Captured (The Captive #1)(35)
He rose over top of her, his large body loomed over hers as he seized hold of her waist and lifted her easily up. Aria gasped softly as he deposited her in the center of the bed before coming down on top of her. Aria’s heart hammered, excitement and panic tore through her in equal measures. It all felt so wonderful and new and thrilling, but it was also moving far too fast as the heavy weight of his body pressed her deeper into the mattress, and his strong hands began to slip her thin dress up her thighs.
Aria broke free of the delightful pressure of his mouth as fear finally took over completely. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get control of her surging body and tumultuous emotions. “Wait Braith, wait!” she managed to pant out.
He froze against her, his hands stilled instantly upon her thigh. Aria shook at that realization; it was the most intimate touch she had ever experienced. A tremor raced through her as desire sent her heartbeat skyrocketing again. She had never felt so torn and lost before, never felt such overwhelming desire mingled with such pulsating fear of the unknown. It was all moving too swiftly, she couldn’t think, and she desperately needed just a moment to at least try and sort out what was going on.
His hands were upon her face, turning it towards him. She blinked at him, trying hard to focus on the beautiful, caring eyes swarming before her. “Arianna, are you ok?”
She managed to nod; she even managed a wan smile. “I’m just… I’m not… It’s just too fast. It’s all too fast.”
His eyebrows drew sharply together again for a moment, his eyes scanned slowly over her face. Then, much to Aria’s horror, a dawning realization seemed to come over him. His brow smoothed out, his eyes were far more understanding as they came back to her. “Arianna, are you a virgin?” Her face flooded with color and her eyes darted rapidly away from him. She couldn’t meet his gaze again, she was too mortified. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She bit on her bottom lip, shaking her head as she struggled to keep the fierce heat from her face. “You should have told me, I would have gone slower, I would have…”
“Stop,” she whispered, too embarrassed to hear anymore.
He sighed softly; he bent his head, pressing his forehead against hers for a moment. His fingers twined slowly within her hair, stroking lightly through it. “Ok,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her nose. He rolled off of her, pulling her tightly against him, his arm wrapping around her waist as he held her against him. Aria was stunned by the easiness with which he cradled her, and the fact that he had taking her rejection this calmly as he held her gently within his arms.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she whispered.
He was silent for a long moment, lightly brushing the hair back from her face. “Neither do I, but you must keep this to yourself Arianna. No one else can know about my eyesight.”
She rolled over to stare at him; his hand cradled her face as he watched her. “Not even your family?”
“They see my blindness as a weakness, and there are many people that want to keep me weak. If they realize that I have my vision back and that it’s because of you, they will kill you to keep me weak. They may not know why I can only see around you either, and they won’t care. You can’t let anyone know.”
She bit on her lip as she nodded. “I won’t,” she promised.
He smiled at her, pressing soft kisses across her cheeks. She was amazed by him, stunned by the tenderness he showed her, shocked by the fact that he had so easily been denied something she knew he desperately wanted. He was a vampire, a monster, and yet she knew now that though he could be volatile, he was not a monster. He never would be, not with her anyway. She knew it instinctively, deeply, and with every fiber of her being.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked softly.
His smile was swift and stunning, his eyes twinkled brightly. “Whatever you want me to do.” Aria couldn’t help but smile back at him as she lightly traced the hard ridge of his jaw. “I know you want your freedom Arianna, and I understand that, but I can’t give it to you. I will keep you protected for as long as I can, for although I am a prince there are those with more power than I. It may take a little while, but I will work through this, somehow. I won’t let them kill you.”
Aria nodded, warmed by the words, but not comforted by them. There would be little either of them could do if it were decided that she was a threat that needed to be taken care of. “You look exhausted.”
“I am,” she admitted.
“Sleep, we can talk later.”
But she didn’t want to sleep, she wanted to lay here and feel him against her. She wanted to lay here and enjoy the simple wonder of her strange and tenuous situation. But though she struggled against it, sleep was swift and deep when it claimed her.
CHAPTER 10
Braith watched the light play off of Arianna’s vibrant hair. Her head was bent, her legs drawn up beneath her as she sat curled within the window seat. She had moved on from Ivanhoe and now held Of Mice and Men before her. Her instincts were quick and honed, she had actually managed to slap him after all, but she had not noticed his arrival. She was enrapt with the thin novel, her eyes wide as she read through the page.
She may not be the most beautiful woman, but she was by far the most stunning and appealing. He felt a surge of emotion as he watched her; it was an emotion he had never felt before, and one that he couldn’t name right now. Actually, the longer he stood and stared at her the more he realized that, to him, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. That she always would be.