I swallowed hard and felt a lick of shame. “I was so lost in his blood that I wanted to drink away his life. I don’t feel sick like I usually do.”
“Maybe you’re cured of that. Or maybe you can’t taste the sin from an animal because an animal is without sin.”
I pondered on his theory. Shifter animals listened to the command of the human that shared their body, but they didn’t plot or scheme. They obeyed, protected, and hunted. There was nothing inherently evil about their nature, so maybe this was what it was like for other Vampires.
My hands were still soaked in blood. Jesus. I probably looked like some deranged monster on the back of that lion.
I lifted my gaze to Christian, and my breath caught. “How can you still look at me like you love me?”
Christian took my hand and led me to a small clearing. The moonlight played on his features, enhancing his sharp cheekbones and deep-set eyes. Christian had a naturally rigid posture, but something about the way he stood in front of me was easy and casual.
I looked between our hands and saw all the blood. It was smeared across my face, but when I reached up with my other arm to wipe it off, he grabbed my hand.
Christian bowed and then slowly pulled me toward him. Clasping my right hand, he slipped his other arm around my waist and shifted from one foot to the other. The crickets harmonized as the forest created a symphony of music.
I looked up at him in disbelief. “Are you dancing with me?”
He twirled me around, and the next thing I knew, we were dancing in the moonlight.
“The kids are waiting,” I argued.
He spun me around until I landed against his chest. “Can I have just one irrational moment with my lover?”
I peered up at him. “We look like demons.”
When he grinned, the light glinted off his sharp fangs. “Aye, Precious. That’s what we are. Now dance with me, you gorgeous Vampire.”
I laughed blithely and fell into step. “You’re not lovestruck. You’re moonstruck.”
We danced as if we were two ordinary people. In a morbidly beautiful scene that would have sent others fleeing in terror, we relished our victory. We also celebrated my Vampire half, who had single-handedly taken out a lion without hesitation or magic. But mostly we just stole a moment in time and forgot about everything else.
In the midst of madness, Christian made me feel normal. That my life—no matter how dark or twisted—had meaning. There were sides of me that no mortal could ever understand.
I finally had a man who loved every bright and dark thing about me.
Chapter 25
Iexamined Blue’s axe as we neared the cave. “I wonder why she carries this thing all the time. A knife is lighter.”
“An axe is scarier.” Christian lifted a branch out of my way.
“I beg to differ. I can do just as much damage, if not more, with a dagger.”
“An axe is a primitive weapon. If a man is faced with either that or a knife, he’ll choose the knife every time. The knife goes in clean and quick. The axe? Well, nobody wants to be a tree.”
The predawn sky was shifting from a deep indigo to azure, announcing that we had no time remaining to hunt down the last lion. Prior to leaving, Christian and I had swung by the first campsite and collected the stray bags left behind.
“They’re here!” Eve cried.
Christian and I shared a puzzled look.
“What’s she doing up at this hour?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but they’re all in a tizzy. I can’t make out what they’re saying.”
I noticed the dried blood on his neck that trailed from his ear. “How are your ears?”
“Grand.” He shuddered. “If the last lion left is the one who put that fecking device on a bullhorn, I want him all to myself.”
