William (The Valentines) - By Sam Crescent Page 0,12
surface.
William jumped back as somebody erupted out of the water, gasping for breath.
William gazed at that face and cried inside with joy.
“Katie?” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the image. He could live with her here, like this. He didn’t want her to disappear as she had so many times before in his mind. He wanted this to last as long as possible.
She stood twisting the water from her hair.
“William.” He heard the laughter in her voice as she said his name.
Getting to his feet, he approached the water, holding out a hand for her to take.
“No taking my blood, now.” She wagged a finger in his direction.
“Not without your permission,” he promised.
Their hands touched and any doubts he’d had came crashing down, rushing away from his body like a bad cloud. This was the person he wanted. The woman he wanted to be with.
They were mated in the most basic of terms, just enough to satisfy the council and keep them from hurting her, but they hadn’t had the time to complete the mating, for him to speak the bonding words as he took her innocence and made her his.
He wanted to find her and make the mating complete. To feel Katie’s naked body within his arms. To take everything she had to offer and to give her all of himself as well.
No protection, just sheer, naked need consuming them both.
William shook his head, trying to clear the erotic images from his mind. There would be time for him to make love to her soon enough. Seeing her could only mean she was out there, somewhere.
He guided her from the water, his eyes never leaving hers.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured.
“I bet you say that to all the girls, especially if they’re wet,” she teased, chuckling at his comment. William blushed at the innuendo.
“No, I never do,” he protested. He’d never taken the time to be like this with another woman. Not even with Emma. By the time they’d become a couple the trouble had started with the witch and demon hunters.
She smiled and for the first time looked away, blushing and shy, as he concentrated all his attention on her. Absorbing her into his mind; greedily taking her in.
“Is this real?” she asked.
William didn’t care—he just wanted to stay there and be with her. “Does it matter?”
She shrugged, looking around. “It’s beautiful.”
“This is my world,” he confessed.
“Your world?”
“Yes, every vampire can do this. When we sleep there is a place we can take our mate. Part of the first natural, initial bond.” He smiled as a deer ran past them.
Katie was laughing, the sound sweet music to his ears. He’d not heard her laugh much prior to her abduction.
“So we’re mated?” she questioned.
He nodded. “Partially.”
“When?” The attitude was returning thick and fast.
“The night I took your blood…” He paused to really look at her. “The night you were taken.”
Her eyes dimmed and a wind blew her white dress around her body. She winced as the chill bit into her body.
“I remember,” she whispered. It was like she couldn’t remember anything past him. All of her memories had grown hazy since her capture. The one constant thing she remembered was William.
William was about to ask her more questions when she moved out of his hold.
“Why is that here?” She pointed over the meadow to the dark forest looming in the distance.
William couldn’t recall it ever being there before.
“I don’t know.”
“That was the first place I used my powers.” She seemed shocked by the memory. “I remember.” She turned abruptly, knocking into him. “Why am I remembering now?”
“I don’t understand.”
“When I first got here, I didn’t know who I was—what I was—but it’s like everything is becoming clearer. I can see and I know what’s happened to me.” Her voice grew louder and more frantic with every passing second.
William needed to calm her down. If she freaked out too much, she would wake up and this moment would be lost. He wanted it to last as long as possible.
“What is it about the forest?” he asked, wondering what had got her so spooked. It was just a load of trees.
She took him by the hand and walked with him all the way to the forest’s edge. Even though it looked far away, in his world, the distance was only very short when thinking of the destination. William tightened his hold, not wanting to let go. He watched Katie as she hesitated at the entrance to the forest before shaking her head