Levet (Guardians of Eternity #9.5)(16)

She was desperately worried for the tiny gargoyle.

On the other hand she was breathlessly giddy with the transformation in Elijah.

She didn’t know how or why, but for the first time he truly seemed to see her as a woman, not a victim. And not just in a physical sense, although his determined seduction had been spectacularly wonderful.

He’d actually listened to her when she’d complained he treated her as a child. And even gone against every instinct he possessed to allow her to enter the seedier parts of the city in an attempt to find Levet.

Oh, she wasn’t an idiot.

She knew he could never share the intensity of her feelings.

He might genuinely desire her, but she would be nothing more than a passing distraction who would be swiftly forgotten when his attention was caught by a new lover, or by his true mate.

She ignored the pain that knifed through her heart.

She’d waited a long, long time for Elijah to even acknowledge her as a woman.

Why shouldn’t she enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted?

They’d reached the boulevard that ran past her apartment, when Elijah grasped her elbow to pull her to a halt.

“Valla.”

She tilted back her head to study his pale, perfect face.

“What is it?”

He paused, as if considering his words. “It’s growing late.”

Valla frowned. She didn’t have the superior senses of a vampire, but she could tell time.

“There’s still a couple of hours before dawn.”

“True, but—”

Hmm. Something weird was going on. But what?

“Elijah, is something wrong?”

He stepped forward, gently cupping her face in his hands as he allowed her to glimpse the hunger burning like an inferno in his eyes.

“If I return to your apartment it’s going to be more than a couple of hours before I’m prepared to leave.”

A raw, primitive excitement rushed through her. “Oh.”

“Oui.” His thumb absently stroked the rough skin of her cheek, his gaze trained on her lips. “Oh.”

Valla didn’t hesitate. Somewhere down the road her heart was bound to be broken, but if she’d learned nothing else it was to grasp happiness when it was offered.

“The apartment is built to protect a vampire,” she said, her voice husky. “You would be safe.”

He shuddered, his fangs glinting in the streetlight. “You understand what I’m saying?”

A shy blush stained her cheeks. “You want to become my lover.”

His hands tightened on her face, his expression stark as if he was gripped by a powerful emotion.

“Much more than your lover, mon ange . . .” he began, only to halt as he tilted back his head and tested the air. “Merde.”

“Danger?” she breathed, her gaze searching the shadows for an intruder.

“I smell gargoyle,” he muttered.

“Levet?” She pulled free of his grasp, heaving a sigh of relief. “Where?”

Far less enthused, Elijah jerked his head toward the narrow alley that led between the buildings.

“He just landed in the courtyard.”

Ignoring Elijah’s grumblings, Valla turned to hurry through the alley.

“Thank god.”

Landing in the center of the courtyard, Levet was startled when he caught Valla’s scent coming from the street rather than her apartment.

A momentary fear clutched his heart at the thought that the vulnerable young nymph had been out on the dangerous streets alone before the frigid pulse of power assured him that she was far from alone.

Entering the courtyard, the pretty female rushed to his side, her smile as brilliant as the lights that lined the Champs-Elysées.

“There you are,” she breathed. “I’ve been worried.”

“Forgive me, ma belle,” Levet said with genuine regret. He truly had not intended to upset his newest friend. “I had a long overdue appointment with my mother.”

“Are you okay?”

He smiled, his wings fluttering with pleasure. “I am perfect.”

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Elijah muttered as he moved to stand beside Valla, his arm wrapping around her waist with an obvious intimacy.

Ah. That was a new development.

Levet blew a raspberry in the vampire’s direction. “Not even you can spoil my mood, leech.”

Valla bent down so she could study his pleased expression, her hair shimmering like the purest gold in the moonlight.

“What happened?”

“I have been officially returned to the Gargoyle Guild,” he announced in grand tones.

She blinked. “And that’s a . . . good thing?”

“But of course.”

“Then I’m happy for you.”

She leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on top of his head, her lips barely brushing between his horns before Elijah was determinedly pulling her back to his side.

“If you have managed to complete your business, then perhaps you should be on your way,” the vampire growled, clearly jealous.

As well he should be, Levet smugly acknowledged.

He was a babe-magnetron.

Or was it magnet?

Whatever.

“Really, Elijah,” Valla chided softly.