Still, if he doesn’t feel the same, I won’t make a fool of myself. I was an idiot once when it came to falling for the wrong man; that will never happen again. “Would you like some more wine?”
With a nod, he sits at my table and watches as I refill his glass.
Once I’ve poured, I sit adjacent to him. “Would you tell the rest of the story from last night, what happened after you delivered the heavy box up the hill?”
He sips. “The rain made the journey up the mountain very difficult, and my priority was to keep the box I’d made for thelandowner safe and as dry as possible. My main concern was that he would not pay me the remaining balance we’d agreed on.
“We transferred the box to a barn where the landowner, whose name was Drack, had captured a witch, and he’d used dark magic to keep her in thrall. She was a seer, and he forced her to tell him the future.”
“That’s terrible.” My heart is pounding as if this atrocity happened recently and not over a thousand years ago.
He takes a long breath and lets it out slowly. “She was strapped to a wall, and the box that I had so proudly made was her future prison. During the transfer, she used the last of her magic and life force to break free and curse all of us. She turned us into the monsters she believed us to be.”
“But you didn’t do her harm. Why did she curse you?” I feel outraged on Ion’s behalf.
He shrugs and drinks more wine. “She had suffered greatly and wanted others to suffer. We didn’t make any attempt to save her after we saw her.”
“Why not?”
Running a finger along my hand to my wrist, he meets my gaze. “Drack was a wealthy landowner, and I was just a local carpenter of no worth. The men with me were local as well: a butcher’s son, the mason, and an errand boy. We didn’t have any authority, and we feared what the landowner might do to our lives and livelihood if we went against him.
“When we realized what we’d become, four of us ran away from the area. Drack, in his arrogance, stayed. A year later, our village was gone. Every soul had disappeared without explanation.” Sorrow shines in his eyes.
“A few years after that, we saw Drack in Paris, and the butcher’s son killed him by cutting off his head.” Ion looks older suddenly. “We didn’t go back to Paris for many years.”
It’s a terrible story, but my heart clenches with sympathy. “You must know, after so much time to separate yourself, it was not your fault. You could not have known what that witch would do. Drack was a terrible man.”
His gaze snaps to mine, and he touches my cheek. “I have made peace with my past, Lori. It took many centuries to accept my part and realize the effect of my inaction. In the end, I believe all things happen for a reason, and I, even at my advanced age, am not privy to those reasons.” With his thumb, he caresses my cheek. “You should have been repelled by this tale.”
Loving his touch, I lean into his hand. “Why did you tell me the story if you believed that?”
With a shift, he leans in and kisses me, then sucks my bottom lip between his, before giving the top the same treatment. “I’m not certain. To share something of myself that is personal.”
On the edge of my chair, I press my lips to his and run my tongue along his long canine. A surge of pleasure rushes through me, and I moan. I close my eyes and squeeze my thighs together, wishing I were brave enough to make a move beyond a kiss.
Breathing deeply, he growls and claims my mouth. He lifts me from my chair, placing my ass on the counter and pressing his body between my legs. With slow exploration, he runs his tongue along my teeth and lips. No kiss has ever been so erotic or made me as wet and wanting.
Cupping my ass, he grinds against my needy pussy, and I wish with all my heart that I was wearing a skirt rather than jeans. I think he told that story to scare me away, but it didn’t have the desired effect. I can’t imagine not wanting Ion Radu.
I can’t get close enough and grip his shoulders while wrapping my legs around his hips.
His fingers dig into my fleshy ass, and I want more, but he breaks the kiss and presses his forehead to mine. A low, steady growl hums in his throat. “You are magnificent.”
Breathing heavily, I close my eyes and hope this is not over, even as I know it is. “I’m just a single mother, but you make me feel things I haven’t in a long time.”
Taking a slow step back, he lifts me and returns me to my feet. “You should sleep now. I will keep you and the children safe through the night.”
“I don’t know if I can fall asleep right now, after that kiss.” It’s true, but I’m not above luring him to my bed.
The briefest hint of a smile tugs at his lips. “You have a similar effect on me, but this is not the time for that. You need sleep. I offered to assist you.”
“Are you telling me you want me, but you won’t make love with me, Ion?” There was a time when I would dance around the things I wanted to know in order to make those around me feel more at ease. After years of failed dating, I realize there’s no time for that kind of game.
He nods. “A relationship between a vampire and a human is fraught with issues. You deserve a man who can give you more children and grow old with you. I can offer neither of those things. In the end, I would watch you die, and that would be torture.”
A surge of hurt and anger rises up from my gut. “I see. I think you took thisrelationshipfurther than I did. My death hadn’t entered my mind.”
Calm as ever, he lets out a long sigh. “I’m afraid I’ve angered you. Forgive me and believe that I am no different from anyone wishing to protect myself and those I care about from inevitable hurt.”
