“I don’t.”
“I see.” Ronan looked toward Brian. “Willyou be able to help her with this?”
“With a description I might be able to,”Brian replied.
“What will that do?” Ian inquired.
Brian dropped his arm off of the pickup andstood away from it. “You have your secrets Purebred, and I havemine.” He turned to Paige. “You’ll have to let me know what helooks like.”
“I can do better than that, I’ll draw you apicture of him.”
Brian stared at her, seeming to size her up.“Make sure this is what you want.”
“It is,” Paige said emphatically. “I’llnever be able to start a new life…” She looked up at Ian andpressed her hand against his chest. “We’llnever be able tostart a new life while he remains out there.”
“I agree,” Brian replied. “But make sure youwant to be there when it all unfolds.”
“I have to be.”
Brian nodded before stepping away from her.“Get me that drawing, and I’ll do my best to help you.”
Ian stared curiously at Brian as he walkedaway. The man had always been a bit of a mystery, but there werefar more layers to him than Ian had realized. “So I assume thechange will take place tonight,” Ronan said.
“Jeez you’re in a rush to see me dead,”Paige muttered, her head tilted back to look up at Ian. “But I’mready if you are.”
Relief filled him, he crushed her againsthim and held her close.
CHAPTER 21
Paige found herself all alone in the motel roomwhile Ian went to feed in preparation for her impending change. Shepaced the room, uncertain of what to do. What was someone supposedto do when faced with their impending death?
She finally settled on pulling out the padand pencils Ian had bought for her. She flipped past the picturesof the cabin she’d drawn, the surrounding woods, mythologicalcreatures, and one of Ian sitting on the porch with his legs on thebanister, before finding a blank page.
In order to get her mind off of herimpending death, she put the pencil to paper and began to draw theimage of her father forever etched into her mind. Her fingers shookas she worked, but she forced herself to push onward, to get itdone. Her stomach turned as she realized just how much his hatedface reminded her of her own. She tried not to think about it asshe sketched in the cheekbones and chin.
Holding the pad away from her to study itbetter, she was greeted with the heavily masculine version of herface staring back at her. His eyes were brown; she’d at leastgotten her eye color from her mother, his hair was lighter incolor, but there was no denying this man was her father, and hisDNA had factored heavily into her creation.
She shuddered and tossed the pad on the bed.Her skin crawled; she had to get as far from his image as possible.Striding to the other side of the room, she fiddled with the sinkand toiletries set out around it. She knew Aiden and David stoodoutside the door, watching over her in case her father or any ofhis cohorts were in the area. She couldn’t bring herself to go andtalk with them. This wanting to be alone, and yet unable to bealone was the strangest sensation.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to think aboutit for long as the door to their room opened and Ian steppedinside. He’d only been gone for a couple of hours, but it had feltlike a day. The healthy glow of his skin, and the aura surroundinghim told her he’d fed well, something that would have made her wantto destroy him only a couple of weeks ago. Now she knew he hadn’thurt anyone, and he’d done this for her.
Tears burned her eyes, she hadn’t realizedhow much she’d missed him until seeing him now. Without hesitation,she ran across the room and threw her arms around his waist. Theforce of her hitting him caused him to rock back on his heels.“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“I missed you,” she breathed.
He pulled her closer against him and benthis head to nuzzle her ear. “I missed you too, but when the bond iscomplete we’ll be able to communicate and sense each other. We’llnever be separated again. You’ll never have to feel like thisagain.”
It sounded so strange and yet so oddlyappealing. She pressed closer against him, inhaling the scent ofthe mountain air clinging to his clothes. Holding him, she knew shedidn’t want to wait a second more to be joined with him for aneternity. “I can’t wait, Ian. I have to do this, now.”
“I know it’s frightening…”
“No, it’s not that.” Her mind traveled tothe drawing lying on the other bed. “I’m ready to move on, withyou.”
The warmth of his breath tickled her skin.She could live another thousand years and never get used to whathis arms and kiss made her feel like. It was easy to lose herselfto the touch and feel of him. The erotic sensations he aroused inher body with his hands and tongue made it easy to forget thiswould all lead to her impending death. He’d told her that her heartwould stop beating, she would die, but she felt no dread of that ashis body moved over hers and within hers.
Turning her neck to the side, a sigh ofcontentment escaped her when his fangs pierced her skin. Thefulfillment he experienced while feeding from her caused a cry ofecstasy to escape her. His love beat against her, ensnaring her ina cocoon of serenity she never wanted to break free of.
Her fingers dug into his back, they rakedover his skin as his ecstasy crashed through her. She didn’t havefangs, not yet, but she bit down on his shoulder hard enough todraw blood in an attempt to stifle her cries. A growl of pleasureescaped him; his hand clenched in her hair. He held her while herblood filled him. Pleasure continued to extinguish all fear withinher, even when her heart skipped a beat and then two.
