“You don’t know that,” she yelled, trying to rip her hand out of his.
“Yes, I do. Craig reports to me. Remember I told you I’m the prince, so I’m kind of a big deal.”
Narrowed eyes filled with fury stared at him.
“Let me clarify. If he hurts her, I will kill him. So he won’t.”
She gasped, hand flying to her chest.
God, he was absolutely shit at this. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
“So you won’t eat or kill me?’
“What? No!” he yelled, exasperated.
Willow jumped.
Shit, fuck, hell.
“Willow, baby”—he took her hands—“I genuinely love you. All of this is real. You are my girl, my mate.”
She shook her head, tears threatening again as the emotions ravaged her nervous system. He could see the exhaustion begin to take place.
“I don’t understand any of this. Make it all go away, please.”
“I am sorry.”
She blinked at him. “How can I be your mate if we are different species?”
Brayden chose his words carefully. He’d told her he would always protect her, never hurt her, and that was true. From anyone but himself.
He would, in fact, be killing her.
He counted his breaths for a few moments before continuing. “It doesn’t matter. My feelings are real. No one can fake the mating bond. Willow, I have fought this. I didn’t want this for you.”
She burst into tears all of a sudden, her face falling into her hands. Brayden pulled her into his arms. Incredibly, she melted into him. He allowed himself a moment to soak up her warm, soft, feminine body.
“I’m so terrified,” she sobbed as he rubbed her back.
“My mom was human,” he said unexpectedly. She mumbled against his chest, indicating she had heard and wanted to hear more. “She loved my father more than all the stars in the sky. Her words, not mine. I’m not a poet.”
He felt a grunt against his chest that felt like a little laugh. Then she added, “I’m still scared.”
“I know. If it helps, I’ve been terrified of telling you.”
She raised her bloodshot eyes to him. “Why?”
“Because, my beautiful human, I love you so fucking much my chest hurts every day worrying I’m going to lose you. I’ve lost count of the hundreds of ways I’ve imagined that happening. Telling you who I am was right at the top of the list. Being rejected even though I know it’s from fear.”
About seven different emotions crossed her face over the next thirty seconds. He patiently let his words sink in, desperately hoping they made an impact. They weren’t rehearsed. He’d never spoken truer words in his long existence.
He ran his thumb over her cheekbone. “However, I will walk out of here tonight and never return if it is what you want. It will kill me, but I’ll do it.”
Willow’s eyes bulged wider, and he shook his head. “Not literally, baby.”
Mostly.
“Oh.”
“You’ve had a huge shock. Lie back on me and we can figure out what to do when you are ready.” Brayden reached up and dimmed the lights.
She tensed. He murmured for her to relax and shifted them so she was lying against him. She stayed, and he prayed to a handful of gods in thanks.
They lay staring at each other in a way he never thought he’d do with another living being. Especially not a human who’d just learned that he was a vampire.
Eventually Willow let out a big sigh. “I am safe with you.”
It was both a statement and a question.
“Yes.”
“You are not going to drink my blood?”
He shook his head. Not tonight, at least. He’d tell her that part another day.
“Don’t touch my memories again.”
“Never.”
“Promise me.”
“I swear.”
“Can I meet your family?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Which I guess will be tomorrow because you’re leaving.”
And you’re coming with me, Willow.
He wouldn’t be leaving without her. Not only because she was his mate but because her life was now at risk thanks to him.
He touched her mind, something he had meant to do earlier, and found the memories of her time in the park. A face he didn’t recognize, but an accent he did. Italian. One of Russo’s men. He’d approached her, asked her how her vampire lover was, and had fortunately been interrupted by his phone call.
Thank fuck he’d rung when he did. The vamp must have wiped her memories then and there, and ran away.
“Yes, I’ll take you to meet them after we’ve had some sleep.”
“Because you can’t go out in daylight?”
“Correct. We sleep for a few hours during the day.”
When she opened her mouth to ask the inevitable, Brayden couldn’t resist a grin. “No coffin. I sleep in a regular bed.”
Cue the adorable blushing.
“It was dusk when we were at the park.”
“The cloud cover was sufficient. It’s the direct, hot sun which can kill us.”
“So no tropical beach holidays for you.”
He shook his head. It was these conversations which reminded him of his mom. Willow didn’t know it yet, but it was soon to become her reality.
Brayden had promised his future mate one thousand years ago that if she was human, he’d let her choose her future. She could become a vampire or walk away and remain mortal and live out her human life.
Now, with Willow in his arms, he wondered if he could, in fact, let her walk away.
They sat up on the edge of the sofa and their shoulders bumped.
“What do you want Willow? For me to go or to stay?” He would stay outside the house keeping watch if she asked him to leave.
“Both. I’m scared, even though I know you would never hurt me.”
“I’ve just burst your whole sense of reality to pieces, so it’s natural to feel this way.”
She looked around her house while nodding. “What will happen when I meet your family?”
He drew in a long breath. “I’ll introduce you to my brother, the king, and his mate, the queen. I won’t lie; the compound is full of vampires.” Her eyes widened at that. “There’s nothing to fear. No one will dare look at you, let alone touch you.”
“Because you’re the prince.”
“Yes. Among other things.”
Like the fact that he’d rip their fucking heads off.
Willow slumped back on the sofa. “Here’s the thing. If you leave, I’ll end up freaking the hell out and running away to Switzerland to hide from you, or something.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t do that.” He cursed himself for not trading blood with her yet so he could track her.
“Then you better stay.”
She hadn’t yet realized that the mating bond was creating her need to stay with him. As he’d demonstrated to her the other evening, there was a physical pain when they weren’t together.
Willow likely thought he was being romantic, but teddy bears and rose petals aside, it was a physiological truth for the mate of a vampire. She might not be a vampire yet, but it still impacted her.
Brayden pulled her into his arms. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll need to leave early.”
She mumbled against him.
“Okay, let’s get you into bed and see if you can get some sleep.”
He carried her into bed, grateful for whatever was allowing her to be with him. It could be shock or it could be the mating bond.
But why look a gift horse in the mouth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Craig stood outside Brianna’s place and stared.
Then stared a bit more.
He gave pacing a go until he realized he didn’t have time to fuck around, so he needed to grow a pair and knock. Or go home.
Brianna opened the door as she wrapped a short whi
te silky gown around her.
“Jesus, woman, you’re just asking to be attacked!”
“What are you doing here?” Brianna asked, startled, before she crossed her arms defiantly.
“Clearly protecting you from being molested.”
“I was in bed safe and sound before you woke me up with your loud banging,” she countered, hands on her hips.
His cock twitched. “God, don’t tell me that.”
“What are you doing here, Craig?” she repeated.
Good question.
He plunged his hands into his pockets and upped his shoulders, all tough guy, which he was not. Okay, he totally was when not around this redheaded beauty. As soon as he was in her presence, he felt like a young vampire tripping over his tongue before racing home to jerk off.
Last time he’d been here, it had been a disaster. He’d squeezed himself into the taxi, leaving Brayden and the others outside the bar after insisting he’d see Bri home safely.
The ride had been tense, with short glances at each other as their bodies touched and bumped with the movement of the vehicle.
He’d paid the driver and gotten out with her.
Truthfully, he’d had no expectations nor any plans of what was going to happen next. He’d simply not been able to walk away from her.
Brianna had turned and held out her hand to stop him from following her up to her house. There had been little honesty in her body language, in the scent of desire that was rolling off her, so he’d taken a step forward.
Her slow blink had been the beginning of him losing all control. He’d gripped her hand and pulled her up against him, kissing her harshly. The universe had responded by letting off a gazillion fireworks in their honor, and it was all going fucking fabulously until she had suddenly ripped herself out of his arms.
Okay, so he had let her. There was no way she had the strength to budge him even if she had wanted to, but he never forced a woman.
Standing there panting, they had stared at each other for a long moment. No words. Brianna had then turned and run up the stairs. One final glance, and she had closed the door. Stunned, Craig had stared at his big black Nikes for a long moment before he kicked the concrete step and ported back home.
Now he stood at the top of the steps. “I wanted to apologize.”
“You came all this way to apologize for a kiss which meant nothing?” Her eyes narrowed in disbelief at him while his chest tightened.
Ouch.
“It’s not too far. Anyway, you don’t know where I live, so how...” Craig frowned and shook his head. “That’s not what I’m apologizing for. In the bathroom, at the bar. That.”
“When you were going to fuck me and didn’t.”
He cringed. “Look, can I come in?”
She tugged her silk robe closer. “So you can reject me again? No, thanks.”
What?
He stepped closer, close enough to feel the warmth of her body and for his hands to twitch at the need to touch her. Her breathing sped up and she swallowed deeply. He took another step.
“Stop,” she said quietly with absolutely no truth in her voice.
“Are you angry with me?”
Her mouth slightly opened, breathing shallowly, but she did not answer.
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter. You should leave.”
He couldn’t. Craig knew he should be elsewhere right now, focused on the shitstorm happening with the royal family. Yet here he was, standing outside this female’s house trying to understand her. Trying to understand why he hadn’t just unzipped and plunged into her a few nights ago in that disgusting bathroom.
“Tell me.” He leaned closer, breathing in her fruity scent.
Brianna let out a long, exasperated breath. “Fine. You rejected me. All right? It hurt. Now you can go.”
He blanched, pulling back at the thought of her feeling rejected by him. Hell no. He hadn’t. “Are you kidding me, woman? My cock has been hard since we met and won’t go down.”
She rolled her eyes. “Charming.”
He spun around and took a few steps away, throwing up his hands. “Fuck, what do you want?”
“Nothing! I want nothing from you. I want you to go away so I can forget you and everything that happened between us.”
Fury poured through his veins. He marched back to her and gripped her arm.
“Bullshit. You want me as much as I want you.”
“I most certainly—”
Craig smashed his lips down on hers, surprising them both. Then her body responded, melting against his.
Her mouth opened, giving him full access as her nipples hardened against his chest. A guttural groan escaped him as her nails dug into his arms. He wanted those nails in his back, in his hair, as he took her to paradise.
She tasted like strawberries—sweet and juicy—a contrast to his masculine sweat. He cupped her small bottom and pulled her into his hard erection, hoping to God she could feel how much he wanted her.
A quick look inside her house, and he calculated how long it would take to get into her bedroom and rip the white robe off. He’d have to use human speed, but if he flipped her over and lifted the silk, he figured it would be forty-five seconds at most. He could wait. His cock couldn’t.
All of a sudden, she released his mouth and began pushing against his chest. Craig relaxed his hold slightly and stared down at her, frowning. She wouldn’t look at him.
“I’m leaving in a couple of days,” he said with his arms on her hips. She nodded. “Brianna, look at me.”
She chewed her lip then finally looked up.
“I want you, Bri. Invite me in.”
She gave a small shake of her head. “I can’t. I just can’t do this.”
“I never rejected you, beautiful. I simply didn’t want to fuck you in the shitty bathroom. You deserve better.”
She stepped away further. He let her. Reluctantly. She tugged the silk around her and redid the tie.
“And fucking me in my bedroom and then leaving is better, is it?”
What could he say? The answer was fundamentally yes, yet he suspected it wasn’t the answer she wanted.
“Better than never having you, yes.”
She began to shake her head. “You need to go. I get it. There’s some incredibly strong chemistry between us, but I’m not like the girls you normally hook up with. Yes, I know it nearly happened the other night, and I can’t explain why.” She shook her head. “I’m ashamed of myself. I’m angry with your rejection, but it was probably for the best.”
His head spun as he tried to figure out all that human emotion.
“The truth is I feel out of control when you’re around, Craig. It’s good you’re leaving.”
God yes, be out of control. Please.
“You really need to go,” she finished before he could get the words out, the look in her eye indicating she knew what he was going to say.
Craig ran a hand through his hair. He should leave. This all felt too heavy. He was used to sex being fun, easy, and playful. With her, it felt like fire and lightning. Like fireworks sparkling in the air between them. They both felt it.
“I’d really like to see you out of control under me, Bri.”
She swallowed loudly, her nipples turning to pebbles and her pulse increasing its pitter-patter. His cock incredibly got even harder. Bri peered down at it as he stepped closer, touching her hip, and then suddenly she slipped away.
She stepped back and closed the door.
In his fucking face.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Willow awoke feeling like she was trapped underground. Gasping for breath, she suddenly found herself flipped onto her back.
“Willow! You okay?”
Gasp, gasp.
She sat up and pushed him slightly away from her. “Jesus, Brayden, give me some space. You nearly suffocated me holding me so tight.”
He lay back down and let out a groan. “God, I’m sorry.”
She sucked in a few deep breaths, enjoying the cool, fresh air. She lay her head on his chest and ran her thumb over his skin.
It seemed strange to be comforting him. Surely any sane woman would have caught the first flight to New Zealand or some far flung country after her boyfriend had told her he was a vampire. Strangely, once the initial shock had begun to subside—because God knew it hadn’t disappeared—she had begun to look at the situation from Brayden’s perspective. Not completely, but she could understand his fear that she would walk away. It was her own fear of never seeing him again that allowed her to understand.
Despite everything, the thought of not lying in his arms, of not being held in those ethereal silver eyes, of never feeling the magic they created sexually felt...wrong. It was the only word she could find that described it.
Not like when you broke up with a boyfriend and felt the sadness of never seeing him again. This was different.
Her mind flashed to the day Brianna had found out about her husband. They had just finished lunch and were loading the dishwasher and wiping down the benches when the knock at the door came. Her friend had glanced at her and then dried her hands.
Something had made Willow follow her. Some deep instinct. As the door opened and the man in uniform came into focus, her stomach had sunk. There were usually very few reasons for a visit like this.
Brianna wobbled then sunk to the ground as the man continued to deliver his message, regret lacing his face. Willow fell to the floor, pulling her friend into her arms. As Brianna howled, Willow rocked her friend, aware she’d never heard a more guttural sound.
A tear slipped from her eye at the memory.
“Hey.” Brayden tipped her face to his.
“I’m okay. It’s all just a lot.” He nodded, leaned forward to kiss her nose, and lay back down.
While it seemed entirely disrespectful to compare her situation to losing a military husband in such a devastating way, Willow only knew that if Brayden walked out the door, she wouldn’t be able to breathe. Despite him not being human. Despite the fact he had fangs. Despite the fact she had no fucking clue how they could ever be together.
She only knew she had to stay with him. At least for now. “What time is it?”
“Around four. We’ll need to leave within the hour.”
The Vampire Prince Page 17