He had tried to be as gentle with her as possible, but after the events of today he realized it was going to take a lot to earn her trust if he wanted it. And he was beginning to understand that he just might want it. He wanted her trust even more than he wanted the blood he could hear thrumming through her veins, and smell in the suddenly stifling air of the room. If he was going to get that blood, then he was going to have to get her trust.
It was strange to realize this; he was used to getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, not ones constantly challenging and refuting him. And she wasn’t even quite a woman, not yet anyway. She was young, and she had known so little in her short life. Yet she was strong willed, vibrant, and far more willful and alluring than any woman he had ever known.
“How old are you Arianna?”
She was startled for a moment and then her mouth curved into a soft smile. “Far younger than you, I’m sure. But I’m seventeen.” Though he had thought her older, he was not surprised by the tender age. “How old are you?”
“Far far older. Nine hundred and fifty two.”
Her eyes widened considerably. Her mouth parted slightly. “Wow.”
He managed a wan smile. “Yes, wow. I am the oldest of my siblings.”
Curiosity lit her features. “How many siblings do you have?”
“Two brothers and two sisters. This is not common knowledge in your world?”
She shook her head. “There is little known about the royal family. It is mostly just rumors and guessing. We don’t give much thought to the people that have taken so much from us, other than trying to survive from day to day.”
“I see.”
“Do you?”
She met his gaze head on, a trait that he admired even though her stubbornness and inability to look past what he was were beginning to aggravate the hell out of him. He decided to let it go for now, to continue to bicker with her would get neither of them anywhere, other than frustrated.
“Come here; let me take a look at your ribs.”
She sighed softly, and for a moment he thought she was going to defy him, but instead she came slowly toward him. She stopped before him, her hands folding in front of her. He examined her carefully, admiring the fact that she did not flinch when he pressed against her wounded ribs. “They should be good in a few weeks.”
“I know.”
His hands lingered against her sides, holding her lightly for a moment. If he gave her some of his blood she would heal quicker, but he knew that she would not take it, and though he was drawn to her more than anyone else he had ever met, he wasn’t ready to create the bond between them that sharing his blood would produce. He had never shared his blood with anyone before, never mind a human.
Her eyes came slowly toward him, bright in the light of the room. Her dark eyebrows drew sharply together as she studied him for a moment. He felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to know what she would feel like against him, what she would taste like.
Before he knew what he was doing, he moved slowly toward her, pressing his mouth lightly against hers. She stiffened beneath him, her heart lurched violently, and he could hear the rapid pace of her pulse as it raced through her veins. Excitement tore though him, hunger gripped him tight as the delicious scent of her blood assailed him. He struggled to keep control of himself, struggled to keep his teeth from elongating as the tantalizing desire to bite into her, and savor her, ripped through him. He would frighten her if such a thing happened though, and that was not what he was looking to do at the moment.
He pulled slightly away from her, waiting for her to shove him away, to tell him to stop, or to leave her alone. She did none of those things as she stared up at him in wide eyed wonder. She blinked rapidly for a moment, her head tilted slightly as she seemed to be trying to decide what exactly it was that he intended. And as long as she did not tell him to stop, he knew exactly what it was that he wanted from her.
He searched her crystalline sapphire eyes before bending down and kissing her again. Her surprise was palpable, he could sense some fear underneath it all as she remained stiff against him for a moment more. He believed that fear was more from the unknowing of what he wanted, than from the actual kiss or from him. Then, to his surprise and delight, her hard mouth yielded slightly and he could feel the heat of her breath against his mouth. He pulled her closer to him, careful not to scare her as he slowly deepened the kiss.
She was one of the most wonderful things he had ever tasted. She was sweet and giving, her body warm against his as she succumbed even more, pressing closer to him. He had not expected this from her, he had expected some resistance, a fight even, but there was none of that. In fact, she was far more yielding than he had ever imagined she would be, and she felt far better than he had ever thought she would. It felt right to hold her, to touch her. His hand entwined in her loose hair, it was as soft as silk beneath his fingers.
Her hands curled around his forearms, she gasped softly as he ran his tongue along her lips. He wanted to lift her up, to carry her from this room, but he knew he could not move too fast. And her ribs. He had to remember her ribs. He had to remember that she was injured, even as his control began to swiftly unravel.
He pulled away, before he couldn’t. Pulled away before he lost complete control and either hurt her, or rushed her into something that she was not ready for. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide with wonder as he rested his forehead against hers. He was trembling, nearly shaking with the effort that it was taking for him not to touch her again, not to kiss her again.
Not to drain the wonderfully tempting blood from her.
“I didn’t expect that,” she said softly, her voice tremulous, her grip on his arms fierce.
“Neither did I.”
He brushed the hair lightly back from her face, cradling her cheeks gently within his grasp. What was this girl to him? Why did she affect him so? What the hell was going on here? The questions raced rapidly through his mind, but he couldn’t answer any of them. There were no answers from him. He could not deny that she was special, that he was supposed to have found her, because he knew both of those things to be true.
He was, however, beginning to doubt that he could keep her safe in this world, or even from himself. He knew that he could not keep her happy, she did not belong here. This was not her place, this was not her world, and she would never be safe here. If anyone even suspected that he might have feelings for her, they would kill her. Blood slaves were used, drained, tortured, and tossed away. They were not treasured, they were not taken care of, and they most certainly were not kept alive for extended periods of time.