Darkness Eternal (Guardians of Eternity #7.5)(16)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

She once again turned away, studying the trees that lined the far bank as if she had a sudden fascination with the tiny violets that were hidden among the moss.

“Right.”

“Kata. Look at me,” he said softly.

“No.”

“Please.”

Grudgingly she snapped her gaze back to glare at him. “Satisfied?”

“No. I’m . . .” Words failed him.

“What?”

“Furious,” he at last managed to rasp.

She jerked as if she’d been slapped. “I didn’t ask you to soil your vampire hands with my tainted . . .”

“Shut up and listen to me,” he interrupted her.

The very air vibrated the force of her anger. “You’re an idiot if you think I won’t hurt you just because we had sex.”

“We didn’t have sex, we made love.” He cupped her face in his hands, shuddering at the erotic sensation of the water stroking over their nude bodies. He moved close enough that the tips of her br**sts brushed his chest. “Or do I need to remind you?”

Her breath caught, the scent of her swift arousal perfuming the air.

“Uriel,” she growled in warning. “Don’t.”

His lips twisted, but he refused to release his grasp on her face. He wouldn’t let her believe he thought she was anything but glorious.

“Kata, what happened between you and the Jinn . . .”

She poked a finger into the center of his chest, her expression stubborn.

“I won’t discuss it.”

“Fair enough,” he swiftly agreed. “Someday you will trust me enough to share your past, but for now you can keep your secrets.”

“Big of you.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “All I care about is the Jinn’s curse. And what he might force me to do.”

Her anger faltered at his blunt confession. With a frown, she lowered her gaze to his scar.

“The demon is dead.” Impossible to know what she felt about the creature’s violent demise. “How do you know that his curse didn’t die with him?”

“Because I can still feel his power.”

“That doesn’t mean the spell remains active.”

“It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.” He held her gaze, his expression somber. “Not with you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re mine.”

Something flared to life deep in her eyes.

Something hot and wild and shockingly primal.

Then, with an obvious surge of panic, she was swiftly trying to disguise her instinctive response.

“So you’ve said, but then you remembered I’m the mother of a Jinn half-breed,” she accused him, her voice brittle.

He shook his head. “No, then I remembered that I couldn’t risk my mate just because I desire you beyond all reason.”

Chapter 8

As show-stoppers went, this one was a doozie.

She was supposed to be angry with him.

Who the hell did he think he was judging her for what had happened two centuries ago?

Did he think that she’d asked to be kidnapped and held captive by her nutcracker of a sister? Or that she’d wanted to be involved in the evil scheme to create a Jinn half-breed for the sole purpose of returning the Dark Lord to the world?

It was bad enough that a part of her would always feel guilty that the Jinn had made certain their time together hadn’t been rape. Did Uriel have to dredge up the memories she wanted to keep buried far in the back of her mind?

Now, however, she was . . .

Hell, she didn’t know what she was.

Flabbergasted? Gobsmacked?

Full on monty, had-to-be-losing-her-mind excited?

With a shiver, she studied the unearthly beauty of his face, wondering if this was some sort of painful joke.

“Mate?” she croaked.

His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “Does the thought horrify you because I’m a vampire?”

“I’m not horrified,” she swiftly denied. “I’m shocked.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She snorted. “Do you want a list?”

His velvet gaze skimmed down to the thrust of her br**sts, lingering on the ni**les that hardened beneath the feral heat of his inspection.

“The top three should be sufficient,” he said, his voice thick.

She yanked away from his lingering touch.

How was she supposed to think of anything besides wrapping herself around him and doing lovely, wicked things when he was so close?

“We barely know each other,” she finally managed to choke out.

He shrugged. “A vampire often recognizes his mate within the first hours of their meeting.”

Her pulse stuttered, a perilous warmth exploding in the center of her heart.

Mate.

Oh . . . shit.

It was madness. Complete and utter madness.

So why wasn’t she shrieking in outrage instead of feeling like she’d just drunk an entire keg of her father’s ale?

She gave a dismissive toss of her head, even knowing she wasn’t fooling Uriel.

“Well gypsies prefer a long courtship that includes a lot of bling.”

“Some perhaps.” He reached to brazenly cup one breast in his hand, a smile curving his lips as she gasped in pleasure. “Others enjoy being swept off their feet.”

She shivered, heat blazing through her. “Arrogant.”

His eyes smoldered with a ready passion. “Lie to yourself if you want, but you can’t hide the truth from a vampire.”

She couldn’t lie to herself either as it turned out. Not when sensual anticipation flowed through her veins like warm honey. Or when she was instinctively moving back toward him to press against the welcomed strength of his male form.

Not that she was ready to accept his shocking claim that she was his mate.

Was she?

“Fine, we’re sexually compatible,” she conceded.

“More than compatible,” he growled, his erection pressed against her lower stomach. “Combustible.”

Combustible. Yeah. That just about summed it up, Kata acknowledged, vividly aware of the silken slide of the cool water across her highly sensitized skin and the golden spill of sunlight that only intensified the heat blazing through her.

She craved this man with an insatiable hunger that she sensed would plague her for the rest of her life.

Regardless of how long or short that life might be.

“What about the fact that you hate anything and everyone connected with Jinns and I hate vampires?”

His arm circled her waist, squeezing her so tight not even the water could come between their entwined bodies.