Although it was impossible to deny, at least to herself, when just the memory of his mouth on hers ignited spirals of pleasure in her veins and caused a low, smoldering heat to bloom deep in her core.
Clearly, she was the worst kind of fool.
Had it not been for the soldiers who’d discovered their comrades unconscious in the throne room and rushed to make sure she was safe, Darion likely would have had her carotid caught under his fangs and ripped from her throat.
Except he wasn’t a killer. She’d witnessed that firsthand with the fisherman he’d drunk from, and in the fact that--true to his word--Darion had left the man uninjured and dozing soundly until he’d been returned to his little skiff by Atlantean soldiers and sent on his way none the wiser.
As for the way Darion had treated her, it hadn’t been murder blazing in his eyes as he’d stared at her neck. Nor was there any hint of malice in the fevered look on his face when they’d kissed. Selene had only seen wanting in his molten amber gaze.
Want for her, and for a taste of her blood.
She pressed a hand to her breast, trying to calm the gallop of her heartbeat. She didn’t want to think about Darion or his unsettling kiss anymore. She had important business to attend to with Jordana.
Selene arrived at her door alone today. She knocked politely, waiting for her granddaughter’s response before entering.
Jordana eyed her warily, though it seemed they were making some small progress. The breakfast tray and cup of honeyed tea she had sent up to the room a couple hours ago weren’t sitting untouched like all the others.
Instead of moving as far away as she could, Jordana rose from the cushioned seat at the window and turned to face Selene as she entered.
“Good morning,” Selene said, offering a mild smile.
“What do you want?”
The reply was less combative than curious. Selene was willing to accept that as a positive too. “I came to tell you that I’m releasing you.”
“Releasing me,” Jordana echoed, suspicion shadowing her narrowed gaze. “Is this some kind of trick?”
Selene shook her head. “Not a trick.”
There was something more she’d been reliving since her unsettling encounter with Darion. Something he’d said. An observation that lingered in her mind--and her heart--as much as his kiss.
That she was lonely.
Was that what had spurred her rash decision to abduct Jordana and forcibly bring her to the realm? Selene had told herself she’d been motivated by love, by a profound need to give love to the child who was her only heir and family.
It was love she felt toward Jordana. Unconditional, unbreakable.
But had it been a selfish need to fill a void in her life?
She would never have so much as considered the possibility until Darion confronted her with it. She didn’t want to accept it now, either.
All she wanted was to try to make things right with Jordana.
If she wasn’t already decades too late.
“There is a boat waiting at the dock to take you back to the mainland. My guards will ensure your safe passage back to America.”
Jordana swallowed. “You’re really setting me free?”
“Isn’t that what you want? To return to your life with this Breed male of yours, Nathan?”
“Yes.” A breath gusted from between her lips, halfway to a sob. “More than anything, that’s what I want.”
“He makes you that happy?”
“Nathan is my home. He’s my heart and soul, all I ever need.”
Selene studied her, watching the changing emotions play over Jordana’s face as she spoke. Relief. Elation. A tender yet profound yearning.
