throw ourselves at you.'
'I hope I am not so callous as that. I would die without those females. I need them as much as they want me.'
Clearly, she wasn't part of the 'they.' Bastard. No one else will give him what he deserves. Not the gods, not his king, not my king. I must do it. 'I wonder why I ever desired you.' And why, despite everything, she still did.
'I have wondered that myself,' he replied darkly.
'You are strong,' she offered, not wanting to admit the real reason.
'So are others.'
'You are handsome.'
'Others are more so.'
True, and yet…no one else had eyes like his. Most likely some shared the color, but not the pain banked there, the hint of, well, a man possessed by ghosts and dark passion.
Once, many years ago, she had glimpsed the beast inside him.
He didn't know it, hadn't seen her, but she had been mesmerized by him.
His father…She gulped, had sworn never to think of that terrible time again, lest it grow wings and fly from her memories, reminding him. But the dark images flooded her, images of that fateful day marking the beginning of her obsession, and she couldn't stop them.
Even though Alyssa was of mixed blood, both a vampire and a demon, she never allowed herself to think or act like a demon. Too many races despised them. As she appeared every inch the vampire, the deception wasn't difficult.
But that day—that week, actually—she'd snuck her way inside the demon camp, curious about the father she had never known, about his people. For days she'd watched them, beginning to despise them herself. They killed for fun, delighted by their victims' screams. They did more than drink blood; they ate flesh.
One day, several demon warriors—her brothers—ambushed Shivawn's father, an innocent, during peace talks. For sport, they had tortured the man in the most horrendous ways, and young Alyssa had stayed hidden in the shadows, cowering, too afraid to try and make them stop.
Shivawn had seen his father's limp body nailed to a tree and attacked. A battle had been waged and he had ultimately triumphed, slaughtering the demons responsible. His love for his father had shown in every slash of his blade, in every roar of fury and helplessness that had left his mouth. That was what she'd wanted with her own father: loyalty, love. She hadn't gotten either, but by then, she hadn't wanted either. Not from him. Perhaps that was why her hopes and dreams had shifted so easily to Shivawn.
Afterward, with the demon pieces nailed to trees as his father had been, he had dropped to his knees and sobbed. He had gathered his father tenderly, reverently and begged the gods to awaken him.
Alyssa had ached for him, even as fantasies had begun spinning in her mind. Fantasies of Shivawn being her brother, standing beside her if anyone ever learned the secret shame of her dual heritage.
As the years had passed and she'd grown into a woman, her fantasies of hearth and home had taken a more sensual slant. No longer had she wanted him as her brother. She had wanted him as her lover. No one else would do, though she'd given several a chance. They hadn't compared to her dreams of Shivawn, not in any way.
Determined to experience the bliss of Shivawn's touch, she had journeyed to the nymph camp and sought him out. He'd taken one look at her and vomited.
She hadn't known why, still didn't, but she hadn't given up. Should have. Should have given up. Look where she'd ended up. Broken, raw. Physically doomed.
'I've seen the way the vampire soldiers watch you,' he said now, slicing his way into her dark thoughts. 'Choose one of them for your mate.'
While she loathed the thought of him with another woman, he could not wait for her to have another man? Give him what he deserves…
I am not like my demon sire. I am not vindictive and corrupt.
Nor are you a martyr. He will hurt others this way until he is stopped.
Yes, he would. 'They do not appeal to me,' she finally replied, not yet ready to act.
'I am nothing special.'
'Perhaps I like the way you kill.' She had seen him in battle, had even fought next to him.
His lips twitched, as if for once he was amused by her. 'You try and act like a warrior, vampire, but I have seen you hesitate before delivering the death-blow. You might fight, but you do not like it.'
He was the first to notice her secret revulsion during battle—a revulsion that stemmed, no doubt, from her desire to set herself apart from the demonlike acts of war—and she blinked in shock. Fought against a softening in her chest. 'You know nothing about me, nymph.' She uttered the last with as much disgust as she could muster. 'You avoid me at every turn.'
'True, but I know women.'
Oh, that burned. Wiped away any hint of softening. She was one of a thousand others to him. Give him what he deserves!
Yes, she decided. Yes.
'I have always wondered why you fight when you so obviously hate it.'
'You? Wondering about me? That's twice now you've admitted to such a thing. I'm surprised you haven't exploded.'
Once again his lips twitched.
She ground to a halt. He kept moving, realized she'd stopped and turned, facing her. Looking at him, her heartbeat sped up. Are you truly going to do this?
'Nothing I've said has been meant to hurt you,' he said softly. 'But I had decided weeks ago to take a female as my own, even one who is not my mate, because I crave stability. That means I cannot be with you and you cannot…ask it of me again.'
Any female would do but her, was what he was saying. Yes, I am going to do this. Slowly, so slowly, she closed the distance between them. 'You do not want me to come around and bother her.'
He gave a stiff nod.
'Then I will give you my word, Shivawn.'
Slowly his features relaxed.
'I will not come around your woman.'
'Thank you.'
'But then, neither will you.'
He frowned.
She launched herself at him with the last reservoir of strength she possessed, fangs bared.
VALERIAN CRADLED his mate in his arms, his skin sweat-slicked from the pleasure they had just shared. This woman never ceased to amaze him. She was beauty personified, softhearted, yet a tigress every time they fell into bed.
'If Shivawn doesn't return soon, I'll have to leave the palace and search for him. He is faithful, and would've sent word of a delay. If he could.'
Shaye stiffened in concern. 'Do you suspect foul play?'
'I'm not sure, but something isn't right.'
'The vampire—'
He shook his head, certain. 'Alyssa will not hurt him. She obviously loves him. Besides, nymphs and vampires are allies.'
'Uh, I hate to break it to you, sugar, but a woman in love is an ally to no one but her heart.'
'I know women, moon, and—'
'Stop right there. You don't know shit, big boy. Otherwise you would not be telling your wife how you learned about other women.'
Softhearted? Had he seriously thought such a word in connection with his human mate? He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. So fierce and possessive, his wife. She would slay anyone who 'made a play for his bod,' she had once said. And he would not have it any other way.
She placed a kiss on his chest, just above his heart, tongue flicking out and leaving a spark of fire. 'Maybe I'll
