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"It isn't pity. I'm lonely, too. And worried about the future."
Slowly, he turned away from the door. He hesitated a moment, as if having second thoughts, and then he moved toward the bed, slid in beside her, and gathered her into his arms.
His nearness set her heart to beating double-time as she rested her head on his shoulder. It felt all too comfortable to be lying beside him, all too right when it was oh, so wrong! She closed her eyes when he began to stroke her hair. When had anything felt so good? His touch was tender, caring, sensual. His breath was warm against her neck, his body a temptation she didn't want to resist.
"Ah, Regan," he murmured huskily, "do you know what a treasure you are?"
She hoped he didn't expect an answer because she couldn't seem to find her voice.
"I have lived alone for so long," he went on. "I told myself it was better that way. It was not until I met you that I realized how empty my existence has been, how lonely I have been."
"Joaquin…"
He placed a finger over her lips. "Shh. I do not expect anything from you in return, my lovely one. I only wanted you to know that you have enriched my life. Anything you ask of me, save one thing, I will give you."
She knew what that one thing was. He wouldn't take her life, even if she wanted him to.
"I won't ask that of you again," she said. "I promise."
"Will you seal it with your blood?"
Her eyelids flew open. "What are you talking about? You mean, like a blood oath?"
"I will taste you. You will taste me."
"Taste how?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nothing like what you are thinking," he assured her. "I will prick your finger and taste a drop of your blood, and then you will taste mine."
"I don't know…"
"It will not hurt, nor will it bind you to me in any way, or make you as I am."
She wasn't worried about him bringing her across. She knew how vampires were made and it took more than a drop of blood. Still, a voluntary exchange of blood was… creepy. Intimate. Intriguing.
"All right," she agreed reluctantly.
Santiago sat up and settled her on his lap so that her legs straddled his thighs. She watched nervously as, using his thumbnail, he made a small cut in his little finger. A single drop of dark red blood oozed from the tiny wound.
Fighting down her revulsion, Regan leaned forward and licked the blood from the tip of his finger. It was warm and surprisingly sweet.
Taking her hand in his, he made a similar cut in her little finger. Instead of licking the blood, he took her finger into his mouth.
A shaft of liquid heat shot straight to her belly, then spread to every nerve ending in her body.
Still holding her hand in his, he said, "Was that so bad?"
"No," she replied hoarsely.
Slowly, deliberately, he wrapped his arms around her. His dark eyes glittered with desire; she could feel the male heat of him pressing against her belly.
She stared into his eyes—deep blue eyes, dark with hunger, not for blood, but for her.
Looking into those eyes, she was afraid that he was going to lay her down on the bed and make love to her, and even more afraid that she was going to let him.
"I thought…" It was suddenly hard to speak. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "I thought you said you just wanted to hold me."
"I am holding you."
She nodded. If he were holding her any closer, she would be behind him.
His hand slid into her hair, then, drawing her head toward his, he kissed her. He didn't close his eyes and neither did she.
His eyes… fathomless midnight blue eyes that burned with an inner fire. His tongue teased her lips, his hand massaged her back; his touch like nothing she had ever felt before. How could such a simple thing feel so provocative, so sensual? She squirmed against him and heard him groan. With pain or pleasure, she couldn't be sure. She only knew that she, too, was feeling aroused, and more so with every stroke of his hand, every stroke of his tongue.
Muttering an oath, he lifted her from his lap, stretched out on the mattress and drew her down beside him, one arm lightly draped over her waist.
"What are you doing?" she asked, feeling bereft of his touch.
"Keeping my word," he said, his voice ragged. "And believe me, just holding you is the most difficult thing I have ever done."
Chapter 19
Vasile stared at the body at his feet. Word of the girl's death had brought him home. Nadia had been one of the young ones, just entering her prime. She had been betrothed to one of their finest young men. Vasile had held great hopes for the pair of them, knowing they would produce strong progeny. Now that hope lay dead at his feet.
"Who did this?" He glanced at the men and women gathered around him. "Who did this!"
"A man from the village. She killed one of his sheep. He shot her while she was feeding."
A vile oath escaped Vasile's lips. The girl's loss was a huge blow. His gaze rested on the other single pack females. Two of them would not be of breeding age for another five or six years. The third, Zina, was approaching middle age. She should have been mated by now, but she had refused all offers, as was her right.
He swore again. He had never intended to mate. His heart had died with Marishka. For years, he had been content to be the leader of the mountain pack, to slake his lust on mortal whores. But now… perhaps it was time to put the past behind him and take a mate. His thoughts immediately turned to Santiago's woman. He had intended to kill her but then, in one act of sheer stupidity, he had bitten her, thereby making her one of them. According to pack law, she was now under his protection. The irony of it did not go unnoticed.
He swore yet again. And then he smiled. He had made the woman, Regan, one of them. She was a healthy female in her prime, the perfect age to begin breeding. When he returned to America, he would make her his. He knew she would not be willing, which would make their joining that much more enjoyable. He did not want a mate who wouldn't fight, who wouldn't challenge him from time to time.
They buried Nadia's mutilated body in the family plot high in the mountains. When it was done, Vasile took Nadia's parents aside. "I will avenge her," he promised.
"I will go with you," Nadia's father said.
"No."
"It is my right."
Vasile nodded. He had not planned to stay here for more than a day or two, but now, looking into Stefan's eyes, he knew he couldn't refuse to let the man accompany him. Family ties ran strong in their kind, as did the need for vengeance.
