Page 22 of Eternal Obsession

She appeared in the doorway, fierce and unflinching, eyes blazing with anger—ready to confront me, ready to defend her brood without hesitation.

“What do you want?” Her voice low.

“That depends,” I teased.

“You don’t belong here.”

“And yet here I stand.”

“If you so much touch one of them.”

“That is not my intent.”

She tried to read my mind as I did hers.

Her hair was a striking cascade of red brilliance that framed flushed cheeks and a rare beauty. The deep crimson velvet of her cape was draped over her shoulders, suggesting she was just about to leave. Beneath it, a shimmering silk gown clung to her figure. The boddice untied at her chest revealing plumps breasts. Once a Cornish girl, she had transformed into something extraordinary, curvaceous, radiant, and dreamlike, as if spun from the very mist that drifted over the moor.

“You don’t look real,” I whispered it.

“This is sacred land.”

“Then worship me.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “How do I know you won’t hurt us?”

Caressing my lips, I tested her knowledge of me. “My name’s Orpheus.”

And if I wanted her dead, she would be, and with that softening of her eyes, she proved she knew it, too.

“What are you doing in Cornwall?” She was breathy.

“Private business.”

Her lips twitched with amusement. “Let me read your mind.”

“First, yours.”

“What do I get?”

“With a face like that, anything you want.”

It drew a laugh from her, light and girlish, a glimpse of who she was beneath the vampire she’d become.

In a heartbeat she stood before me and raised her wrist and offered herself. Stepping forward, I gently nudged her hand away and leaned in and kissed the curve of her neck, fangs finding their way into willing flesh.

Her sigh was followed by her softening against me.

Her femininity cherished in these passing moments. “God, you are exquisite.”

“We must talk.”

“I prefer this.”

“Orpheus, you are not safe.”

This, I knew.

“You’re lonely,” I sent the mind message. “I want to soothe you.”