by Cynthia Eden
The two men stared at each other. Both were tall, strong and, Savannah sensed, afraid. They had both suffered so much pain, so much tragedy. It was time to heal the wounds of the past. It was time for a new beginning.
She kept her right hand locked around William’s. Her left hand reached out to Henry. “My name is Savannah Daniels. It is a pleasure to meet you, Henry de Montfort.”
He blinked, staring down at her hand. His fingers lifted slowly, clasping lightly around hers.
She smiled. “I feel as if I already know you,” she murmured.
He frowned.
“I read your diary.” She looked back at William. “Actually, it was your diary that led me to William.” She could still remember how frightened she’d been on her way to that first meeting. But then she’d seen William. “So I guess you could say that I am in your debt.”
“No. You brought my brother back to me. It is I who owe you.”
“I can’t believe—” William stopped, and then he stepped forward, embracing Henry.
Savannah felt her eyes well with tears at the sight. William had been alone for so very long. Walking the earth endlessly. Always alone.
He would never be alone again.
“It’s been too long,” Henry said.
William stepped back. “Yes.”
“I’m sure you guys have a lot of catching up to do.” Nine hundred years worth, Savannah thought. Maybe she should give them some privacy.
No. Stay with me.
She rubbed William’s arm lightly. “Is there someplace that we can go? Someplace where we can talk?”
Henry spoke quickly. “I have a cottage nearby. It’s safe. We could go there.”
William nodded.
“Show us the way,” Savannah murmured.
“SO, IS SHE your mate?”
William pulled his gaze from the crackling fire and stared at his brother.
Henry.
It still didn’t seem real. Henry was alive. He looked the same. The same blond hair. The same laughing blue eyes. The same slow smile.
But William could feel the differences in his brother. He could feel the echoes of pain. Of rage. He could also feel Henry’s strength. His power.
Henry didn’t need anyone to protect him now.
“No,” Henry murmured, reading his thoughts. “I can protect myself.” His lips curved slightly, revealing the tips of his fangs. “But you didn’t answer my question, brother. Is she your mate?”
Savannah had slipped from the room moments before. She’d sensed the rising sun and had gone to prepare for the sleep that would come.
Like William’s home in the mountains, the cottage was equipped with a series of underground rooms and tunnels. Henry had asked them to stay and sleep in one of the many rooms.
William knew that Savannah had left to give him a few moments alone with Henry and that she would be waiting for him when he returned to the room. Waiting for him with her gentle smile and her mysterious eyes.
“The first time I saw her,” he recalled, “she asked me to kill her.”
“What?”
“Geoffrey killed her brother and her sister-in-law. And he was stalking her. She wanted to find Geoffrey, to fight him.” He sighed, remembering his first sight of Savannah. “She was dying. And she knew she wasn’t strong enough to defeat Geoffrey on her own.”
“So she turned to you.” Henry whistled softly. “Brave one, isn’t she?” He rubbed his chest lightly, as if he could still feel the stake that she’d pushed against his heart.
William’s lips curved. “She’s the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”
“So she is your mate.”
His smile disappeared. “No. I forced her to stay with me. I told her that I would only transform her if she promised to be my companion.”
Henry stilled. “That isn’t like you.”
“I know. But I wanted her so badly that I would have said anything, done anything, to have her.” He would have traded his soul for a moment in her arms.
“You love her.”
William blinked. “Of course.” There had never been any question in his mind. He’d loved her from the moment his door had opened and he’d seen her standing in the entranceway. “But I have to let her go.”
“What?”
“I have to let her go.” William could actually feel the pain that lanced through his body at the thought of living without her. But there was no choice. “I can’t force her to stay with me.” He loved her too much. “Geoffrey nearly destroyed her. He’s gone now. She can start her life again. She can be happy.”
“And you don’t think she’ll want to stay with you?”
His heart pounded. “I wish she would.” He clenched his hands. “But why would she?”
“Maybe because she loves you, too.”
For a moment, hope swept through him. Then he closed his eyes. No, Savannah didn’t love him. She couldn’t love him. Geoffrey had made her life hell, and he’d treated her little better. He should never have forced her into that ridiculous bargain.
He’d just wanted her so much . . .
“She cares for you, brother. When she looks at you, I see it in her eyes.”
“She’s grateful to me,” he muttered. He didn’t want her gratitude. He wanted her love.
“Will you tell her how you feel?”
Would he? Did he dare? It was almost laughable really. He was an immortal, with immense physical and psychic strength, but he was afraid to tell one small woman how he felt.
“The sun’s coming. We should seek our rest.” Henry rose and crossed the room. He paused in the entranceway, his back to William. “Tell her. Don’t let her walk out of your life without telling her how you feel. You’ll regret it if you do.”
William frowned. “Are you speaking from experience?”
Henry glanced back, a sad smile twisting his lips. “I’ve been alone since that day in the cave. I don’t even know if I can love a woman. My heart feels dead. It’s felt that way for nine hundred years. But I tell you this, if a woman looked at me the way that your Savannah looks at you . . .” He took a deep breath. “There is no way I’d ever let her walk out of my life. I would do whatever was necessary to keep her with me, forever.” He walked out of the room.
SHE DREAMT OF William. They were walking in the moonlight, their hands entwined.
They were on a beach, an endless stretch of sand. The waves washed gently onto the shore, lightly caressing her feet.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she murmured, feeling strangely at peace.
William stopped walking and turned to face her. “Yes, beautiful.”
She shivered, sensing that he was talking about her, and not the beauty of the land and sea.
He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek.
His eyes looked so incredibly sad.
“What’s wrong?”
His face tensed. “We can’t stay here.”
“Why not?” Everything was perfect. She wanted to stay here forever. With William.
“I can’t stay here.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong with you.”
What was he saying? Her heart thumped in fear. “Of course you do! We belong together! We agreed—”
He smiled, and the sight tore at her heart. “The nightmare is over now. You’re free.”
He began to melt away.
“No!” She grabbed him, and for just an instant, her fingers seemed to slip right through his body. “No! You can’t leave me!”
His body shimmered. “Kiss me once more,” he pleaded. “Just once so that I can remember . . .”
The waves were louder now, crashing against the shore. Pounding against her feet. Clouds swept over the moon, over
the stars, completely obliterating the night sky.
She grabbed William, holding on with all of her strength. She wasn’t going to let him go.
She kissed him.
And he vanished.
“WILLIAM!” SHE screamed his name with the first breath that she took.
She glanced around the room, terrified that he would be gone. But he was there, standing, shirtless, beside the bed, his black gaze intense.
A sigh of relief swept through her. She jumped from the bed, wrapping her arms around him. He felt so warm, so solid. So real.
His arms held her close, cradling her against his broad chest. Her fear vanished. She was with William. They were together, as they were meant to be.
“I dreamed about you,” she whispered softly. Had it been a dream? Or a nightmare? “At first, it was so perfect. But then you disappeared. You left me, and I was all alone on this deserted beach.”
She felt him stiffen against her. His arms lifted, pushing her body away from his.
She frowned. “William?”
His gaze drifted slowly over her face, almost as if he were memorizing her. “You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice almost reverent.
A chill swept over her. Why did it feel like he was about to tell her good-bye?
She pressed her lips against his, needing his kiss, his passion, to banish the fear that lingered within her. “Make love to me.”
She could see the struggle on his face. Could see the pain and the hunger.
“William?”
Just once more . . .
The thought whispered through her mind. A memory from the dream?
William pushed her back on the bed, his body pressing her into the soft mattress, and she could think no more. His mouth fed on hers, his tongue sliding past her lips. His hands were touching her, caressing her stomach, her breasts.
He jerked her shirt over her head, flinging it across the room. His head lowered, and she could feel his breath against her skin.
Then his mouth was there. Teasing, sucking the flesh that ached for him.
Her nipples tightened, straining into peaks. He licked her, swirling his tongue around first one nipple, then showing the same careful attention to the other.
Her fingers slid down his back, her nails lightly scraping his skin. She arched into his touch, pressing her hips against his.
“Why can’t I get enough of you?” He whispered. “I need you. I hunger for you . . .” He kissed her again, his tongue thrusting deep.
His fingers were sliding down her pants and easing beneath the elastic of her underwear. He touched her lightly, his fingers stirring her hunger all the more.
She touched his nipple with her tongue, feeling it tighten instantly. She licked him, flicking her tongue delicately over his sensitive skin. She heard him inhale sharply.
Then he jerked her panties down, tossing them out of the way.
“I can’t wait,” he growled. “I’m sorry, I can’t!” He tore off his jeans. She could see his arousal. Strong. Hot. Hard. No, he couldn’t wait.
Neither could she.
She parted her thighs, moving eagerly to accommodate him. She could feel the tip of his erection pressing against her. She pushed her hips, rubbing against his heat.
He snarled and thrust deep.
Savannah gasped, pleasure biting into her. She could feel her climax already mounting, rushing toward her, and she wrapped her legs around him, her hips straining to meet the thrust of his. His mouth settled hungrily over her breast, licking, biting.
His fingers slid down into the curling thatch of hair at the juncture of her thighs. And he rubbed her, lightly. And he thrust. Hard.
She screamed, her release shattering her. Fire burned through her body, waves of ecstasy pouring through her blood.
William’s arms clenched around her, holding her tightly. He thrust again. Deeper. Harder.
She could see the edge of his teeth. See the red flames in his eyes.
“Savannah!”
She felt the climax that ripped through him. And she shuddered, feeling a second wave of release push through her body.
They clung to one another, riding the crest of pleasure. She could feel his heart pounding against her, could feel the heat of his body burning her.
And, in that unguarded instant, she was closer to him than she’d ever been before. Bound by their psychic link, she was close enough to actually hear his thoughts.
Her breath caught. Pain lanced through her. She pushed against his shoulders, angrily shoving his body off hers. “You bastard! You’re planning to leave me!”
Chapter Eighteen
I mourn for what might have been.
—Entry from the diary of Henry de Montfort,
December 31, 1068
“SAVANNAH!” WILLIAM tried to grab her, but she twisted away and jumped from the bed. Her body still ached from his touch. But her heart had been broken by his thoughts.
She wrapped a sheet around her body, her furious gaze locked on him. “I heard your thoughts! I know what you’re going to do!”
Pain flashed across his face and he reached for her.
“No!” She jumped back, shaking her head furiously. “Don’t touch me!” She would break apart if he did. Crumble into a thousand pieces. “Just get dressed.” She couldn’t stand to stare at him, to see the incredible beauty of his body. It was like a slap in her face.
His jaw clenched, but he grabbed his pants and slid them on with a quick, rough movement. “You don’t understand—”
“What’s to understand?” She felt like a fool. An utter fool. “You wanted one more round of sex before you kicked me out of your life. I think I understand that pretty well.” She wanted to cry, to scream with the pain of betrayal tearing through her. They had been through so much together. So much. How could he do this to her?
He closed his eyes. His jaw clenched. “I knew I should have left before you woke. But I needed you too much.” A sad smile twisted his lips. “I wanted to see you. To see your eyes, your smile, just once more.”
Just once more.
The words flashed through her, sending a wave of unease through her heart.
She was missing something. Something was happening that she didn’t understand. She tried to read his thoughts again, to uncover his feelings, but she came up against a brick wall. A wall that shut her out completely.
She walked toward him, her gaze narrow and intent. She knew he was aware of her approach, but he didn’t move.
“William?”
He opened his eyes and stared down at her, looking sad.
“We had a bargain,” she whispered.
His hands fisted. “I never should have forced you into that agreement. I never should have—”
Forced her? Savannah frowned. “What are you talking about? You didn’t force me to do anything.” And he hadn’t. She’d entered into their bargain because she’d wanted to. Because she’d wanted him.
“Yes, I did.” He swallowed, and she could have sworn that for an instant, he actually looked haunted. “I said I wouldn’t help you hunt Geoffrey unless you agreed to my demands. That I wouldn’t transform you unless you became my mate.”
“You told me that I would have to stay with you forever,” she whispered.
“You don’t.” He took a deep breath. “Geoffrey is dead. You don’t have to worry about him ever again. You can have your life back. You can go anywhere you want. Do anything you want. You can start fresh. Begin a new life.”
“Without you.” The thought was horrifying.
He nodded.
She didn’t understand. “You want me to leave you?”
He didn’t answer. He stared at her, his eyes blacker than the night.
“Why?
” She had to know. She had to know why he was suddenly pushing her away.
Moments passed in silence. She didn’t think he was going to answer. That he was just going to continue staring at her.
“Because you deserve more,” he said, and she could hear the agony in his voice.
Her heart stopped beating.
“What?”
“You deserve happiness. Freedom. You’ve been through hell because of my brother.” He hesitated, and then said, “Because of me.”
Because of him? “William, if it hadn’t been for you, I would be dead now! I would be in a cemetery somewhere with just Mary mourning my passing.” Didn’t he understand? He’d given her life back to her!
“Geoffrey took your life away. I forced you to change—”
She grabbed his arms, making him focus his attention on her. “I was dying, William. The doctors were wrong. I didn’t have six months. If you hadn’t changed me when you did, I would be dead.” She shook her head. “I wanted you to change me. I begged you to do it.”
“And I told you that I would give you the kiss only if you became my mate.” Disgust was written on his face.
Her eyes widened. “Is that what this is about?”
“I don’t want you to stay with me because I took away your choice.”
“But what if I choose to stay?” She touched his cheek. “What if I want to stay with you?”
Hunger flashed in his eyes. Need. Hope. But then he stepped back. Stepped away from her touch, away from her. “Geoffrey killed your brother and your sister-in-law, and he almost killed you.” He ran his hand over his face. “How can you stay with me, knowing what he did?”
“Because you’re not like him,” she said simply, honestly. “You’re nothing like Geoffrey.”
“After what I’ve done to you, how can you say that?”
Her temper snapped. “You haven’t done anything to me!” She screamed. “Stop saying that! You didn’t force me to do anything that I didn’t want to do. Yes, you transformed me. I begged you to do it! You saved my life when you gave me the kiss. You helped me hunt Geoffrey, your own brother. You helped me stop him.”