There was no time for hesitation, and he opened the door. Relieved that nobody else was inside the room, his attention went to Violet. The covers were on the floor, and she was trashing on the bed, her eyes still closed.
He remembered she’d said not to touch her. He knew any creature of their world in the throes of a nightmare could be dangerous to wake, but Finn found it impossible to leave her like that. Without thinking it through, he called her name, but she didn’t respond, instead she trashed even more.
Out of options, Finn decided to put his hand on her ankle. He’d barely registered how cold her skin felt before she bolted upright as if he’d electrocuted her. Her body jerking, she fell on the other side of the bed. At warp speed, he went to her. Still half asleep, she cowered from his touch until her eyes blinked the fog away.
Her reaction affected him, but he kept a firm poker face. Violet was immobile, but it was pure panic he detected from her.
His first instinct was to go to her, but as a predator, he knew better than to increase the pressure upon her.
Not willing to leave, he instead crouched and waited, trying to appear as harmless as it was possible for him to be.
“Violet?”
It pained him to see her like that, but her next words felt like a knife going through him.
“I can’t stand being scared. I hate it. I want it to stop. I don’t know if I can do it.”
What could he say to her? Leaning against the wall and shaking, Violet was only a shell of herself, and it hurt his soul.
“You may not like my answer, darling.”
As he hoped, her eyes flashed for an instant, giving him a glimpse of her old self.
“What?”
Instead of explaining, he showed her by extending his hand.
He may as well have pointed a gun to her head.
She swallowed hard. “Each time they approached me, each time they touched me, it hurt. My head knows you won’t hurt me, Finn, but my body doesn’t understand.”
He knew then only patience would succeed. Silent, he didn’t move and waited. He could have said a lot of words to convince her she could trust him, but in her current state, his actions would prove his intentions.
Finn held his breath when her hand finally lifted. The courage that had defined this woman perked up.
When their fingers touched, feather-light, it took all the control he’d honed over all those centuries not to react in elation.
Her palm slid over his, so soft and icy cold, her fingertips tracing the lines and callouses of his hand. This tentative and innocent touch shot directly to his dick. All his senses spiked, the smell of her skin invading his nostrils, his mouth watering at the thought of tasting her.
There was nothing sexual in Violet’s gesture, but for Finn, lust was bubbling inside him in the sweetest torture. He had touched her before, but this was the very first time he’d felt such a surge that it nearly overcame him.
Ignoring everything, he focused on their joined hands until her fingers closed over his. Immediately, he did the same.
Protectiveness and lust mingled, thinning his legendary self-control. However, he clung hard to the remaining thread, because a lusty and uncontrollable vampire wasn’t what she needed.
“Good. Now, grab your comforter and follow me.”
Without breaking contact, he pulled her up while Violet frowned but obeyed, seeming too tired to protest. It was dramatically warmer in the living room as he led her to the sofa and bundled her up.
With regret, he let her hand go to put another log in the fire. On bended knee, he looked back at Violet. “What were you dreaming about?”
Her lost gaze shivered to him. “I don’t want to know, Finn.”
“You don’t remember? Or you won’t say?”
Her elegant eyebrow arched. “Some may think you’re pretty, but I think that annoying sarcasm is your best asset, bloodsucker.”
Even if her attack lacked intensity, Finn decided to push a little more. “It’s known that some witches can’t resist the call of the vampire. You’re probably one of them.”
He couldn’t help but laugh when a pillow hit the back of his head. “You know that violence is the first sign of desire.”
He braced for another pillow to hit, instead, it was a strangled laugh that rang in his ears.
“I always knew vampires were full of it, you included.”
Finn returned to the couch and let himself fall beside her. He rolled his eyes, but not before he saw the faint tint of pink on her cheeks.
The Violet Shaughnessy he knew was still in there, and he intended to keep digging until she came back for good.
The hours ticked by so slowly it was like another form of torture.
Violet struggled to keep her eyes open, fighting tiredness like an unseen enemy. Danger lurked behind closed eyelids.
When Finn had asked, she’d said she didn’t remember, but she did. Every excruciating second of it. What she’d registered weren’t the exact details, but how she’d felt. The words were deep rumbling laughing sounds, and all her eyes saw were shadows over her, taunting and torturing her in an endless carousel of pain.
Her capture and how she’d managed to get free were mysteries.
One quick look at Finn saw him sitting on the other end of the sofa, his head on his fist, probably sleeping.
The fire in the hearth was still going strong, and it was starting to penetrate its way through her frigid bones, bringing with it the start of peace.
Violet had heard her friend’s voices wanting to help and uncover what had happened, and for the first time since gaining her freedom, she felt strong enough to consider the possibility.
Her gaze lost in the dancing flames; her mind started to trace the hazy path of where it all began.
It wasn’t an easy task as her body rebelled at the idea of even conjuring
