EVA
FOUR WEEKS LATER
She was a master vampire, able to live her life as her own, now London’s vampire Elder had approved it. Yet the butterflies in her stomach were wreaking havoc as she hesitated at the thick door. It had taken her weeks to gain enough courage, chickening out twice before she finally decided enough was enough.
Eva Morgan didn’t chase after men. Ever.
Except one.
She nervously brushed her fingers down her arms, pausing as her thumbs touched the head of the snakes that should have been a horrific reminder. Except they were no longer the markings of the Vipers, the blunt lines and crude runes long gone. Her left arm had been transformed, the scales turned into the silhouettes of flowers with highlights of white, a sun blazing on the snake’s head. Her right arm was the opposite, the flowers shadowed dark in each scale, the head a crescent moon.
‘We both know what it’s like to be trapped, to be a prisoner.’The words Kace had said as he pressed the tattoo gun so gently against her skin. ‘I would never do that to you.’
He was an artist that kept her nightmares at bay, the overwhelming need she had for him dangerous, her emotions confused in the following week of the Pits collapse.
She had needed time, and he hadn’t fought her when she returned to the life before she was murdered. He had given her what she needed, her freedom.
But she couldn’t forget about the connection that warmed her skin, even when the heat of the blood had long cooled. It was like being near a blazing fire, a comfort she sought that had weakened the longer she had stayed away. It was a pain she couldn’t describe, as if she was missing a part of herself.
Their joining had been different, more raw and violent. And after several sessions of therapy, at Kyra’s insistence, she knew in her heart that it wasn’t a trick. It was as if fate knew they needed each other, and the only way for either of their stubbornness to see it was to force the bond. At least, that’s what she had decided to believe anyway.
Forever a romanticist.
Laughter escaped as she pressed the door open, silently walking inside. Kace stood with his back to her, carefully moving from one transition to another, holding each position for a few seconds for the kids to match. It heightened her nerves, because she knew he must have sensed her, and yet he didn’t turn, the muscles along his bare back tensing.
Oh shit. Maybe he didn’t want the bond?
A glint of gold, her eyes dropping to the ring on his left hand.
“What are you doing here, Eva?” he said, his deep voice flowing over her like rough waves.
Eva cleared her throat, ignoring the curious stares from the kids. “You’re still wearing the ring.”
Kace touched a thumb against the flat surface, turning to fully face her. She had braced for the full force of his gaze, deciding she wanted to drown in the deep green of his eyes.
“You never answered my question,” he said, face unreadable.
“Oh.” Eva tugged on the hem of her shirt. “I wanted to ask you to dance.”
Kace raised a single brow, his face carefully composed. “Dance?”
“Yes, dance.” An awkward pause. “You know, with me.”
Okay, this was definitely a stupid idea!
Kace cocked his head, arms crossing as a teasing smile parted his lips. “I can’t dance.” His eyes darted to the vampire fangs that she hung from her ears, and she knew he approved.
“Good thing I can.” She hadn’t noticed they were now alone, the kids gone and for some reason it made her feel even more nervous.
“Careful,” Kace said, a heated gleam in his eye when they steadied back on hers. “I may start to think you like me.” He closed the distance, tension strung taut as he kept a cushion of air between them.
“You told me to stay away,” she said, voice dropping to a whisper.
“And look how well you follow orders.”
Eva licked across her bottom lip, and Kace traced the movement. “Maybe I don’t want to stay away.”
Silver glinted in his irises. “Eva… I’m not what you need.”
