to return to slumber. He nuzzled closer to her, tucking her head against his shoulder, and wrapped his arm over her. Her heart was still pounding a rapid rhythm in her chest, but it was slowly calming. He pulled the blanket up over them both. It was for her benefit, not his. “Sleep, darling Maxine.” He kissed the top of her head. “This time, I shall do what I can to leave your dreams alone.”
He felt her pull in a shaking breath and let it out slowly. He knew how she wished to fight him, to rail against him. To push him away and weep because she wore invisible chains about her neck. She was torn.
And he could also feel how he comforted her. How she took shelter in his arms. He had kept his word. He had brought her pleasure and nothing more. And in turn, she did not send him to the void.
He wondered if she yet realized the chains in her hand did not run to her own neck. They ran to his. He belonged to her, his beautiful empath, his Lady of Souls, who held his very eternity and cradled it so carefully to her breast.
She could ruin him.
Instead, she embraced him.
She tucked her head closer underneath his chin, and he found himself smiling at the guileless and innocent gesture. He pulled her closer and felt her curl her hand against his chest. The wicked girl enjoyed what he did to her, and somehow remained a sweet flower all the same. It made for a wonderful combination.
Something blossomed unexpectedly in his heart.
Something dangerous and deadly.
He fought the urge to swear aloud.
Gods below, may you rot in your graves.
He loved her.
But he would not say the words. He would not frighten her so. She would ignore that which she must know to be true. She was too afraid, too overwhelmed, to see it for what it was.
At least…not yet.
20
Vlad had promised to try to stay out of her dreams. To his credit, it had worked. Either because he had stayed true to his word, or because she was too tired to rifle through the mind she felt so near to hers as she slept.
Wrapped in his arms, held close to his very being, she had felt safe. Cared for. She hadn’t felt alone. As she woke, she reached out for him without realizing what she had done. But her fingers touched a pillow, not a vampire. She was still lying in the casket, but she could feel the pillow beneath her head. A thick fur blanket was pulled up over her, warm and comforting.
There was a faint light in the room, and she looked up to see the lid of the casket was hinged open. It was one of the styles of coffins that was tapered at the toes and the head. It was as lavish as she would expect from him. She could see the bits of shining black lacquered wood where the silk and piping had been carefully tailored to end.
She sat up, holding the fur blanket to her chest. She was still in her silk slip and undergarments. The curtains were pulled back, and the sun was setting, casting the room in ruddy hues of orange and amber, mixing with the blues and purples of twilight.
And there he stood at the glass, watching.
He was a breathtaking silhouette against the light. She was in awe of him. Handsome, beautiful, and terrible. He sought to destroy her city. To kill thousands to “feed his wolves.” And what wolves they were, a cornucopia of beasts and monsters.
He has done such terrible things.
“I have.”
She cursed under her breath.
Her invective made him chuckle. “Not accustomed to being the one whose thoughts are privy to others, I take it? How hypocritical.” He was teasing her, but the expression on his cut-granite features was still hard. Something was troubling him. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did.” No point in denying it. “Why must you sleep in a coffin? Isn’t it a bit too apropos?”
He smiled faintly. “Perhaps. Perhaps I enjoy it. It also suitably blocks the light. My eyes are incredibly sensitive, as you can imagine. Even the thickest curtains cannot keep it from disturbing me. Yet I find the dankness of a basement or a tomb utterly unappealing.”
“I cannot argue that point. I think if I found us now in some vaulted mausoleum I would be rather upset.”
“Noted.”
Pulling her legs underneath her, she kept the fur blanket tucked up over herself.