Dark Slayer Page 0,66
her, even though she would never accept his claim? What in the world had gotten into her? She must be far lonelier than she realized. She enjoyed her life. She had chosen her life. She licked her lips, tasting him. Craving him.
"I am sorry. I do not know what got into me." She turned away from him, but he didn't loosen his hold on her wrists, forcing her back to him.
"Do not do that. I would never reject the one person I want in my life. Though you have studied Xavier, you do not know how truly evil he is. If he knew you meant everything to me, that you are the reason I still live, then he would cease trying to find me and turn everything he has to acquiring you. I cannot allow that to happen. You are the one person I would trade my soul for. He cannot know that."
She strained away a second time and he pulled her back, forcing her gaze to meet his, his grip firm, but still as gentle as ever, disarming her.
"I would trade everything, even honor, for you. It is the one thing I have kept intact all these long years. I endured much for honor."
She nodded slowly. "Until I experienced the compulsion myself, I had no idea of the draw between lifemates."
He shook his head slowly, still holding her gaze. "It is more than the draw between lifemates-much more. I have been inside your head. I have studied your home and the drawings you so patiently carved into the rock. Everything about you appeals to me. Every moment in your company only makes those feelings stronger. Perhaps the pull between us is strong physically because we are lifemates, but the pull on my heart and soul is equally as strong."
She drew in her breath. "Thank you for that." She would hold his words to her. They were spoken in truth. She knew purity when she heard it. "We must feed before we return to our lair, and I should erase the memories of the farmer and his wife so they do not inadvertently speak of this and draw Xavier's attention."
"I touched his mind." Razvan brought up each of Ivory's hands and pressed his mouth to the sensitive skin on her inner wrists where he'd been holding her. "The farmer would have fought for you, knowing he was going to die. He is a good man."
"I liked his wife as well. I am glad we found them before it was too late. Very few vampires dare to enter into the territory protected by hunters. This is just outside the hunter's range. I come here often to check, and even here, probably because the vampires disappear when they come this way, this region stays fairly safe-at least until recently, since Xavier has expanded his territories."
Ivory stepped back away from him. She should have been shaken up by his rejection of her blatant advances, but instead, she felt comforted and... cared for. She hadn't felt that way in more than a century. She found herself smiling up at him. His answering smile was slow in coming, but it warmed her.
Ivory paused and allowed her senses to flare out to search the night for other hidden dangers. A fox was close, searching for stray chickens that might have missed the lockdown for the night. A few mice hid from an owl circling overhead. She touched the owl several times to make certain it wasn't something else in bird form, but it was diligently hunting for a meal and not at all interested in what was happening in the human world.
She could feel Razvan's light touch as he followed her lead. The thing that stood out was his absolute lack of ego, which made for an extremely weightless touch, nearly impossible to detect. He would be a huge asset to any hunt just for that alone, but if he could plan battles in the way that he said, the two of them would have an even better chance to stop Xavier.
She touched the few floating clouds last, careful to examine each one to make certain they were genuine. When she went to step from the stable, Razvan stopped her with a touch to her shoulder.
"You did not search below the earth. That is Xavier's realm and he sends every spy through the tunnels the worms dig for him. In a recent battle, he went himself, using my body, to try to murder my sister and