He pulled back to where he could see her clearly, his hands still cupping her face. “I’d rather know that you’re living your life as you should be than to know I destroyed the most beautiful soul I’ve ever encountered.”
“Will you share my life with me? At least until I start to get too old?”
His expression turned pained, and yet unbearably tender. “I can’t give you children, Lizzy. I can’t go near sunlight, not even daylight. That means no picnics, no trips to the beach, no running errands together, or going out to lunch. You’ve seen the kind of life I have to give you. You lived it for eight months, seeing me only at night. That will never change and it will never be enough.”
She stared into those sad, beloved eyes. “Don’t you understand?” she asked softly. “Without you, my heart stops singing. My soul goes silent. My world is more colorless than Vamp City. I would rather live my days alone than my life alone, Lukas. I know I’ll turn old someday. Just give me the years you can, please?”
“If you truly want me, I will give you all the years of your life, Lizzy-mine. Without you, my life is meaningless.”
Cyn’s footsteps sounded on the wood stairs. Lukas kissed Elizabeth softly, then rose and met Cyn at the bedroom door, taking the tray from her.
Elizabeth joined him, and Cyn smiled at her. “If you’re still hungry when you’re done with this, I’m happy to fix you something else.”
“Thank you, Cyn.”
Lukas set the tray on the desk and pulled out the chair for Elizabeth. Cyn had prepared a large bowl of hot beef stew with carrots and potatoes, blueberry muffins, and a small pot of butter. A pitcher of cold water completed the meal.
“Look good?” Lukas asked, relaxing back against the wall.
“It looks delicious.” She devoured the meal in no time, and when she was done, Lukas pulled out her chair for her, turned her to face him, and began undressing her.
“It’s my turn to feast,” he said huskily.
Chapter Twelve
ELIZABETH REACHED FOR Lukas as he reached for her, each unbuttoning the other’s shirt, pulling it from the waistband, pushing it off the other’s shoulders.
“The door,” Elizabeth said on a laugh.
Lukas pressed a hot, lingering kiss to her bare shoulder, then moved away to shut the door. On his way back to her, he pulled his arms out of his sleeves and tossed the shirt on the back of the desk chair. She did the same with hers, and they came together, chest to chest, his arms curling around her waist, hers around his neck, as their mouths found one another’s, tasting, licking, stroking.
The kiss turned hot, his taste nectar, the feel of his cool, hard body, like Heaven. He smelled of winter nights and warm fires, and never, never did she want to be parted from this man. How was she ever going to return to being alone?
Lukas pulled back, his gaze soft and sad, as if he’d felt the change in her mood, as if he shared it. “We’ll be together again, Lizzy-mine. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. You have no idea what will happen.”
He swept her into his arms and deposited her on the bed, following her down, lying halfway over her, his face inches from her own. In the glow of the lamplight, his eyes gleamed with soft blue fire.
“Then I’m going to willfully ignore that fact for now. I’m going to believe that nothing will keep us apart. I’m going to love you tonight. And in a few weeks, after the equinox, after the sorceress has renewed the magic of Vamp City and those of us trapped are free to leave again, I’ll come to you and crawl into your bed, and I will love you again. For the rest of your life.”
She lifted her hands, framing his beloved face. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Her fingers slid up into his hair. “Now love me, my vampire. I need you.”
He smiled the sweetest, sexiest of smiles and dipped his head to her neck, licking and kissing his way slowly up her throat while his hand slid down her chest, cupping one breast, then the other, caressing, tweaking, then moving down, his palm sliding over her abdomen to the waistband of her pants.
And all the while, he rained kisses over her jaw, her cheek, her forehead, her nose.
“Lukas,” she sighed, stroking his shoulders, his neck. The play of muscles beneath her hands delighted her.
His fingers, deft as ever, unbuttoned her pants, unzipped the short fly, then burrowed beneath the waistband of her panties, sliding down into her dampness, into her body.
With a gasp, she arched into his touch, driving his finger deeper. “Lukas.”
“Come for me, baby,” he whispered against her temple, as his finger stroked in and out, his thumb flicking her clitoris. “Come for me.”
“Bite me, Lukas. It felt so good.”
He rose over her slowly, his gaze catching hers, his eyes already white-centered, his fangs elongating as she watched. And all she felt at the sight was a thrill of excitement and anticipation.
Tipping her head to the side, she gave him access to her throat. His eyes crinkling at the corners, he dipped his head, kissed her neck, and sank his fangs into her flesh. As he took the first pull, she cried out at the pleasure, shocked by the orgasm that was already beginning to build low inside her. As his finger moved in and out, his thumb working its magic, his mouth pulling at her neck, she exploded in a fiery shudder of intense, wonderful, pleasure.
As she floated back to Earth, Lukas removed the rest of her clothes and his own. Opening her arms and her thighs, she welcomed him to her.
“Love me, Lukas.”
“Always, Lizzy-mine.” Then he slid into her body, and she rose to meet him as they came together, one, driving each other up, gasping and straining and loving, until release broke over them in a brilliant fragmenting, a blinding blaze of ecstasy, a rapture beyond comprehension.
Finally, they lay together in a tangle of sheets and limbs, exhausted, replete, and thoroughly loved. Tucked tight against Lukas’s chest, Elizabeth drifted toward sleep.
This was the only place in the world that she wanted to be. And it was the one place she couldn’t stay.
Chapter Thirteen
ELIZABETH WOKE TO the stroke of cool fingers along her cheek, followed by a soft, sweet kiss.
“Wake up, Lizzy-mine. It’s time to go.”
She rose groggily, and dressed, Lukas helping her. He was already fully clothed and wide-awake. Then again, by his own admission, he never slept.
“Will it take long to get there?” she asked, putting on her shoes.
“No. Not usually.” But his tone held a grim note she didn’t like.
“What aren’t you saying?”
His jaw tensed, but he met her gaze. “There are dangers in Vamp City. As you’ve seen.”
“And the place we’re going is dangerous?”
“Every place is potentially dangerous. Less so nearest the outer boundary of the city, but in recent weeks, wolves have been spotted even there.”
“Wolves? I thought there were no animals in Vamp City that you didn’t bring in.”
He grimaced. “Werewolves.”
Her jaw dropped. “Oh, that doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not.”
When she was fully dressed, he ushered her downstairs and out the back door. Cyn was nowhere to be seen, but given that it was midnight, she was probably in bed.
Lukas lifted Elizabeth onto the horse, swung up behind her, then headed out across the open ground to the trees beyond. The night was dark, but the moon was bright and illuminated the landscape nicely, turning the dead trees white.
They rode in silence for a time, the knowledge that they were about to part again thick between them.
“Lizzy, I have money,” Lukas said out of the blue.
“That’s nice.”
He snorted. “That wasn’t a random comment, woman. I’m telling you I can support you since you can’t return to
your school. And with extra money, you can afford to leave. Fly to Hawaii or something. Get out of D.C., sweetheart, please? Just get away.”
“My parents moved to Florida a few years ago. I can go visit them.”
“That’s good. Then later, if I don’t get out . . .”
“You will.”
But he continued. “Over the centuries, I’ve accumulated far more wealth than I could spend in a dozen human lifetimes. And if I can’t use it, it’s yours, sweetheart. Micah can access it and give you all you need. All you will ever need.”
Money, more than she could ever spend. The thought offered her a measure of comfort but little more. Because without Lukas, she would have nothing that mattered.
“If I need money, I’ll let Micah know.”
Lukas released a less-than-happy breath. “Fair enough.”
They continued in silence, Lukas’s arm tight around her waist, his breath teasing her hair. Finally, he said, “The Boundary Circle is just ahead.”
Oddly, the moonlight only extended another thirty or forty yards, then darkness enveloped the land.
“The shadows? Is that where the world ends? This world?”
“Yes. They’re not shadows. It’s a wall of magic. Until two years ago, I could walk right through it and find myself in the real world.”
“You had to be careful to do that only at night.”
“You’d be right about that.” His arm tightened across her middle, his body turning suddenly rigid.
“What’s the matter?” she breathed.
“We have company. And I don’t mean Micah.”
She looked right and saw nothing, but when she glanced left, she saw them. Three massive, hulking beasts stalking them like prey. Wolves.
Werewolves.
Chapter Fourteen
ELIZABETH STARED AT the hulking werewolves, her heart beginning to pound. As she watched, one of them began to slowly change shape. Moments later, where the wolf had been, now stood a large, very naked man. With his hair long and unkempt, his beard full and scraggly, she suspected he didn’t spend much time human.
“Give us the woman, and we’ll let you pass, vampire.”
Elizabeth’s heart stuttered.
“You come near us, and I’ll kill you, wolf,” Lukas countered. “I’ll kill you all.”
“You can try,” the werewolf said grimly. “But we’re hungry. And we will eat tonight.”
Elizabeth’s mind seized. “Eat? They eat people?”
“When they’re starving, they’ll eat anything that moves. Hold on to the reins, Lizzy.” He thrust them into her hands.
“Lukas, I don’t ride.”
“You don’t have to. I’m staying right here, but I need room to swing my swords. Just hold the reins, lean forward, and hug the horse tight. And whatever you do, keep your head down.”
As she walked her hands forward up the horse’s maned neck, Lukas gripped her waist until she was fully prone. She did as he said, clutched the reins and hugged the horse tight, its coarse mane scratching her cheek and tickling her nose. The horsey smell overpowered her senses.
Her stomach churned with fear.
Behind her, she heard the metallic swoosh of Lukas’s swords breaking free of their scabbards. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the gleam of a blade rising high, ready to cut down the nearest foe.
A moment later, one of the wolves leaped. As the horse shied, Elizabeth gasped and tightened her grip. “Easy, horse. Easy boy. Or girl. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Another flash of gleaming silver, another whistle of steel as Lukas swung, catching the beast in the face, knocking it back. But while the wolf whined and growled, it only lunged again.
Over her head, Lukas’s blades sang, whipping back and forth faster than her eye could track. Vampire fast. She heard a beast’s howl of pain, another’s growl of fury. Yet still they attacked. And, somehow, Lukas managed to keep his horse from bolting.
Over and over, the blades whistled. Her muscles tensed, quivering, as she half expected, at any moment, to feel teeth sinking into her flesh. It was terrible being able to see only one direction, not knowing if she was about to be attacked from the other. But Lukas continued to fight them, and all she could do was hold on to the horse and trust Lukas to keep her safe.
“Here, Fido!” a male voice called from a short distance away.
A hand landed lightly on Elizabeth’s back, and she jumped.
“Stay on the animal,” Lukas said behind her. “But you can sit up. You’re safe now.”
She felt him dismount. Her pulse still racing, Elizabeth rose slowly, finally able to rub her nose and scratch the itch. As she gazed around warily, she saw one wolf lying dead on the ground nearby. The other two were still fighting, leaping at Lukas and another man, the one who’d made the Fido quip, she assumed. A male Lukas clearly trusted. Micah?
A wolf leaped at Lukas, jaws open wide as if it meant to bite off Lukas’s head. Her breath caught as she watched her vampire strike as if in slow motion, his blades swinging as one. In fascinated horror, she watched as that furred head flew up into the air, separated from its body.
Lukas turned toward the other vampire just as the third werewolf, too, lost its head.
A moment later, Lukas was at her side, his eyes full of concern. “You’re unhurt?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
He reached for her and pulled her down, then pulled her purse out of his saddlebag and handed it to her. Once she’d slung it over her shoulder, he pulled her against his side and led her to the stranger.
“This is Micah,” he told her.
Micah was a big man, though not as big as Lukas. He was nice enough looking except for the scar on his cheek, but his eyes were kind, if a bit surprised.
“Elizabeth wandered in on a sunbeam,” Lukas told him. “Fortunately, I was nearby.”
“I’ll take her home.”
Lukas nodded. “I owe you, Micah. Show her the boundary, if you would, so she can steer clear of it until this is over. And transfer a healthy chunk of my funds into her account. If the sorceress is not found, transfer all of it.”
Micah didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the directive.
“Thank you, Lukas,” she said quietly. He certainly didn’t need to give her his money, but he clearly intended to do it anyway. And she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful.
“I’ll give you two a few minutes to say good-bye, then we’ll leave.” Micah smiled at her, his eyes soft with sympathy.
This was it, the moment she’d been dreading. Turning to Lukas, she felt as if her heart were being ripped from her chest all over again. Their gazes collided, misery thick between them.
“I don’t want to go,” she whispered.
He cupped her face with one hand, his eyes wells of pain. “I don’t want you to go. But I want you safe.” Holding her face in both hands, he pressed his forehead to hers. “If I don’t come back, live for me, Lizzy. You are my heart, the only heart that has beat firmly and fully in my chest for more than a thousand years.”
Tears began to run down her cheeks. “I love you, Lukas Olsson.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly, thoroughly, stroking her hair, her back, her head, as she drank of his cool winter taste and immersed herself in his strength, his scent, the feel of his arms around her.
When he finally pulled away, she stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. “I don’t want to live without you.”
“Nor I you, my love. Nor I you. I love you, Lizzy-mine.” He kissed her softly, sweetly.
“Come back to me, my Lukas.”
He nodded, but made no promises.
Finally, pulling her against his side, he led her to where Micah waited. Micah held out his hand to her, and Lukas let her go. Elizabeth shuddered with the need to cling to
him. Instead, she slid free of his hold, turning to meet his gaze one last time.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you,” he whispered back, a gleam of moisture in his eyes.
Turning away, she placed her hand in Micah’s. The vampire led her forward three steps, four, five. Her skin felt queer, trembly. And suddenly noise and light exploded all around her.
“Hey!” someone growled, and Micah pulled her out of the way of a couple of youths they’d nearly run into.
She looked around, the sounds of the normal world a shock. Welcome, and yet . . .
“Elizabeth.” Micah tugged on her hand, and she followed him to a black sedan parked nearby. He handed her into the passenger side before sliding into the driver’s seat.
“Do you think the sorceress will be found?” she asked, as he pulled into traffic.
“She’ll be found. I’m certain of it.”
“Good. I hope you’re right.”
He glanced at her, his expression rueful. “Unfortunately, the sorceress has very little magic. Her name is Quinn Lennox, she’s about your age, and she didn’t know she was a sorceress until a couple of weeks ago. Whether or not she’ll actually be able to save Vamp City is very much up in the air.” He glanced at her. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. But I think it’s best that you know the truth. I have friends who are doing all they can to save V.C., but the only thing most of us can do is hope.”
With her heart so heavy, it was minutes before Elizabeth realized that Micah was heading straight for her apartment building. And he’d never asked her how to get there.
“How do you know where I live?”
He glanced at her with a small smile. “Lukas may not have been free to come to you, but that doesn’t mean he forgot about you these past two years.”
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