Robert (8 page)

Katie paled.

“Where is the rest of your family? And don’t lie—you and your friend are already in the vampire bad books.” He turned to face her.

She noticed his penetrating green eyes first.

How odd. She was in danger—in running-for-her-life danger—and she was noticing how good her saviour looked. Very strange.

Considering that his whole body spoke volumes of anger and irritation, his eyes seemed friendly by contrast.

He wasn’t handsome but he had a presence about him. Katie guessed that came with being over six feet tall.

“My family is dead.”

“Poor you. So that explains the attempted capture tonight. They’d been checking you out. One witch is easier to capture than a whole family.” He seemed to be talking to himself, so Katie stayed silent.

She didn’t want any more anger aimed at her tonight.

“This is a disaster.” He sighed, turning back to look out of the windscreen. He started the car back up.

“Why don’t you want to kill me?”

“Like I said, you’re the first witch I’ve seen in a long time. Our kind doesn’t kill your kind.”

“But the rumours and the tales—”

”All made up. Ever since vampires and witches have known of each other, we’ve worked together. We have a bond. We always thought it rather poetic—the undead and the magical spirit combining together.” He drove slowly along a country lane.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To my place. It’ll be safe there until I can talk to my brother,” he told her.

Katie relaxed back in her seat. She’d rather be in the bad books of the Council than have to deal with a hungry pack of wolves.

“What about Sophie?”

“My brother is going to finish the bond tonight, then we’ll deal with the Council.”

Katie nodded, not caring whether he could see her. If the Council decided to kill her, at least Sophie would be safe through the blood bond.

She watched him manoeuvre the car down the roads and she smiled. No man had ever taken her for a drive before.

“Don’t start getting moon eyes at me—I’m not my brother,” he warned.

Katie chuckled. “I don’t want anything from you. I was just thinking about my friend and the bond.”

“I take it you’re the one responsible for all that.”

“No. Sophie suggested it and started to put a plan in motion. I just did what she told me. As I’m sure you know, Sophie can be very persuasive when she wants something. She likes him, you know?” Katie felt safe and happy for the first time in years. William made her feel this way. She just wanted to chat, like any girl her age.

He turned his head for a fraction of a second.

“Who?”

“Sophie. She likes your brother Robert.”

He laughed. “I think he likes her, too.”

They shared a smile.

Chapter Four

Sophie was dreaming. She lay beside the river, running her hand through the clear water. She could see the beautiful tropical fish and the wonders of the underwater plant life.

She wanted to stay there forever. Her mind and her body were at peace.

“You like it here.”

Sophie turned to the sound of the male voice interrupting her thoughts. Robert stood there all in white, a contrast to his dark features.

She smiled, happy to see him. “It’s beautiful.”

He joined her, sitting behind her so that she rested between his legs. Safe and warm.

The sun shone down. This entire place seemed happy and serene.

“I could stay here forever,” she sighed. She swirled the water with her hand and watched the rippling effect of her actions.

“I could stay here with you.” His hand joined hers.

Together they swirled the water, creating larger ripples. His dark hand seemed huge surrounding hers, keeping her safe from the nipping of the curious fish.

A dark cloud wavered on the edge of their world.

Here she could feel his heart beat—never before had she felt so safe.

“Where is this place?” she asked. She tried to blank out the dark, looming cloud.

“I come here to think,” he told her.

“We can’t stay here, though.” She knew where she was.

“No, this place isn’t a physical world. It’s where I come when I’m resting,” he explained.

“In a way I’m in your dream world.”

He smiled down at her. “Yes.”

She looked around, taking in the truly magnificent beauty. The sunshine created a nice warmth but was not hot enough to be invasive or uncomfortable. The light breeze was refreshing and relaxing. This place was tranquil—the complete opposite of the man whose world it was.

“Will we come here again?” She hoped they would. She had no other responsibilities here—she was just Sophie Ford, and she was happy. She hadn’t been happy in a long time. “What’s with the black cloud?”

It seemed to be growing, getting fiercer as it approached.

“A reminder of the problems we have to face when we get back.”

“Who else gets to come here?” she asked.

He smiled. “You’re the first and only person allowed here.”

Sophie liked that. This place was theirs and theirs alone.

The silence that descended made her tense. “I’ve done something bad, haven’t I?” Sophie couldn’t shake the sudden feeling of despair. Something had changed while she’d been here, and she didn’t know what.

“Nothing we can’t fix,” he assured her.

The clouds rumbled.

“We have to go.” Robert got up and held out his hand. She hesitated. “Trust me, Sophie. I promise I’ll protect you.”

Sophie nodded, placing her hand in his as he lifted her.

Sophie gasped as she was jerked out of her dream. Robert was sitting by her bedside, holding her hand. She placed a palm over her rapidly beating heart to try to steady herself.

She took her time to glance around the apartment. The problems were back, the worries, and the dull thump of a headache was starting in the back of her skull.

She groaned. “Do you have any painkillers?”

“Where does it hurt?” he asked, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She pressed her hand to her head, showing him.

“Take a drink.” He presented her with his wrist, where blood gathered in a small cut above his vein.

She shook her head, the sight of the blood turning her stomach.
No more

blood and no more vampires—she didn’t want to deal with this crap anymore.

“My blood will heal your pain, Sophie. Stop being stubborn and drink.” He pressed his wrist to her mouth. Blood soaked her lips.

She could scent his blood. The first hint of metal invaded her nostrils…then it changed. It started to smell like him. Her stomach turned, not in distaste but in desire. Sophie liked the flavour of him.

She licked along the cut, drinking his blood.

The taste was pure heaven. Her hands came up to clasp his wrist to her mouth. She swallowed him down her throat, relishing the taste and feel of him inside her body.

Sophie felt the glow spread through her, the warmth causing her cheeks to flush. Blood seeped into her nipples, making them pulse, hard and erect. Between her thighs, through her slit, she felt the throb of her clit as it came alive, telling her of her desire.

The reaction of her body startled her. She thrust his hand away, covering her nakedness with the sheet, creating a little more distance from him.

“You desire me. Your body is merely responding to it.” He cleaned the remainder of the blood from his wrist. The cut had already sealed itself.

She had to keep reminding herself that he was a vampire. Being around him made her forget about what he was. He acted like a human.

“That is because I was human once.”

Startled, she looked at him.

She was sure she hadn’t spoken aloud.

She must have. He’d never before been able to read her mind, she was sure of that. And she couldn’t read his.

“I won’t hurt you, Sophie.”

“You’re a vampire. Don’t you hurt everyone?” She wanted to hurt
him
. Her emotions were all over the place. She felt betrayed, but didn’t have the first clue why.

Sophie felt raw and naked. Okay, so she
was
naked, in her pathetic attempt to seduce him, but that wasn’t the type of naked she was referring to.

Exposed would possibly be a better way of describing it. She scratched her head, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

Then she was amazed to realise that the headache was gone.

She looked at him, only to see him smiling.

“I told you my blood was the best painkiller.”

She smiled back. She couldn’t help it. When he did smile—which wasn’t often—it lit up his face. It transformed him from handsome to downright sinful. Her heart fluttered in her chest.

If he used that smile more often, she would be on her knees begging for his attention.

“Thank you,” she said.

He moved up on the bed until he was directly facing her, lifting her chin with one finger. He gazed into her eyes.

“You’re very welcome.”

Sophie couldn’t look away. The startling clearness of his eyes eased the pounding ache in her heart. The headache was gone, but her treacherous body was creating other problems, opening up and coming alive underneath his searching gaze.

It was as if her body became active when she was around him. No other man had ever created these conflicting feelings.

Sophie went from wanting to cover up and hide to wanting to drop the sheet and beg him to make love to her.

“I can smell you,” he hissed.

Sophie watched as he got up from the bed and paced the room. It was a small room for such a large man to walk repeatedly in the same pattern.

There she went again, thinking of him as a man rather than a vampire.

When his words registered, Sophie couldn’t stop the blush staining the tops of her breasts working its way up into her cheeks. She bowed her head, embarrassed.

She heard him curse, and moments later he was on the bed before her. Sophie watched him through lowered lashes. She could safely observe him like this.

Robert sat there and looked at her. She could feel his ardent gaze lingering on the upper swells of her breasts where they peeked from beneath the bed sheet.

Her arms began to ache. The sheet, suddenly feeling heavy, slipped from her grasp. She gazed up as she heard his growl.

The noise—primal, heat-filled—echoed around the room. The sheet had fallen away to expose her full breasts and rounded, quivering belly to his eyes.

Interested to see what he thought, she took a chance and glanced at him. His gaze was searching her body. Absorbing it. He didn’t move. He just stared at her.

His pupils dilated and she watched as his eyes moved from one of her breasts to the other. They responded in kind, her nipples hardening to painful points. The knot in her stomach wound even tighter than before.

Sophie wanted…no, she
needed
him to reach across the small space separating them and touch her. She wanted to see him bend his head—without asking her permission—and suck one of her nipples into his mouth. She wanted his dark hair brushing over her naked skin. She wanted to see the darkness of his locks against her paleness.

Inside her head, she pleaded with him to take her.

Sophie closed her eyes, no longer able to look at him, hoping.

She cried out as his wet mouth sucked in her nipple. She opened her eyes. The vision before her was more beautiful and powerful than anything she could have imagined.