Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)(50)

“It can't reach us,” he said softly out of the blackness, as if he read her mind.

The compartment was drenched in darkness and she was safe, but it was hard to accept that truth.

“Are you afraid of it, too?”

“The sun?”



“Yes,” she whispered, rolling over toward him.

“To the point of absolute paranoia and building this compartment,”

he answered. His hand trailed over her cheek to her neck. “You're safe.”

“Is this why the old vampires slept in coffins?”

He laughed softly and said, “Yes. Safer to sleep in utter darkness than risk someone opening a curtain.”

Her eyes were acclimating to the darkness and she could see his features now. He had an intense sort of face with strong cheekbones.

Not really her type though. She had a bad crush on Rob Zombie and any long haired metalhead had a good chance with her if he seemed dangerous enough. Cian was almost too clean cut and had a slightly feminine tinge to his lips. But still, he had rocked her world earlier in a way no one ever had.

“It's weird,” she whispered. “You know, being so powerful and yet being so vulnerable.”

“It's the irony of being a vampire. Being immortal and being terrified of death.”

Rolling onto her stomach, she propped herself up on her elbows and her hair fell over her shoulders to pool on the bed. “And the mirror thing is annoying.”

“I know. But when you learn how, you can see yourself through the eyes of others,” he assured her. His hand slowly stroked her hair cascading over one shoulder. “Sleep, Amaliya. Can't you feel the call of sleep as the sun rises higher?”

Laying down on her stomach, she tucked her pillow up under her chin. She could see his face clearly now and wondered why his eyes glinted almost like metal in the darkness.

She was feeling more and more drowsy. Almost as if drugged. She could feel the sun, her enemy, rising over the hills. Her hand found Cian's neck and she curled her fingers over it to reassure herself. He could kill her so easily, but she no longer believed he would.

“Damn,” he whispered, then was on her.

Their kisses were intense and searing, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as he clutched her tight. Blood filled their throats as their fangs sliced open their lips as they kissed fervently. His arms swept her up close to him as he feasted on her bloodied mouth.

The sun was rising higher and they both were growing more and more drowsy.

“Damn,” she whispered, as she fell away from him, licking her lips.

Her body felt leaden and his mouth touched hers one last time before he fell over beside her.

“We can't anymore,” he said softly in a very drowsy voice.

“I know,” she answered, her eyes fluttering closed.

But they both knew they would. It was a matter of time.





Chapter Thirteen


Samantha mumbled to herself as she punched in the code to get into Cian's apartment and twirled the keys in the lock. It was nearly sundown and she was anxious to set up the white candles and flowers she had bought. A nice bottle of Chardonnay was tucked into one of her bags and she figured they could have a romantic night together.

No talk of the wedding, just the two of them enjoying the night and relaxing. They both needed it desperately.

Work was a real drag on her mental well being of late. Working on solar energy projects was extremely interesting at times and utterly dull at others. Cian wanted to be on the cutting edge of alternative energy resources and she supported him one hundred percent.

Though it wasn't as if she had a choice. She was in charge of the tiny company that was trying to carve its niche out of the growing market.

Her comfortable cotton skirt, decorated in bright flowers that would have made the Brady Bunch proud, swung around her knees as her flip flops smacked against the floor. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her tank top had an absurdly cute flower on one strap. She felt adorable.

The apartment was growing dark as the sun slowly sank down behind the city and she strained to hear if Roberto was upstairs. She didn't hear his classical guitar music, so she shrugged and moved to the dining area to set up her fresh flowers and candles.

Her parents were giving her a hard time, per the usual, over Cian and asking why he never came out to their barbecues or game watching parties. Her excuse that he had an allergy to the sun had the whole family cracking vampire jokes. Little did they know they were right.



Setting the bags on the table, she began taking out the stainless steel candle holders she had found on sale. They were really beautiful and she admired her reflection in them before setting them down. Cian wouldn't mind them, though he shunned mirrors, since he said he could see himself through her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but it seemed to comfort him, so it made her happy.

The silence of the apartment began to weigh on her so she walked into the kitchen and turned on the radio. Twirling the dial, she found the country station and danced her way back to the table singing along with Patsy Cline. She liked the oldies. They were the goodies.

Funny how it had all come to this. She was engaged to marry a vampire and it seemed okay to her. Never in her life would she have believed it to be true. When she had realized what he truly was, the whole world changed in that moment, and everything became possible.