With the Sunrise - Fiona Davenport Page 0,7

century until they are born. They bear the mark of a potential consort on their neck.” His gaze dropped to my neck, staring at the spots that had always made me a little self-conscious. But as his eyes ate me up and he licked his lips, I suddenly felt like preening and showing off my mark. “And you’re mine.”

“How can you possibly know so quickly?” Hope started to build inside me, but I was afraid to believe. “You’d barely seen me across the room before you warned your brother away from me.”

“All night long, some part of me knew you were close, and I think my ring had something to do with the strength of that instinct. It can’t be a coincidence that I was drawn to this”—he lifted his hand, and the amethyst that was a perfect match for my eyes sparkled—“one hundred years ago and have been wearing it ever since.”

My fingers trembled as I reached out to trace the gem, jerking my hand back when it felt as though the stone sent a spark of electricity into my body. “It zapped me.”

“Earlier in the ballroom, it warmed as though it knew you were near and was urging me to find you.” Athan pulled the ring off his pinky and slid it onto my left ring finger. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but I think the ring has been waiting all this time to be where it belongs. Just as I’ve been counting each and every day until I found you.”

That had to be the most romantic thing I’d ever heard in my entire life, which was apparently much shorter than Athan’s since I would turn twenty-one on my next birthday and he was hundreds of years old. But some part of me was still resisting the idea that everything could fall into place between us so easily. “It’s kind of hard to believe we’re meant to be together and only met by accident because my best friend and your brother are together.”

“I would have found you no matter what,” he vowed, tugging my hand until I tumbled onto his chest. “I’ve spent almost eight hundred years searching for you. Daywalkers are unable to feel sexual stimulation for anyone but our mate. When I touched you, my body finally stirred to life, and it was better than anything I’ve ever imagined. As was the sweet taste of your blood. Nothing could have kept me from you now that you walked this earth.”

The amount of time he’d spent without feeling desire boggled my mind. “There really hasn’t been anyone else for you in all that time?”

“Not a single woman has appealed to me on any level except for you.” He reached over and pressed my palm against his hard-on. “Even before we touched, I knew you were the other half of my soul. Our bond is undeniable, a connection beyond anything others of my kind have experienced before. And deep down inside, I know you feel it too.”

4

Athan

Selene’s hand curled around my thick shaft as she took in a slow, deep breath. “I’ve never, um…” She gulped, and her hand spasmed, drawing a groan from me. “I’ve never felt like this with anyone either.” She finished on a whisper, looking adorable with the pink stain blooming on her cheeks.

“We’ll learn together, love,” I assured her, running my hand over her silky hair.

“But...um…” She glanced away, and when her eyes came back to mine, her expression was nervous, the color on her face deepening to crimson. “You’re really big.”

It was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I couldn’t contain my hearty laughter. I quickly sobered when she looked sheepish and made a move to slide off me. I trapped her legs between mine and grasped her hands before rolling us over so that I was on top. I positioned her arms above her head and kept both wrists shackled in one of my hands. With the other, I trailed the fingers over her lips and along her cheekbone before cupping her face.

“Thank you for the compliment,” I quipped with a wink. The corners of her mouth tilted up, and humor sparked in her lovely violet eyes. “We were made for each other, Selene,” I reiterated as I ground my hips into her, rocking so that my cock rubbed against her pussy. “Our bodies, our hearts, our souls...they are perfectly intertwined.”

Some of Selene’s nervous energy had abated, but it was replaced with a different sort of restlessness. I