“Want another bite?”
“Not right now.” She stared out at the lake a moment. “Do you like being a vampire? Was it something you wanted?”
“Is that what’s got your panties in a knot? You’re worried about whether I’m happy being a vampire?”
“Of course not. Like I said, I just want to know more about you.”
Zack shook his head. Women. “In the beginning, I hated it and I hated the vampire who turned me, but once I got the hang of it . . .” He shrugged. “It took some getting used to, but I’ve got no complaints now.”
“Have you killed very many people?”
“Define many.”
“Zack.”
“I’ve killed a few, especially in the beginning, before I learned to control the hunger. I don’t know any vampire who hasn’t taken a life or two.”
Kaitlyn nodded. She didn’t know if her father had ever taken a life to sustain his own, but she knew he had killed at least two men. “Would you be mortal again, if you could?”
“Hell, no.”
“Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“In love?”
Colette’s image flashed through Zack’s mind. “Once,” he admitted, “a long, long time ago. How about you, Katy?” he asked, his voice suddenly silky smooth. “You ever been in love?”
She shook her head, although it wasn’t entirely true, because she was in love with Zack. “Is it true you can’t have children?”
“Yeah.”
“Does that ever bother you?”
“Sure, but . . .” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “You’ve got to take the bad with the good.” He stared into the darkness. “I guess that’s something you’re looking forward to—marriage, motherhood, the whole nine yards.”
“It’s expected of me.”
“Expected?”
“Our women are only fertile for a short time each year.”
“Is that why your grandfather had so many wives?”
“Partly. Our women outnumber the men, so it’s not uncommon for Master Vampires to take more than one wife.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Zack muttered and then grinned. “Your grandfather must have been quite a stud.”
Kaitlyn huffed a sigh of annoyance. “Do you think you’d like to have twenty wives and hundreds of children?”
“Well, I don’t know about raising all those kids,” he said, waggling his eyebrows, “but the begetting part doesn’t sound so bad.”
She punched him on the shoulder. “Men! All you ever think about is sex.”
“Ow!”
“Serves you right.”
Laughing, Zack pulled her into his arms. “Katy, I don’t want anyone but you.”
She stared up at him. Did he mean it? “Zack . . .”
“I know, I’m moving too fast. So, what do you want me to do? Back off? Go away?”
“Just kiss me, you idiot.”
“You sweet talker,” he murmured.
She sighed as his lips claimed hers. Falling for Zack was bound to cause nothing but trouble, but somehow, that didn’t seem to matter, not when he was kissing her as if he would never let her go.
She wrapped her arms around him as his kiss grew deeper, more passionate. Maybe she was worrying over nothing. Maybe her father wouldn’t object to having Zack for a son-in-law. And maybe she was taking too much for granted. After all, no promises had been made, no words of commitment had been spoken between them.
Just because she loved him didn’t mean he loved her.
Chapter 16
Eyes narrowed, hands resting on his knees, Lucien, Master of the Italian Fortress, regarded the woman standing before him. Nadiya Korzha was tall for a female, her bearing austere. Long straight brown hair fell over her rigid shoulders. Her eyes were the color of the sky on a cloudy day. He had been surprised by her request for an audience—doubly so because he had never met her. He knew who she was, of course. Rodin Sherrad’s fourth wife. He had heard rumors that Sherrad’s son, Drake, was interested in her whereabouts, though Lucien had no idea why.
Lucien gestured at the chair across from his. “Please, sit.”
“Thank you.”
“We can spend several useless minutes in small talk,” Lucien said. “Or we can skip the niceties and you can come straight to the point and tell me why you’re here.”
“It is well-known that you have long coveted the Carpathian Fortress.”
“Indeed?” Lucien lifted one brow, concerned that anyone should have such knowledge. The Carpathian Fortress was the largest of its kind. In days past, there had been those who had challenged Rodin for its possession. All had been defeated. But Rodin was no longer a threat. “Well-known by whom?”
“By myself.”
“You did not come here to tell me that.”
“No, I have come seeking your help in avenging my kin.”
Lucien frowned. “Explain.”
“Drake Sherrad killed my sons. . . .”
“That was over twenty years ago,” Lucien interjected. “Wait a minute. Did you say ‘sons’?”
“Yes.” She had no proof that Daryn was dead, but she had not heard from him in more than a week. Only death would prevent him from contacting her. She didn’t know who had killed him, but of one thing she was certain—Drake Sherrad was involved.
“What is it you want from me?”
“There are those within the Carpathian Fortress who are not happy with the changes Drake has made since his father’s demise, but there are not enough of them to overpower Drake and assume control of the Fortress. They have pledged their allegiance to me.”
Lucien leaned forward. “Go on.”
“Together, we can overthrow Sherrad and claim the Carpathian Fortress.” Lucien wasn’t alone in his desire to rule Sherrad’s territory. She took a deep breath. “When it is ours, we can rule it together.”
He reared back, eyes wide with astonishment. “Are you proposing an alliance? Or marriage?”
“Whichever suits you best.”
“If you are thinking of going to battle, you will need a strong army. Or are you suggesting that I challenge Sherrad one-on-one?” He shook his head. “I know of no one who can defeat him with the sword.”
“Soon, I will have something to bargain with,” Nadiya said, her mind racing as a new strategy fell into place. “It will give us the edge we need.”