Page 63 of A Vampire Bewitched
Nik had nearly wept with relief when her eyes had opened back by the stone face. When she’d lain there, so still and pale, his heart had stopped completely, memories of Eliana mixing with the present until they threatened to overtake his sanity. But then he’d felt her breathe, and noticed the small smile on her face.
Without hesitation, he’d done what he’d sworn he’d never do. He’d had no other choice. Or, so he told himself. Lifting his wrist to his mouth, he’d pierced the skin and opened his vein for her to drink.
Fascinated, he’d watched her accept his lifeblood, every swallow binding them irrevocably together forever. He should’ve freaked out. He should be running in the opposite direction as fast as his vampiric speed could take him.
But he’d done neither of those things.
Instead, he’d given her more, and reveled in the peace that came over him. Nothing had ever felt so right in all of his lifetimes. Even now, pride swelled in his chest whenever he looked at his female. She was so lovely, and fierce, and witty, and…stubborn.
A dark cloud weighed on his feeling of peace, his emotions leaping around as fast as his thoughts. He never should have let her coerce him into feeding from her. This wasn’t what he wanted her life to be.
But it was done.
As fast as it came on, the dark cloud dissipated. He’d come to grips with what happened, and he’d give her the space to do the same. However, he couldn’t ignore the downright hate he felt being levered at his back. He stopped walking.
“What’s up, Em?” he asked casually as he turned around to face her, hands low on his narrow hips.
Even though she’d been glaring right at him, his abrupt halt must have taken her by surprise. Raising her hands in front of her as she crashed into him, she pushed off his chest with a “thump” and took a few steps back, crossing her arms in front of her defensively. “Why don’t you tell me?”
He raised his eyebrows in a silent question.
She scoffed at his innocent look. “For someone who has spent the past few days ‘fighting his attraction’ to me, you seem awfully damned unconcerned now that you’ve fucked me. After getting me to practically beg you to do it!”
“Emma…” he began warningly. He didn’t like her talking like that. He knew she was trying to adjust to their new situation, but he’d had no idea this crap was flying around in her head.
“Oh! And managing to convince me it wasmyidea for you to feed from me. Let’s not forget that.” Pushing on her temples with her fingertips, she closed her eyes tight. “You even managed to get me to drink your blood. Therefore completing this so-called bond that you—just thirty minutes ago—were supposedly so dead set against!” She dropped her arms back down to her sides and glared at him, her hands curling into tight fists.
Nik was trying really, really hard to concentrate on what she was saying. But she was so fucking hot when she was all riled up. Her eyes were bright green with anger, and her face was flushed with color. He could hear her heart pumping hard, hear her blood rushing through her veins. Her chest, braless beneath his shirt, rose and fell with each hard breath, her nipples begging for his touch. He wanted to throw her down and fuck the rage out of her until she was limp and sated and happy again.
With that thought in mind, he took a step toward her, automatically ducking when a branch flew past his head.
Emma jumped, startled, before giving him her attention again. She threw out a hand. “Don’t even think about it,” she growled, stopping him in his tracks.
Nik cocked his head to the side and studied her. Quickly reaffirming to himself he’d much rather be fucking her than arguing with her, he went to take that last step that would bring her within his reach, only to realize he couldn’t. His little witch had—quite literally—stopped him. And he didn’t think she even realized it.
His vampire mind immediately thought up and discarded various things he could use to get her to lose her focus, but the truth was, he needed to know. “Do you really think that about me?” he asked quietly.
Other than a barely discernible softening around her eyes, she held her ground.
“All right.” Arms at his sides, he looked her straight in the eye and ripped open his soul a little bit more. Why the fuck not? “I’ve been alone for more than 600 years, Em.” Shaking his head, he corrected himself. “No, not alone. Just lonely.”
“Lonely? What about Eliana?” She rolled her eyes at him, trying to call him on his bullshit. “And the girls that came before her? And after? You can’t tell me there weren’t others. I mean, look at you. You have to be aware of how you affect women.”
“Yes. I’m well aware.” He wasn’t egotistical about it. He was a vampire. Their lure was part of their makeup. An unattractive thought entered his head, sobering him. “What about you, Emma? Are you only attracted to the way I look?”
“It certainly doesn’t hurt,” she snipped at him. “It seems to be your main weapon, after all.”
He wasn’t sure he deserved that, but he decided to let it go for now. Hell, maybe he did deserve it. He scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to articulate what he was feeling in a way she would believe. But all of the thoughts and feelings sprinting through him ultimately came down to the same thing. “They weren’t you, Em.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nik heaved a deep sigh. “What do you want to hear, Emma? You want me to tell you there were others before you? Fine. I’ve fucked other females before you. I’ve fed from other females before you. Hundreds of them. Maybe more. Over and over again. And I fucking liked it.”
She flinched at his harsh honesty, jealousy and hurt flitting across her expressive features to fight with the angry draw of her brows.
He reigned in his temper, softening his tone. “But, they weren’tyou. You didn’t even exist yet for most of that time. But from the moment I first saw you, before I ever got within twenty feet of you, I wanted you. Just you.”
His eyes drilled into hers, willing her to believe him. “I’ve never felt that way about anyone else. Ever. Not in all of my years. And I hadn’t even spoken to you yet!” A bittersweet ache filled his chest. “And then, when I kissed you that night at your house, and tasted you, and realized exactly what you were to me, all I could think about…ALL I could think about…was how I couldn’t do this to you. Even if Icouldmanage to complete the bond without killing you, I couldn’t disrupt your life, force you to be with me. I couldn’t tie you to me like this. I just wanted to protect you, and—” His gaze wandered off to the wilderness around them as he tried to vocalize everything he’d felt.
