Chapter 60
CHAPTER 60
JULIET
A wareness slowly trickles back into my mind. I’m completely enveloped in warmth and the rich, masculine scent of my husband. When I open my eyes, I’m nestled into Valaric’s chest. His heart beating a strong and steady rhythm beneath my palm.
I lift my head and find Valaric’s gaze already upon me. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not very long.” He leans in and presses a tender kiss to my lips.
Warmth fills me as I float on a wave of blissful happiness. “Can you sense my thoughts, my ashaya?” Like a caress, the words enter my mind, wrapping around me like a soothing balm.
“Are you speaking in my head?”
“You can hear me?” His eyes light with wonder.
I nod. “How is this possible?”
“The fated bond,” he explains. “But I did not think it would be possible for us, because you are human. I had hoped but… I was not sure.”
I don’t quite know how I feel about having him listen in on my every thought. As he looks at me, the same feeling of bliss and happiness I felt a few moments earlier washes through me. “Is that you?” I ask. “That feeling of—”
“Blissful joy,” he finishes my sentence, a handsome smile on his face. “Yes, it is me.”
Worry settles in my chest, and his expression falls.
“You do not like this.” His brow furrows deeply. “I can sense your discomfort.” He touches my cheek. “There is a way to break this connection, if you wish. It would have to be done by a priestess, but if this is what you want, we will do it.”
“No.” I take his hand and place it over my heart. “I do not hate it,” I answer honestly, and I can sense his relief across the bond. “It’s just a bit strange and new. Is there a way to”—I hesitate, unsure how to say it before finally settling on—“mute it just a bit, while I get used to it?”
Hope unfurls like a flower in my mind, and I know it is coming from him. He loves being connected to me in this way, and he’s glad that I want to keep our connection. “Yes.”
As the word leaves his mouth, an odd sensation—almost like a door closing in my mind—settles over me, and I can no longer feel him as strongly.
“Are you still there?” I ask, reaching out with my thoughts, wondering if he will receive it.
“Yes,” he whispers in my head, but it’s faint, a mere shadow of what it was before. “Is that better?”
“Much,” I reply, a smile cresting my lips.
I shift in his arms, wincing slightly at the dull ache between my thighs.
He cups my cheek. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” I reach up and smooth my fingers over the deep line furrowing his brow. “Just a bit sore.”
“Did I hurt you?” A small wave of panic washes through me. It takes me a moment to realize it is coming from him.
As if realizing that he has projected this to me, he quickly clamps it back down and the feeling disappears entirely. But in his eyes, it is easy to read his concern.
“No,” I reassure him. “It was my first time. I was warned it might ache a bit afterward. But it’s very slight.”
“And this?” he touches the puncture marks over my heart. “Does this hurt you as well?”
I place my hand atop his, flattening his palm to my chest. “No.”
He growls low and nuzzles my breast, pressing a kiss directly over his mark. “You carry my scent, my beautiful wife. All will know you are mine and mine alone.”
Reaching up, I run my fingers through the hair that falls across his forehead, gently brushing it back as I allow my gaze to travel over his handsome face.
He skims the tip of his nose alongside mine. “I have been yours from the start, Juliet.”
A smile crests my lips as he trails a line of suctioning kisses down my neck to my chest and then traces his tongue along the gentle slope of my left breast before closing his mouth over the already stiff peak.
I moan and arch up into him as he laves his tongue over my sensitive flesh and he purrs low in approval.
When he moves down my body, he nuzzles at the juncture of my thighs. “Open for me,” he whispers.
I do as he asks, and he dips his head between my thighs. Pleasure ripples through me as he drags his tongue through my folds and then teases the small pearl of flesh at the apex.
He replaces his lips with his thumb as he kisses a heated trail up my inner thigh. The sharp points of his fangs graze over my skin, and his eyes snap up to mine, a question burning in their depths.
I nod, and his gaze holds my own as he sinks his fangs into my tender flesh. Intense pleasure moves over and through me at the gentle suction of his mouth, and the brush of his thumb over the small bundle of nerves between my thighs.
It doesn’t take long before I’m crying out his name as my release rushes through me like fire, leaving behind nothing but ash in its wake.
He moves back up my body and roars out my name as thick, viscous ropes of his release cover my abdomen and chest. He smooths his hand over my body, spreading his essence over my skin as he stares deep into my eyes. “Mine.” He growls low in his throat.
“And you are mine,” I reply softly, still breathless and panting.
“Yours,” he agrees as he curls his wings around my form and tucks me into his side.
I’m about to drift off again, but he gently nuzzles my temple. “I brought you some food while you were sleeping.” Carefully, he sits up and gestures to a tray on the side table with a platter of food and a pot of tea. “You should eat, my ashaya.”
He pours a cup of tea and hands it to me.
I love how attentive he is to my needs. All the little things he does to show me that he cares. “When did you get this for me?”
“About an hour ago, while you were still asleep.”
My heart fills with warmth. “Thank you.”
When I bring the cup to my lips, a familiar bittersweet scent touches my nostrils. All the warmth leaves my chest. “Is this moon tea?”
“Yes. I asked Reyla to help me prepare it, to make sure I got it right.”
I glance down at the liquid, steam rising from the cup. This tea prevents conception. When we first got married, I’d told him I wanted to use it until I was sure of him. Of us. I wonder if he believes I’m still uncertain.
If he does, I want to put his concerns to rest. I love him. With all my heart. “I appreciate that you made this.” I take his hand in mine. “But I have no hesitations about our marriage, Valaric. If the gods decided to bless us, I would welcome a child from our joining. Unless…” I allow my voice to trail off as doubt begins to creep in. Perhaps he did not make this tea for me but for him.
“Unless what?”
I lower my gaze. “Unless you do not want children.”
He cups my chin, tipping my head up to bring my gaze back to his. “I do, Juliet.” Sadness flits briefly across his expression before he hides it behind a mask. “But not yet. I… feel we should wait a bit before starting a family.”
I don’t understand why he looks so pained. Now I’m beginning to regret that I asked him to mute the bond between us, because I’d love to know what he is thinking.
It’s not unusual for couples to delay having children in the early years of their marriage. Perhaps I am concerned for nothing. “All right,” I agree. “We have plenty of time to think about it. We have many years ahead of us. And we can use this time to just… enjoy being with each other, right?”
“Of course.” He smiles, but it does not touch his eyes. “Yes.”
A soft knock draws our attention and he moves to answer it, dressed only in his pants. Embarrassed that I’m still unclothed, I pull his discarded tunic on and cover my bare legs with the blankets before he opens the door.
“Excuse me, my Lord. I—” Elsie stops abruptly and looks around Valaric to me on the bed, a stunned expression on her face. “You—well… this is excellent.” She clasps her hands together. “I didn’t realize things had progressed so well.” She gives us a beaming smile and then looks up at Valaric. “Does this mean the cur—”
“Perhaps we could speak later.” Valaric cuts her off and her expression falls. “Are Damar and Eben back?”
“Aye. That’s what I came to tell you.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “And Lord Damar is in a foul mood. He’s in the study, waiting for you. But don’t you worry. I’ll let him know you’re otherwise engaged.”
Heat scalds my cheeks.
“Take your time.” She winks. “Truth be told, Lord Damar could use some lessons in patience.”
When she leaves, Valaric turns to me. His gaze travels up and down my form appraisingly, and a deep growl builds in his chest.
Standing next to the bed, I’m dressed in only his tunic. The bottom hem falls just above my knees. The sleeves hang past my hands, so I push them back to my elbows. And the neckline is so large it hangs off of one shoulder.
His eyes swirl black as he walks toward me like a predator cornering its prey. “I love the sight of you wearing my tunic and nothing else.” His voice is a low and sensuous purr. He leans in and dips his head to the curve of my neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. “Covered in my scent and bearing my mark upon your skin.”
He wraps his wings around me, pulling me close. “No one will ever take you from me,” he murmurs into my hair. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you by my side.”
“You made a bargain with Prince Raine,” I murmur against his chest as his words spark the memory of Alayna’s visit.
He frowns. “How do you know of this?”
“The prince sent his blood wife, Alayna, with a royal proclamation, recognizing our marriage as legal and valid so that the King of Aralon cannot claim I am here against my will. He cannot take me from you.” I pause. “But what did you promise the prince in return?”
Valaric meets my eyes evenly. “My loyalty to him over the crown.”
Worry ripples down my spine. “But why would he ask this? What if he asks you to endanger yourself? To do something that could—”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says bluntly.
“How can you say that? Of course it matters.”
“If I had refused, Prince Raine had orders from his father to take you from me. The King of Aralon has demanded your return to his kingdom and to his nephew—Lord Jonathan Harker.”
“I wouldn’t have gone,” I deny. “I—”
“They would have taken you anyway.”
“If they did, I would simply run away as soon as I was back in Aralon,” I state firmly. “I would find my way back to you.”
He shakes his head. “When kings decide they want something, they will do whatever it takes to keep it. He wouldn’t have let you go.”
His crimson eyes stare deep into mine as darkness begins to bleed in around the edges. “I would have had to assassinate the King of Aralon and his nephew to get you back, possibly igniting a war between our two kingdoms. And I would have done it without hesitation.”
Perhaps there are some who would be afraid by such a declaration, but I’m not. With his words, his touch, his vows, his devotion… he shows me how much he cares. That he loves me and would fight to keep me at his side, no matter the risk or the cost.
Valaric cups my cheek. “You are my heart. My life. My everything. I cannot lose you.” He drops his forehead gently to my own. “You are mine, Juliet. And I will end anyone who dares try to take you from me.”
He tightens his wings around me as if afraid I’ll disappear, and I cannot help but wonder why he is so worried. The danger has passed. No one can force me to return to Aralon. Not now that our marriage has been recognized by the crown.
Worry gnaws at my gut despite my attempts to push it back down. Prince Raine hinted that Valaric is keeping secrets from me. At the time, I thought he said it to try to divide us. But now… I wonder if my husband might be holding something back.
I lift my gaze to his. “Is there something else worrying you?”
Valaric stills as silence settles between us, and I know that I’m right. Something is bothering him, but I don’t know what. I touch his face. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. You don’t have to carry it alone.”
He hesitates a beat before placing his hand on my chest, directly over my mark—a symbol of his claim, his love, his protection.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had something to protect.” His voice a low rumble that vibrates through me. “It worries me that you’re human. Your people… they’re so much more fragile than Vampires. The thought of losing you because of that fragility—” He stops, his jaw tightening. “It terrifies me.”
I take his hand in mine, squeezing it gently. “I’m not as fragile as you think I am.”
Sadness reflects in his eyes as he cups my cheek. “I know you believe that.” He brushes his thumb across my skin. “But I have been human. I know exactly what the differences are between our people, and they are great.”
“Then turn me.” The words leaving my lips without thinking. “Make me like you.”
His grip on my hand tightens, his gaze sharpening with a sudden, fierce intensity. “No. I won’t risk it. Not everyone survives the change. I won’t lose you, Juliet. Not like that.”
“But I’ll die eventually anyway,” I counter. “I’m human, Valaric, and you’re a Vampire. I’m going to grow old, and you’ll still be here, just as you are now.”
He shakes his head. “It’s a myth that my kind live forever.”
“Even so, you will still live much longer than me.”
As his gaze holds mine, I see the truth of it in his eyes. The fear, the sorrow, the love that he has for me. “Yes,” he murmurs. “But you won’t die now.”
My heart clenches at the sadness and worry in his expression. I wish I knew how to take it away, but I do not. So I do the only thing I can think of—I lean in and press my lips to his, soft and insistent.
His surprise is brief, and then he’s kissing me back, holding me close as if I might slip away if he loosens his grip.
When we pull back, I’m breathless as I gaze up at him. “Then let’s enjoy the time we have now,” I whisper as I brush my lips against his.
He doesn’t respond with words, but the way he pulls me closer, the way he buries his face in my hair and holds me like I’m a rare and precious treasure, tells me everything I need to know.