A Shade of Kiev (A Shade of Vampire #8)(31)
Author: Bella Forrest

It soon became obvious that we were headed toward the gate. After seeing me struggle with a bramble catching the hem of my dress, he detached it and, gathering me in his arms, carried me the rest of the way.

Why do I insist on wearing this stupid dress?

We reached the gate unexpectedly fast, and I didn’t even have a chance to ask him to put me down before the vampire guard had already seen us both. I blushed as the vampire stared at me in surprise.

He muttered the usual warning to “be careful” and let us out.

Once we were on the other side of the gate, Adrian started walking in the opposite direction to the previous night. We took a left turn and headed toward rock pools north of the island. He carried me until we were out of view from the beach.

“Wait here,” he said, as he set me down on a boulder. He turned and walked toward the shallow waters. I watched as he prowled around, studying the pools, until he bent down and picked something up. He returned with a large white pearl. I reached out my hand, expecting him to drop it into my palm, but he ignored me. Instead, he walked behind me and, without asking for my permission, tucked it into the center of my braid.

Then he sat down opposite me and lifted his eyes to mine, a look of contentment crossing his face. Perhaps he was feeling triumphant that he’d forced a gift on me that I’d previously rejected.

His gaze was starting to feel more intense than I was comfortable with. But I reminded myself that I was Irina before him, not Mona, and I soon relaxed. I crawled across the rock and reached out to touch his hand.

“Does it hurt, being cold like this all the time?”

This was not a question I would have asked of Adrian, but I didn’t mind because I felt hidden behind Irina.

He frowned at my question.

“You don’t know if something hurts when it’s all you’re used to,” he replied.

I stared into his eyes, my face now level with his as I knelt on the rocks, just inches from him.

He reached for a lock of my hair and wrapped it around his finger. He tugged on it, indicating that I sit down, now much closer to him than before. He reached for my neck and caressed my skin with his strong fingers, before brushing hair away from it, leaving it bare.

His eyes fell from my face to my neck. Tingles ran down my spine as he leaned forward and lowered his head to my neck, his cool breath barely an inch away.

“You’re not wearing sandalwood tonight,” he whispered, his voice husky.

My breath hitched as his lips brushed against my skin.

“Mmm,” he groaned as he took in my scent.

His mouth pressed more firmly against the base of my neck. And when he broke contact, I realized what it was. A kiss. Then he leaned away from me, his eyes glazed as they met mine. I just sat there, staring at him, my heart beating at twice its normal pace.

I might have not known what to think at that moment, but I didn’t need to know what to feel.

When he eventually escorted me back to the lake just as dawn was about to break, I wrote two chapters I’d struggled with for years in a single sitting.

He might not have been channeling Adrian exactly, but whatever Kiev was doing, it was working.

Chapter 32: Mona

Two evenings later, I once again found myself in Adrian’s arms as he carried me along the beach.

“Over there.” I pointed toward the port looming in the distance.

As we approached, we passed by the range of boats our crew had managed to collect over the years. I told him to stop once we’d arrived outside the main ship. I tugged on his shirt to lower me and we climbed the ladder up to the deck. Catching hold of his hand, I led him to the front of the ship, where I bent down and rummaged around in a large wooden compartment. I soon found what I was looking for: a heap of waterproof glasses. They were Brett’s creation. He’d made a whole heap of them.

Standing up, I handed a pair to Adrian.

“Why?” he asked, looking at the object.

I didn’t answer until I’d bent down to the cupboard again and withdrawn two knives. Recalling his cluelessness about how to catch food for himself at sea, I’d decided to share some of my knowledge with him.

“I want to show you something,” I replied.

Placing the knives on the floor, I took his glasses back from him and said, “Bend down.”

Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up so that I was level with his face. I giggled and strapped the glasses tightly over his head, careful to tuck his hair out of the way so that sea water wouldn’t leak into his eyes. Then he put me down and I pulled on my own pair.

Walking to the edge of the ship, I dove into the sea. Adrian landed next to me a few seconds later. I ducked my head underwater and surveyed the area beneath us. I was glad to see plenty of sea life surrounding us—different species of fish, crabs, oysters, and a variety of sea vegetables that Brett was becoming so expert at roasting.

Taking a deep breath, I kicked down to the sea bed and picked up a particularly large oyster. I surfaced, expecting to find Adrian waiting for me. But he had disappeared. I looked beneath the waves to see him hovering near a large patch of colorful ocean flora.

When he showed no signs of surfacing, I swam down to see what he was doing. Discarding my knife on the sand next to his, I watched as he ripped up handfuls of sea flowers. I patted him on the shoulder. He reached out and grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me closer to him. Wrapping his legs around mine to hold me in place, he brushed aside my hair and tucked a large flower behind my ear.

I had to surface for breath after that.

He appeared above the waves soon after me, with the flowers in his hand.

It seems that, once again, Adrian has his own agenda for our date.

He pulled off his glasses, and then eased my pair off with one hand. He swam toward a large rock nearby, indicating that I follow. I climbed onto it and sat with my legs dangling over its edge. I felt his chest against my back as he stretched his legs out on either side of me. And then he started work. His strong fingers didn’t stop tugging at my hair until he’d finished braiding in all of the bright orange flowers.

He stood up and examined his handiwork. I couldn’t help but smile at the serious expression on his face. What is it with decorating my hair?

Careful not to disturb my new hair style, I slid back into the water.

“You seem to like decorating my hair,” I said.

He remained quiet, still staring at me.

“Why?” I persisted.

Ignoring my question, he slipped into the water. He positioned himself in front of me, his hands slid down to my abdomen and he gently pushed me backward until my back was against the rock. He lifted his hands up the rough surface either side of me, his gaze smoldering. My heart raced as his eyes fell to my mouth. My lips tingled. He leaned toward me, but it was my cheek that his lips caressed. I closed my eyes, feeling his kiss. Soft. Tender. Lingering. And just before he drew away, his teeth grazed me slightly.