The rook looked at him and nodded. “I’ll be here.”
“Thank you.” He returned his attention to Delaney. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and prepare her the way he had last night, but that would take him down a very dangerous path. “I’ll be upstairs when you’re ready.”
An uncertain look crossed her face, but she just nodded and said, “Okay.”
Leaving her behind in the kitchen was like trying to break free of the earth’s gravitational pull. As soon as he was in his room, he paced, going from the fireplace to the dressing room door and back again.
After what seemed like years, he sensed her presence outside his door, a sure sign that their bond had already begun to form. She knocked a second later.
“Come in.”
She entered, tentative but smiling. “I’m guessing you’re acting a little weird because of what you said earlier about not wanting to wear me out? I’m basically taking this as a big compliment.”
He laughed. “That’s a good attitude. Yes, believe me, I am struggling. I want nothing more than to be with you.” He sighed. “I got nothing done today. Unless you consider ruining everything I touched an accomplishment.”
“I’m sorry.”
He waved it off. “It will pass soon enough, but right now, being around you without being able to touch you is torture. Stanhill will be here tonight so that you won’t be alone while you’re sleeping. I’m going to my brother’s after we’re done. And I won’t be back until after the sun sets tomorrow.”
He studied her face for signs of disappointment, finding them immediately in the downturn of her mouth and the sadness in her eyes. “Please don’t be sad. It’s for the best.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“You’ll sleep even longer after this next bite, and you’ll have Stanhill with you all day, and then, before you know it…” He forced himself to smile. “We’ll have the rest of eternity to be together.”
Her smile looked just as contrived as his felt. “I can’t wait. Literally. Let’s do this.”
He held out his hand to her. “Lingering over you as I would like cannot be part of the process tonight. This will be fast and less pleasant than last night, for both our sakes.”
“That’s okay.” She took his hand, the warmth of her seeping into him like a drug.
The touch of her caused a shudder of pleasure to ripple through him. Somehow, he managed to lead her to the bed and let her go. “You should undress and get under the covers. I won’t be able to help you with that tonight.”
“Okay.” She stripped down to her bra and knickers, then crawled under the covers.
Her pulse had kicked up, giving him pause. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to.” She smiled at him again, and this time, it reached her eyes. “I’m ready.”
He nodded and bent his head to her throat. He inhaled her perfume and teetered on the verge of giving in to a very different set of desires. With a final burst of control, he bared his fangs and bit her as gently as he could manage.
She gasped, her cry this time containing only pain. She grabbed his arm and squeezed but made no effort to pull away.
He drank quickly, releasing her just as fast. The ache in his soul for more was instantaneous. He ignored it to bite through his own flesh. He fed her a few drops of his blood as he’d done the night before, this time with as little contact as possible.
A minute passed. Her pulse slowed and she succumbed to sleep.
He headed for the door, stopping when he reached it to take a long look at her. So peaceful. So beautiful.
She would never be human again. If he didn’t bite her again tomorrow night, she could still be his companion. Still live at his side, as a rook, for centuries to come.
All he would have to do is stay away on the third night. He snorted softly. If only it were that easy. He knew her well enough to know she’d never forgive him for that. If she didn’t just hunt him down. Instead, he would return to her and bite her again, completing the turning.
And taking the greatest risk he’d ever taken. The thought unsettled him. Made him wish he could know the future.
“Sleep well, my darling.”
One of them should.
Delaney woke with a start. Bolt upright. Wide awake.
That never happened.
She blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The world around her was…not the same one she’d last seen. Colors were brilliant. The air seemed crystalline. Like her vision had suddenly become some new version of high-definition. “Stanhill!”
Her voice echoed in her ears, and she cringed at how loud she sounded.