Fateful (23 page)

Looking into his sapphire eyes, she wondered
if she’d be able to see the truth of that in his gaze. While she
could sense things about his personality, she couldn’t exactly see
his past. Deciding to trust him, she confessed, “Truthfully, you’re
my first real boyfriend. I haven’t been on that many dates.”

Ethan studied her eyes for a moment, probably
trying to do what she’d just attempted. “You’re nineteen. Certainly
you could have had other boyfriends.”

“
I focused on my studies more than
dating. And to save up for coming here, I worked full-time. There
just wasn’t time for much of a social life.”
Plus I didn’t want to move here and have to leave a boyfriend
behind
, she thought. “I have dated other guys, but
none seriously.”

His eyebrow lifting, Ethan smiled and
then leaned in for a kiss that lingered long enough for her to feel
the influence of his spell. When he released her mouth, he gazed
into her eyes as though he were simply trying to show her his soul.
With familiarity washing over her, she mused,
Wow, that’s still so weird
.

“How do you feel? We really need to be going
soon because of the sun,” he reminded.

“How much time do we have?”

“We only have an hour to get back to the Land
Rover, and then another hour to get you home.”

“But, that’s not enough!”

“I think we can do it,” he said as he
motioned for the fairies to return. Chanting words she didn’t
understand they dusted both of them with more of the fairy dust. As
the fairies moved away, Ethan took her hand and pulled her from the
bed. She felt oddly lighter on her feet.

“Now run,” Ethan commanded with a note of
urgency in his tone. He kept her hand in his and began moving. They
ran at an incredible speed. Not quite as fast as he’d run in the
fog, but faster than she could run naturally.

“Does this wear off?” she asked in awe.

“Yes, it will, so don’t slow down. We need to
get the Land Rover before it does.”

It took them less than thirty minutes to
cross the distance. The breeze whipped her hair out of her face as
they flew past trees and rocks. Danielle didn’t even want to think
about hitting something while running at such an unnatural
velocity.

As they ran toward the Land Rover, which was
now in sight, Danielle could feel the magic wearing off. Her legs
felt heavier as gravity began to regain its hold. But when they did
reach it and climbed inside, she was amazed to find that she didn’t
feel tired.

The sky was growing to a deeper shade of pink
as the sun sank lower into the sky.

“Will we make it before sunset?”

“If I speed.” Ethan said with a mischievous
grin. He revved the engine and drove back toward the city.

Thinking about what she’d just witnessed,
Danielle said, “Ethan, that was incredible! Thank you so much for
taking me!”

“You’re welcome. I must confess,
I
really
enjoyed watching you
experience that.”

“I’m sorry I fainted on you.”

“No. I’m sorry I dragged you on a long hike,
when you were already tired, telling you not to bring anything,
because I had it for you, then never actually feeding you. The
fairies were justified in their anger towards me.”

“Well, I’m not angry with you because that
was absolutely worth it.” She leaned over to kiss him swiftly on
the cheek.

“I’m still sorry,” he said smirking.

“I’m still grateful,” she countered with a
grin.

Ethan chuckled softly.

After a few moments of quiet, Ethan glanced
at her, and she noticed something different in the look he gave
her, like he had something new on his mind.”What is it?” she asked,
out of curiosity.

Following another pause, he said, “I had a
discussion with the fairies while you were out. They seem to think
we should see what happens at night between us. The thought had
crossed my mind before, when we were at the ruins. But I was afraid
to follow through, especially after the disagreement with Beon.
He’d be livid if he knew I was even considering this.” Danielle
watched his expression as he talked because he seemed slightly more
intense than usual. With hesitation, he finally asked, “Are you
willing to risk being around me at night?”

She thought about that for a moment, then
said, “But I’ve already been around you at night.”

He shook his head. “Only briefly, and I kept
my eyes from you for the most part. We might need to see what
happens when I gaze into your eyes full force.”

“So what does happen when you look into
someone’s eyes at night, ‘full force,’ that is?”

“With my gaze, I can entrance you, and make
you feel intensely weak. Then with my breath, I can sedate you
completely, but you will remain aware of what’s happening … and you
will want it, you’ll want me to bite you. The victim practically
begs for it.”

Danielle shuddered because he’d described
that a little too vividly.

“But I already feel entranced by your gaze
during the day, and your scent does sedate me.”

“Yes, and that’s the strange part, that
shouldn’t happen during the day. So then we have to wonder, what
happens at night? Will you not be affected? Will you be able to
fight it? Or will I be the one who is affected by you?”

“Or will I be affected more strongly, and not
wake up for days?” she added.

An anxious frown spread across his features.
Obviously her last question disturbed him. “You’re right. We’d
better not risk this.”

“No! I think we should…. We should test it
tonight!” For some reason Danielle really wanted to know despite
the risk.

Ethan looked disturbed, so she fought to
convince him. “I trust you, Ethan. That’s why I think it’s worth
it. I’ll take the risk.”

He pondered her words silently for a moment.
“Are you sure?”

“If the fairies were suggesting it, then I’m
in.” She knew she had him swayed with that, and smiled.

“Very well. Tonight it is then.”

“Where are we going to do this?”

“In your bedroom,”

“Why my bedroom?”

“If you’re in your room, I can leave you
there safely if I feel like I’m going to lose control.”

And that’s when Danielle felt a
twinge
of fear. Could he actually kill her? Is it that
tempting for him? No. No, she told herself, it’s not in him to
kill. That was one thing she had seen in his eyes. Ethan Deveroux
was not a killer. Plus he’d saved her at night—twice now—he
couldn’t kill her after that, could he? Of course in the back of
her mind while she knew Ethan didn’t have that kind of brutality in
him, she didn’t really know if he could fight a curse that was out
of his control.

“I’ll go hunting first and then return to
your room. Are you still okay with this?” he asked, probably
sensing her momentary twinge of fear.

“Yes,” she said, not really knowing if that
was true or not.

“All right,” he whispered, and ran his
fingers along her cheek to sweep her hair away from her face.

Ethan pulled up to her house as the colors of
the sunset deepened to a vivid red. He opened the Land Rover door
for her, lifted her out of the vehicle, and then, never allowing
her feet to touch the ground, walked her to the front door. He
lowered her feet to the porch, bent down and brushed his lips
softly against hers. His eyes sparked with mischief when he
suddenly tugged her close to nibble and kiss her neck
flirtatiously. She shrieked and giggled. “That tickles! Cut it
out!”

Ethan only chortled softly and left,
whispering over his shoulder. “Later, tonight, I shall return.”

Danielle shuddered as the goose bumps left
her and then went inside.

Chapter 13

To Look a Vampire in the Eye

Danielle had dinner and tea with her family
and then excused herself to take a shower. She felt very dirty
after spending half the day in the woods, and she needed to
relax—which was a difficult task—knowing Ethan was coming to her
bedroom to test his magic on her.

She was nervous, partly because she had no
idea what would happen, and partly because she’d never had a guy in
her bedroom before. But even more than that, he wasn’t an ordinary
guy, he was under the influence of a powerful curse. A curse meant
to make him kill mortals like her. She reminded herself of the good
things she knew about him as she stepped into the hot spray of
water.

When she was finished showering, she
blow-dried her hair so she wouldn’t have to sleep with it wet. She
slathered her body in her favorite, scented lotion, changed into
her silky pajamas absentmindedly and then wondered if he expected
her to be dressed. She really didn’t know. She finally decided to
put some fresh clothes on and paint while she waited for him.

But after she’d painted for a couple hours,
she became too tired to continue. Danielle was beginning to wonder
if he was actually going to show up, or if he’d changed his
mind.

She changed back into her pajamas, tucked
herself into bed, and switched off her light. Drifting helplessly
into sleep, she’d given up on expecting Ethan tonight.

Feeling a pressure on her mouth drew Danielle
from sleep. Also noticing her bed was tipping as if someone else
was in it, her eyes burst open and she tried to scream, but it was
muffled by the hand previously placed over her lips. Instinctively,
she tried to fight but she was held down by strength far beyond her
own. She searched for a face to see who was holding her down.
“Shhh, Danielle, it’s me, Ethan.” He leaned over her, his face lit
by the moonlight filtering in through her windows. His eyes were
closed to narrow slits, therefore protecting her from his nighttime
magic. “Are you going to scream again?” he asked gently.

She shook her head.

Ethan slowly removed his hand. “I’m sorry,”
he said. “I knew it would frighten you when I woke you, but I had
to make sure you didn’t wake the rest of the house.”

“I waited but you never came, so I went to
sleep. How long does it take you to hunt?”

“That depends on where I go hunting, I wanted
to make sure I was well satisfied before I got near you like this.
I went hunting for something bigger than my usual deer.”

Her eyes enlarged. “What did you go hunting
for?”

“You don’t need to know that,” he replied
curtly.

“Just tell me, I’m curious.”

“No.”

“Please?” she begged.

“Fine. Black bear,” he said grimly.

Danielle gasped louder than she should
have.

Ethan plopped his hand over her mouth again.
“Shhh.” He shushed her with a reproving look on his handsome face.
“Are you going to behave or should I just leave?” He didn’t appear
to be in the best mood after hunting.

Danielle mumbled under his palm in reply. He
rolled his eyes and lifted his hand again.

“I’ll be good, I promise, but I didn’t think
there were any bears around here,” she said in her most hushed
voice.

“There aren’t, I had to go to France to get
one. There are some big cats here, but they’re not natural to the
area, and they’re not big enough to be more filling than a deer,”
he replied flatly.

She covered her own mouth this time while she
gasped loudly again. He went to France for dinner? And ferocious
cats aren’t filling enough? “So that’s what took so long,” she
said, feeling staggered as she tried to imagine this.

Ethan nodded.

Then she wondered how the man who killed a
bear for dinner had gotten into her room. “Did you come in through
my window?”

“No, you’d locked that.”

“Sorry, I thought you’d changed your
mind.”

He sighed, like he didn’t really want to talk
about how he’d gotten in, but said, “I found one unlocked window on
the main floor.... Danielle, are you really ready for this? If
you’re not—”

“Yes.” She pushed her curious thoughts out of
her head, trying to focus on the real reason he came. “I’m
ready.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, Ethan, please.”

“All right, sit up … or maybe you should
stand … and close your eyes.” He seemed slightly unsure of
himself.

Danielle slid her legs out from under the
warm covers, set her feet on the floor, stood and then closed her
eyes submissively. Ethan took her hand gently and led her closer to
the fireplace. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her
fingers gently. He then released her hand and pulled her close with
one arm, while he cradled her face with the other.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he instructed
gently. “I need to make sure you understand what’s going to happen.
I’ve never looked at you like this at night before; I’ve always
protected you from this.”

“Okay,” she whispered. Her arms hung at her
sides.

“Do you remember all of the things I told you
that happen with my powers at night?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Those are the things you will have to fight
if this does affect you more strongly. I may be around mortals at
night, Danielle, but I keep a fair distance from them for a reason.
Do you understand this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Open your eyes, Danielle.”

She did as he instructed, then gasped and bit
her lip to control any noise she might make. Ethan looked into her
eyes with an intensely piercing gaze. As the force of it rolled
over her, she then understood his nightly avoidance of her.

“What do you feel?” he whispered kindly.

“It-it’s stronger. A lot stronger,” she
conceded.

“Can you fight it?”

“Maybe.” Though she wasn’t sure at that
point, she actually wanted to drop limply in his arms and let him
do whatever he wanted to her.

Ethan then blew his intoxicating, potion-like
breath into her face. As the heavy magic filled her lungs, her
breathing became irregular, her heart began trying to pound its way
out of her chest, and she was trembling. That breath of his was
much more potent than she’d expected. His daytime magic was nothing
compared to this.