Page 50 of Awakened Light

After giving her a quick kiss on the nose, I stood up and held out my hand. “Try not to kill me.”

“You’re immortal. Don’t let me kill myself.” She arched an eyebrow.

“Valid. And I won’t. I’d never let anything happen to you.” I slid an arm around her shoulder and guided her over to the bike.

After a tutorial on how to turn it on, stop, go, and balance, I climbed on the bike behind her. She felt so small as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her to grab ahold of the handles.

“You ready?” I asked, and I could feel the excitement radiating off her.

“Ready.”

“Put your hands on mine, and we’ll do it together. Once you have the hang of it, I’ll sit back and enjoy the ride.”

The dirt bike chugged when I started it up. Catrain and I squeezed the handle together, and she squealed when it started forward, wobbling back and forth. I laughed as I put my feet on the ground and ran along to steady us, but soon she found her balance, and I lifted my feet and rested them on the pegs. After another minute, I slid my hands off the handles and gave her full control.

“You’re doing it!” I shouted as we picked up speed. Her blonde hair drifted behind her, and it smelled so good I didn’t even mind it smacking me in the face.

“I am!” She laughed louder and gave the bike more gas.

Of course, my fearless Catrain would opt for breakneck speeds her first time driving a dirt bike... or anything, for that matter. But I knew I would have plenty of time to save her if her trial run ended up with a crash, so I let her go faster and faster until we hit top speed racing across the countryside.

As we drove along, this time, it was me being mesmerized by the sights around me.

Beautiful.

I’d forgotten how gorgeous the countryside looked in the daylight. Everything seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, and now that I’d gotten a taste for it again, I couldn’t imagine going back into the dark. The vibrant colors were as seductive as the woman driving me past them.

When we arrived unscathed back at the estate, I had to reach forward to help Catrain remember how to stop before we collided with the garage. The dirt bike skidded to a stop, and I hopped off and helped her to her feet.

“You kicked ass, Evel Knievel!”

“That was incredible! I felt so powerful being in control!”

“You are powerful,” I said as I pulled her into my arms. “You’re powerful enough to control this vampire, and there isn’t another person on the planet that can say that.”

Her eyes sparkled with that seductive twinkle that nearly took me to my knees.

My hearing picked up on laughter by the pool, and I knew, as always, Aiden and Emilia were already out there enjoying the sun. With a smirk, I waggled my eyebrows and took Catrain by the hand. “Come on. Let’s go say hi to Aiden and Emilia.”

We walked hand in hand across the estate to the back of the castle where the pool sat in the gardens. Grinning widely, I approached Emilia and Aiden’s lounge chairs. Their slack jaws mirrored one another as they slid their sunglasses down in unison.

“What the fuck?” Aiden said as he stared at me.

“Thorne! You’re in the sun!” Emilia gasped.

I tugged Catrain against my side. “Got room for two more? And maybe some of that sunscreen humans are always going on about? I may not turn into ash in the sun now, but it’s been centuries since my skin has seen the sun. I don’t want to burn.”

They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Aiden blew out a breath. “I have no idea how you’re doing this, but welcome back to the light, brother.”

I pulled up a lounge chair, yanked off my shirt, and pulled Catrain down into my arms. I held her against me as I let the warm rays drench my skin.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Catrain

I LAY NAKED IN THE bed, still panting from the things Thorne had just done to my body. Pleasures like I’d never imagined coursed through me with every touch. Maybe it was the strong, inexplicable connection we shared, or maybe it was that he was a vampire and that made him an incredible lover, but what I’d been told would happen when a man and a woman got together was nothing compared to what happened when I was with Thorne.