“Because in all my centuries on this earth, I have never felt as alive as I did when I looked into your innocent blue eyes that night.”
“Why didn’t you bite me that night?”
There's a long pause before he finally whispers, “I couldn’t.”
We’re both silent after his admission.
“Why is your brother after me?” I ask him my last question.
“Because you’re mine.” His voice is so sure and final as he once again holds my gaze intently.
I feel my breath catch as I stare at him. This big, beautiful, glorious man with the hypnotic voice of my employer.
This man who's not actually a man at all.
This man who's really avampire.
Eighteen
Stephan
Elena isquiet for a long moment as all the blood drains out of her face after I tell her she's mine.
She looks frightened, and while it hurts me to know that I frighten her, that's good. It shows she has some sense. She should be frightened in the face of a predator like me.
“Do you want to bite me?” she asks.
I nearly choke at her question, but I answer her honestly. “Yes.”
If possible, her face goes even whiter.
“Then why haven't you?” she whispers.
“Because I can't bear the thought of losing control and draining your life.”
We stare at one another for a beat before she asks, “Why?”
I don’t answer her at first as I contemplate what to tell her. I've given her nothing but the truth up until now, and I decide I'm not going to stop now. I meant what I said to her earlier. The time for secrets is over. I'm going to lay it all bare, and she can do with it what she will. It doesn't really matter anyway. Her fate is sealed. She'll remain here with me where I can protect her.
“Because I feel more for you than I've ever felt for anyone in all my lifetimes,” I tell her honestly. “I'd call it love, but I'm not sure a creature like me is capable of love. Maybe it's more like obsession. I don’t know, but ever since that first night when I looked into your eyes..." I trail off, lost in the memory before I clear my throat and go on, "I can't get enough of you. I have to watch you, or I feel like I'm going to die. The thought of anyone touching you or hurting you makes me uncontrollable with rage.”
Elena’s pretty blue eyes are as wide as saucers as she stares at me. She gulps, and my eyes home in on the delicate movement of her little throat.
“Do you want to touch me?” she asks, her voice barely more than a whisper.
I feel a rush of lust crash through me so potently that my nostrils flare and I grab onto the sides of the chair I'm holding on to.
“I've never wanted anything more in my entire existence,” I whisper.
She swallows again before she lifts her chin and holds my eyes as she asked me bravely, “Do you want to drink my blood?”
My nostrils flare even more as I inhale her scent. I grip the arms of the chair harder. “Elena,” I warn her, “you're treading on dangerous ground. I stayed away from you because I didn't want you to recognize me, but also because my control wanes thin in your presence.”
Her breath hitches. Her eyes widen innocently, and fuck if that doesn't push me closer to the edge of the precipice. I'm right there. One signal from her that she might want me even the tiniest bit, and I might say fuck it all and jump off the edge of the cliff, damming us both to hell.
Well, I'm already dammed, but I might drag her down with me.
“Will you hurt me?” she finally asks, her voice tiny.