She was his life, his love, his everything.
He lifted her off of the floor, holding her tightly against his chest. The feel of her heart beating in time with his was a kind of home he hadn’t felt in forever.
She pulled away from the kiss, but not from his embrace. “Niko, there is still a lot we need to talk about.”
“Yes, there is.” He gently set her back on the floor.
She bit on her lower lip, avoiding his eyes. He could almost see the questions forming in her mind. Her hands moved slowly up his chest and came to rest on the space directly above his beating heart. The contact was more intimate than Gabby could have realized and he loved her all the more for her innocence, her intuition. He took her by the hand and led her to the couch. She sat down, turning sideways with her leg under her bottom.
He gingerly sat, tucking his leg under his thigh, and held her hand tightly in his. He rubbed his thumb over her long fingers, using a circular motion hoping to soothe them both.
“Ask me anything you want to know.”
“How long have you been a vampire?”
“I was born a vampire,” he answered with a shrug.
“How old are you?”
A sudden sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. Would his answer send her running for the hills, screaming her head off?
“Do you really want to know?”
“A hundred?” she inquired, leaning toward him.
“Yes … and then some.”
“How many somes?”
He heaved a weighted sigh and dove in. “I was born in Romania in 1580.”
She gulped audibly, but didn’t pull away. Her eyes scrutinized him, moving slowly over every inch of his face. “That makes you…”
He nodded. “I am over four hundred years old.”
Her eyes widened. “Holy crap!” Her fingertips moved slowly, lovingly, over his face. “You hardly have any wrinkles.”
He chuckled softly. “Yes, I do look pretty good for my age.”
“Pretty good? I’d say damned good!” She dropped her hand in her lap. “Freakin’ hot,” she muttered under her breath.
“I heard that.” His smile felt smug.
She blushed. “How much have you heard over the last three years?”
“Not enough to know you … loved me.” His heart pounded wildly in his chest. Goddess, it felt good to say those words out loud—and for her not to deny it, or shrink away.
“Damn, maybe I should have grumbled a little more. Because I do. Love you, I mean.” She glanced up at him from under her long lashes and the love reflecting in her eyes verified her words.
She loved him.
This was the moment he’d waited his very long life for. He gathered her to him and kissed her. Hard. He ran his tongue over her lower lip and she sighed into his mouth. She tasted like tropic sunshine, like life—his life—captured in a breath. Suddenly, she pulled away.
“Stop. Please, we have to stop.”
Hormones raged through his bloodstream and it took all of his self control to stop what had been started, but he wouldn’t push her. Hard as it would be, he’d proceed at her pace.
“Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head and her tongue peaked out of her mouth, running over the lip he’d been devouring.
“No. But—” She leaned her back against the couch behind her. “—I need some answers, Nikolai. And as much as I’d like to, I can’t get them with your tongue down my throat.”
He opened his mouth to protest, to remind her she’d enjoyed his tongue down her throat and she would enjoy it other places even more, but chuckled instead.
“You’re right. I hate to admit it, but we should get your questions out of the way before we go much further. Ask away, my love.”
Her hand moved over his thigh, making small, unconscious circles. He could almost see her mind working, questions forming and being vetoed. Or maybe she was just thinking of how to word them. A couple of times, she’d opened her mouth, shaken her head and closed those cherry red lips.
Finally she asked, “Vampires are their own race, right, like humans?”
“Yes.”
“Where’d you come from?”
He tried to fight a grin but felt the corner of his mouth lift. “Well, when two people love each other…”
She laughed, even though a part of her was clearly annoyed at his teasing. He couldn’t believe how well she was taking everything. He’d heard of females who had cursed their males, females who’d run away and had to be tracked down to have their minds cleaned so they didn’t go insane. Yet, here Gabrielle sat, completely calm.
He raised his fist up to stifle his chuckles and cleared his throat. “How familiar are you with Greek mythology?”
“That’s the only class I flunked in college.” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she’d never looked more beautiful.
“Okay, well, you do know who Zeus is, right?”
She actually looked offended. “I’m not that stupid!”
“You are not stupid. You’re actually pretty adorable.” He ran a finger down her slender nose. “You’ve heard of Zeus. Have you heard of Asclepius?”
She shook her head and raised a brow. “If you’re gonna tell me some fairy tale to make me look like a moron, then don’t—”
He kissed her to get her brain back on track, which only derailed his train of thought. Her hands pressed against his chest and she pulled back, his lips the last thing to release its hold on her.
“Focus. Please,” she chided.
“Yes, focus.” He shook his head to clear out the x-rated thoughts of what he’d rather be doing. “I promised to tell you the entire truth. Remember?”
She nodded.
“Asclepius was the God of Medicine and Healing. However, we refer to him as the God of Blood because he was known for taking blood to resurrect people who had died. Zeus found out and wasn’t very happy.
“Zeus discovered Asclepius had a lover—his true love—and the female was pregnant. As a punishment he cursed the offspring. The child would only be able to live on blood from humans and the light of day would burn her skin to ash. Then as his final act, Zeus pointed at Asclepius and cursed him to reside in the heavens as the Ophiuchus constellation, where he would forever watch his daughter exist only in the darkness.”
Gabrielle stared at him for a long moment. “Wow. So what happened to the daughter?”
Nikolai sighed. “The daughter’s name was Aryhana and because she was the daughter of Asclepius, she was a Goddess. Our Goddess.”
Gabby nodded.
“We’re taught that when Aryhana was in her early teens, her mother died. Her mother had taken care of her, bringing blood for her to drink. But upon her death, Aryhana was left to fend for herself. She would wait until dark then search through the forests around the cave where she’d resided since her birth for something to sustain her. She tried eating animals and became deathly ill. Eventually, she came upon a hunter. She bit him and nearly drained him. Feeling guilty, she fed him some of her blood.”
“She created another vampire.”
Nikolai nodded. “Yes, she created another vampire. This went on for years and years. It’s unknown how many she bit, nor how many they then consequently changed. What is known is there were enough to create a new race.”
When he stopped, Gabby’s brows pinched so tightly together, she could have held a toothpick between them. “What I don’t understand is how you know all of this.”
Nikolai smiled. “Aryhana had journals; everything from writings on the cave walls to eventually pen and paper. She kept careful notes of her life—which was a very long one.”
Gabby rubbed at her temples, grinding her palms into her eyes. “Wait a minute. I’ve seen you eat. It’s still daylight outside and you’re awake. You were outside today look nothing like a charcoal briquette.”
Nikolai’s shoulders lifted slightly. “Every race has to adapt. It’s told that early generations couldn�
��t stand the sun, but little by little we can tolerate it for short amounts of time. Do not ask me to accompany you to Lake Powell for spring break. I cannot lie around to get a tan.”
Her laughter warmed him from the inside out. Her hands moved over his arm in tender strokes. “But you have beautiful color to your skin. H- how does that work?”
Again he shrugged, then felt the corner of his lip lift in a smirk. “I am the same beautiful color from head to toe. I’d be happy to show you.”
A sarcastic snort was followed by even more sarcastic laughter. “I’ll have to check that out later. For now, I wanna get this right—” She waved her hands in front of her, clearing her internal chalkboard. “—you’re telling me you descended from Gods?”
“I’d never thought of it that way, but yes. I am descended from the Greek God, Asclepius.”
“Cool.” She pondered the information for a moment. “Well, I guess that explains the whole cursed beings theory. And—” She made a soft snorting sound in the back of her throat. “—I can’t imagine the hysteria Aryhana caused as she was trying to set things right.”
“We are not the bloodthirsty creatures pop culture makes us out to be. We have souls, consciences. There are good vamps and bad ones, just like humans.”
“Fair enough. I’ve met some real assholes, who weren’t vampires.” She looked at him, alarm in her eyes. “At least I don’t think they were vampires. How many of you are there?”
“It’s very possible you’ve met others like me on the streets.”
She grimaced. “And you all have powers?”
He nodded. “Whether one would consider it a power or not, I don’t know. Sometimes I think my inability to tell falsehoods is a curse.”
“You can’t lie?’
“No.”
She grinned. “Not even a white lie?”
“I can lie only by omission.”
Her smile widened. “What are you thinking right now?”
“How beautiful you are. How much I want to take you to my bed and never let you out. How damned lucky I am.”
He heard her heart’s reaction to his words, but she didn’t outwardly react. His Gabrielle was still leery. He would keep her talking and convince her to stay. The lights flicked on then turned off again, courtesy of his will.
“I can also manipulate locks with my mind.”
“I assumed you could control minds, can you?”
“I can control the minds of humans, even wipe memories.”
Panic flashed in her eyes. “Have you ever…?”
He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t work on heartmates. Regardless, I would never do that to you.”
She breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. Her fingers weaved through the fringe of the pillow next to her. Seconds of silence ticked by and Nikolai had to wonder where her thoughts were. Her stillness alarmed him more than when she screamed.
“I’m your … heartmate?” she asked the question as though she didn’t believe him all the other times he’d answered it.
“Yes.” He took her hand and put it over his heart. “Do you feel that?” When she nodded, he explained, “You are the only person on this earth who can make my heart beat … because you are my heartmate.”
“When did you figure it out?” she whispered, her eyes focused on her hand.
“The first time I touched you. That’s how it works. When a young male reaches maturity his heart stops beating. It’s said there is one special female who will make the dormant organ beat again. For me, it was excruciating, and until you, I’d walked around with a horrible empty ache in the middle of my chest. The day you appeared in my office and shook my hand—”
“Your heart beat again,” she finished for him.
“Yes.” He slipped his hand under hers to rub at his chest.
She was quiet. Too quiet. Her eyes closed and she inhaled through her nose, causing the nostrils to flare a tiny bit. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip so hard all the color disappeared. The muscle in her jaw jumped. In a flash she flew to her feet, and glared down at him, anger flaring in her eyes.
“How dare you?” Her hands fisted at her sides. “You knew from that first day! Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you knew we were meant to be together?”
He nodded, wanting to slap himself. Guilt ate at him as he watched the tempest build in her eyes. He should have captured her in his arms that very first day. He should have told her how he felt.
“Damn you, Niko! You put me through hell, wanting you so badly it hurt, and all the while you knew … you knew I was your one and only.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to force myself—my lifestyle—on you.”
She roughly placed a hand on each side of his face, not quite a slap, but not a tender caress either. Her palms were soft, her pulse vibrating against his cheek. She stared straight into his soul with fierce eyes.
“Don’t you dare try to be noble again. If this is going to work, you will tell me how you feel, what you think. I almost married another man because—” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “None of this would have happened if you’d have just told me three years ago. I could have made this decision.”
“What decision is that?” His anxiety spiked. He hadn’t realized there were any decisions left to be made. He loved her. She loved him.
“Well, I guess I need to know first, do you want me in your life?”
“More than anything.” He stared into her eyes, searching for how this conversation might continue. “Do you want to be in my life?”
She stood before him, her expression completely unreadable. His heart felt as though it might burst under the pressure, and he rubbed at the pain. He tried to breathe but couldn’t get air in or out of his lungs.
What would he do if she walked out on him?
She removed a palm from his face and placed it on his chest over his own hand. He felt like a bug under glass. If she didn’t say something soon, he was going to scream. She lifted her chin and stretched up on her tiptoes, the motion bringing them face to face, eye to eye, heart to heart.
“I do want to be in your life, Nikolai. More than anything.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Nikolai awoke the next morning he couldn’t believe how dramatically his life had changed. Only yesterday Gabrielle was determined to walk out of his life and never look back. Today she’d decided to never leave his side, and that was exactly where he wanted her—forever.
The heat kicked on, mixing her scent with his. Her lashes were a stark contrast to the pale skin of her cheek. The delicate sprinkle of freckles begged to be kissed but Nikolai refrained, not wanting to disturb her. At least not yet.
His fingertips moved the silky auburn locks from her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, so comfortable. She covered him like a soft, warm blanket with one arm stretched out across his chest and one leg hiked up over his thigh. And he was comfortable, too. Utterly at peace. It had been a very long time since he’d known this kind of solace.
They were clothed—for the most part—having only made their way to the bed after Gabby had fallen asleep on the couch, midsentence. He’d scooped her into his arms and popped them to his room. He’d slipped her under the sheets. Resisting the urge to jab his fists into the air and shout in victory, he’d changed into a pair of nylon workout pants before joining her.
He traced her features with the feather-light touch of a single finger. She moaned and snuggled closer into him until she nearly became a second skin. He tightened his hold.
“Niko,” she murmured, wrapping herself even tighter around him. He wasn’t sure if she was awake or not, until her lips brushed his bare chest. “Are you real?”
“Yes, love. I’m real.”
She stretched, arching against him. “Mmm … I can’t believe I’m really in your arms. Do you know how long I’ve dreamt of waking up in your bed?”
He chuckled softly. “I have an idea.”
He kissed the top of her head then, whe
n she stretched up, he gently kissed her lips. Although his entire body screamed for the intimate contact to get even more intimate, his thoughts turned to Gabby and her needs.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving.” She kissed him again, then pulled back to look at him. “For more than food.”
Her hot fingers moved back and forth over the exact replica of her birthmark. The light touch tickled and his pectoral muscles jumped involuntarily.
“What is this? Oh my gosh, Niko! It’s—” She pulled down the neckline of her shirt and tried to examine her shoulder blade.
He smiled. “You are my heartmate. As if my beating heart wasn’t proof enough.”
She shook her head, trying to process this newest piece of information. Her fingertips were gentle as she continued to caress the spot. Back and forth. Up and down. “When did you get it?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “It showed up last night.”
“Last night?” she asked. His eyes flicked open just in time to see her bite on her lip and her brows pull even closer together. “Why did it take so long?”
He brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her. She sat up, but didn’t stop touching the heartmate tattoo. He loved the way her fingers tickled over the sensitive flesh resembling a piece of her. The proof she was actually, finally his.
“You still had reservations, I guess. The rules are when a heartmate completely accepts her love for her male, the tattoo appears on his left pectoral. I’ve been waiting for it to show up—praying to the Goddess for it, actually—ever since I saw yours the first time.”
“When did you…?” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, her mouth lifting at one side. Then like a crack of thunder she laughed. “You were there. All of those nights when I thought I was going crazy, you were there!”
He wondered if he looked as guilty as he felt, but smiled in spite of it. “Do you know what your sleeping naked did to me? If I weren’t a male of honor.”
“Screw your honor!” She laughed out loud and slapped playfully at his chest. “I was trying to get you to take advantage of me.”
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