘I will always care for Caleb and think fondly of him, but he died a very long time ago. My heart has healed from the loss.’
Their gazes met and locked and she held her breath. ‘And the queen? Do…do you miss her?’
‘She died two hundred years ago and a part of me still cannot forgive her for taking her life. Vasilis took her death very badly, but I am thankful to the Gods because he has met his one, Alexandra, and they are on their honeymoon.’
Eve thought about all the lives Balkathan had destroyed the past four hundred years due to his insatiable thirst for power and wealth. Her body stiffened. He was insane. She’d always known he was. She remembered the day his last shred of humanity disappeared. A mixture of rage and fear rose in her breast. She’d known for a long time she had to stop running. Her day was coming when she had to face him–and destroy him, but she was afraid of Balkathan overpowering her and trapping her to his dark side.
‘Balkathan’s reign of terror must end soon,’ she whispered, her thoughts still in the past. ‘This cannot go on.’
‘When Vasilis returns from his honeymoon, we will plan our attack. If it’s the last thing I do, I will destroy him.’
A flicker of doubt darkened her thoughts. ‘He fights with Vampires and Lycans. Can you really defeat him?’
‘I will die trying.’
She didn’t like the sound of that. ‘Drago, he’s powerful.’
‘I will fight him at close range and plunge my own silver into his chest.’
It would be suicide, she thought sadly. ‘Drago, silver cannot kill him.’
‘What do you mean?’ he asked sharply.
She paused. ‘You do not know?’ She searched for the right words. ‘Four hundred years ago, I plunged my own silver into his chest and he survived.’
He stiffened visibly, his face growing dark. ‘You fought him? Are you insane, woman? You could have been killed.’
Hadn’t he heard what she’d just said? ‘Drago, silver cannot kill him!’
He paused and drew his brows into a dark frown. ‘Are you certain it was pure silver you used?’
‘Yes.’
‘There must be a reasonable explanation for this,’ he said.
There was, she thought, but he didn’t give her a chance to explain because he drew her roughly in his arms and held her against his chest. ‘I forget you’re four hundred years old and must have endured so much more than me.’ His grip tightened around her. ‘To think you fought him and could have been killed.’
It sounded like he cared. ‘You thought I was a vile creature when you first met me, remember?’ she mumbled against his chest.
He withdrew slowly, clasping her chin with his fingers and gently raised her face. Their gazes met and locked. ‘Eve, about that,’ he began slowly. ‘I didn’t–‘
He glanced over her shoulder and frowned at something behind her. When he returned his gaze to her, his expression was grim. ‘Damn! We’ve lost track of time. The sun will rise soon. We must go.’
She spun around and gasped. ‘Oh my God! How long have we been here?’ The horizon was already awakening with soft hues of gold and pink.
‘Go!’ he roared. ‘Fly!’ He shifted in his massive, black wolf form.
She inhaled sharply and vaulted high in the air. She soared towards the mountain in the distance where the castle was. She glanced down and saw Drago in his wolf form matching her speed on the ground.
The sun was rising and she felt a tingle on her hand and face. ‘I’m not going to make it,’ she screamed.
In a few moments, the sun would be up and she would burn. My God, was this how she was going to die after all these centuries because she lost track of time?
The horizon brightened and she covered her face, rushing down to the ground. She heard Drago growl ferociously and peeked at him through her fingers. She watched him shift from his wolf to his Lycan form. He caught her before she hit the ground.
‘Hide your face and hands against my chest,’ he growled in his eerie tone. ‘And don’t move!’
And then he ran. Fast. She could feel them speeding through the fields, his arms holding her tightly and she prayed they would make it in time before the sun lit the entire sky. Heat penetrated her attire and a small section of her exposed ankle burned. She winced, squeezing her eyes.
‘We’re almost there,’ he growled.
She kept her eyes shut, panic welling in her breast. Before she knew it, she heard sounds of voices. They had reached the village. Hope flared in her breast, but she didn’t dare lift her head just yet. Her ankle still throbbed and she knew she would scar, but she didn’t care. It was better than her body bursting into flames.
He leaped distance upon distance and she knew he was vaulting up the mountainside trail. Then he ran on flat grounds.
‘Quick! Shut the door behind me,’ Drago yelled.
‘Aye, Your Highness!’
She knew they were in the castle, but she was too afraid to lift her head from his chest. After a few more minutes, he stopped and placed her gently on the floor. Slowly, she opened her eyes looked up at his sinister jowls.
His ferocity didn’t frighten her. The expression in his amber eyes showed deep concern and with a low growl, he lifted her in his arms and strode in the room, kicking the door behind him with his monstrous limb.
He placed her on the bed and inspected her face and hands for burns. He grimaced when he saw the scar on her ankle.
‘Why did you not wear your cloak?’ he asked harshly.
‘I didn’t think I’d need it. I thought I would be back well before sunrise.’
His monstrous face darkened with deep concern. ‘I’m sorry. It was my fault. I should have paid more attention to the time.’
‘I am unharmed.’
He drew back and shifted in his human form. She stared at his body and felt her breath catch. He was still draped in his black loin cloth and her gaze travelled from his long, muscular legs to his trim, taut abdomen, up to his face. She stared at the curious muscle throbbing along his jaw.
She found him more dangerous and alarming in his human form than his menacing Lycan figure. More disturbing was she had just escaped near death and all she could think of was his arms around her, his mouth trailing hot kisses along her body. She rose from the bed, avoiding his eyes.
‘That’s the second time you’ve saved my life tonight,’ she said. She could sense the tension between them, thick and heavy in the room.
‘I should let you sleep,’ he said.
Her gaze wavered under his penetrating stare and she made her way to the door. ‘Yes. Could…could you tell me where my chamber is?’
‘You will sleep here. This is my bed chambers.’
She drew a nervous gaze around the opulent room. ‘No. I’ll be fine in my–‘
‘This is where you will sleep,’ he interjected firmly. ‘I’m just going to change and leave you to rest.’
She watched him stride into a smaller chamber and she sat on the edge of the bed, waiting nervously for him to return. He came out a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist. His chest glistened and his hair was damp.
‘If you’d like to use my bath chambers, the basin has fresh water in it and I left a clean cloth for you on the side.’ He gave her a head-to-toe look. ‘Did you not like the gowns I sent you?’
‘I don’t wear dresses. I…I fly and fight better without the excess layers of a gown.’
He flicked a gaze over her body, his eyes darkening.
She cleared her throat delicately. ‘I do thank you for sending them to me. They were lovely and if I was human I would accept them with appreciation.’
He nodded and turned.
She watched him open the door to a huge walnut armoire. He pulled out garments. Without a drop of self-consciousness, he dropped his towel and she stifled a gasp, watching him dress. Her gaze ran over his long, tapered legs, his broad back, his taut buttocks and she willed herself to breathe. He could have been a bronze statue depicting an ancient god.
Garbed in his royal tunic, he turned around. ‘I will let you rest now. Goodnight, Eve. I will see you when the sun sets,’ he said.
She swallowed. ‘It’s really good morning.’
His mouth quirked. ‘Yes, it is.’ He paused, his expression turning sombre. ‘I’ll have Lena bring you a goblet of pig blood when you rise.’
In any other context, his comment would be deemed revolting, but in her situation it wasn’t. His words touched her.
‘Thank you. That’s very kind of you.’
He turned to leave.
‘Wait,’ she said. Slowly, he turned around, his black gaze locking with hers. She couldn’t speak as she watched his expression darken. ‘I…I…’ Oh God! She knew she sounded like a fool, but a part of her didn’t want him to leave. Embarrassed, she tried to think of something to fill in the thick silence as he continued to stare at her, his expression darkening with desire. ‘I wanted…er, to say–‘ She gasped.
Within three strides, he stood before her and dragged her in his arms. Before she could react, his mouth crashed down on her parted lips. Recovering from her shock, she placed her hands between them and tried to push herself out of his grasp, but it was impossible. His kiss was so hard, her head craned back and he trailed his hot, sensual mouth along her cheek and neck. He groaned against her heated skin and brought his hands behind her head as his mouth slid back to hers. Eve moaned as his lips moved seductively over hers, coaxing them to open. She felt his tongue against her teeth and she slowly opened her mouth, releasing a strangled moan as his tongue found hers. He tasted like wine and sweet fruit and she slowly melted under his sensual spell.
He ground her body to his and she gasped at the full extent of his arousal pressing against her. Savagely, he explored her mouth with his tongue and dragged one of his hands from her back to the front of her top. He growled from deep within his throat as he ripped her top down the middle. Eve felt heady and dizzy. His touch incited a fire in her veins she never knew existed. Her body tingled, her limbs melted and her feminine spot between her legs began to throb.
Her breasts spilled from her shredded top and he cupped one in his hand, kneading her mound until she was throbbing with desire. He dragged his mouth from her lips and bent his head. The second his mouth clasped over her breast, she choked on a scream. He suckled, laved and lavished her nipple and she ground her fingers into his hair, afraid her legs would give way and she would collapse from the sheer ecstasy she was experiencing. When she thought she could not take anymore, he dragged his mouth to her other breast.
Eve writhed and buckled in his arms, aroused to the point where she thought she was going to climax. Unable to wait, she slid her hand between them and found his rigid shaft. He growled as she explored his sex with her hand.
She stifled a scream when he lifted her suddenly and strode purposefully to the bed. He placed her down, his breathing hard and fast, and she trembled at the look of desire on his face.
‘I want you, Eve. Not only for now, but for always,’ he said almost savagely, as he ran a hunger-filled gaze over her exposed breasts. He lay over her, his arms on the bed to brace his weight. He lowered his head and captured her breast’s throbbing peak in his mouth.
Eve threw her head back and moaned, squeezing her eyes against the pleasurable pain darting down to the place between her legs that pulsed with exquisite fire.
A loud knock on the door jarred her and she stiffened. He looked down at her, his eyes darker, more compelling than she ever saw them, his face taut with desire.
‘Whoever it is will go away,’ he said thickly.
The knocking persisted and Eve squirmed under his weight.
‘Your Highness, it’s Lena. I have to find Eve. Do you know where she is? Hesta needs her. She thinks Katya is awakening.’
Eve grew cold, her passion immediately doused. Drago’s mouth tensed as he rose, taking her hand and helping her off the bed. He went to the door and opened it.
‘Eve is with me,’ he told Lena. ‘Tell Hesta we’ll be there in a few minutes.’
Eve’s heart started to race. She was frightened to death. What if something had gone wrong when she’d placed Katya in deep sleep? Something must have shown on her face because after Lena left, Drago went to Eve and drew her in his arms.
His kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it still managed to make her knees buckle. He cupped her face with his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. ‘Everything is going to be all right,’ he said.
In four hundred years, no one had ever told her that and she didn’t know what to say. Unable to speak, she stared up into his dark eyes and nodded as she felt an unfamiliar comfort with his words.
