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She stepped o
ff his foot and took a moment to rearrange the chain, wrapping it around her wrist several times, then lacing it afterward through her fingers. Clearly, she didn’t want to lose it, and he didn’t blame her.
She turned in a circle. “I’m still so stunned how well I can see in the dark.”
“You’ve definitely tapped into my power. And you really do feel okay?”
Shifting to face him, she nodded. “The moment my chain connected with yours, the resulting wave of power quickly wiped out the headache. It was amazing. So yeah, I’m fine.”
He stared at her and what he’d felt on the sidewalk in Seattle, as well as in flight, returned. He was so drawn to her. He moved close and took her arm gently in hand. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
His heart pounded as he stared into her light-blue eyes. He wanted to kiss her again, but he wouldn’t do that to her.
He watched her lips part as a sliver of concern appeared in her eyes. “Of all that I’ve experienced so far,” she said, shaking her head slowly, “what has surprised me the most is this.” She waved her hand between them. “I know you want to kiss me and I want you to as well, which makes no sense. I don’t really know you, and yet it’s as though I’ve always known you.” She lifted her hand that held the chain. “And these don’t lie.”
“No, they don’t. They can only amplify what’s already there.”
“I know this won’t make sense, but what comes through is that I can trust you. It would be foolish to act on it, though, wouldn’t it? I mean, even another kiss might be asking for trouble.” Her gaze fell to his lips. He sensed her desire, as well as her astonishment, that she was even thinking about kissing him.
“Completely foolish,” he murmured. The air crackled between them, and he drew a little closer, not surprised when she took a small step as well so that only inches separated them.
Maybe because he thought it possible he’d never get the chance again, he closed the distance, pulled her into his arms, and settled his lips over hers.
Shayna’s voice moved softly through his head, Marius … yes.
She surrounded his neck with both arms, pressing up against him.
He couldn’t believe he was doing this, that he was kissing her for the second time. When her lips parted, he slid his tongue inside and couldn’t repress the groan that followed.
* * *
Shayna could hardly breathe as Marius kissed her. She clung to him as though kissing him had become air to her starved lungs. She didn’t understand her drive toward him at all, except for the obvious—she was painfully attracted to him.
He smelled so good, like summery grasses. Each drag of air had made her want him more, a sensation she’d tried to repress.
When he’d taken a step toward her just now, her feet had moved almost on their own. Now she was in his arms, her body pulsing with desire, the chain vibrating around her hand, saying, “Yes, yes, yes.”
She knew the chain had done this, at least in part. She only wished that she’d met him at a Seattle bar and not under these difficult and bizarre circumstances.
When he began to pull back to end the moment, she withdrew as well, though her breathing had become erratic. He held her gaze and for a long moment, just looked at her. She couldn’t imagine his thoughts, but she sensed he felt bemused, like he didn’t know what to do with her.
She stood very still, waiting. He turned away from her and she felt his thoughts slide and his emotions grow dark. She’d felt this from him before, a powerful wash of guilt that led to feelings of unworthiness. Something tormented Marius, something so horrible that he couldn’t even feel right about kissing her.
In this moment she felt her age. She was far too young to be dealing well with a four-hundred-year-old vampire who seemed to be filled with remorse.
Instead of saying anything, she drew inward as well, tapping into what life experience she had, the things she’d studied, the classes she’d taken in psychology. But nothing came to mind, no special synthesized wisdom that she could use to get Marius from where he was to a place where he might be willing to take her back in his arms.
Time to shift gears. “Is the Dark Cave system far from here?”
He made a half turn so that he met her gaze over his shoulder. He gestured with a toss of his hand. “We’re already here. This is just a distant cave from Daniel’s primary improved caverns.” He glanced at the floor of the cave, then back to her. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry for that.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You gave me what I wanted, that’s all. And I loved it.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his expression now grim. “The blood-chains are already creating a connection between us, can you feel it?”
She nodded. “I can. It’s such a strange experience.”
“It is that. And it’s raw and magnificent and hard as hell to withstand.”
