Bittersweet Blood (33 page)
Authors: Nina Croft
Tags: #Fiction, #Paranormal, #The Order, #Romance, #General, #demons, #Detective, #private investigator, #demon hunter, #paranormal romance, #Nina Croft, #Vampires, #dark paranormal, #secret powers, #romance series
Her Father. Chloe’s killer. Christian’s worse enemy.
All that remained of the demons was the faint tang of sulfur hanging in the air. A breeze blew across the rooftop and even that scent disappeared. Rain started to fall and she shivered.
“Do you hate me?” she asked Christian softly.
Surprise flashed across his face. “Why should I hate you?”
“Because of who I am. What I am.”
He pulled her to him, wrapping his strong arms around her, warming her. “No, I don’t hate you.”
Graham walked across the rooftop. “Thank you,” he said to Tara.
“For what?”
“For saving my life. If Christian had died tonight, so would I.”
“Christian wasn’t going to die.”
“Asmodai would have beaten me.” Christian said. “If you hadn’t destroyed the talisman, he would have killed me.”
Tara trembled. Christian must have felt it because he lifted her in his arms and cradled her to his chest. She nestled against him. “Don’t ever, ever, do anything like this again,” she whispered.
He bent his head and kissed her. His lips were cool against hers, but his tongue was scalding hot as it slipped into her mouth and feasted on her. It was long minutes before he raised his head. “You asked me if I hated you.”
She stilled.
“I’ve lived for over five hundred years. In that time I’ve often questioned what I am, wondered whether I was evil. I am a vampire. I have no soul. I should have died many, many years ago, but tonight, for the first time I accepted what I was. For the first time, I have no regrets about the decision I made so long ago. I also had no regrets about giving up my life if it meant that you could have yours.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, his tongue flicking against the sensitive skin. “All I’m trying to say is I could never hate you, whatever you are. I love you.”
Tears pricked her eyes as he spoke the words.
“I love you, too,” she said.
He smiled and kissed the tears from her cheeks. “I accept what I am now, and I want you to do the same. Don’t hate yourself for what you are. I suspect you’re going to change—the talisman suppressed what you are and that’s gone now.”
“Do you think I might sprout wings or grow a little taller?”
“I don’t know, but don’t be afraid to look inside yourself. I’ve come to believe there is no such thing as pure evil or pure good, and maybe no such thing as a normal life.”
Tara forced a smile. “Don’t worry. I’d already decided—I’m going to be a normal demon-fae.”
“Good. Now I think we should go home and celebrate.” She flashed a quick glance at his face. His eyes were hot and hungry. “There’s a bottle of champagne in the fridge at my place.”
“Champagne? Is that wise?” But fire sizzled through her veins as she remembered the last time she had drunk alcohol with Christian.
“Probably not. But who cares?” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “I reckon it’s an important part of accepting your inner demon. Anyway, Graham can lock us in—let us out in a year or so.”
“I’m not sure a year will be long enough.”
“Ten then, or a hundred…we have forever.”
He was right. No doubt, there would be repercussions for tonight but for now, she could relax, spend some time discovering who and what she was. Suddenly she was impatient to start. She looked around her; they were alone. It was raining harder now and everyone else had disappeared.
“Come on,” she said. “Take me home.”
Acknowledgments
To Liz Pelletier at Entangled publishing for her fabulous covers, her wonderful editing, and her limitless enthusiasm. And to the ladies at Passionate Critters for reading my stories and letting me know what they really think. And finally to my gorgeous husband, Rob, for not getting too fed up when I spend most of my life playing in made up worlds.
About the Author
Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain. Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.
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