Valerius closed his eyes as he held her. He cupped her head in his hand and savored her warmth and kindness.
And in that moment, he realized something that terrified him more than anything else.
He was falling in love with Tabitha Devereaux. Brazen temptress, vampire slayer, complete uncouth lunatic woman that she was, he loved her.
And there was no way he could have her. None.
What was he going to do?
How could he give up the only thing he'd ever had that was worth anything? Yet it was because he loved her that he understood why he had to do this.
She belonged with her family and he belonged to Artemis.
He'd sworn himself to the goddess's service centuries ago. The only way for a Dark-Hunter to be free of that oath was for someone to love them enough to survive Artemis's test.
Amanda had loved Kyrian enough. Sunshine had loved Talon, and Astrid had loved Zarek.
Tabitha was certainly strong enough to survive the test. But could a woman like her ever love someone like him enough to free him?
Even as the thought went through his head, he realized just how stupid he was.
Artemis wasn't about to let another Dark-Hunter go free, and even if she was, Tabitha would never be his. He refused to ever come between her and her family.
He might need her, but in the end, she needed them a lot more. He was used to surviving alone. She wasn't.
He wasn't cruel enough to ask her to choose the impossible when the impossible would cost her everything she held dear.
The next two weeks were truly hell on earth after dark. It seemed as if the Daimons lived only to play with and torment them.
No one was safe. The city had even tried to implement a curfew at Acheron's behest, but since New Orleans was a twenty-four-hour party town, they hadn't been able to enforce it.
The body count was unlike anything Tabitha had ever heard of outside of a Hollywood Movie, and the Squire's Council and Acheron were having a hard time hiding all the deaths from the police and news agencies. But what scared her most was the fact that what few Daimons they caught were damn near impossible to kill.
Every night she came back to Valerius's house in pain from the abuse to her body. She knew he didn't want her to go out with him to patrol and yet he never said anything.
Valerius merely spent an hour or two after they returned home massaging Icy Hot into her pains and bandaging up her wounds.
It was unfair that he never had aches and pains, and what few scuffs his body suffered were always gone after a few hours.
Tabitha now lay naked in the shelter of his arms. He was asleep and yet he held her firmly tucked in beside him as if he were afraid of losing her.
That warmed her more than anything else ever had. She should have gotten up hours ago. It was already after four in the afternoon, but since she'd moved in with Valerius she'd become a certified night owl.
Her head lay against his biceps and his right arm was thrown over her waist. She ran her hand over his forearm as she studied that tawny masculine skin.
Valerius had beautiful hands. Long and tapered, they were strong and well-shaped. These last few weeks they had given her so much comfort and pleasure that she could barely breathe from the happiness that consumed her whenever she thought of him.
Her phone rang.
Tabitha scooted out from under him to answer it.
It was Amanda.
"Hey, sis," she said a little hesitantly. Over the last two weeks, there had been a major strain on their relationship.
"Hi, Tabby, I was wondering if I could come over for a little while and talk to you."
Tabitha rolled her eyes at the idea. "I don't need another lecture, Mandy."