Chapter Six

“Three days,” Liam voiced in the safety of his room he’d rented from Jarvis, and leaned against the door. How could this be? No wonder he was famished. No wonder his squire looked half starved. He thought his time in the forbidden forest a fantasy from a bump on the head, but he could not have been unconscious for three days. His hand brushed against his beard-stubble jaw, proving days had indeed passed without his knowledge. Pushing away from the door, he strode over to the looking glass nailed over the water basin. His gaze caught sight of his reflection. The distorted glass made him look haunted. His eyes appeared a lighter shade of blue, and his pallor looked ghostlike with dark rings bruising the tender flesh beneath his eyes. “Good Lord, I look like I have been in a fist fight and lost. No wonder the town folk shied away from me.”

As he cleaned up and made himself presentable, he turned his head and caught sight of two small pinpricks on his neck. He ran his fingers over the marks. A flash of his angel with fangs crossed his mind. “She fed on my blood.” His imagination could not produce two distinct pinpricks.

He must return to the forest. He must learn what happened to him there. He tried to convince himself this was the case, but in truth he wanted to find Glamis and prove she wasn’t a fantasy brought on by lack of food and water. He was a knight, a warrior. He was not a man prone to delusions.

He waited until all were sleeping before he ventured out. He thought to bring a torch, but his vision wasn’t hampered with the moon high in the sky.

Loucetios was a bit skittish and he had to soothe the horse before mounting him for his midnight adventure.

He entered the forest in hopes of finding Glamis, but if not her, the keep where he made love to her before a roaring fire.

When Loucetios would go no further, he dismounted. “Be safe, my friend. I hope to see you in the morning.”

Loucetios whinnied in protest, but Liam would not be dissuaded. He hit Loucetios’ rump and set him galloping away. He continued down the path on foot, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The wind picked up in a swirl of dirt and leaves. The whispers of warning tickled his ears, but he refused to go back. “Glamis, where are you?”

“Here, Sir Knight.”

He whirled around with his sword drawn. How had she come upon him so quickly with nary a sound? “What are you?”

“I believe you know, Sir Knight, or at least suspect.” She glanced at his drawn sword. “Have you come to slay me then? Bring back my head as a prize?”

His brows furrowed. She was beautiful with her mahogany locks gleaming like dark wine. Her eyes the color of blue, not to be matched, waited for him to answer. She’d been flirting with him playfully, harmlessly, but he knew she wasn’t a lass to betray with lies and expect to live to tell the tale. He’d seen enough battles to know when an enemy would give up or if he would fight to the death. Glamis would not be taken willingly. In truth, he did not want to harm her. She was the first woman he’d taken to his bed. She showed him the wonders of making love and by God, he wanted to show her he was an apt student. How could he slay the woman he could fall in love with? As much as he wanted her, he was not a fool. He kept his sword ready. “The villagers have named you a fiend. They say you have killed, draining your victims of their blood.”

She sighed as she continued to study him with eyes as sharp and adept as his. “Do you wish me to tell you the truth, Sir Knight?”

He nodded. “Aye, you owe me the truth.”

“So be it. What the villagers claim is true.” Her response was delivered in a cool, distant tone.

She murdered men and didn’t blink an eye or show remorse for her deeds. He’d been fooled by her feminine façade that hid her killer instincts. She deserved to die, but something in her eyes, in the way she looked at him gave him pause. For a fleeting second, he caught a glimpse of her heart, unprotected and exposed for him to see the loneliness, the longing for more than what life offered thus far. He knew all about yearning for a different life. “Why?”

Sucking in a shallow breath, she tore her gaze away. It was the first time she let her defenses down. “I must take nourishment as you must. I require blood.” Her gaze found his once more with a plea for him to understand. “I cannot survive otherwise.”

“You are a vampire.”

“As many have called me, a human name born out of fear. The formal name is Dearg-due.” Her chin lifted and her shoulders pulled back. Proud she was of her lineage.

His world felt a little off centered and he took a moment to digest what she had revealed to him. He had a hunch her other victims were not given the same courtesy as she gave him, which only proved to bewilder him. “Why did you not kill me?”

She tilted her head to the side as her gaze slid over him in appreciation. “You are different. You were not tainted.”

He chuckled without mirth, her words stinging his pride. “My purity saved me. The church will be pleased to know virtue is still held in high esteem, even to a Dearg-due.”

“You misunderstand, human.” He supposed she had the right to snub his human status. His tone surely spoke of what he thought of her.

His eyes narrowed. “Explain then. Please,” he added. He did not want to offend her again.

“You have courage. You did not run when fear whispered in your ear to flee.”

“A knight never runs away.”

She nodded. “You did not fight me when I fed.” She touched her neck lightly as if to remind him of her bestowed kiss.

“I wish it were not so, but stopping you was not an option. I knew what you were doing and I wanted you anyway.” Since they were baring their souls, he would not hold back either.

She nodded once more. “And finally, your blood calls to me, Sir Knight. I could not kill what I craved. It would be foolish on my part.”

“So it is the blood you want.” Bitterness laced his words at being used to sustain her life and nothing more. He gave himself to her. She was a fiend who killed to survive and he was a knight sworn to follow all rules sanctioned by his rank. He sinned and he did so willingly. He would not deny the fact, but he wanted to know it was for a good reason.

She remained silent for a heartbeat of time. Her brows furrowed over the bridge of her nose, then smoothed again as an array of emotions washed over her. “Why did you come back?”

His arm lowered and he sheathed his sword before facing her with the truth. “I could not forget you. I suppose I crave your touch as much as you crave my blood. Tell me I am not a fool.”

With a blink of an eye, she was in his embrace. Her eyes glowed red like a predator on the hunt, but it didn’t frighten him. To prove it, he pulled her closer. His hands slid down her lithe body, wanting to take her there where they stood. His mouth sought hers with a kiss that singed through his veins.

His hands made short work of their clothing. On the ground, she straddled him as he leaned against the tree trunk for support. She guided him inside her and groaned in satisfaction. His hands held onto her hips as they made love. Her gaze never left his. He knew what she wanted, what she craved, but she held back. He tilted his head to the side to make it easier for her, but her palms touched his cheeks, forcing him to meet her eyes again.

“I shall not take without permission, Sir Knight.”

“Liam.”

Her lovely arched brows furrowed.

“My name is Liam and I give you permission.” He exposed his throat once more.

Her lips caressed his flesh with a sweet kiss, her tongue licking over his flesh. When her fangs finally bit into him, pain and pleasure mixed as she drank and made love to him. Pain. Pleasure. Rapture.

Much later, she lay in his arms, her flesh warmer since she fed from him.

Her hand smoothed over his face and worry shadowed her eyes. “You look pale. I will hunt for you. You must take nourishment.” She made to move, but he held onto her.

“Later, my love. Right now, let me hold you.”

Later never came. He made love to her again, this time slow and meaningful. “You are mine, Glamis.”

“As you belong to me, Liam. I give myself to you completely.”

“As do I.” He lowered his mouth to hers, sealing their pledge with a kiss.