Slowly Cain lifted his eyes to the top of the stairs, drawn to where she stood. Faye wore a colorful cotton dress with a pattern consisting of tropical flowers in various green, blue, and pink tones. The fabric hugged her generous bust and widened past her wasp-like waist to make room for her hips and the bare long legs that became visible just below her knees. Her toes peeked out from her high-heeled sandals. He couldn’t tell whether she wore a bra or whether her breasts were naturally firm to give them such an appealing shape. Though if he could trust his dreams, he had his answer: in his hands her breasts had had the perfect combination of softness and firmness.
Swallowing away the lust that instantly surfaced, Cain forced himself to remain standing where he was. Instead, he brought his gaze back to her face, where her eyes stared at him as if he were a ghost. Her lips parted, and even from where he stood he could see how her chest rose to take in a breath.
Faye was even more breathtakingly beautiful than she’d been in his dreams. Combined with her scent that now wrapped around him like a cocoon, he didn’t know how any man, vampire or not, would have any chance resisting her. Just looking at her he was lost. If he walked to her now, his lips would utter a confession he couldn’t dare make. Nobody was allowed to find out that he suffered from amnesia. Not even Faye.
So he suppressed the urge to run up the stairs and sweep her into his arms. He couldn’t allow himself to do that. Certainly not in front of Abel. She was engaged to Abel now, and until he had a chance to speak to Faye in private to get a sense for her feelings for his brother he couldn’t show any of the palace’s residents what he felt. He had to continue the charade and play the strong king who wouldn’t lose his composure. John had told him on the plane ride here that he’d never been one to show his emotions in public. If he did so now, the vampires watching him would find it odd and become suspicious. And he couldn’t give them or Abel any reason to believe that he’d changed or that he wasn’t who he was pretending to be.
He ran one last look over Faye, before he nodded to her stiffly. “Faye. It’s good to see you.”
The casual words made his heart clench. Would she understand that for so many reasons he couldn’t be more affectionate at this moment?
He’d loved this woman once. Not only had John told him so, but Cain had felt it in his dreams. Did she still love him? Or had the year that they’d been apart widened the gap between them too far to bring them back together? Looking at her now, knowing that she wasn’t merely a figment of his imagination, he had no doubt that he could fall in love with her all over again.
13
“Cain,” Faye murmured so quietly that he probably didn’t even hear her.
Like a mirage he stood there in the entrance hall, several of the guards around him, three strangers by his side. But she had no eyes for anybody but Cain.
He was alive.
She couldn’t believe her eyes and blinked, but when she opened them again, he was still there, still standing in the entrance hall of the palace as if he’d never left. His scent drifted to her, confirming that he wasn’t simply a lookalike, but the real thing: Cain, her king and her lover.
His greeting echoed in her mind again. Faye, it’s good to see you.#p#分页标题#e#
The words seemed so distant, so unreal. As if they weren’t his. As if he were greeting a stranger and not the woman he loved.
What had happened to him?
So many questions invaded her mind, making her dizzy. She didn’t know what to do first, what to ask first, what to say, how to react. All she wanted was to throw herself into his arms and feel his heart beat against hers. Feel his lips kissing her and assuring her that everything would be all right now.
Her feet carried her down the stairs, bringing her closer to the man she’d grieved for and shed tears for every day since he’d gone. A few more steps and she’d be with him again.
“Isn’t it wonderful, Faye? My brother is alive!” Abel’s voice suddenly penetrated her haze.
Faye froze, her feet refusing to take another step.
Oh God! She’d accepted Abel’s proposal not twenty-four hours earlier. Despair slammed into her. Why hadn’t she waited just another day? What would she do now? Her eyes drifted from Cain to Abel. Had Abel already told his brother that his fiancée was now promised to him? Was this why Cain was making no attempt to take her into his arms and kiss her?
Her heart raced, her pulse beating into her throat, robbing her of the ability to speak. She wanted to turn back time, to make everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours undone. Tears welled up in her eyes. They should be tears of joy, but instead they were tears of regret. Regret of having given up hope too soon. How could she ever forgive herself for that?