Dark Demon Page 0,59

obvious charms and skills you have, that might make you so valuable to the vampires? Or to your grandfather?"

"I have no idea. I'm good with spells. I can find things. I honestly don't know, Vik." She sent him a quick look from under long lashes.

"Vik?" He winced visibly and his eyebrow shot up. "You are not going to call me Vik. I am considering using one of the words you have stricken from my vocabulary."

Her eyes sparkled at him. She turned her body in the direction she could feel the strongest tug. "We have to go that way." She indicated a hallway that was little more than a tunnel.

He groaned. "How did I know you were going to choose that one?"

She reached for his hand with obvious reluctance, but needing the contact. "I feel the subtle vibration of power. Do you feel it?" Her voice trembled.

"Yes," he answered tersely. "Let us get this done." He squeezed her fingers in reassurance. "Be careful, Natalya. I will follow you." He didn't want to tell her he was certain there were a couple of vampires stalking them. The undead were still a distance away, but he feared she was somehow imprinted with something that drew vampires to her. "Have you been here before?"

"No, never." She frowned, searching her memories. "It's so frustrating to remember bits and pieces. I've studied thousands of spells. I've read ancient text, and can remember all of

it, but I can't remember where I studied. In my dreams, Razvan would protect me from the teacher. He would be punished when I refused to go work. In my dreams I remember what my grandfather looked like, but I couldn't describe him to you now. How do I know what is real or not?"

Frustrated, Natalya turned back to the tunnel to keep him from seeing her expression. What did she know about her childhood? What if everything was a lie? Memories removed and others planted. The idea of it sickened her. "Great." She couldn't help feeling humiliated and ashamed that Vikirnoff had seen the inside of her mind and the trauma of a blank void. "I'm a freakin' robot."

"With a beautiful backside," he pointed out when she dropped to her hands and knees, head disappearing into the ice hall.

She wiggled her bottom suggestively and grinned back at him, grateful to him for giving her something to laugh about.

His heart nearly stopped beating and the air left his lungs in a burning rush. She could have lit up the entire cavern with her high wattage smile. Thunder roared in his ears. Deep inside, his demon struggled for release and unexpectedly, desire shot through his body. Not the intense lust he experienced earlier, but something bright and passionate and deep that came, not from his groin, but from his heart.

"You don't have to come with me," Natalya said, forcing the words out as she looked back at him. He had gone so still, his expression carved in stone. How could he want to be mixed up with whatever was happening? The fact was, she was terrified of the cave. Something she couldn't even remember from her childhood warned her she was in danger and the increasing volume of the dripping water was nearly driving her out of her mind. Every instinct told her to run, but her body and brain refused to obey the command.

She had longed for a partner, someone to share her life with, but for the first time she needed to be with someone. And not just anyone. Vikirnoff. Not just for his fighting skills, but for the sheer comfort of his presence. And that was almost as frightening as the situation she was in.

Vikirnoff exuded power and confidence. She couldn't imagine anyone defeating him, not when he was at full strength. But he wasn't at full strength. The thought came out of nowhere. She realized that not once had she worried about his physical condition since they'd been in the cave. He wasn't fully healed. She had seen the agony on his face on more than one occasion earlier, yet he carried himself as if nothing was wrong. Had he been subtly influencing her or was she really that selfish? She groaned softly.

"I am with you because I want to be. I am not under compulsion, Natalya. And I am fit enough to protect you should there be need."

She turned away from him before he could see her reaction to his words-his voice.

There was just something about the man that