by Scott, K. M.
“No. Because I love you and you’ll be tortured by the memory of killing your only brother. Don’t do this.”
The sadness in her voice touched Saint, and all the strength seemed to vanish from his hands. He let them fall from Teagan’s neck and stepped back in disgust. “Don’t come back here again. The next time, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Sixteen
Solenne stared in horror at the man Teagan had become. Everything she’d admired in him seemed a distant memory, replaced now with a heartless desire for vengeance against the man she loved.
“How could you Teagan? Wasn’t it enough that I ended it with him, breaking both our hearts?”
“You were mine. Are mine.”
“No. Not anymore. I can never forgive what you’ve done. You have no claim on me now.”
His face twisted in disgust. “Do you think the Archons are going to approve your turning your back on your sire for Declan, a vampire they want dead?”
Unable to believe there wasn’t something of the sire she’d known and loved, Solenne touched her hand to the spot above his heart and searched his eyes for any sign of kindness. “I’ve been a loyal vampire to you, except for this one transgression. You have women around the world, and whatever you felt for me then you haven’t felt for years. I can’t believe the sire I adored would deprive two hearts he cared for the love they deserve.”
For just a moment, she thought she saw a softening of his expression, but instead of answering her, he looked away and then in a blur, he was gone.
Alone, Solenne walked the grounds behind the house searching for Declan. She needed to talk to him, to show him she’d chosen him. In the darkness, she walked the gravel path that wound through hedges and fountains until she found him sitting on the stone bench where they’d shared that first illicit kiss. In the light of the moon, he looked just as he had that night. As she drew closer, she saw deep brown eyes full of pain gazing up at her nearly breaking her heart.
“I never knew, Declan. I had no choice when he found out. He said he’d kill you if I didn’t end it. It broke my heart to say goodbye, and when you disappeared, I thought it was because you couldn’t stand to be around me.”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and hung his head. “I would’ve never given up. He knew that.”
Declan opened his eyes and stared up at the sky. “For so long, I blamed you for what he did. Every night I asked myself why you’d punish me. And every day I laid awake in bed trying to convince myself that I hated you, even as your face haunted me, making the lies I told myself useless.”
The pain in his voice nearly strangled the words as he spoke them, and Solenne touched his shoulder wanting so much to take away his sadness. “Please forgive me. I had no choice.”
Shaking his head, he stood and faced her. “There’s nothing to forgive. You took me in when none of my vampires were there for me. You suffered bringing me women…”
Declan stopped and lowered himself to his knees. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her to him. “It’s you who must forgive me. I was so consumed with hurt when you left me and I carried that need to hurt you inside me for so long it became who I was.”
Solenne ran her hands over the soft growth of hair on his head, unable to speak a word. The man kneeling in front of her, so strong and powerful to everyone else, wanted her forgiveness.
After everything that had happened—how she’d broken his heart making him the hardened soul he’d been for so long—he was asking her to forgive him. How could she deny him? No one else since him had touched her heart the way he had.
Crouching down to kiss him, she cradled his face in her hands. “That’s not who you are. I know the rest of the world sees Saint, but I don’t. No matter how much hatred you carried, no matter how much rage you show everyone else, I’ve never doubted the man inside was the Declan I fell in love with.”
“You’re all I have, Solenne. But years of being alone have taken their toll. The Declan you fell in love with died a long time ago.”
Solenne kissed him softly on his cheek and shook her head. “Not dead. Just buried under years of anger. But I’ve felt that man in your kiss, in the way your hands caress my body when you make love to me.”
He slid his hand to the back of her head and pulled her toward him. The lips that had thrilled her with simply a kiss in that very spot that first night pressed against her mouth, and she felt the passion flow from him, exciting her more than she’d ever imagined she’d feel again.
His tongue slid past her lips to mingle with her tongue, sending a jolt of need straight to between her legs as he expertly explored her mouth. Their years apart melted away until it was as if there had been no time between that first kiss and this one.
Soft lips teased hers and left her wanting more when he turned his attention to her neck. Still sore from the Archon’s feeding, she froze as Declan dragged his tongue up the column of her neck in one long, sensual stroke and over the spot the Archon had abused.
Sensing the change in her, Declan raised his head and looked into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
The way he asked made it clear he expected her to tell him everything. Tilting her head to hide the evidence of what she’d done, she forced a smile onto her lips. “I would do anything to see you safe.”
Declan squinted his eyes slightly and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. “What happened? What did they make you do?”
Solenne stood from him, but he grabbed her hand and held her next to him. “I did what I had to for you and the Sons.”
“Fuck the Sons! I need to know why you pull away when my lips touch your neck.”
He looked up at her, his eyes blazing with anger, and she shook her head. “No. You’ll do something stupid!”
In a second, he was on his feet in front of her, his hands holding her shoulders as he stood staring at her impatiently waiting to hear what she dreaded saying.
“Solenne, what did the Archon do to you?”
Quietly, she said, “Nothing I didn’t let him do.”
Brushing her hair off her shoulder, he moved to use the moonlight to examine her neck. His expression told her he saw the bruises.
As if to alert the world of his intentions, he said in a low voice, “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“No, Declan! Don’t do anything stupid!”
“Solenne, it’s not stupid to protect the woman you love. If I’d do it with my own brother, don’t you think I’d do it with one of those bastards?”
Tears filled her eyes and for one of the few times in her life, she didn’t try to stop them or hide from them. “That’s the first time since you got here that you told me you love me.”
“Solenne, they’ve called me Saint for nearly a century because I refused to sleep with any female vampire—not just mine but any female of our kind. Did you doubt that I love you? That I never stopped loving you?”
In his serious tone, she heard the pain he’d suffered all those years. Willing to show him some of what she’d endured, she said, “More than you’ll ever know, Declan.”
“Well, then I’ll have to make it my purpose in life to make sure you know just how loved you are.”
This was the Declan she’d fallen in love with, the Declan whose feelings so often seemed hidden, but at those times when they bubbled up to the surface, made him devastatingly charming.
“I like the sound of that.”
Taking her by the hand, he led her back along the path toward the house. “Good. You’ll like what I have in mind.”
*
The sweet taste of Solenne’s skin on his tongue made Saint’s cock surge against his belly. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to sink his teeth into the swell of her full breast and lose himself in her blood. But he wanted this time to be different.
He wanted to show her how much he adored her.
Cupping her breast, he gently sucked the pink tip to an excited peak, careful to let his fangs only graze the tender skin. Sol
enne whimpered her desire as she arched her back, urging him to give her more.
God, he loved feeling her under him, her body open for him! No woman had made him feel what she did just by being her. The simple touch of her hand on his head, the needy sound that laced her words when he touched her created more happiness in him than a century worth of women.
Tilting his chin up toward her, she said, “Declan, I want to feel you inside me. I want to forget every night between all those years ago and now. Help me forget.”
Blue eyes clouded from need and desire silently begged him to hurry, and he slid up her body to cradle her in his arms. “I loved you in spite of myself. It was the only thing I could do. Don’t think about all those nights. Think about every night from this moment on in my arms.”
Saint kissed her deeply and slid into her waiting body, loving the sensation of her soft walls stretching to take all he offered. With her arms and legs wrapped around him, she clung to him as he thrust into her, burying himself deep inside her.
Her body fit his as if it had been made just for him, like a piece to complete a puzzle long ago left unfinished. She excited every nerve ending in his body with no more than a word or a smile.
How many nights had he closed his eyes and imagined her beneath him as he sought that moment of happiness with a woman—that fleeting moment when he knew he pleased another?
But it was more than that with Solenne. More than physical pleasure. More than knowing his body thrilled hers as much as hers did his. No, when he looked into those ocean blue eyes so full of emotion, he saw a part of himself she’d taken even without him realizing until it was too late.
Every night he’d searched for that missing part, hoping to find it in some small measure in pleasing a woman and accepting that was all he could ever be. Now, whole in her arms again, he understood what real happiness was.
“Declan…”
Solenne smiled up at him sweetly and he slowed his pace. Turning her head, she exposed her neck and whispered, “I want nothing between us. Take from me to show me you trust me to take care of you as you take care of me.”
He knew what she meant and hated it. Hated the idea of what she’d done. And loved her all the more for her strength.
Gently, she pulled his head toward the place that would provide him with her very essence. The feel of her soft skin against his lips reminded him how much she must have suffered at the Archon’s hands, and he paused to worship with a kiss that precious gift she offered unconditionally.
Her skin smelled like flowers on a summer morning, as if she’d somehow conquered the curse of their kind and laid down among honeysuckle on a sunny July day. Saint inhaled deeply, savoring the fragrance that reminded him of his life in the Irish countryside.
He pressed his fangs against her skin, feeling her tender skin begin to surrender to their razor sharp points. Slowly, he entered her, stopping for the briefest moment as he waited for her body to deliver her sweet blood. It hit his tongue and a wave of excitement raced through his body, making his limbs heavy and his cock surge inside her.
Her blood flowed down his throat, making his body come alive like only blood from her could. Each pull on her vein brought him closer to release, and he fought to control urges that threatened to overtake him.
Closing the holes, he lifted his mouth from her neck and groaned, “Solenne, ride me and take what you need.”
Saint slid out of her and rolled onto his back, happy to wrestle some control from his animal urges that threatened to make him no better than the fucking Archon. Thankfully, Solenne sensed none of his thoughts and climbed on top of him to straddle his hips.
Perched atop him like a conqueror, she leaned down and threaded her fingers through his. With his hands pressed above him, he waited, willing to relinquish the power to her.
Her soft hair dangled in his face, tickling his lips, as she rolled her hips to create friction against his cock. Over and over, she slide her wet folds up and down his shaft, almost taking him inside her but each time deliberately allowing only the head of his cock to enter before she rolled back to begin her teasing again.
Let other males have those sweet, submissive types. He preferred a woman who was his equal any night.
Solenne licked her lips and as her gaze roamed over his body, a devilish grin slowly spread across her face. “All these muscles and here I sit with all the power. You might put all those hours in the gym to better use.”
“Have anything in mind?”
Dropping her head, she whispered seductively next to his ear, “A few things.”
Her fangs playfully nipped his earlobe as she slid her lips to his neck. Warm breath puffed against his skin, and he waited for her to pierce his vein to take from him.
He wanted to move his hands, to hold her hips as he slid her down his cock, but he liked giving her this. For too long, everything about him had been about control. Control of his emotions. Control of his body. Control to deal with living alone, separate from their world. Giving her the control freed him.
A tiny kiss touched his skin and then she sunk her fangs into his neck. His back arched and his hips lifted off the bed, sending his cock along her moist slit before he buried himself completely inside her. As her mouth sweetly sucked what she needed from him, her body fucked his, rhythmically squeezing and releasing his cock until he couldn’t hold off the end anymore.
Solenne’s moans against his skin told him she was almost there. Instinct took over, and he broke free from her hold to keep her firmly in place on top of him as she began to come. Her body closed in around him and then his body flooded hers.
He’d never experienced the feeling of pure ecstasy from making love to one of his vampires as he sired her, but he couldn’t believe that could be any better than the way he felt when he made love to Solenne.
She tenderly slid her tongue over his skin to close where she’d drunk and lifted her head to kiss him. Her lips, stained a deep red, kissed his lightly. “Declan, go away with me. Anywhere. I’ll go anywhere. Please, can we leave here?”
Tucking the hair behind her ears, he saw she was serious. “There’s nothing in this world I’d rather do than leave everything and go away with you. Nothing. But we can’t. Not now. Not with what the Archons have started. But I promise when this is done, we’ll go somewhere and begin our life together.”
Solenne said nothing but kissed him and then rolled off him to rest her head on his chest. For a long time, they lay there silently as Saint stroked her back and wondered where they would live after all the bullshit with the Archons was over. Money wasn’t an issue. He’d amassed a small fortune over the years. Maybe the States. Maybe Spain. He’d been there once and liked it.
“Declan, no matter what happens, you’re the love of my life.”
Kissing the top of her head, he smiled and said, “I should hope so. You don’t proposition just any man to go away with you to start a new life, do you?”
Solenne lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “No matter what happens, remember what I said.”
Cradling her face, he placed a kiss on her lips. “I’m not letting those sterile fucks dust me. I don’t care who they send. They can send all my vampires who hate me. I’m going to be on Earth for a long time and you’re going to be with me. All those hours in the gym weren’t for nothing.”
Seventeen
Saint felt the approach of the dawn settle into his body, but the last thing he wanted to do was rest. Making love all day sounded like a better idea. As he considered whether to join Solenne in the shower or wait for her to return to their bed, the doorbell chimed and he reluctantly slipped on pants and made his way to the front door.
Opening the door, he saw Vasilije, Terek, and Dante staring in surprise at him. He was definitely not in the mood for this.
“Don’t you have women to keep you busy? It’s almost dawn.”
“Odd question coming from you,” Dante said in his usual smart-ass tone.
Saint’s fangs
snapped into his mouth, and he growled his displeasure.
Vasilije stepped forward, his face far more serious than the young vampire’s. “We need to see Solenne.”
Shaking his head, Saint stood toe-to-toe with the Romanian. No way was he letting this group in to ply her for information. “No. I’ll have her call you tonight.”
“This can’t wait, Saint. We need to see her now,” Terek said from behind Vasilije.
Great. Now they had the mystical guy he actually didn’t mind making their case.
“What’s so fucking important that you feel the need to ruin the last few hours of night to see my…” Hesitating, Saint quickly decided none of them needed to know what she was to him.
From behind him, he heard Solenne ask, “Declan, who are you talking to?”
His gaze traveled from one man to the next. “Vampires who’ve forgotten what time it is.”
Solenne slid her arms around his waist and peaked around his shoulder. “Hi guys. Hi Dante! It’s nice to see you again.”
“They were just leaving.”
“We need to speak to you, Solenne. Back at the monastery would be better.”
Before she could answer, too nicely he was sure, Saint moved to close the door and put an end to this. “Vasilije, she’s not going anywhere with you.”
“Declan, let them in. They’re trying to protect you like I am.”
“Then let them do it tonight.”
“This can’t wait. Don’t make this difficult,” Vasilije said way too close to his face.
“I’m not my brother, Vasilije. I’m not one of your vampires, so if I choose to be difficult, you’ll have to fucking deal with it. I won’t say it again. Come back later.”
Solenne pressed her cheek to his back and hugged him. “Declan, we have the rest of our lives to be together. This sounds important.”
Looking over his shoulder, he saw her looking up at him with those blue eyes that never failed to touch him. Damn, he couldn’t say no when she looked at him like that.