Page 90 of Vampire's Breath

He shook his head. “That I’m not sure of. I checked on your family from time to time. I ensured Isobel received a good position so that she could reclaim some part of her old life. I assisted when your family needed it, but I tried to stay in the shadows. I hadn’t looked for your family since yourgrandmother because I knew you were doing well. I didn’t realize who you were when I came for the old man saltbush.”

My stomach churned at the thought that my family’s survival hadn’t been luck but his guilt. “Did she love him?”

His face twisted. “What?”

“Did Isobel love her second husband?”

Lorcan smiled. “Not as much as Harrowmont. He was always her first love, but yes, she loved Fitzwilliam. And he treated her well. By then, I had learned my lesson and would have ended him myself had he not.”

I smiled faintly. “But if you had, I never would’ve met you.” It was the closest I could get to admitting my feelings for him.

His jaw tensed, and he struggled to speak. “Briar, I should’ve known pushing you away wouldn’t stop Aiden from trying to find you. It would not keep you safe. The safest place for you is with me—next to me.” He searched my eyes. “And it is where I want you to be.”

I swallowed hard. “You want me next to you?”

He bit his lip as he nodded. “Right with me. And I never want to let you go.”

My thoughts swirled in a chaotic mess. “You mean like Isla and Rory?”

Lorcan reached his hand out, hesitating before he laid it on my arm. “Briar, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since you left. And it had nothing to do with Aiden. I’d already fallen in love with you long before. But if this is all too much—if it’s not what you want—I understand.”

My pulse raced as I struggled to breathe, caught between disbelief and a wild, desperate kind of hope I didn’t want to feel. “But what about Aiden?” I whispered.

Lorcan shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about him. Even if you leave, I’ll watch over you. I’ll make sure no harm comes to you. But you’ll never see me.”

There was something beautiful and terrifying about knowing I’d have a shadow forever, even if I never saw him again. I smiled, the edges of it trembling. “You know, that’s kind of creepy, right?”

The corners of his mouth curled as his fingers brushed against my ear, just like they had in London, making my heart skip a beat. “You need to know—I’ve never been what most people would call an easy man to love. I take what I want. I take what’s mine. And if you stay, you will be mine.”

The possessiveness in his voice sent a shiver down my spine, yet not entirely from fear. “Until when?” I forced the question through my tight throat.

His smile deepened, though there was a vulnerability in it. “Until you say the word. That’s the thing about being a mate. You hold all the power over the bond. You decide if we stay together or part.” He ran a finger down my neck and across my chest, hooking it in my shirt collar. “But everything else is mine.”

Briar

Iturned away from him, looking at the light coming through the window in the side wall. I twisted my hands together, but I couldn’t tell if the ache in my chest was from fear or the need to lean back into his arms.

My voice wavered as I pushed the air out of my lungs. “Do you believe we are mates, fated to be together?”

His hands held my hips as his chest pressed against my back. “I know we are.” His voice was low in my ear. “But to seal the bond, you must accept it and invite me to feed.”

I spun in his hands to face him, my eyes narrow. “How do you know? Maybe I don’t belong to you or anyone. Maybe fate isn’t at play here. Maybe it is just me. Just us.”

Lorcan stared at the floor. “I understand why you would say that. This has to be a lot to take in.”

I smirked. “A lot? Being attacked on the beach, attacked in your home, learning who you are… what you are. Yes, it is a lot. And maybe something I don’t want to be a part of.”

My heart pounded in my ears as I bit my lip. Even as I said the words, I knew I was lying to myself and him. I had felt the connection from the beginning, and it had only become stronger since then, to the point I couldn’t sleep without dreaming of him. My voice lowered. “How do you know fate wants us together?”

“I’ve known since your blood touched my lips.” Shame clouded his eyes.

“My blood? When…”

“The foil on the wine bottle. Your blood is the most intoxicating thing I’ve ever tasted. But I can’t force this on you, Briar.”

I swallowed, my heart fluttering at the memory of his lips on my finger. He had tasted my blood. “You said loving you wasn’t easy. Why?”

He toyed with my hair before pushing it behind my ear, hesitating as if he would scare me away. “Because you will be mine—mine to feed from, mine to keep, and mine to protect. But with my blood healing you, it also means you are mine to use and take and destroy.” He held my gaze, looking like he was holding himself back from kissing me.

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