Page 49 of Kentucky Nights
“There’s nothing that could change your mind?” I sniffle, hiding my face in his shoulder so he doesn’t see me cry.
He grips the back of my neck, forcing me to look at his handsome face again. “Hey, hey, hey, none of that. Don’t be sad for me. Don’t cry for me. I don’t deserve your tears, Darlin’. I’m not worth the energy spent. I’ve lived for so long, I’ve made my peace with death.” His thumb brushes over the apple of my cheek, erasing the tears meant for him.
“There has to be something to get you to stay. What if you met a human who loved you and was okay with mating? And you could live for a thousand years?”
The outer rims of his irises flare in response to my question, and I find myself completely hypnotized by the creature that lurks within his skin.
“I couldn’t do that to anyone. I couldn’t take someone’s will like that and force a thousand years on that person. It isn’t right.”
“What if they wanted to?” Another warm tear breaks from my lash line, falling onto his arm.
“The only woman I could live like that for is my fated mate.”
“And if you found her?” I dare to ask, my heart thumping so loudly and hard, there is no way he can’t hear the rush of blood pouring through my veins.
“She’d have to be okay with forever, but forever is a very long time. Everyone she loves and knows will die. Everything in the world will change a million times. People will change. The climate. Paranormals will most likely outlive the human species. It might be a lonely existence.”
“Maybe it will be scary, but it might also be absolutely beautiful.” My hands frame his square jaw, his skin softer than I thought it would be. He feels so human.
Becoming brave, or stupid, considering he could drain me of blood before I could scream, my fingers drift through his pitch black beard, which is also a lot softer than I thought it would be.
“What are you smiling about?” he teases, running his palm up my nape, his fingers massaging my scalp.
“You. You surprise me. You feel so human. Your skin, your hair, I know that’s such a silly thing to say. I expected your hair to be harsh or your skin to be rock solid.”
“That’s not silly. My skin does have a much stronger barrier than yours, but the beard? That’s just the beard kit I have in my restroom. Can’t even blame it on the vampire genes.”
That crooked smile returns, causing my stomach to flip.
“You’d be open to loving someone again?”
He circles his arms around me, a slight purr coming from his chest. “Depends on who that someone is.”
I get lost in how he looks at me. I have never had a man drink me in like this. He takes his time as his eyes wander down, then up, fixating on my lips.
Every breath becomes heavier, the slight scent of syrup sweetening the small amount of space between us. The rough hold he has on me proves he is fighting control too. Kentucky’s fingers dig into my back while mine claw into his firm shoulders. I need him to keep me grounded, to keep me in place, or I might wake up and be disappointed that this was all a dream.
“Kiss me to put me out of my misery.” The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop myself. “Or let me go because I don’t know if I can survive four days of this.” My hand drops to his bare chest, appreciating how his shoulders rise with a deep breath from my touch.
A second passes without him taking me up on my offer. He is deep in thought, considering how furrowed his brows are.
Taking that as a hint, I slide off his lap and regret taking that huge leap. I thought we had a spark all this time. Did I misread his kindness for me?
It’s time for me to go home, not create a new one with a man I don’t know.
Maybe his heart is still taken by a ghost.
I snag her wrist before she can get too far away from me, tugging her back into my lap where she belongs. I only needed a moment to wrap my head around what she said.
She wants me to kiss her, and what kind of man would I be if I didn’t deliver?
Dru inhales a sharp breath; those hazel eyes I seem to get lost in are locked on me, giving me her complete attention.
I’m becoming a greedy man.
I don’t only want her attention.
I want her devotion just as I am devoted to her.
