Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #2)(89)

He pressed his forehead to hers. "I would never hurt you, Shay."

His lips whispered over her skin sending a tingle of magic down her spine. She wanted to kiss him and show him precisely what burned in her heart. To softly run her hands over his hard, muscular body. To offer herself without reservation.

That was a simple thing.

It was getting the words past her lips that was proving to be the problem.

She just felt so... sappy.

"What do you want of me?" she at last demanded.

"Your trust, your love, your very soul. I want all of you."

Her laugh came out as a breathy whisper. "You don't ask for much."

"It is what all vampires demand of their mates "

She pulled back, her eyes wide. "Mate?"

He studied her deer-in-the-headlights expression with a faint smile.

"Yes. You are my mate, Shay. You are the woman destined to be at my side for all eternity."

"But..." She floundered to discover a reasonable thought floating around her brain. "We don't even know if I have an eternity."

"None of us can say precisely how long we have. Fate is fickle even to immortals," he said softly. "But for whatever days and nights we have I want you to share them with me."

She lowered her eyes as a surge of emotion threatened to make her bawl like a baby.

"This is hardly the time or place for such a discussion."

"Perhaps not, but I need to hear the words from you, pet." He smoothed a stray curl behind her ear. "I need you to tell me that you care for me."

She squirmed with unease. It was stupid. Beyond stupid. But she would rather face the Lu before admitting the truth etched across her heart.

"You know that I do."

"The words, pet," he urged. "Can you not say them?"

"It's not easy for me."

There was a long, painful pause before he heaved a sigh and pulled back. "No, it's not easy. Come, we should not linger."

As if to prove just how stupid she truly was, a flare of panic raced through her. This was the most important moment in her entire life and she was blowing it. Blowing it with glorious, stunning success.

And all because she was a flat-out coward.

Tough to admit, but there it was.

Reaching out she grasped the shredded fabric of his shirt. "Viper?"

Stilling beneath her touch he regarded her with a guarded expression. "What is it?"

"Shay?"

You can do this, Shay. And if you can't, then you damn well don't deserve this man.

End of story.

She moved until she was pressed tight against him, her expression grim with determination.

"I love you."

There was a shocked silence as he absorbed her abrupt words. They hadn't been elegant, or particularly original, but they were sincere.

That had to count for something.

At last a smile curved his lips. A slow, beautiful smile that sent a warm rush of pleasure through her entire body.

"As I love you, pet" Lowering his head he kissed her with a fierce, hungry possession before pulling back to study her with glittering eyes. "I thought by buying you from Evor and bringing you into my home I would rid myself of my obsession with you. I was not nearly so clever as I thought."

"Not nearly," she whispered.

He touched her cheek softly, as if he were touching the most delicate object.

"Of course there are a few compensations," he murmured.

"I'm afraid to ask."

He assumed his most arrogant expression. "I will never again be plagued with those pesky women who are desperate to have me in their bed. Or enter nightclubs through the back door for fear of causing a riot. Or have blood junkies trailing behind me pleading for a bite."

Shay roiled her eyes. "It's a pity that no one is willing to pay for bullshit. I would be rich."

His soft chuckle brushed over her skin. Her lower body clenched in delicious response.

Yummy.

"Ah, but you are rich," he breathed into her ear.

She pulled back with a grimace. "Don't remind me. For the moment that's something I would rather not consider."

The dark eyes flashed with amusement. Not surprising. What woman would ever complain of too much wealth?

It was like being too thin. Or too beautiful. There just wasn't any such thing.

"You would rather live in a squalid ruin and struggle to survive?"

"It's what I've done all my life," she retorted with a hint of defiance.

"No longer." His own tone was firm. "I intend to shower you with luxury."

Shay gave a tug on her braid. A sure sign of her discomfort. "That's what scares me."

Viper shook his head, "You are the strangest creature."

Strange? Her?

Ha. That was certainly the pot calling the kettle black. Or something like that.

She narrowed her gaze. "We aren't mated yet, vampire."

His expression abruptly softened with a tenderness that brought a small ache to the center of her chest.

"Not yet, but soon. Very, very soon." He swooped forward to steal a heart-wrenching kiss before pulling back with a rueful reluctance. "Now we truly must be on our way."