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I only get out one horrifiedgasp before the weight of Henry’s compulsion clouds my thoughts. When the fog clears, I look at Henry and my chest warms. The feeling is confusing. I shouldn’t like him. I know in my mind he is my enemy.Wasmy enemy? But I can’t deny the love in my heart.
“No!” Kat shouts. “Nora, fight it! Fight the compulsion! You’re strong! Remember your men!”
Henry whirls on Kat, stomping over to her cage. Why is he so mad? What is she talking about? What compulsion? Henry wouldn’t compel me; he loves me.
Henry reaches into the cage. Kat steps back, trying to get out of his reach, but she leans against the back bars of the cage and lets out a cry of pain. Gold! It hurts her. She jumps forward to get away from the gold that’s burning her, and Henry grabs her. He pulls her forward until she’s plastered against the front of the cage. She screams in agony.
“Henry!” I rush over to him. “Stop! Why are you hurting her? Let her go!”
Henry blows a fistful of gold dust in her face. She tries to hold her breath, but the dust burns her skin and she screams in agony. Then she breathes in the dust and starts coughing and choking. Henry lets her go, and she falls to the ground.
“Henry, what the hell are you doing?” I tug on his arm, and he lets her go. “You’ll kill her! Please stop this!”
Henry gazes into my eyes, the red glow now gone, and the only thing I see in those beautiful dark pools is adoration. I like that he adores me, but I don’t understand why I like it. Something is wrong. Off.
Seeing my confusion, he smoothes out my furrowed brow, then brushes the backs of his fingers across my cheek and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Kiss me, Nora.” It’s not a compulsion. It’s a desperate plea. “Please. I long for your touch. I have dreamed of it since first I saw you.”
My mouth dries up at the thought of getting to kiss this beautiful man, but I don’t lean in. Why am I hesitating? Ilovehim. Why don’t I want to kiss him? Still, I will always do as he asks.
He leans forward, softly brushing his mouth over mine. Teasing me. Tempting me to respond. My eyes drift shut. Feelings of desire push away my doubt. I love this man. He is my mate. Finally, I lean into him, and he claims my lips with a hungry kiss that sets my insides on fire. I wrap my arms around his neck and lift up onto my toes as he pulls me tightly against him.
“Nora,” he moans against my mouth. “Love.” He moves his mouth to my ear and down my neck. I shudder with pleasure. “I need you, but we must wait.”
He kisses my mouth again, plunging his tongue deep inside as if to claim ownership of my body. My heart soars. I love this man so much. When he breaks the kiss, I nearly cry out at the loss. We look at each other, chests heaving as we catch our breaths.” He smiles at me so lovingly that my heart melts. “Soon, you will be mine completely,” he murmurs.
He takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together, and I blush like a schoolgirl, but I also pull back. Why do I love this man? Why did I agree to be his mate? He’s hurt me so many times.
“What’s wrong?” Henry asks when I pull my hand from his.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I’m confused.”
“It will all make sense soon, love,” Henry cajoles, and takes my hand again. “As soon as we are bonded, all of your doubts will be erased. Come. We need to break your curse.”
My curse! That makes sense. I need to break my curse. I follow Henry over to several cages and stop short. Nick Gorgeous is lying on the ground, moaning. He’s sweating and writhing in agony. There’s a small pool of blood by his mouth. I fling myself beside his cage and reach my hand through the bars. “Nick! Henry, help him! He’s dying!”
Nick coughs and moans. The sound is so weak.
Now I remember. He’s my partner, and we were attacked. He inhaled gold dust. The vampires betrayed us.Henrybetrayed us! I blanch, and when I look up at Henry, tears pool in my eyes. “You betrayed us,” I croak. “Why? Why would you do that? Why would you hurt all the people I love?” I sniffle and swipe at my wet eyes. “I thought you loved me.”
Henry pulls me to my feet away from the cage and wraps me in his arms. “I do love you, Nora. More than anything. Gorgeous was in the way of us.”
I pull back, shaking my head. “No. That’s not right. Nick was protecting me. All of my men were protecting me.” I frown at Henry. “They were protecting me fromyou. You want my clan dead.”
Henry brushes the hair away from my face. “Forget tonight,” he orders. He’s compelling me, but I don’t understand why. “I never betrayed you. I saved you. Forget all of your men. You don’t love them. They are your enemies. They want to take you from me.”
I groan because my brain feels so heavy it’s starting to hurt. I rub my temples.
“Are you all right, love?”
I look into Henry’s concerned eyes and give him a smile I hope reassures him. “Just a headache. I don’t know why, but I’m so confused right now. I can’t remember where we’ve been. How did we get here?”
He cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. “There was a battle,” Henry says. “Some men tried to take you from me. My enemies. You passed out. I brought you here to safety, and now I’m going to help you.”
I frown at him. How could I have forgotten a battle? “Help me with what?”
“Your curse, love.”
My curse. I’m a siren. We’ve been trying to find a way to keep me from turning dark. “Okay,” I say slowly. Something still doesn’t make sense.
