AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He took hold of her arm in a gentle clasp. “For what?”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, remembering how difficult it had been to get used to being imprisoned in the fortress. “I didn’t mean to sound so alarmed when the screens descended. The first week in the tower, I jumped at every strange knock, jangle, or creepy wraith-shriek. And there were a lot of those. I’ll calm down eventually.”
He held her gaze, his dark gray eyes full of concern. “Did she hurt you?”
Regan nodded. “She had a way of burrowing into my mind and causing pain.”
“Often?”
“The first week, yes.”
“Did she have a purpose? Did she want something from you?”
Regan slid her fingers into her hair, shaking her head. “I have no idea. She was so strangely composed the whole time. I think she was toying with me for her own amusement.”
Ian stood with his hands on his hips, frowning heavily, his gaze still fixed to her. In that position, each of his rings stood out because he’d made fists. They were all silver but none were the same, just heavy with a deadly feel.
“I hate that she had you imprisoned. I’ve died a thousand deaths out there, hoping, praying we’d connect, that I’d be able to get you away from her.”
She tilted her head. “Ian, have you been near the fortress all this time, since I was abducted?”
He nodded. “From the time I located the mist and that was two days after you were taken.”
She looked into smoky gray eyes, so familiar to her. When he would make love to her, he always held her gaze and she’d loved it. She’d forgotten how handsome he was in his rugged way. He had broad cheekbones angling to a strong jaw. His lips were full and his nose somewhat hawkish, especially when he flared his nostrils like he was now.
“Are you wearing perfume?” he asked.
She had to laugh. “I’ve been in a tower prison, remember?”
“Right.” His frown deepened and his hand shot to his stomach. “Oh, shit. No.”
She reached out and touched his shoulder, his skin warm against her fingers. “What’s wrong?”
His gaze shifted back and forth over her eyes. “How do I smell, right now? To you?”
She shrugged slightly, then smiled. “I used to take long walks into the forest behind the Fae Guild retreat. My favorite path took me maybe three miles away from the compound. It was so deeply shaded that at night even my fae vision had a hard time warming it up so I could see. But the smell in that particular location was very dense and rich, full of humus, the kind you’d collect to feed your garden. That’s what I’m getting from you right now, a rich forest scent, where ferns live and where the soil could grow anything. So what kind of cologne is it?” She was smiling at him, but he looked frighteningly sober in return.
He narrowed his eyes. “And was that true a few centuries ago, when we were together? Did you smell this cologne on me then?”
“No. You never wore cologne, even though you could have. I know that some of the elven population were quite adept at blending fragrances all those centuries ago.” She forced her mind to flow backward, recalling the intensity of their relationship, of making love with him and savoring every part of his body. She shook her head several times, needing to dispel the memories. She could feel her desire for him rising the longer she stood so close to him.
“I still don’t wear cologne, Regan. It’s not my thing.”
He didn’t say anything more, yet his silence forced her to consider.
Her gaze fell to his hand on his stomach, and she finally got the picture. “Wait a minute. No. Ian, no. This can’t be. Oh, sweet Goddess. Tell me you’re not free of pain.”
“Yes, and that makes you—”
“A blood rose.”
At that, he turned away from her and let go of a long string of obscenities. “This is why I was so obsessed. Why I had to follow after you. Why I stuck around at the wall of mist.” He wasn’t looking at her as he spoke, but had turned toward the living room. Steel shutters now covered several broad panels of glass, leaving the space as though it was still night. With her fae internal clock, she could tell the sun was close to breaching the horizon. She couldn’t leave now if she wanted to.
“What do you mean, obsessed?”
He held his hands wide. “The only person I brought to the granite outcrop was Ben and even then I felt uneasy because he was there. I wouldn’t let anyone else come with me while I waited at the gorge. I told Ben it was because I needed him to take charge of the Vampire Guard, but it always felt like more, like I didn’t want him or any other vampire near you.”
Tears bit her eyes as she glanced once more at his stomach.
