“The animals like you,” he murmured.
“I’ve always had a special—” Willow paused as she tried to come up with the right word for it. “—affinity with them. I like them, they like me, and we respect each other. I know it sounds weird, considering I sometimes feed on them, but they seem to understand.”
“That’s because they know what it takes to survive,” Declan said.
Willow pondered this for a minute. “Maybe. Are you ready to run again?”
He studied her with a more critical eye. After feeding and sleeping, she looked a lot better than yesterday, but shadows still smudged her eyes. She would never admit it or stop unless he suggested it.
“Why don’t we walk for a little while?” he said. “I think we’ve lost them, and there’s no reason to push ourselves if we don’t have to.”
Willow yearned for civilization and all its luxurious comforts, like clean underwear, but she’d love to give her aching legs a break.
“Walking sounds good,” she said.
She fell into step beside him as they made their way through the forest. Declan pushed branches out of the way for her, and she ducked to avoid a low-hanging limb before rising on the other side. He followed her.
While they walked, she kept her attention riveted on the shadows and the squirrels and birds flitting through the branches. She loved the sounds they made, and watching them gave her a sense of comfort she hadn’t experienced in days.
“Why did you join the Alliance?” Declan asked after they’d walked for a couple of miles.
Willow ducked another branch before rising on the other side and glancing surreptitiously at him. Maybe they should have kept running; it was preferable to crying in front of him.
When the silence stretched on, she realized she had to give him an answer. “Savages killed one of my adopted uncles. They captured him and two of my other uncles and took them to an island where they hunted them like they were less than animals. Unfortunately, Doug didn’t survive.”
Her jaw was clenched so tight, he heard her teeth grinding together as her grief beat against him.
“Doug wasn’t blood, but he was my family,” Willow said. “We all loved him so much, and they took him from us.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” she muttered.
“I heard about that island. It was a new low for Savages, but over the years, I’ve come to realize there’s little they can do to surprise me anymore.”
“Until they start building tunnels and living underground with demons?”
“Until they start doing that,” he admitted. “So, you joined to get revenge for your uncle?”
“No, I joined to prevent other families from suffering the same fate. No one should lose someone they love to these bastards, and no one should be forced into becoming one of them.”
Fire burned in her eyes when she met his gaze again. He didn’t have to feel her determination; it radiated off her in waves.
“And I do it for Doug,” she admitted.
“Understandable. Vicky wasn’t thrilled when you joined us.”
Willow snorted. “That’s an understatement. None of my family was thrilled about it, but they’ve gotten used to the idea, or at least they don’t constantly try to talk me out of it anymore. I’m sure that will change after this.”
“They care about you.”
“Too much.”
“Is there such a thing?”
When she tilted her head, the sun’s rays filtering through the trees emphasized her delicate beauty. He almost stopped walking to draw her against him. He didn’t think she’d deny him if he tried to kiss her, and he imagined those full, red lips tasted as good as they looked.
His hand dipped into the pocket containing what remained of his stash of lollipops, but when she smiled at him, he released the sticks.
“It is when you have nine siblings, parents who are madly in love with each other, and four… I mean, three adopted uncles.” She’d been talking to him about Doug, but sometimes she still forgot he was gone. When she remembered, it was like a blow to her all over again. “Not to mention brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and a troop of nieces and nephews. Sometimes the amount of caring can be overwhelming, but I guess it never can be too much.”
“I bet holidays at your house are a little hectic.”
She chuckled as she pushed aside another branch. “Christmas was a war zone when I was a kid. Even if a present had your name on it, there was no guarantee you’d get it. My brother Julian took a wooden Santa to the head when he tried to steal my brother Aiden’s PlayStation.
“In the process of the fight, they both broke the PlayStation, and my father grounded them for a week. The sad thing is, the broken PlayStation made Julian happy as he’d planned to take it apart and learn how it worked. We tortured each other daily.”
Despite describing it as a war zone, the sad smile on her face said she missed her family and all their craziness.
“It sounds like fun.”
“It was… interesting, frustrating, brutal, and a lot of laughter. We loved it. What about you, why did you join the Alliance?”
“My father was a member before me; I always knew I would join one day too. When I stopped aging at twenty-four, I went into training, though I was preparing years before that.”
“Did your mom give you a hard time about it?” she asked.
“She was killed by Savages when I was five.”
Willow winced and wondered if she could pull her foot out of her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“It was almost six hundred years ago, and I don’t remember much about her.” But he could recall feeling an overwhelming amount of love in her presence and the sweet sound of her voice when she sang to him. “She loved me.”
The wistful way he said it caused a pang to tug at Willow’s heart. He was gorgeous, powerful, brave, and a man willing to sacrifice himself for others, but she suspected that, unlike her, there hadn’t been a whole lot of love in his life. Yet, she couldn’t think of anyone who deserved it more.
She rested her hand on his arm before realizing what she’d done. The gesture was so instinctive, she hadn’t thought about it before acting, but now she was holding the arm of a man she was supposed to be strictly business around.
Chapter Seventeen
Lowering her hand, she focused on the trees as she tried to think of something to distract from her awkward gesture. “Were your parents mates?”
“No, they were just lovers. My father didn’t talk about her much, but it sounded like they were also good friends.”
Willow almost asked what became of his father, but after her blunder with his mother, she wasn’t sure if she should. “So, you joined when you were twenty-four; how old are you now?”
“I’ll be six hundred and five on June first.”
Willow released a low whistle. “I bet you’ve seen a lot in your lifetime.”
“I have. And how old are you?”
“I turned twenty-four January twenty-second.”
“I bet you’ve seen a lot in your lifetime.”
She smiled at his teasing manner and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I have. What’s your last name?”
“Keogh. And I know you’re a Byrne.”
“One of many,” she said with a laugh.
The sound of her laugh caused him to suck in a breath. It was lyrical and beautiful and carefree in a way he’d never been. It was the laugh of someone who loved and enjoyed life.
“What about boyfriends?” he found himself asking. “I bet the boys chased you all over.”
Her eyes twinkled when they met his again. “I’m not easy to catch.”
“So, no boyfriends?”
“Is there a point to having a relationship with someone if you know they’re not your mate?”
“There are plenty of vamps who seek out comfort from a long-term partner to ease their loneliness or start a family. My parents did.”
&n
bsp; “True, but no boyfriends for me. Some flings, but no one I wanted to see again.”
The jealousy twisting like a knife in his chest was so unexpected he didn’t know how to handle it. He’d give anything to be one of those men who got to touch her, hold her, taste her.
“And they were all human,” she said. “I stayed away from vamps.”
That meant she’d never known what it was like to be with a vampire, someone who could match her stamina and strength. Someone who could enjoy her for hours. When he found himself growing aroused, he shut down the image of her lying naked on a bed, sprawled out before him as he tasted every inch of her.
“Why stay away from vamps?” he asked.
“Humans were simpler,” she said. “And they can do the same thing.”
“Not quite,” he murmured and elaborated when she gave him a questioning look. “A vampire could match your stamina a lot more than a human.”
Willow couldn’t stop her gaze from running over him. She barely managed to stop herself from licking her lips as she pondered exactly how much stamina he had. She started to scold herself about not sleeping with her boss but stopped. A little harmless fantasizing never hurt anyone.
She told herself this, but she knew she was lying. It wasn’t harmless. She wanted him, and she was playing with fire by letting it continue, but she couldn’t shut her mind down now that it had traveled this very enticing path.
“And what about you?” she asked. “Any girlfriends?”
“None.”
“You’ve never wanted a relationship?”
He was never capable of having a relationship that didn’t revolve around blood and sex. However, he didn’t know how to explain that without traveling a road that would have her looking at him with disgust instead of with her beautiful smile.
“My life has always revolved around the Alliance.” It may not be the whole truth, but it was the truth.
“So a string of flings?” she asked.
“I guess you could say that. Is that what you would call your relationships, a string of flings?”
“If you consider four a string, then I guess so.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“What exactly have you seen?” she asked. “I’ve always loved history. Did you see the French Revolution?”
“I didn’t see it, but I was alive. It was a turbulent time everywhere.”
“What about Napoleon?”
“That guy,” he said with a roll of his eyes that made her chuckle.
She asked more questions about events he might have seen or experienced. She could have listened to the baritone timbre of his voice for days on end. He was alive for Columbus, the Protestant Reformation, Galileo, the Seven Years War, the Crimean War, and so many other things. He went to balls, visited gaming halls, went on hunts, and walked among royalty as well as the poorest of the poor.
While the humans were waging numerous wars, he was fighting with Ronan and the Alliance to keep the spread of Savages under control. Unfortunately, it was a battle they would have to fight for the rest of their lives; as long as there were vampires, there would always be Savages.
“I enjoyed Woodstock and Studio 54,” he said. “If only because they were fun places to people watch, and those people were insane.”
Willow chuckled. “Why did you go to them?”
“They were both places where people were having a good time, and you know how Savages feel about that.”
“I do.”
Eventually, they lapsed into silence, but Willow found herself repeatedly looking at him. He was as intriguing as he was alluring.
“It looks like we’re spending another night in the woods,” she said when the sun started to set again.
“Civilization has to be somewhere.”
He was right, but she was beginning to feel like the rest of the world had ceased to exist, and they were all that remained of it.
Chapter Eighteen
Willow woke to discover herself nestled within Declan’s arms again. She’d taken the first watch so he could sleep and woke him at two to take over; she fell asleep before her head hit the ground.
With her height, there weren’t many men who could make her feel small, but Declan was a good five inches taller than her, and she fit perfectly in his lap. Her first instinct was to pull away; she didn’t want him to think she was weak, but she couldn’t deny herself the warmth and comfort of being in his arms. The cool breeze flowing through the woods tickled her cheeks, and she shivered, which was probably why she was in his arms again.
Typically, she was a light sleeper; she had to be after years of her siblings sneaking into her room to put things inside her clothes, shoes, bed, or wherever they could stick things. She once woke to discover worms on her pillow, and that was all it took for her never to sleep soundly again.
But somehow, around Declan, she slept so deeply he could move her, and she never knew it. Maybe it was her lingering exhaustion after everything she’d been through, but she believed it was because she trusted this man.
She barely knew him, but she felt safe around him. He’d followed her over a cliff and into a waterfall; if that didn’t tell her that he’d protect her, then nothing would.
When Declan felt her uncertain emotions about waking in his arms again, he waited for her to pull away, but she remained relaxed against him. A strange feeling of belonging swept through him as he ran his hands over her back while she lay trustingly in his embrace.
If she knew half the shit running through his mind, she’d probably flee him faster than the Savages, but he would never let her know about his incessant need to kill and destroy. If she realized how much it took for him to control his appetite for sex around her, she wouldn’t trust him so much.
But then, maybe she would understand. Willow was a purebred; she grew up around vampires, and her brothers were purebloods too. Female purebreds didn’t have to fight the increase of destructive impulses that the men did when they stopped aging, but she knew what happened to male, purebred vampires after they reached maturity.
“You were shivering again,” he said as he ran his hands down her back.
And a different kind of shiver was making its way through her now as he caressed her. She yearned to feel his hands on her skin, and not just through her clothes. In her dreams, those hands were tender when they stroked her breasts before slipping between her thighs. They were demanding and rough as they moved within her, pushing her closer and closer to the brink of ecstasy.
She always woke before those hands made her come, and she had to finish what the dream started, but this was no dream. They weren’t on her flesh, but those hands were making her heart beat faster, her breathing more shallow, and her body ache for release.
Declan’s dick stiffened when her desire pulsed against him. He didn’t require any extra help to fuel his lust for her, but her emotions dangerously stimulated his. She could so easily make him lose control; if he did, he didn’t know what he would unleash on this world, but he couldn’t release her.
Determined not to become his father or any other Savage, he’d spent centuries learning how to imprison the demon inside him. But this beautiful, warrior of a woman could unravel in seconds all his careful control.
He should get as far from her as possible, but he wanted to hold her for a few more seconds. She’d brought joy to a life devoid of it, and he cherished this time with her.
In a minute, he would set her aside, but when a minute passed, he was still holding her. When he lowered his head and rested his cheek against her temple, he expected her to pull away, but her fingers bit into his back.
Willow couldn’t breathe as anticipation and the aching need of her body built to almost unbearable levels. She lifted her head until their mouths were only inches apart, and each of his soft exhalations was a warm caress against her lips. The touching, yet not quite touching, would drive her insane, but she also enjoyed the exquisite torture.
And then, her gaze lifted to meet
his, and the torment she saw in his eyes caused her body to tense in a whole new way. His eyes darkened to the color of mercury. She loved being in his arms, but he looked like it was torture for him.
Sitting up, she placed her hands against his chest and went to pull away, but his arms constricted around her as his gaze fell to her lips. She went completely still when his mouth lowered toward hers.
She should push away and put some distance between them, but she was desperate to know how his lips felt and tasted. Still, she almost turned her head away at the last second, but when his lips brushed hers, she froze.
Little bolts of electricity shot through her, and she felt the contact all the way to the tips of her toes. Something inside her shifted, and she swore her soul released a breath she’d never realized it was holding until now.
Warm and unyielding against hers, his lips were as strong and unrelenting as the man as they took possession of hers. When his tongue entwined with hers, she forgot all about the trees, the cold, and the monsters possibly still hunting them. She forgot her name as his kiss swept her up in a rush of passion, the likes of which she’d never experienced before. The taste and feel of him consumed her; he smelled of the woods and the outdoors, but he tasted sweet.
Declan stopped thinking the second Willow opened her mouth and gave herself over to the kiss. His blood hammered through his veins and flooded his shaft. He’d never been so hard before.
This wasn’t safe. He should pull away, but he couldn’t bring himself to part with her yet. It had been years since he experienced the pleasure of holding another in his arms, and all those women paled in comparison to the way Willow made him feel.
He had to get away from her… in a little bit.
Derrick stood in the shadows of the trees, watching the two of them kiss. They were so caught up in each other that he could make his move now and kill the man before they realized he was there, but he hesitated. Even if he killed the man, he still had to face the woman, and he needed her alive.
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