AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grimaced. “And if she doesn’t, Philippe will make me stay with him.”
As Victorine’s sire, the enforcer took a proprietary interest in me. Not affection—Philippe wasn’t a warm-and-fuzzy kind of guy—but Victorine was the only one of his spawn who’d produced a spawn of her own. To Philippe, that made me his, in the way you own your dog’s pups.
“So no contacting your mom. Unless—” his smile was sly—“you send your mom a message from somewhere else. Not France, another country. That would buy us some time.”
“You can do that?”
“I can. Even better, it will come from your own laptop. She’ll believe it. So. Where would you like to visit?”
I grinned. “I’ve always wanted to go to Japan.”
* * *
We landed in Paris a little early, but the sun was up by the time we made it through customs. The familiar heaviness weighed down my lids. I sagged against Rafe, who wasn’t at all sleepy. Sometimes I wondered why pureblood vampires like my mother were so contemptuous of dhampirs, because it seemed to me the Kral brothers had the best of both worlds.
“Hang in there.” Dropping my sunglasses onto my nose, Rafe propelled me through the airport and stuffed me into a taxi while the driver put our luggage in the trunk.
I hissed as the sunlight hit my skin. The sun was higher than I’d ever seen, and ithurt.
Rafe swore and pulled my hoodie tighter around my face. He barked the hotel address at the driver in his American-accented French, adding, “Get us there in under fifteen minutes, and I’ll double the fare.”
“Pas de problème.” The driver stomped on the pedal. The taxi lurched into motion, darting in front of a bus. The bus driver responded with an ear-splitting blast of his horn.
I laid my head on Rafe’s shoulder. “Now you did it,” I mumbled.
He chuckled as our driver charged onto the highway, weaving in rabbit-like bursts through the other vehicles.
“Hang in there, Princess.”
I frowned. “Don’t call me that.”
“Call you what—Princess?”
“Yeah. It’s notme. I’m Zoe. A person.” I could barely stay awake, but this was important. “Not a princess.”
Warm lips touched my brow. “Got it, beautiful.”
The short trip passed in a blur. I must have fallen into the day sleep because the next thing I knew, Rafe was dragging me out of the taxi. My tongue was thick in my mouth, and my skin felt hot, dry. Just being touched sent a jolt of agony clear to my bones.
“We’re here. You just have to make it inside.”
“I’m…fine,” I said through cracked lips, and made the mistake of opening my eyes. The sunlight seared them even through the dark glasses. I cringed and flung up a hand to shade my face.
“Yeah, right,” he said.
I closed my eyes and tried not to groan.
Rafe handed the driver a hundred-euro note. He thanked Rafe—twice—and zoomed out of the parking lot.
Our check-in was mercifully quick. Rafe hustled me into the elevator and down the hall to our room. Even a light touch was painful on my burned skin, but as the day sleep took me deeper, I couldn’t move on my own. I grit my teeth and bore it.
Rafe had me wait outside while he closed the curtains. By the time he returned, I was sitting on the floor, slumped against the doorjamb. He swung me into his arms and tucked me into bed.
The last thing I remembered was him easing me out of my clothes. He pressed a cool, wet rag to my face and cracked lips.
“Sleep, cher. I’ve got you safe.”
At least, I thought that’s what he said. But I might have dreamed it.
