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It was a miracle. To feel its warmth after centuries of darkness. Gabby raised her arms, exposing her pale skin, and spun around, laughter bursting out of her. Despite the pain and the struggle waiting for her ahead, this, this gentle warmth on her skin, made waking up worth it.
Like all newborn vampires, she’d tried to go in the sun, thinking perhaps she was special somehow, that this limitation didn’t apply to her.
She was wrong.
The burning agony as her skin peeled off had hurt more than being stabbed to death. Felix had been furious, maddened beyond reason she had risked her immortality, and had locked her in her rooms for two days.
Felix. He was here. She took a few more seconds to savor this moment, to gather her strength before opening her eyes. She studied him. Had she ever seen him in the sun? Only that first time when she had saved him.
His loose clothes, a gray shirt and black pants, hid the muscles beneath. There was no doubt he was used to being in charge. He held himself tall, his shoulders back. Her heart turned over at the tenderness with which he regarded her.
His green eyes were lighter, more moss than the forest. There were hints of gold in them, or maybe it was the sun playing tricks on her. Still tousled from sleep, his midnight hair showed the slightest hint of brown. Would his hair be lighter if he remained in the sun more?
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
His utter adoration was the reason she stayed still as he approached—she told herself—and not because of the longing holding her chest hostage. He caught her in his arms and kissed her, sweet and gentle.
Gabby didn’t pull away. She didn’t want to. With her skin warm in what felt like a millennium, her life was perfect again. She allowed herself to savor the kiss, feeding the voracious hunger for him.
Only for a few seconds.
He tasted like the ocean, like home. When his tongue traced over the seam of her lips, she opened her mouth and moaned. Molten heat having nothing to do with the sun enveloped her. Her breasts ached for his touch, for licks of his sweet tongue. Wetness flooded between her legs, a neediness only he could assuage.
What started as a gentle and loving kiss transformed into desperate yearning. Felix crushed her hard against him. His mouth slanted at an angle so he could better devour her.
“No!”
She leaped away before she gave in to the lust. This was why she’d stayed away from him for centuries, why she’d gone aground. Because she had no control when it came to him.
“No,” she repeated. “Last night was a mistake. It changes nothing.”
His face shut down, the tenderness gone. They squared off under the sun’s burning rays.
“I will have you back at my side.” The absolute certainty with which he said those words had her spine stiffening. “You are my mate.”
His power expanded, an oppressive circle reaching toward her. Her stomach in knots, she put more distance between them and wrapped her power around herself, an invisible wall blocking his commanding aura.
She would not go back. Back to that castle. Back to being under his thumb and living under his ruthless control.
“What would it take? Tell me,” he demanded, his eyes flashing red. “Do you want me to beg?”
“No. That was never the point.”
“You left. You created your own House.” Felix bit out each word as if they left a bitter taste in his mouth. “Now it’s time to return to where you belong.”
There it was. The Ancient vampire who wanted to dictate her life.
“No.” The word came out stronger this time. “I’ll come back when you learn to respect me. When you don’t expect me to dance to your every word like a puppet.”
He laughed, a bitter and ugly sound she’d never heard from him. “Respect you? I let you go, didn’t I? Six hundred fucking years. What more do you want?”
“But nothing has changed. Last night, you won’t let me take away even a small bit of pain. If we’re attacked, what is your first reaction?”
“That’s easy. Protecting you.”
She wanted to scream with frustration. “That is the problem. I am not a human anymore. I do not need your protection.”
“You’re my mate.” An inhuman snarl. She took a step back. “I’d die for you. Is that not enough?”
