AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When he reentered the house, he found Olivia in the hallway, leaning against the wall across from Emily’s paintings, her gaze fixed to the middle one.
He frowned, remembering how jarring the initial sight of the paintings had been. The one Olivia was looking at featured a familiar stretch of grassy highland, a hundred yards above the beach and leading to a forest wind-break, similar to the place he’d left his Valkyrie. Some of the vampire schools used the area for flight training youngsters. The wind off the ocean created a tough environment for practicing levitation skills and life-saving flying techniques.
Closing the door behind him, he moved into the hall. “Everything okay?”
His woman looked upset.
~
Olivia didn’t know what had prompted her to tell Zane he was the one. But at the moment, she’d known exactly where he was coming from. Ian, as a mastyr vampire, would want to stake his claim on Olivia just as Mastyr Ely had attempted at the Elf Lords Hideaway.
Her intention had been to reassure Zane she had no interest in other vampires. But when the words had left her mouth, somehow a second meaning had intruded, adding another layer to their already complicated relationship.
“Everything’s fine here,” she said, gesturing with a sweep of her arm to encompass Regan’s home. “But I think we should talk.” She explained about the slip, then added, “I just don’t want you to feel pressured because I didn’t exactly mean it the way it came out.”
He chuckled as he drew close. “As I recall, those words worked me up in the nicest way so I’m not going to regret you said them.”
He slid his arm around her shoulders and she looked up at him, wondering all over again how this was going to end. She settled her hand on his chest, sighing deeply.
He appeared serious for a moment, his brow furrowed. “Try not to worry about this right now. We have plenty of time to figure things out, what we should do or not do. And please don’t think twice about what you said; I knew where you were coming from. The truth is, if Ian had gotten within ten feet of you, I’d probably have killed him.”
At that, she chuckled. “This is so bizarre.”
“It is.”
He glanced at the painting of the grassy slope. “We train vampire and fae children out there, teaching flight skills.”
Olivia shifted her gaze to the landscape. “Your wife has a beautiful style. I swear I can feel the wind.” She turned toward him slightly, grabbing the hand that dangled from her shoulder, and asked, “Do you think we should complete the bond?”
He shook his head. “Hell if I know. It’s an enormous commitment, one of the reasons this situation chaps my hide. We’re being forced into something for which neither of us is the least prepared.”
She drew back just enough to meet his gaze. “You couldn’t be more right. I think it’s very annoying.”
He smiled and chuckled. “Yes, aggravating beyond words.”
He looked so young, his crystal blue eyes sparkling. He slid his free hand over her neck and leaned in.
She closed her eyes, receiving the kiss with a swell of her heart. She liked this man so much, more than she should given his history as a player.
She hated to admit it, but he was just the sort of man she would choose in any other situation. He was strong, powerful in a multitude of realm vibrations, spoke his mind, and was very physical. The shifter in her loved the feel of his fleshy hand stroking her throat, teasing her vein, reminding her of all the things he could do to her with various parts of his body.
When she parted her lips and he drove his tongue inside, she slung her arm around his neck.
The next moment, he turned her swiftly and she was plastered up against the wall, across from the paintings. She felt the strength of his muscled body pressing against her thighs, her abdomen, her breasts. And especially of course, she felt his stalk rubbing her sex.
As had happened many times before, he worked her up so quickly she was already panting.
But he drew back, thumbing her cheek. “Didn’t we just do this? Make love I mean?”
“Well, that was hours ago. Well, maybe only a couple. But ages, really, if you consider my new blood rose condition.”
His smile became a grin and she knew she eased him and which made her happy.
While he once more took some time to recover, she used her thumb and forefinger to stroke the diamond stud on his left earlobe. She shivered, wanting the gem in her mouth.
“Cold?” He drew his brows together in concern.
She shook her head. “No, I just really like being with you, being this close.”
