“I know but we have to be careful. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to disappear into my office with me coming out smelling like you. Curry’s losing a lot of his vampires senses but the others aren’t. They’re going to smell you all-over me. I can pass tonight off if I stay in here for a few hours but we need to have a plan for how to handle this in the future.”
She lifts a strand of her hair and twists it around her finger as she thinks. It’s something I’ve noticed her doing many times. “How can we be together the way we want if they’re always going to smell me on you?”
There’s only one solution. “I think the safest time would be in the mornings after they’re asleep so your scent will have time to fade before they’re awake again.”
“But if they’re asleep, you should be too.”
Sleep isn’t an issue for me. I’ve been doing without it for a while. “Let that be my problem to deal with.”
“I don’t want you to harm yourself by being awake during the day.”
Knowing she worries about me makes my heart melt. “I won’t. I’ve been doing this for a while, you know?”
She gets up from her chair and sits in my lap. “How long is a while?”
I’m old as hell and I wonder if it’ll bother her. “I was twenty-five when I was turned so I was born three hundred years ago.”
She looks surprised. I don’t think she had any idea I was that old. “So you’ve been a vampire for two hundred and seventy-five years?”
I place my hand on her lower back and massage. “Does that bother you?”
“Not at all. I like older men.” She breaks into a mischievous grin as she leans down to kiss me.
When we pull away I look into her eyes trying to decide how young I think she is. “What is your age?”
“I’m twenty.” I think she interprets the look on my face as a direct indicator of the distress I feel because she quickly adds, “But I’ll be twenty-one next month.” As if one year really makes a difference.
I’m silent for a good minute before I’m able to respond. “Shit, Avery. You’re even younger than Chansey.” I remember the hard time I gave Curry about having a relationship with a young girl. I may have even called her a child but at least she turned out to be his intended. Now I’m doing whatever this is with an even younger girl and she isn’t my mate so I have no excuse.
“I’m not a child so don’t go there. I feel much older than twenty after the things I’ve been through.”
“I know and I’m so sorry for everything you’ve experienced in your short life. I wish I could take it all away for you.” She leans over and places her head on my shoulder. She’s curled up like a child in my lap so I put my arms around her to hold her close. “Don’t worry. Vincent will never get to you again.”
The mention of her former captor sends her heart racing. “You don’t know that. That monster could find me years from now.”
I should tell her about the oath to protect her. Maybe it’ll put her at ease knowing I’ve sworn to always be near her and keep her from being harmed. “What do you know about sacred vows–I mean the kind a vampire makes?”
“Nothing.”
“I want you to look at me when I say this.” She sits upright and twists in my lap so she can see me. “A sacred vow occurs when a vampire makes a pledge. It’s an oath that exists for the lifetime of the vampire so it isn’t taken lightly because it’s unbreakable and can’t be undone. It’s a very old tradition but because there’s no going back, very few vampires practice this.” I take her hand in mine and grasp it tightly. Even if it’s only in the background, I’ll forever be a part of her life and I have no idea what her reaction will be. “I’ve declared only one sacred vow in my two hundred and seventy-five years as a vampire. It is to keep you safe at any cost.”
I see her drawing a conclusion. “By any cost, you mean … ”
“I will die protecting you if necessary.”
She’s upset. “No. I don’t want that. I’d never want you to die for me.”
Good thing it isn’t her choice to make. “It’s done and there’s no undoing it.”
“When did you do this?”
“The morning Curry brought you to the compound. And I’m not sorry. I’d do it again if given the choice.”
She places her palm against my face. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”
I move her hand to my mouth and kiss it. “I am your protector. Always.”
She leans forward and places her forehead against mine. I feel her sweet breath against my lips and I can’t resist kissing them. She welcomes my tongue into her mouth and I reel over all the sensations rushing toward me at once. I remember the way I felt when I kissed Lisette but it could never come close to rivaling this.
Avery rises and turns so she may position a knee on each side of my hips. She lowers herself to straddle me and wraps her arms around my neck. I watch her finger tap against the pulsation in her neck as she tilts her head to invite me closer. “Kiss me right here.”
I know what she’s doing. She wants me to drink from her again. I won’t but I lean forward to place my lips against the throbbing vessel because I want to taste her skin.
She places her hand on the back of my head and presses my mouth against her throat. “I want you to drink from me again.”
“It’s too soon.”
“It’s not. Twice in the same day is nothing to me. I’ll be fine.”
I know her body can withstand a large blood loss but that isn’t the point. “Fine isn’t good enough for me. I want you healthy and glowing.”
“I would definitely glow if we connected like we did a few minutes ago.”
Humans aren’t meant to have their blood drained so often. “Drinking from you too soon is hazardous to your health and I think we just covered how committed I am to your safety and well-being.”
She sucks my lip into her mouth. “You’d never hurt me.”
We needed boundaries. “That’s right. I wouldn’t and that’s why I won’t drink from you more than once every three days. Your body needs time to compensate for the blood loss.”
“Three days? I don’t want to go that long without intertwining myself with you.” A sad look comes over her face. “Unless you don’t want me.”