Page 19 of Vampire's Hearth

She clenched her jaw as her nostrils flared. “Fine, we’ll work together.”

She was undoubtedly not fine, but I had nothing to worry about for the moment with her ankle. The cloth of her bag rustled as she struggled to reach into a side pocket. When she turned back to me, the moonlight gleamed off the blade of the athame she held.

My head tilted, my body frozen. I could fight her off in an instant if needed. She raised her eyebrows right before she usedthe point to slice into the tip of her finger. The scent of her blood made my head swirl, and I fought the urge for my fangs to descend. The small dome of glistening red grew before she snaked her finger across the top of the pages and down the leather back of the lineage. She placed her finger to her mouth.

“What the hell was that?”

Her blood stained the edge of each page and the back cover, the bouquet sweeter than honey, straining my discipline. I couldn’t let her see that part of me. Not now.

“Insurance. You’ll never clean my blood from it completely, which means I will always find it, no matter how far you take it. So don’t.”

She passed through her magical barrier and hobbled over to the stone with the symbol for home on it. She placed her backpack down before she removed the hammock from inside it and made her way to the stone with the air symbol.

She threw the strap around the tree but missed. “Dammit,” she swore as she leaned over on one foot to pick it up, nearly falling face-first onto the ground.

I stifled a laugh as I leaned against the tree, cradling the lineage against my chest. She was so stubborn. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

She turned to glare at me. “And drop the barrier? I don’t think so.”

“I thought I would offer.”

She finally succeeded in creating her bed for the night. She hoisted herself into it, looking at me, watching her. “I expect I’ll find you here when I wake up.”

“Undoubtedly,” I replied, leaning against a tree. She zipped the hammock around her and rustled around, getting comfortable. After several minutes, I could hear her breathing even out as she fell asleep.

Maybe I should run and let her figure out how to catch up with me later?But I couldn’t leave her. Something kept me drawn to her, determined to convince her to work with me to find the Cure. There had to be a way.

I set the lineage on a flat rock just outside the barrier. She wasn’t going anywhere, and I would be back before she woke.

Aurora

Itossed and turned, my mind racing, fighting to keep thinking. Mac had been the perfect gentleman, cradling me against his body as he walked us out of the caves. It had felt right—natural—like this was where I was meant to be. I could hear the blood pumping through his heart as though he were any other man. But he had stolen that blood from a living creature. Was it alive or dead?

And then he stood there, at the edge of the circle, holding the lineage, both mocking and guarding me. I should have taken it back from him instead of just marking it. Tomorrow, I would, but today, I had no way to fight him. My finger throbbed as it healed, threatening to force me back to wakefulness.

Would I see him in the morning? Or would he try to run with the lineage? Only a fool would after I had marked it. I realized I had never asked Mac how old he was, but he seemed ancient. His tone was so formal, with a slight Irish accent to it. Had he been born there, or had he lived there long enough to pick it up?

I forced my breathing to slow and steady. If I focused just right, I could hear my mother humming a lullaby. There were so many questions, yet all I wanted was sleep. I could confront them tomorrow. But right now, just sleep...

I stood in a meadow, wearing a long, flowing dress with long sleeves. A cloak hung from my neck, providing much-needed warmth. Green grass stretched away from me on all sides, but I could hear waves crashing in the distance. Stone walls delineated one green space from the next. Gray skies held the ominous threat of rain. A copse of ash and hawthorn trees stood in the direction of the waves. Among them stood a cottage.

Where was I? I reached out to feel the magic surrounding me in the dream. It felt prophetic, as though these events had never occurred, but the setting was the past. But whose past was it and whose future? The only way I would find out was to surrender until I saw everything I needed to. I would have no control until the dream released me. My pendant burned against my chest as a calm washed over me, and I handed myself over.

“Rory,” Mac called. I turned to see him clambering over one of the stone walls. He jogged toward me, his raven hair hanging long over his shoulders. His movements were unencumbered by the black linen tunic that fell just below his knees, his dark greencloak pinned at the shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my back when he reached me, lifting me from the ground. His mouth met mine in a delicious, deep kiss. I felt his tongue against my own as I relaxed into his warmth and tenderness, feeling his hand on the back of my head. My body sprang to life at his touch, a warmth spreading before concentrating at my core.

“What are you doing out here, my love?” Mac asked as he set me down.

“I don’t know,” I stammered. My heart fell. This was not what I intended, but there was no way out.

“You could have waited for me in the cottage.” His voice held a sultry quality. I could feel his hard cock graze my stomach through our layers of clothing as he pressed his hips into mine. “But since you are here, I have an idea of what we can do in the few minutes without my family around.”

I smiled and dropped my voice low. “Only a few minutes?” I could feel the material rise around my legs as he gathered it in his hand before releasing it around his wrist and sliding his fingers into my wet folds.

“Are you going to need more than that?” He groaned in my ear as he added a third finger to those he plunged into my waiting heat. He kissed me behind my ear and down my neck, his fingers gliding in and out of my wetness with ease, drawing a moan from my throat. The fire rose inside me. I wanted more. I raised my chin, inviting his kisses as they trailed down my neck. But what was it I desired?

As if in answer, his fangs sank into my flesh as he buried his fingers to the knuckles inside me, and my cunt started pulsing with pleasure.

I screamed as I shot upright, sweat pouring from my neck, my body shaking. I was alone in my hammock with an unmistakable wetness between my legs.

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