Page 24 of Kentucky Nights
I roll my eyes, wishing I could blur away from him. He can be annoying when he is determined. “I get it, Lorcan.” Rain clatters against the roof, proving how much longer my day is going to take, especially with Lorcan here. “I can’t wait for a lecture all day. I have shit I need to do. Romeo needs new horseshoes, the cattle need to be fed, and I need to make sure I don’t have any other injured animals on top of needing to do a perimeter sweep of the fences. If any posts are broken, I need to fix them. I have a few cows that are due to give birth any day now. I might need to help them with that. So get on with it.”
“I understand you are busy. You have been running this ranch for a very long time, and you should be proud of yourself and your success. This is the best ranch in the south. People pay a high price for one of your cattle. You should be proud of that, but I’m not here to talk about your ranch, Kentucky. You don’t have a long time before you start to wither away now that your mate is here. You know of her existence now. She’s in your home. The scent of her will fill every room, taunt your control, tug at your will, and I know you have a lot of control. You are unlike any vampire I have ever met, but you can’t wait to make a decision when it comes to her. You don’t have that kind of time.”
I try to lean forward, but his magic stops me. “What kind of time frame are we talking about? Months? A year?”
Lorcan frowns, followed by a long sigh. “You might have a week before you start to go mad from hunger. You won’t be able to feed from anyone else. All the blood bags you have? That’s all over now. You will throw up anyone else’s blood. Your body will reject it. I know you’re already feeling the need for her blood. It will just get worse. You will spiral. If you don’t complete the bond, you will die, and that will kill her. You can’t live without one another now. You have to decide what you want more. Her or death.”
“A week?” I know I sound confused and in disbelief. I knew there was a chance we could die from what I’ve read, but a week? I thought I had longer to wrap my head around living for all eternity.
And Lorcan is right. She has only been here a day, and I’m already craving her blood. I want to know if the taste of her will be the end of me. Will I succumb and give in to the undying need of her blood in my veins?
The thought alone has my mouth watering. My fangs lengthen, and I bend my head down to keep my reaction private. Any reaction Dru ignites from me belongs to her.
“I’m sorry, Kentucky, I?—”
A knock on the barn door interrupts us. I try to stand, but Lorcan’s magic still has me frozen. By the aromatic scent cutting through the musk of the barn, it’s Dru, and for some reason, she has come to see me.
I narrow my eyes in warning at him if he doesn’t let me go.
“Oh, fine.” He snaps his fingers, freeing me from his damn invisible prison. “This conversation isn’t over.” Lorcan vanishes, leaving me alone at last.
I stand on the edge of the loft to see Dru standing there with a glass of—I sniff the air—lemonade in her hand. She drops the umbrella on the ground and sets the glass on the truck.
“I don’t know why I’m here,” she says, tilting her head up to speak to me. She’s drowning in my oversized shirt and sweatpants.
I have to swallow a growl of complete need as my want for her warms my blood.
Damn, they look much better on her than they do on me. She’s already in my clothes, and all I want to do is rip them free so I can worship her body the way she deserves.
Even with Daphne, the lust was there, but it was never like this. My skin feels tight, and my gums hurt to the point of tears as I hold in my fangs.
I jump down from the loft, my spurs spinning when I land, and I straighten to my full height. Lifting my hat off, I take slow and deliberate steps towards her, stopping a foot or so away so she doesn’t feel like I’m invading her space.
She already seems so lost. I can smell how wary she is just being this close to me.
“If you don’t mind me sayin,’ I’m glad you are here.” Our eyes meet, and I’m finally able to see her since she has showered and washed away all the dried blood, dirt, sweat, and whatever elsehad dried on her body. “My god,” the words are spoken on a slight growl. “You are beautiful, Dru.”
Out of all the stunning things I’ve seen in my life, Dru is and will always be the most beautiful. Prettier than a sunset fading on the pasture horizon with fireflies burning the night and the stars out by the billions.
She has brown skin that I’m dying to feel under my fingertips. Her eyes are big and round, filled with innocence and fear. Lashes surround hazel irises. Brown begins on the inside of the black ring, then forest green, and yellow just around the pupil. A few dark brown freckles pepper across her high cheekbones and nose. She has a heart-shaped face with a delicate, soft jawline. Even her eyebrows are full and perfectly arched. There isn’t one detail of her face that I’m not obsessed with. I could stare at her all day, every day, and the time spent still wouldn’t be long enough to get my fill of her beauty.
I’m not proud of where my thoughts take me, but I’m still a man, and I’m wondering if there are any freckles on her body. I’d love to find out. I’d want to take my time, searching for every spot so I can lick and kiss, have her gasp and moan in ways that she’d thank me for.
My awe of who Fate has deemed my mate doesn’t stop there. Her hair is light red with beautiful, bouncy curls that almost touch her shoulders. I already feel the urge to run my fingers through it while her head is on my chest.
Maybe one day, my touch can put her to sleep instead of scaring her.
All the talk with Lorcan about dying again flies out the window when I have her in my sights. Death no longer exists in my future when she’s standing in front of me. It’s when I’m alone with my own thoughts that I remember the plan.
“I brought you a lemonade when I saw you working in the barn and thought you might be thirsty, but then vampires don’t drink lemonade, do they? I’m sorry that was so?—”
“—Thoughtful,” I finish her sentence, reaching for the glass she didn’t have to bring me at all. “I don’t know much about other vampires, but I love a home-cooked meal and fresh lemonade.” I take a large, generous gulp, downing half of it. “Ah.” I lick my lips, wanting to get every drop. “Thank you, ma’am. You didn’t have to do that.”
She looks down, toying with the hem of the shirt. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. Call me Dru, please. I should go. I don’t know why I’m here. I’m bringing a vampire fucking lemonade,” she mumbles as she turns around, snagging her umbrella.
I reach for her, my hand clutching her arm, and the rotten stench of her fear has me release my hold on her.
“Apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
