Chapter Nine
LUKAS STROKED THE warm, silken back of the beauty in his arms, the precious darling of a woman who’d stolen his heart the first time she’d smiled at him. Sweet and beautiful, his Lizzy. Never had he known anyone so full of life, so full of love.
“You are mine,” he said quietly, wonder in his voice that she could love him at all, let alone after he’d revealed himself completely—his fangs, his eyes, his need for blood.
Lifting up, she propped her forearms on his chest and met his gaze, softness glowing in her lovely brown eyes. “As you’re mine, Lukas Olsson. Since you can’t leave here, neither will I.”
His heart clutched. “No, sweetheart.” His hands slid down her back to her buttocks, reveling in the feel of her soft curves, then up again. “You must go, Lizzy-mine. You aren’t safe here, and I can’t keep you so. Too many vampires within Vamp City have lost hold of their consciences. Too many want only to feed off your fear or your pain. And if I try to protect you and fail, too many will enjoy hurting you just to get at me. I’ve never been a fan of the kovena to which I’ve been forced to pledge allegiance, and many know it.”
He reached for her hand, pulled it to his mouth, and kissed it. “Somehow, I will find a way to set you free, then you must go. For me.”
That stubborn light ignited in her eyes, and as much as he wished it hadn’t—not over this—he loved that she treated him no differently than she ever had, even knowing what he was.
“I won’t be separated from you again,” she insisted.
He gripped the back of her head and lifted his own, kissing her. When he pulled back, he found tears in her eyes, and they were almost more than he could bear. “I would give anything to keep you by my side, Lizzy-mine, but my mission is to hunt for the sorceress, to find her before Cristoff Gonzaga’s vamps do. My master’s own liege wishes to control the power, and, at the moment, the sorceress is that power.”
She nestled against him again, her cheek pressed against his heart. He stroked her hair, his heart melting.
“Vampires don’t sleep, Lizzy. We work day and night, hunt day and night. I haven’t stopped in more than a week. What would I do with you?” His fingers weaved into her silken hair. “I would have to hide you, but then I wouldn’t be able to protect you. And there are far too many here who would do you harm.”
He placed a kiss against her hair. “You have to go back to the real world. Then I want you to leave Washington and not come back until I contact you.”
“What?” Her head popped back up as she frowned at him. “You said I needed to stay out of the Vamp City area. Not all of D.C.”
“I know. But you’d be safest far away from both Washingtons. Outside the Vamp City area, you won’t accidentally walk in through a sunbeam again, but there are still those who hunt humans to sell at the slave auction. You’d be safest away from here.” He held her gaze, willing her to hear the truth of his heart. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you, sweetheart. I couldn’t bear it.”
Her gaze turning pained, she tucked her precious head once more beneath his chin, then plucked gently at his nipple with her fingers, making him smile even as he stifled a groan. His body began to stir all over again, but hers was softening in that way it always did when she was tired and ready for sleep.
“You have to come back to me, Lukas,” she said quietly.
He kissed her hair. “That is my only life’s goal, sweetheart.”
Her hand stilled, tucking beneath her chin. Peace enveloped him, a peace he’d never known in Vamp City. A peace woven with steely resolve to keep her safe.
Love pulsed inside him as he held her, stroking her back, listening to her precious heartbeat. If it was the last gift he gave her, if it was the last good thing he did in this too-long life of his, he would see this woman safely out of Vamp City once and for all.
Even if he could never follow.