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“By the way, I wasn’t cringing at the idea of sharing a room with you. I was cringing because Ihatethat color,” she pointed at the bed. “If I’m going to have to lay under that thing, I’d rather not do it alone.”
His eyes widened and she couldn’t hide her grin. She knew he’d like hearing that comment. She was also amazed that she mustered up enough courage to admit that. She supposed she really was becoming comfortable around him. For the first time in her life she was able to be herself around someone other than… well, herself.
She walked past him and to the bed, sitting on its edge. Running her hands over the quilt, she joked, “I suppose it’s more comfortable than Artem’s dungeon.”
“Yousuppose?” His lips curved upward, revealing his perfectly flawless teeth.
Gonna have a few of those suckers deep in my neck pretty soon.She shivered at the thought. It was probably better to not think about it. At least not yet.
“I like it when you smile. It suits you.” Her breathing hiked. For some reason complimenting him topped her list of frightening things to do. Still, she complimented him with impressive ease. “I also like when you’re not ignoring me, you know.”
He frowned, the glimmer in his eyes dissipating. “I had my reasons.”
“I’m sure you did. That doesn’t make me like it anymore.” When she said that, he only shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. “This is when you tell me why you did it.”
“There are things about me…” It looked as if he was repulsed by himself. She’d have to find a way to rid him of that repulsion, layer by layer. If she could do something positive for him before she died it would be that, she determined.
“We all have our demons.”
“Perhaps. But we aren’t all demons.”
“If I’m hearing you right, which I believe I am, you’re telling me you’re a demon?” Oh, how wrong he was.
He shifted on his feet, this conversation clearly making him uncomfortable. Whatever was running through his head was seriously affecting him. Eva wanted to help him work through whatever was bothering him. If he thought he was a demon, she’d convince him to see himself in a better light. He needed to see himself as the amazing man he was. If she could help him boost his self-esteem she would.
Layer by layer.
“Undoubtedly,” he said without hesitation.
Eva made a tsking sound, indicating her disapproval. “I’m going to have to disagree with you on that one. When I look at you the last thing I see is a demon.”
His head perked up, his interest heightening. “And what is it that youdosee?”
“An incredible man who saved my life every chance he had. The first person who took the time to get to know me - a lonely sorceress who had no one.” Throughout the two hundred years of her existence no one took the time to get to know her.
“I screwed you over, Eva.”
“You did what you had to do to help someone you love. It was a selfless act. Besides, you didn’t even know me. Honestly, I was probably more upset about it because I was jealous of you.”
“Jealous?”
Eva nodded, keeping her eyes on him. “You had someone in your life that you loved dearly, and someone who loved you back. It’s what I spent the first hundred years of my life looking for, and the second hundred years of my life trying to forget.” She was recognizing the truth behind her words as she spoke.
She didn’t realize it until now, but she had been jealous of Darius at the time. She was unable to forgive his betrayal because she envied his reason for doing it.
“Eva…” He began to speak, but she rose a hand to stop him.
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not jealous anymore.” She didn’t want this to be about her. She wanted this to be about him. “I now understand why you did it.”
“You were my lifeblood, and I did it despite knowing that.” He wasn’t accepting her forgiveness, seeming unable to forgive himself.
“Let’s get things straight. I hate the termlifeblood,so how about we toss that word out the window. When we met, we were strangers. Nothing more. You did what you had to do to astrangerto save asister.I can only hope to one day be as lucky as your sister is to have someone like you.”
“You already do.” He spoke with absolute certainty, the intensity in his blue eyes mesmerizing. “I wish more than anything that I could make up for what I did to you.”
“You already have,” she assured him, stepping away from the bed and walking toward him. “You have treated me with nothing but kindness, and you haven’t judged me for who I am.” It was as if his attraction to her grew after she revealed hard truths about herself to him, which proved to her that he wasn’t attracted to her as a vampire would be attracted to a lifeblood. He was attracted to her for who she was, flaws and all.
“Eva, there’s nothing to judge. You’re incredible.”
