“Tima?” Kirill laid his hand on my head. “Vervain, it vill be all right. Ve'll figure it out.”
I turned and settled in against Kirill, and he wrapped me into a tight embrace. I sobbed against his chest as he held me. There had been times when I had wished for a different life; when I complained about the hardships or the complications of the way I lived. But now, I was terrified that they might be taken away. Because with those traumas had come treasures; people and experiences that were worth any amount of pain or problems.
But crying wasn't going to help.
I sniffed, wiped at my face, and looked up at Kirill. “Arach and I did a blood spell to ensure that our souls recognized each other.”
“You did?” Kirill blinked in surprise and then in revelation. “And ve have already done such a spell.”
“Yeah; our Blood to Heart.” I nodded. “That can't be undone; no matter what happens to time. Faerie told me that time refashioned is different than an original timeline; certain things can't be undone.”
“Even vithout our bond, I know ve vould find each other,” he said with a peaceful smile. “Ve are meant to be, Vervain. Zere is no other future for me zat makes sense. You make my life real; vithout you, zere is no me.”
“I can't live without you either,” I whispered. “So, we had better make sure that we find this time god and...”
“Vervain?”
A cold shiver was creeping over my body and with it came a thick darkness.
“Kirill!” I grasped at him in terror, and his eyes widened.
“I love you, Vervain,” he said urgently. “I love you; hold onto that.”
Kirill pulled me in tightly to his chest, and we gripped each other as if someone were trying to tear us apart. Which is exactly what was happening. Despite the strength of our love and our arms, the dark consumed us, and we were lost to it.
Chapter Six
I sighed and stretched awake; the salt breeze reviving me. Sun streaked in through the open balcony along with the ocean air, but it didn't reach the massive bed that I shared with my husband. I rolled over with a satisfied smile and ran my hand over the expanse of his hard stomach; scrunching my fingers in the sprinkling of hair there. He moaned softly awake, but when my hand wandered lower, he inhaled sharply as his arms tightened around me.
“Good morning,” he rumbled with a sleep-roughened voice.
“Good morning.” I gave him a quick kiss and then continued my kisses down his chiseled jaw.
His hands threaded through my hair as I made my way down his chest—pausing to flick my tongue over his hard nipple—and then over his belly. I settled under the covers—between his thighs—and took him in my mouth; taking care not to nick him with my teeth.
When he was writhing in rapture, I flung back the blankets and straddled him; sliding him into me with a satisfied moan. I began a rapid pace; my hands braced on his massive chest as his went to my breasts. The sun caught the red tones in his pale hair and turned him into a fiery angel. I frowned and blinked; an angel? Where had that come from?
No matter; my passion was rising and with it came my need for other things. I smiled slowly at Thor, and he grinned back before he turned his head and offered me his throat. As my climax took hold of me, I struck; biting into Thor's thick neck. His blood washed over my tongue, and I tasted all that was him; the strength, honor, and love inside him. As I drank, my bite sent Thor into orgasm, and he held my hips tightly to his as he bucked up into me. When the shouting was over, I licked the tiny marks in his throat and then eased off him.
“I couldn't ask for a better way to start my day,” Thor said as he leaned over to kiss me. “How's my lovely Vampire Goddess this morning?”
“You know how much I hate that title,” I grumbled half-heartedly.
Honestly, it wasn't the title that bothered me so much as the way I had received it. I'd had a run-in with an Aztec god named Huitzilopochtli. He was the God of Sun and War, and also the Father of Vampires. I had thought that he had some good in him; that perhaps I could save him. But, in the end, Blue—that's the nickname I'd given him—tried to turn me into his vampire slave. In self-defense, I started draining his magic—a trick I'd only learned weeks before—and ended up taking all of it. Blue had died, and I had become his magic's new host.
Blue's priests attacked me next, but since I held the magic that sustained them, it was a simple matter to subdue them. Unfortunately, they were extremely loyal to Blue, and even under my influence, they were unstable. I finally had to cut them off from the magic entirely; killing them in the process. That had been awful to watch; although they seemed to die painlessly, their bodies withered and then turned to dust. I'd never seen anything like it. The whole thing had been a horrible situation that left me with magic that I would have preferred not to have.
But it did have its perks.
“We are what we are, darling,” Thor said gently as he lowered his face to kiss the lightning-shaped scar on my neck; the scar that covered a bite that Blue had given me. “There should be no shame or regret in that. You did what you had to do, and you survived because of it. I, for one, rejoice in your title because it means that you'll live forever.”
Forever; that had been a problem
