“Are you the hellish beast finally here to bring me death?”she rasped.Her body flinched as if she tried to move back from him.
“Some would say.But no, daughter of the archangel, I believe I am here to give you a new life while you save mine.”He stepped closer, leaving a few feet between them, even though he doubted she could see much of him in the dim interior.
He became aware of three things at the same time.
She’s marked.
She’s mine.
She’s pregnant.
He had heard the odd pounding of her heart, but now he understood it was not a single heartbeat.
The unexpected double beat of his heart practically knocked him on his ass.Trying not to frighten her, he slowly lowered his frame, squatting before her.His palm itched to touch her and absorb the warmth of her skin.He could hear her teeth chattering, but even cold, her body temperature was warmer than his—because life’s blood pumped in her veins.
He ran his tongue along the roof of his mouth, imagining the texture and feel of her skin against it.Typically, he was not reserved around humans or even his fellow Preternaturals.If he wanted something, he took it; he was the Prince of Darkness, who enjoyed the chase and doling out pain with pleasure.Nothing would be denied him.He could glamor as smoothly as he breathed.However, with this woman, he reined in his normal tendencies.She was his.But he didn’t want her glamoured under the influence of any spell.He desired her consent to hear that she wantedhim.
“Tell me, little angel, do you want to live?”
Chapter Nine
“Yes.”The word cameout on a broken cry, as if her soul climbed its way up out of her to him, clawing to survive.
Her fear of him was natural as she stared into his eyes, eyes he knew were rimmed with a ruby tint.When they lived in the human world, his kind could not hide what they were if anyone looked close enough.Often, they wore contacts to disguise the rings.If they didn’t guard against anyone seeing their irises swallowed by the crimson bloodlust, humans would run screaming.
This wasn’t a problem since vampires loved the act of hunting and capturing their prey.A smile curled the side of his mouth.
Hearing her permission, he reached out slowly so as not to frighten her more.Even though her body begged him to help her live, he knew better than to think that her mind didn’t fear what she saw before her.A man comfortable in the dark abyss of a cave with wickedly lustful eyes and sharp teeth peeking between his lips.
Her glassy gaze, as warm and mesmerizing as Arabian sand, locked in on his face, and the crease between the sable eyebrows showcased the intelligent workings of her mind as she tried to figure him out.
A flash of raw desire pulsed through his body as he brushed his knuckles over the soft, damp texture of her skin.There was a cool clamminess to it, caused by the pain sending tremors non-stop through her.Even though she shivered, her body was considerably warmer than his.He trailed the back of his hand over her delicate jawline below her ear and along the side of her neck.
Thump, thump.
Shit.The feel of her pulse tapping against him through her plump artery caused his mouth to salivate and his dick to harden.
