“I never believed in the depth of the commitment…not until you. I meant what I said when I told you there would never be another for me. I’ve given you my heart. You were meant to be my Bride, Alex. I know it in my soul.” Having said those fateful words aloud, his eyes glimmered with confident knowledge. That knowledge, evidently, gave him the courage to lay his heart at her feet, and again, she marveled at his bravery. “I have given you my heart, and all my love. I need you as I’ve never needed another.
I would give you forever. I would give you my soul, Alex, if you will have me.” Alex stared up at him, astonished at the depth of his emotions, at the depth of his commitment. “But…how does it work, Cole? I mean, you’re going to live forever. I’m just Human, a Mortal.”
Cole gaped at her, as if hardly daring to believe. Hope soared in his eyes. “I know what I’m asking of you, Alex. Believe me. I swear to you, I would make you happy. I would love you as you’ve never been loved before.”
“You’d…” Alex forced a swallow. “You’d have to change me…wouldn’t you?”
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Cole’s smile sobered, but he shook his head quickly. “No. No, it’s not like that for mated pairs…between a Vampyre and a Mortal. It
can
be done…it just hasn’t been done that often.”
“I don’t understand…”
“I would give you my blood, as I would take yours.” The very thought made him hard. “But I wouldn’t drain you. You wouldn’t die, so therefore you couldn’t turn. Changing a mortal can sometimes
be tricky…the change doesn’t
always…take. I don’t think I could risk you like that… No, I couldn’t do it. But the exchange of blood, the exchange of the Vows… There would be no changing your mind, Alex. By taking the Vows, you’d belong to me—truly belong to me. And I to you.
Forever
, Alex. You wouldn’t have to become a Vampyre. But as my mate, you wouldn’t be a normal Human anymore, either.”
“What do you mean?” She frowned, biting her lower lip.
“You wouldn’t gain any of the Vampyric traits—the thirst for blood, the extraordinary strength, the limitations with sunlight, or the preternatural senses. In essence, you would continue to be Human. Nevertheless, you’d live as long as I do. You’d never age. You’d never die.
And you would always…
feel
me…as I would you.
Wherever you go, I would be compelled to follow. I wouldn’t be able to stay away.” Wide-eyed, Alex nodded understanding and swallowed.
Cole’s heart sped beneath her palm, his pulse quickened at the base of his throat. His probing gaze held both warning and plea. “If we were mated…I would no longer be able to drink from another Human host.”
He paused, and her brows drew together. She searched his glowing eyes. “Then how…” 267
“You would be my mate, Alex, my eternal Bride. I would only be able to draw my nourishment from you, love. Only your blood would sustain me.” His eyes closed for a moment, his teeth clenched tight, the muscle on his jaw leaping to life. When his eyes opened, his gaze begged understanding…and acceptance. “There’s more. You would have to drink from me on occasion, just a sip, to maintain your vitality, to keep you alive. For a Mortal, Vampyre blood—
specifically the blood of their mate—is like the proverbial fountain of youth.”
“But I would still be Human in every other way?” She stared at him, struggling to keep up.
“Wouldn’t that make you more vulnerable? I mean, you would die when I do, right? Even with your blood, I’d still be…susceptible to things like accidents and sickness, won’t I? It would be much easier for me to die than an Immortal, wouldn’t it?”
He nodded, letting her understand the full depth of his commitment. “You’re right, Alex. At least about the accidents. My blood would prevent you from gettin
g sick. In fact minor injuries would heal with extraordinary
speed…unless the wounds were fatal. That’s why most Vampyre rarely consider taking the Vows with a Human. Most simply choose to turn their mate, foregoing the Vows, then simply stay together, drawing sustenance from others. But for you, Alex… I would do it for you. As long as I have you, the rest doesn’t matter. I want forever with you.”
Her emotion swelled at his fervent vow. “Is it…difficult, being a Vampyre?” He seemed to weigh his words for a moment.
“At times, it can be. You have to watch the Humans you’ve come to care for die. The world 268
changes around you, and sometimes you feel a little lost. But then there are new friends, and new lives to live, and that can be exhilarating too.”
The side of her nose scrunched up in hesitant distaste. “What about the whole blood drinking thing?”
Cole dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.
“You get used to it, sweetheart.”
“I don’t know, Cole,” she hedged. “I just don’t know if I could… My God, this entire conversation is just surreal.” She shook her head, but then pushed on. “I can’t imagine myself drawing your blood, drinking it…”
“It gets easier with time.” He leered down at her then, his grin beyond lecherous. “You can practice all you want to.”
Batting at his shoulder, her lips twisted as she fought a smile. Then, as a new thought dawned, her smile dimmed. “Doesn’t it hurt, being bitten?”
“It’s like a sharp sting at first, like when you pricked your finger on my fang,” his smile grew and his eyes flashed, “but the sting only lasts for a second. Then it’s… It can be the most erotic thing you’ve ever experienced. I’m told a Vampyre’s
Kiss
is very sensual.” Considering some of the things he’d already done to her, that was saying something.
“How often would you need to…you know…”
“Vampyre only need feed a few times a week, just a small amount…unless he’s been severely injured, then he’d need to feed more often to recover.”
He shifted his weight. His rigid arousal pulsed against her. The hard press of it at the juncture of her thighs both eased and escalated her anxiety. Distracting as his desire was, she 269
refused to be sidetracked until she had all the information she needed. His next statement, however, shook her resolve to stay on track.
His burning eyes dropped to her lips, his hips rocked against her as his body sought to ease the ache in his loins. “To gain the full benefits of the blood bond, we’d have to be making love during the blood exchange.”
Alex’s breath caught in her throat as the full impact of his words sank into her, at the way his hungry gaze devoured her mouth. She forced another swallow, unable to disguise the quake of need in her voice.
“And this ritual...” Alex cleared her throat and chewed on her lip again, inviting Cole to enlighten her.
“It’s
very
intimate.” His stare gave her a hint of exactly how much. “While we make love…” He smiled down at her, his eyes darkening with undisguised interest as he shifted again, rubbing provocatively between her thighs. “While we make love, we have to drink from each other and then exchange the Vows aloud.”
Overwhelmed, Alex considered all he’d told her. It all just seemed too fantastic, to bizarre.
And yet, she believed him, unequivocally.
“And we’d be together…”
“For always,” Cole swore. His reverent gaze spoke volumes about exactly how much he wanted exactly that.
Alex studied Cole’s face, wanting to throw caution to the wind and leap into forever with him. But some sliver of her prudent personality held her silent. As her silence stretched on, Cole fidgeted with her hair, his frown anxious.
Finally, he demanded, “Say something, Alex, please.”
“Cole, I… I just need time to process all this.
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It’s so much to take in. I need time to think,” Alex replied, pleading with him to understand.
Her heart twisted at the pained
disappointment in his eyes, and she barely managed to bite back the need to say anything to make that look go away. Instead, she sought to reassure him the only way she could without giving in to a choice when she hadn’t fully considered the ramifications. “I’m not saying no, Cole. I’m just saying that I need time. Please understand.”
He forced a smile, but worry creased his brow. She lifted her hand to cradle his cheek, touched.
“I love you, Cole,” Alex declared, urgent conviction rang in her tone. “I. Love. You. I can’t give you the answer that you need…not right now. Not yet. But I can tell you that I need you. I can tell you that I want to be with you, right now.”
Her words were meant to give him something to hold on to, something he’d apparently not had for many, many long centuries. Real happiness.
Real hope. Real love. His lips swooped down to cover hers, and in a matter of a few, trembling heartbeats, he swept her into a realm of sensual abandon. The world, their differences, and the choice Alex was going to have to make held no sway here. Each caress was tender, each kiss intoxicating.
In
moments, their clothing
disappeared, and skin met skin with greedy abandon. Hands explored, lips savored, bodies strained. Every time they came together, the connection between them grew stronger, harder and harder to deny.
This time, when Cole made love to her, she refused to allow him to turn away, to hide his face—or the change in him—from her. She stared, 271
wide-eyed with fascination, at his face, fully changed and burning with desire for her…at his fangs as they lengthened, stark white and lethally sharp, in his mouth. Once again, she traced them with the tip of her finger, shivering with excitement in response to his shuddered groan.
Cole quivered atop her, his lips skimmed her neck over and over. But when her fingers strayed toward his fangs again, he snared her wrists and pinned them over her head. “Don’t,” he rasped. “If you prick your finger again…right now I don’t know if I could…I don’t think I could stop myself from taking your vein.”
Alex blinked up at him through desire-misted eyes, filled with wonder. His words shot an amplified surge of desire through her. Without fangs, Cole was the stuff of erotic dreams.
With
fangs… God,
with
fan
gs he was beyond description…a dangerous,
golden
Adonis.
Irresistible.
Mouth-watering.
Divine.
“I’ll be good,” she agreed.
He released her hands. His muscles flexed and bunched as her palms skated over him. His body moved with predatory grace and strength, as he took her again and again, kissing her, stroking her, worshipping every inch of her. She moaned his name, crying out as he drove into her with unrestrained abandon, reckless and wild, higher and harder, seemingly unable to stop himself.
As he finally gave into his own body’s demands, and spilled himself deep inside her, he threw his head back and gave a howl of satisfaction that would have made his Werewolf friends envious. She laughed at that. But her laugh turned tender, for all he’d denied himself…for her.
Somehow, as much as he obviously wanted it, 272
he’d still managed to deny himself her blood.
Hours later, Alex’s cell phone rang, echoing throughout the bedroom with Vader-esque resonance. Aggrieved, she squinched one eye open. Cole’s room was shrouded in darkness, but she remembered—all too well—where she was and how she’d come to be there. The feel of Cole’s strong, hard body pressed against her, wrapped around hers, brought a delicious smile to her lips, even as the phone wailed for attention once again.
Cole’s dark rumble of displeasure competed with the insistent, doomsday ring tone. His arms tightened around her, preventing her from leaving the bed. He nuzzled his lips against the side of her neck and murmured thickly, “Ignore it.” Alex stretched and yawned, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. She gave a small groan of resignation. “I have to answer it.”
“No…you don’t, Alex,” he grumbled. His hands began an erotic quest over her body. His fingertips trailed over the slight arch of her neck and lower, gliding through the valley between her breasts, down over the satin skin of her stomach, his target explicitly clear.
His next command was oh-so-tempting, the very definition of sinful pleasures. “What you
have
to do is stay right here and let me love you again…” He nipped at her ear. “And again.” He nibbled the skin below her ear. “And again.” He licked his way down the side of her throat. “You see, I just got started.” He turned her in his arms and suckled at the pulse point at the base of her throat. “And I
don’t ever
intend to finish…” As if wishful thinking had silenced the annoying device, Alex’s phone went silent. Cole eased Alex onto her back and leaned over her with a sleepy, aroused smile. His lips closed over hers, and the phone began its insistent complaint 273
once more.
Pulling back, Cole sulked, “Doesn’t that damned thing have an off button?” She grinned ruefully, exploring the defined ridges on his abdomen with her fingertips. “Yes, but I always forget to turn it off. You better let me answer…she’ll keep calling until I do.”
“The battery will give out sooner or later,” he hinted with a smile.
“Cole…” Exasperated, she shook her head at him. As if on cue, Vader summoned yet again.
****
He frowned, but grudgingly moved off her. Reclining against his pillows, Cole stacked his hands beneath his head and blessed his Vampyre vision, thoroughly enjo
ying the view as Alex stumbled around his bedroom—wonderfully
naked—rooting through their discarded clothing in search of the annoying gadget. She found her cell after a few muttered curses, and flipped it open, pressing it to her ear. Glowing in the dark with his rising passions, Cole’s eyes raked over her, coming to rest with proprietary satisfaction on the tattoo at the small of her back.
Before she could utter a sound, a female voice rang out, loud enough
for Cole to hear every word of the one-sided conversation sans any
preternatural abilities. He bolted up in bed, protective instincts engaging in the space between one heartbeat and the next.
The voice cracked like livid lightning through the phone, “What do you think you’re doing, Alexandra Elizabeth Sinclair?”
“Good morning, Mother,” Alex replied, her voice flat and calm. But her body was rigid beneath Cole’s discerning stare.
“Do not patronize me, young lady. How could you do something so—so utterly thoughtless?” 274
Evidently used to her mother’s censure, Alex drew a slow, unperturbed breath. “What have I done now, Mother?”
“Your picture, yours and that…that
musician’s
,” an epithet if ever he’d heard one, “are splashed all over every trashy tabloid and social page in the country! Most likely Europe, as well.” Her mother paused long enough to suck in a sharp breath, then she snarled into the phone again. “I told you this was a bad idea. Just like I told you it was a mistake the last time, getting involved with that Godforsaken band.
“Honestly, Alexandra! How could you be so careless? How could you be so indiscreet as to allow your sordid little affair to go public? When this blows up in your face, just like it did the last time, you won’t be able to sweep this under the rug too easily. At least that darling Griffin tried to smooth the waters after his little slip up. Why you couldn’t just let him make it up to you—”
“What pictures are you talking about,” Alex interrupted.
“I’m talking about disgusting, careless pictures of you and that singer, kissing on the beach behind your house, and him carrying you around outside of some mausoleum. Every single one of these gossip rags has you dubbed as the latest in a long line of meaningless flings. For God’s sake, Alexandra, they even know your name. They’ve trotted out every little piece of dirt on you that they could find. Everything! Do you hear me?
How
could you embarrass me like this?”
Alex swayed on her feet, but before she could collapse, Cole was there. His strong arms wrapped around her, his strength holding her up, his lips pressing gently to the side of her forehead offering support.
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“Are you listening to me, Alexandra?” Her mother berated her. “I don’t know how, but you’d better find a way to make this go away. I don’t know how I’ll be able to hold my head up at the Yacht Club again. An actor was one thing, but a musician… After last time? It will be a small wonder if they don’t ban us from the grounds after this. How could you bring such shame on the Sinclair name,
again
?” Those last words brought the protective anger inside Cole to a boiling fury. Before Alex could respond, he snatched the phone from her numb hand and snarled into th
e piece, “Alex is a beautiful, independent, strong woman…no
thanks to you…and she deserves your respect, not your abuse. The only shame she must bear is the utter embarrassment of a having a cold, heartless bitch for a mother, one who can’t see past the self-indulgent nose on her own face.” Before he could say more, before he could give in to the black rage that poured through him, he turned the phone off and snapped it closed, tossing it into the pile of clothing. He pulled Alex against him, refusing to let her throw up the barriers she had the last time she’d spoken to that bitch of a mother.
At first she struggled against him. But when he refused to release her, Alex leaned into him and let her tears drench his bare chest. As soon as she stopped fighting him, he swept her up and carried her back to the bed, holding her close as she let the years of her mother’s selfish, poisonous reproach spill out and drain away.
A long time later, when her sobs had quieted to an occasional snuffle and hiccup, Cole stroked her back and asked, “What can I do?” Her response was immediate and wooden.
“Nothing.”
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“Alex,” Cole insisted, wrung out by her emotional collapse, and furious anew by her mother’s callousness. “I can’t make it go away, but I can work on damage control—”
“No, Cole,” Alex insisted, shaking her head.
Pushing up to stare down at him, she shoved the long tangle of her hair back over her shoulder. “I mean it. I don’t want you to do anything. We will do nothing! I don’t care anymore. I don’t care what she thinks, or what the rest of the world thinks. I’m through trying to please her. The only person—besides you and me—whose opinion mattered is dead now. Besides, I have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m with the man I love.” He’d never known such pride as he did at that moment. His smoldering gaze dropped to her lips. He claimed them. Then he claimed her body, praying soon she’d let him claim even more.
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