I collapse onto a nearby rock. Michael sits, too, his arm around me. I lean on him, breathing in his quiet strength, until I feel a bit calmer.
‘I want to let him go.’ The words surprise me.
‘Kyle?’
I nod. ‘I don’t love him anymore. But there are still questions.’
‘I know what it’s like.’ He takes my hand, twining his fingers with mine. ‘Loving a vampire … it’s an intense experience.’
I glance at him. He drops a kiss on my temple.
‘The first girl I ever loved was a vampire.’
ChapterForty-Four
LOVE STORY
‘Really?’
‘Yep. I was sixteen, still living with my father. And she was … on the estate.’ He frowns. ‘We were friendly, I guess. But after my father tried to change me, he left me pretty torn up, and she … er, she looked after me, while I was recovering. No one else even cared. My mother was already dead, and my father washed his hands of me when it became apparent I couldn’t be made vampire.’
I swallow against sickness, hugging him closer. Blood-borne humans can’t be changed. I know that all too well. ‘Why did he let you live in the first place? I’ve always wondered that.’
‘My mother ran away from him after I was born. She was a Vindhof, as you know, and they took her in, sheltered us. I don’t remember much about it.’
‘Really?’
Michael nods, his blond hair falling forward. ‘When she … after she died, he came to find me. I suppose I was happy to see him. I was young, though. Too young, really.’ Pain flashes across his face. ‘Anyway. I met Bonnie, and she was like a ray of light.’
‘Oh.’ I hate Bonnie already.
He grins. ‘Jealous?’
‘Keep telling me your love story, sunshine.’ I bump him with my shoulder.
‘Not much more to tell. She looked after me until I healed, then … continued looking after me. I thought she loved me.’
‘Why wouldn’t she? You’re very lovable.’
‘You’re just biased.’ Another kiss on my temple. ‘Anyway. I thought she loved me and, once I was well enough to leave, Iasked her to come with me.’
‘And did she?’ This is so like Kyle and me, leaving the Raven estate together.
‘Yeah.’ Michael’s gaze darkens. ‘Right up until the moment she betrayed me to my father and brothers. Turned out she was fucking all of them, too, often at the same time. I was nothing but a joke to her. That hurt almost more than the beating they gave me, to be honest.’
‘Oh, darkness.’ I turn his face to mine, kissing him. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I murmur against his mouth. ‘I want to kill all of them for you.’
‘Fierce girl.’ I feel him smile. ‘I don’t know what happened to Bonnie. Nor do I care. And my father … you know about him. I don’t mind if you want to flex some of that Raven power on my brothers, though.’
‘Consider it done. There are perks to sleeping with the heir, you know.’
‘Hmm, yes there are.’ He gently tugs my hair, angling my head as the kiss deepens. ‘You flexing your power isn’t the first one I think of, though.’
God. I want him so much. I don’t know how we can make this work, once we get out of here.
‘What is it?’
‘What’s going to happen when we get out of here? With…’
