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.
arim watched the woman enter the clothing store. He believed she was the heir, but since there were so many humans and other overwhelming smells, he could not be one hundred percent sure until she was away from the crowds. He had left host quarters as soon as he’d finished migrata. Once he stepped aboveground and was in fresh air, he recognized the scent. After making sure he wasn’t being watched or followed, he had pursued the smell and arrived at the mall. Once there, the scent mixed in with odors from the other dozens of people milling about. He recognized the various illnesses, lust, human food, blood. Not to mention other irritating smells, like the sewer for instance. He was almost about to give in to the temptation of tasting the sweet, powerful blood flowing so freely around him when the delicate scent reached his nose. Thoughts of draining the pretty young girl who walked too close to him left his mind. He let the scent lead him inside the mall, through stores, up and down es
“Is something wrong?” Victoria asked. Ivan had stopped with her bags and was staring across the driveway at something. She couldn’t see who or what it is. She stepped closer to Ivan and peered in the direction he was looking. “That’s the man who was watching me at the mall,” she said, her voice beginning to rise with fear. “What is he doing here? Did he follow me?” She heard Ivan issue a sharp curse. “Go inside and let me handle this.” Before Victoria could ask him what was wrong with him, she was being pushed in the direction of Ivan's home. She watched in horror as the man started walking toward them. Victoria began to move and nearly stumbled as she was pushed harder towards the apartment. Nearly losing her balance, she regained her step and heard the strange man shout in their direction. “Khafil, face me instead of running like a coward!” She paused with wide eyes at the barely contained violence in the man’s eyes. “Who is Khafil?” she asked, looking from Ivan to the man