Zanhoden sat in the head seat at the empty Imvura Council table. He had a lot of things to think about since the meeting with his son. Revenge was so close he could taste its honey. He had waited so long, planned and plotted for decades to get to this point. The fact his soon-to-be daughter-in-law was a DaliliNakissa was an added bonus. Getting Sarim’s heir pregnant was a brilliant move, and even though he’d stressed to his son the importance of doing so, he was never sure Khafil would actually complete the task and certainly not on the first try. He reined his excitement in. First, it had to be determined she was impregnated. Then he would celebrate the success. But he knew if she wasn’t—which was highly unlikely—she would be soon. Zanhoden, couldn't wait to shove his success in that bastard Sarim's face. He had instilled a strong sense of duty in his son at a young age. Khafil was his only son and next in line for the Imvura Council leadership. Khafil was indeed his legacy. He unde
She had had the most amazing dream last night. She felt her cheeks grow warm just thinking about it. She lazily looked around the room. The sun was streaming through the blinds, lighting up the room. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was only 6:00 a.m. She still had a couple of hours to get up and shower in order to catch her train. She laid back down. She still had plenty of time to think about her delicious dream.In her dream, she and Ivan had made love. No, it went past simple love- making. They had burned up the sheets. She wasn’t that sexually experienced, but based on what she’d read in women’s magazines or seen on talk shows, sex like that was not an ordinary occurrence. It was what people strived for. In the dream, they’d set each other’s bodies on fire. Ivan had gotten so hot he glowed. She blushed again and wondered if she’d been glowing as well. She remembered vividly how her body had shaken with pleasure and how she’d screamed Ivan’s name.How would she able to look
Victoria almost stumbled. Her chuckle dried up immediately. She entered “Seduce Ivan” mode. “No, nothing, just laughing over a dream I had last night.” Ivan raised an eyebrow. “What kind of dream did you have?” “Nothing important.” Victoria felt blood rushing to her face. She dropped her head as she sat on the couch opposite Ivan. She was too embarrassed to meet his questioning gaze. “I had a dream I was supposed to sing at a concert and nothing came out when I opened my mouth.” “Really?” He continued to stare at her, making her even more nervous and flustered. “Yeah, the funny part came when I suddenly grew wings and flew off the stage.” He chuckled. “You always did have an overactive imagination.” She laughed and looked up to find him staring at her. The laughter stopped as she returned the stare, unable to break away from the hungry intensity in his eyes. His usually light brown eyes had darkened to brown. The air between them became charged. Victoria felt little sparks of e
“I’m ready,” she called out. He watched as Victoria walked back into the living room. He watched the smile leave her face as she stopped mid stride. He felt the sudden rush of anxiety, nervousness. Ivan gave himself a mental cursing out. He needed to feed and soon. He had been so caught up in making Victoria stay with him, the role he was playing, and all the other things he had riding his back, he had ignored the hunger signs that were making themselves known now. He felt tired and his mouth was dry. If he didn’t feed while he was “running errands,” his eyes would start glowing red and his canines, sore from the pressure he was exerting to keep them contained, would protrude out. If happened in public, he’d have a helluva explanation to make to Victoria. Plus, the brothers wouldn’t be pleased by the fact he was endangering their kind to exposure. Damn, he was a Visdan, an elder son, he knew better. Looking at her, he smiled, hoping his canines didn’t extend too far and that he was
Sighing, Victoria rubbed her eyes and looked away from the computer screen. Ivan had left her again to take care of some errands. Over the last week, she’d noticed Ivan had had to take care of his mysterious errands on a daily basis. She was beginning to wonder what type of errands he was taking care of. She knew whatever business he was involved in was successful, evidenced by his lavish lifestyle. But what exactly did he do? He never talked about it and the few times she’d asked him questions about his day, he never really answered her. Instead, he changed the subject, and they would end up talking about something else, watching a movie, or end up going out for something to eat. She had to admit it was wonderful living with Ivan. Every evening they did some activity together. He had an amazing sense of humor and kept her laughing. She loved debating with him about politics and current events. It was like they had been living together for months instead of days. It scared her. Her
The walk home was quick and uneventful. Concentrating on Ivan’s briskconversation and thinking what she had to tell him later causedher stomach toknot up Following her lead, he stopped talking, and they walked in silence back to his condo. Once inside, Victoria quickly volunteered to fix dinner. Glad for the reprieve she started rummaging through the refrigerator for cook. Seeing movement behind her she glanced out of the corner of her eye, and saw Ivan watching her. “Is everything okay?” he asked. Arms loaded with food, she closed the refrigerator and turned to face him “No. Why?” “You were awfully quiet on the walk home.” “Oh.” What could she say? He’d noticed her lack of attention and participation in the mainly one-sided conversation? He couldn’t possibly know she was tense, nervous, and frustrated, could he? Nope, that would be impossible. She had her own weirdness but even she knew there wasn’t such a thing as mind reading. “You’re worried about something. Wha
Placing her palm in his, she felt a spark when his palm closed around hers. She allowed him to lead her to the living room where he sat beside her on the love seat. Their knees touched, adding to the sexual excitement already coursing through her body. “I want to get to know you better. I want to pursue a relationship with you.” He turned so he was facing her, looking at her intently. “I know I’m being direct, but this is how I feel. I’ve had a crush on you since we were kids. I’ve thought about you a lot over the years.” He paused. “I even went back home, but you weren’t there.” “When did you go back home?” she asked in a soft voice, unable to believe he wanted the same things she did. “About a year ago, around September. I went to your mother’s house, but someone I didn’t recognize answered the door. They knew you, but didn’t know where you had gone.” “My mother had gotten worse and had to be placed in a nursing home to receive around the clock medical attention. I had to rent o
Ivan lay beside Victoria. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the guilt and inner turmoil raging inside of him. He could not make love with Victoria anymore until he told her the truth. If she had opened her eyes while they were having sex, she would have seen the mate’s glow, and he could offer her no explanation without revealing everything to her. At this point he still couldn’t tell her the truth because he had given his father his word.He didn’t realize the full extent of his lies until he heard her screaming “Ivan” during her release. His mate did not even know his real name. She only knew him as Ivan, a character he was playing. Guilt ricocheted through him. He knew from experience the sex shouldn’t have been that intense and sensual. However, as mates the sex would be mind-blowing each time they came together. Every instance of lovemaking would strengthen their bond and mental connection. Of course, Victoria couldn’t know that. There was a special place in hell for him.