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“And you mustn’t.”
She shook her head. “You’re my mate. You’re the only one I would invite in.”
Levka kissed her cheek. “He won’t give up trying.”
“He can try all he wants, but I’m not letting him in my stateroom.” Smiling, she leaned over and kissed Levka's lips.
Her mouth felt velvety against his, sweet from the sugary soda she’d sipped. He ran his fingers through her raven curls and luxuriated in the feel of the silky strands. Her jasmine fragrance called to him. Her pulse quickened, sending his hormones into turmoil. Gritting his teeth, he fought extending his canines.
Being here alone with her in her stateroom was so not a good idea. Yet what alternative did he have? He couldn’t leave her alone. In fact, for the rest of the trip, he couldn’t chance having Vlad get her by herself.
Yet her actions, and his, were driving him over the edge.
“Caitlin…” He meant to tell her she needed to go to bed, that he needed to cool his heated blood down, but when she licked his lips, he groaned in defeat instead.
He deepened the kiss as her fingers undid the tie around his hair. She was everything he was not, lightness to his dark, innocence where he no longer had any, trusting when he was not to be trusted. Growling low, he bit back a curse and pulled away.
Her hands dropped away from his shoulders. He’d hurt her feelings when he’d rather die than do so, but if he took their relationship any farther, he’d make her one of his kind, and that would hurt her more.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, the hurt evident in the softness of her voice.
“Nothing.” Except he’d lost control of his canines again. He took her hands and kissed them. “You’re so beautiful, so precious to me. You have to believe me when I say this.”
The bewildered look on her face indicated she didn’t believe him at all.
He wanted to kiss her cheek, to assure her in a more chaste way, but he couldn’t chance getting too involved again. Already the sweet blood racing through her veins called to him like an aphrodisiac. Already his canines itched to sink into her neck, to take her blood, share his blood with her, and link them together forever.
“I…I was too forward, wasn’t I?” She stood.
“No, dear Caitlin. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Is there someone else? Someone back in Texas?” Folding her arms, she tried to look like a soldier, straight and strong, but her lip quivered, giving her away.
Feeling like a slug, Levka rose from the couch, but kept the distance between them. If she saw what he was, she’d surely have a stroke. And because of her telepathic abilities, he couldn’t control her mind or wipe her memories if he had to.
“There is no one else. Although I did lose a girl I loved several years ago.”
Her brows rose.
“A couple of years ago,” he amended.
“Ruric mentioned her.”
“Yes, well I have not felt anything for a girl since. Not until I met you.”
“Oh.” She looked so forlorn, he couldn’t endure not giving her a quick embrace, just to reassure her, he told himself.
Closing the distance between them, he gathered her in his arms, and she returned the embrace. Soft, warm, cuddly, and needy. What was he do to with her? He couldn’t let Vlad have her, and he couldn’t take her for his own without the Dallas league’s permission. Until he and his friends proved their worth, he feared the league wouldn’t go along with his taking her for a mate.
“You don’t think I’m a clinging vine, do you? Too many troubles? Too insecure?”
He kissed her head and tightened his hold. “You’re perfect.” For me, he wanted to add.
She ran her fingers over his back. “I…I was playing cards with my eleven-year-old sister, Tanya, when the storm began. Dad told me to stay with her and keep her from getting scared. I…I wanted to help my father. Mother went up to aid him as the yacht slammed into the pitch black waves. I knew the boat would soon break in two. I knew it like I knew I could never win at chess against my little sister. Tanya was a much better actress than me. She talked away about what we’d do when we got home, about how she had a new friend at school who wanted to start an online newsletter club with her. She was the one who tried to calm me.
“I made her put on a lifejacket when I could no longer hear my mother and father’s voices shouted above the wind. The lights went out on the yacht, and when the boat rolled on its side I grabbed my sister’s hand. Somehow…somehow, we made it out of the sinking boat, but I lost hold of her hand.”
Tears streaked down Caitlin’s cheeks. “I lost hold of her. I was supposed to take care of her.” She looked up at Levka and sobbed. “My brave little sister was lost, and me…oh, Levka, why did they have to die?”
