Taken by the Vampire King(17)

Every time one part of her brain came close to convincing her she wanted   Henrik, another part reminded her that they'd met when he attacked  her,  bit her and took her against her will.

Finally, she couldn't stand to be in her room for one more minute. Maybe   the fresh, crisp night air and the short walk to the auditorium would   clear her head and shed some light on how to choose the right path. On   autopilot, she made her way through the hotel and out onto the crowded,   festive, aurora-lit street. The lights were already putting on a show,  a  diffuse green providing a backdrop for a brighter, rippling wave of  the  same color. Everywhere she looked, people were paired or grouped  up.  Friends, lovers, spouses, siblings, parents, children. She heaved a   breath, swallowed her solitude, and made her way down the street.

Gasps rang out. Then oohs and ahhs. Ahead of her, people broke into   quick walks and runs to the intersection. Kaira glanced up in time to   see a curtain of red flash through the sky.

How remarkable! City lights usually obscured all but the strongest color   variations. Sometimes they couldn't be seen by the naked eye at all,   only captured on film. Oh, why didn't she have her camera? She reached   the intersection, but the gathering onlookers formed a wall she couldn't   get through or see around. She tried anyway, people seeming to give  way  when they saw how fancy she was dressed.

Finally, she stepped through an opening in the crowd and looked up through the break in the buildings.

Her heart leapt into her throat. A towering cathedral of red stretched   to the heavens, supported by an undulating wave of green. And, at the   very bottom, hanging so low in the sky you could almost touch it, was a   perfectly formed band of blue light.

It was the once-in-a-lifetime blue aurora, and it was the color of Henrik's eyes.

Seeing this rarest aurora, when their love of the lights was one thing   that had bonded them, had to be a sign. With a final ripple, the blue   faded away.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Kaira scrabbled to find her   phone in her purse. Her hands were so shaky it took three tries to pull   it out. People dispersed, heading back on their merry way again,  leaving  her in the middle of the intersection to make maybe the most  important  call of her life.

"Jakob? It's Kaira. I want him," she said when he answered the phone.   "Tell Henrik I want him. Please tell him to come get me now," she   blurted out, her hand stinging and her chest filled with such a mix of   emotions that it was hard to draw a deep breath. What if he'd changed   his mind? What if she'd waited too long?                       
       
           



       

"Thank God," Jakob said. "Tell him yourself."

"What?" Phone still pressed to her ear, she looked up, her gaze scanning   right and left. She did a double-take when she saw him, standing right   in front of her on the opposite side of the intersection. Something   seemed different about him, but she was too emotional to think on it.   Her breath shuddered in her chest and tears formed of fear and happiness   pooled in her eyes. "I see him."

But Jakob didn't answer. The line was dead. And, this time, she didn't   need him to tell her what to do. Her heart had already made the leap   across the square, she only had to join it.

Dodging groups of festivalgoers, she wove her way through the space. And   then she saw what was different. He'd filled out, a monumental   understatement. The hollows of his face were gone, the bones of his   hands no longer protruded, and he now carried the muscular bulk she'd   feared the first time she'd met him would make him imposing. And, was it   the lights, or had his hair even taken on the faintest blond hue? As  if  all that weren't enough, a thin braid, like the one Jakob and the  other  warriors wore, hung down the left side of his face where, two  days ago,  he'd had a bald patch.

He was devastatingly handsome and fiercely masculine. And she was so   happy for him she could've thrown herself around him and squeezed with   all her might.

"Henrik? I called Jakob."

He stepped down off the curb and came close enough she felt the heat   from his body through the cold night air. Why wasn't he saying anything?

Her heart was doing quadruple time in her chest, nearly making her breathless. "And, if you still want me-"

The kiss was a full-body experience. She hadn't even seen it coming.   Arms tight around her, he picked her up, claimed her mouth and made it   blazingly clear just how much he wanted her. She was dizzy and   breathless and recklessly aroused by the time he returned her to her   feet.

He gripped her shoulders, his hands strong and warm. "I want you with   everything I am, kjære, but I need you to be sure. What about all you   will sacrifice?"

She shook her head. "I have no family, no real career. You live in the   best possible place in the world for me to do my photography. And, if   your blood can't cure me, I can find a doctor here." Kaira stepped tight   against his newly big body. "I'm sure. This feels like what I'm   supposed to do."

His eyes flashed. "I am strong now, because of you. My blood will work. I feel it."

The thought of being healthy again sent a shiver of amazement over her   skin, but that wasn't why she was choosing him. "Either way, I love you,   Henrik." The words were out of her mouth before she'd thought them   through, but she immediately knew their rightness.

He groaned and held her tight. "You are my heart and my light, Kaira. I love you, too."

"I want to do this now. The mating."

"So do I. But your ceremony starts in-" he looked at his wrist, so much   thicker than it had been before "-eight minutes. You're not missing  it."

"But-"

"No buts. I'll not have it any other way."

She bit back a smile. "You know, that's not always going to work with me."

"What?"

"That line. I don't know if that works with your guys, but you need to know that sometimes I'm gonna say ‘too damn bad.'"

His eyebrows raised to his hairline. "Will you, now?"

She lost the battle against the grin and finally just gave in. "I will."

"And, is this one of those times?"

Kaira was nearly mad with her need for him. Her hand tingled. Her core   ached. Her throat was oddly dry and scratchy. She was hungry for him.

But the show was its own once-in-a-lifetime, wasn't it? And it was only   an hour. Surely, she could wait an hour. Right? He licked his lips and   flashed the promising tips of his fangs. Oh, he didn't play fair. No,   she could do it. Besides, where else was she going to wear a gown this   gorgeous? She heaved a breath. "No, this isn't one of those times."

"Very well." He turned and offered her his arm. "May I escort you, then?"

A thrill shot through her. "I would love for you to escort me tonight." She snuggled into his side.

His eyes smoldered and flared with blue light. "And tomorrow?"

"And all the tomorrows." Heat bloomed on her cheek.

A low growl tumbled out of him. "Let's go collect your prizes and get out of here."

Kaira laughed. But she loved his faith in her. And she loved his plan.                       
       
           



       

Because she was completely taken by her vampire king. Now and forever.