Once Forbidden(3)

“That’s almost true,” he explained carefully. “What you’re seeing is an illusion,” he explained.

Sarah’s eyes filled with pain and she felt tears burning in her eyes. “I know.”

He walked to her and touched her, his hand gentle on her cheek. “But it can be real, Sarah. If you want it to be, it can be real,” he explained very gently.

She looked into those deep green eyes she’d seen so many times before in her dreams. “How?” she whispered. “How is that possible?”

“I can help you be reborn,” he said in a hypnotic voice.

“What are you?” she asked, though she knew the answer. “Who are you?”

“You know what I am, and you know my name is Devlin Wilkes,” he chided softly. “You’ve always known. I can give you this, Sarah. You only have to ask.”

“So, I’d be dead?” she whispered, not really understanding how it all worked—and not questioning why she’d even believe it was real—but she did. Suddenly, she did. Maybe because she wanted so much for it to be true. Later, she’d worry about why she would believe in the unbelievable.

Devlin smiled, showing even white teeth. “You’d be more alive then you’ve ever felt, Sarah. You would see and hear things you’ve never heard or seen before. Your senses would all be enhanced. Your passions would be enhanced. But,” he admitted, “you could never go out in daylight again.”

A vampire.

She’d become a vampire. She’d read about them, of course. Even as a child, she’d somehow known they were more than myth, though. Part of her had believed in them even then.

Could she accept that existence, though? “I don’t know,” she whispered, uncertain. “I just don’t know.” The lure of his voice was almost hypnotizing, and the thought of being like she was before almost too strong to ignore. Surely, though, he didn’t expect her to make that kind of decision this quickly.

He nodded. “Then take time to consider,” he said. “Let me show you what we can have, though.” It wasn’t a request, and she knew it.

Sarah suddenly smiled. Here she was, standing in her bathroom in the middle of the night with a vampire. “Yes.” It had been so long since she’d been held. She wanted to feel him holding her—feel him loving her. Already she was growing wet for him, and her nipples were painfully tight. She felt his gaze on them and she almost groaned. “Yes,” she repeated softly. She smiled when he lifted her into his arms.

Finally! Devlin lifted her in his arms almost before the word had left her mouth. She had accepted him much easier than he’d have thought possible, even with the dreams he’d shared with her. But he’d been unable to wait even one more night. She belonged to him. It was time.

He carried her quickly to stand by the edge of her bed and removed her gown carefully, letting it pool at her feet.

In the dreams he’d shared with her, he’d usually been quick in his loving, needing to drive her to pleasure in the limited time he had with her. Now, he could take his time. He could tune all his senses to hers. He lowered his head and kissed her gently, his lips cool on her own heated ones. When he felt her lips part, he deepened the kiss, drinking deeply, his tongue dueling with hers and stealing her breath.

There was innocence in her kiss. She was hesitant at first, but then opened fully to him. He fisted his hands in her hair and pulled her against him with a groan. This was what he wanted, what he’d needed for so long.

For months he’d loved her through her mind, but now, finally, he’d been unable to wait even one more night. It was time for her to belong her him. Devlin knew that even if she wasn’t ready to become a vampire yet, she was ready for this much at least. Nothing would seal their bond faster than mating with her.

She was his.

Making love to a human was intoxicating. Making love to one of the Chosen was even more so. Her scent filled his nostrils, the beat of her heart pulsed in her throat, and he lowered his head, teasing them both by nipping her neck where the pulse beat steadily. It would be so easy to take just a taste, but he didn’t—not yet. There would be time later for that.

For now, he just needed to make love to her and with her.

Sarah felt a jolt of electricity when she felt his teeth on her neck. She arched her head, giving him better access. She’d have sworn in that instant that there was an actual string from the pulse in her neck to the heated flesh between her thighs when she felt the almost painful pull of need. She felt herself growing hotter and hotter as his lips and teeth moved on her.