Dark Seduction (Vampire Royals of New York #2) - Sarah Piper Page 0,46
always affected her, no matter how calm, cool, and collected she pretended to be on the outside. And now, denied his touch, all she wanted to do was give in to that seductive, magnetic pull, surrendering to the undertow, drowning herself in him.
Instead, she forced herself to remain still, a pleasant smile plastered on her face as if all of this were perfectly acceptable.
It was the worst kind of torture.
Dorian’s gaze swept down her face, down along her baggy sleep shirt, stopping to rest on her exposed thighs.
A tiny smile touched his lips, his eyes glazing with desire, but before he took another step closer, he shook his head and blinked it all away.
When he met her eyes again, she saw only disappointment. Only pain.
“I apologize for the delay,” he said. “Turns out we didn’t have any pain reliever in the manor—I had to make a quick run into town.”
“You went into town? For me?”
“I didn’t want you to suffer, Charlotte.” He passed her the water and opened the aspirin, shaking two into her palm.
After she downed the pills, he knelt on the floor by her side and instructed her to lie back in the bed.
Too exhausted to argue, she settled herself against the pillow and closed her eyes.
With a clinical but gentle touch, Dorian arranged the ice packs on her shoulders and neck, careful to ensure there wasn’t too much pressure. The cold seeped into her skin, instantly soothing her aches.
“Better?” he asked, his voice soft and intimate.
With her eyes closed, it was easy for Charley to pretend this had all been a misunderstanding. That he was here because he loved her, because he wanted to care for her, because he’d always look out for her, just like he’d promised.
“This should ease the swelling,” he said. “Try not to move around too much.”
For a few sweet moments, she lost herself in the liquid honey of his voice, in the feel of his warm breath on her cheek, bargaining with God and the devil and anyone else who might be listening to please, please let her have one more night…
But Dorian had fallen silent, the air between them so still, Charley feared he’d left.
“Dorian?” She opened her eyes, but he was still there. He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t left her side.
“I’m right here, love.” He tried to smile, but it looked as wary as his eyes. The longer Charley stared into them, the more they revealed: the pain and disappointment she’d put there. The confusion. The mistrust. And then, running like lava beneath it all, a hot, primal darkness she couldn’t quite name.
Charley thought of him earlier in the study, crushing the glass in his fist.
The memory made her shiver.
“Too cold?” He brushed a lock of hair away from her face, trailing his fingers down her jaw.
“No, it’s perfect. Thank you.” Charley sighed, a deep sadness settling into her chest.
That Dorian Redthorne still cared for her was obvious, no matter how many walls he’d erected to keep her out.
Yet for all the emotion he couldn’t hide, his thoughts remained veiled.
“What are you thinking about, Dorian?” she whispered.
He lowered his eyes and shook his head.
Charley scolded herself for pushing.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s not my business.”
Not anymore.
Dorian didn’t respond, and Charley wondered if he’d finally had enough of her antics. She tried to think of something funny to say—something to get them back on neutral ground—but before she could speak, his deep, warm voice penetrated the silence once again.
“It kills me to see you like this, Charlotte. To imagine you there, totally alone, scared to death while that monster put his filthy hands on you. It killed me to see you last night, at the mercy of a crazed vampire using you to punish me. It killed me when I fed from you and watched the light drain from your eyes, and still, I couldn’t stop. I nearly killed you. I was so, so close to—”
“But you did stop.”
“It never should’ve gone that far.”
She shook her head. “You could’ve died, Dorian. It had to go that far. I’m fine.”
He sighed and caught her gaze again, his eyes full of shame and regret.
And this?” he said softly, sliding his hand beneath the hem of her T-shirt, fingering the silver scar that peeked out from the top of her underwear, just above her hip bone. “You’ve lived your life at the mercy of monsters, and no one was there to protect you. Not even when you were a child.”