Her Wicked Secret {Sequel to His Mortal Bride}

♱ Chapter 16 ♱

Evander

It had been a while since Piper had been to the cottage, I was beginning to think it was because I had been too forward by giving her that rose. Admittedly, I worried she wouldn't come back. I had begun to overthink and ended up getting annoyed by how much she encompassed my thoughts.

She was a Vampire. How could I have possibly let myself grow fond of her? Just a month ago, I despised every one of her kind. They were all sick and twisted creatures who reveled in the pain and death they afflicted. But ever since I met Piper, my hatred for her kind didn't include her. I was accustomed to her coming around and keeping me company. And I quite liked having her around.

Each day passed and the longer it had been since the last time I had seen her, the harder it got to push those thoughts away.

Then she appeared out of nowhere, just as I was thinking about her, and a mix of confusing emotions came down on me. The biggest takeaway though was that I was relieved to see her.

I was the one to kiss her. I pulled her into me so swiftly, that I myself almost didn't see it coming. She was cold, ice cold. It sent my mind into a frenzy. I hadn't realized that I wanted to kiss her so greatly until I did. And it frightened me.

For a moment, it nauseated me that I was kissing what I once thought of as the enemy. I wondered what my mother would think if she were alive to find me falling into desire with one of the Species that killed her.

But I had come to know Piper. At least, I thought I had. She was odd. Not in a bad way, just... different. She had shown no sign that she meant harm to me. I would even categorize her as delicate. Which seemed ironic given her superior strength and durability that came with being a Vampire.

So even though the overwhelming ill-feeling washed over me when I realized I was kissing a Vampire, it went away as quickly as it came. Because after the past few weeks, I realized I didn't see Piper as a Vampire. I just saw her as the breathtaking woman who came by now and again. I had come to like her lighthearted and almost rebellious personality. Needless to say, she had my interest.

Kissing her felt like a sinful betrayal, but deep down it sparked something in me that no other woman had.

And that was what was truly terrifying.

I wondered if it had something to do with her Species. They were predators. They preyed on those of us who had warm blood coursing through our veins. Especially my kind whose blood tempted them even further.

My kind knows more than any about what these predators are capable of. They're seductive, coy. And such apex predators like herself know every trick in the book to lure their prey in.

She'd lured me in alright. But was that of my own will? Definitely.

"Do it again," she said, breathless even without the need for oxygen. I furrowed my brow at her.

"Do what?" I stupidly asked. I knew what she wanted. I think I was just surprised she was asking.

"Kiss me," she murmured.

I didn't hesitate to do so because, at the end of the day, I wanted it just as much as her.

Piper

Evander closed the gap between us and held my face between his hands. His hands were rough and calloused on his palms, but smooth on the fingertips. I didn't mind it though. His inviting lips were soft enough to take my mind off the roughness of his calloused hands.

I raised my hands to his chest, feeling his heart thrumming beneath them. I trailed up to his neck and entwined my fingers in his hair. I could feel him stepping me back. In sync, he took a step forward and I took one back.

My whole body had gone from ice cold to smoldering hot within mere seconds. Once my back met the base of a thick evergreen, I only got warmer when Evander took this as his opportunity to imprint his body into mine. I hadn't realized until now how much smaller I was than him. I felt encased by his tall, muscular figure.

He was kissing me as if he had been wanting this for a long time prior to this moment. It made me wonder why I had never seen it before. How could I not have wanted him? Everything I felt since the moment he kissed me just minutes ago made me realize what I had been missing. Something I never knew I wanted, but secretly needed.

The first time he had run his hands over my body slowly, tracing for any evidence of weapons, the nights I stayed up thinking about the mysterious Warlock in the woods, the times I caught him staring at me for a moment too long, the rose that still sat perfectly in my room with the note hidden away in my desk. All of those signs that made something stir deep within me. And yet, I didn't know what it was until this very moment.

It all fell into place.

Evander parted from my lips, his own brushing past my jaw bone and lowering down to kiss my neck. I gasped, my own dead heart softly pounding a bit quicker in reaction to his lips below my ear. I gripped his hair and felt my head tip back, my hair tangling in the bark of the fir tree.

"Evander," I hummed his name, only gaining a smirk from him that I felt against my earlobe.

Evander softly pushed the thin, crimson chiffon of my puffy sleeves down past my shoulders. He had to bend down in order to kiss down my throat and along the dip of my collarbone. His fingertips gently ran over the rise of my almost completely exposed breasts. His hands roamed along the curves of my waist and gripped my hips, pulling me impossibly closer to him.

"Why did you send me that rose?" I breathed out, my eyes still fluttered closed at the feeling of his lips at the top of my breasts.

"Why wouldn't I?" Evander joked between the kisses he trailed along my skin. I huffed out a laugh.

"That's not an answer," I said. Evander parted from my skin, pulling himself up so he was once again looking down at me.

"How many of your suitors have given you a rose before?" He asked instead. I let out a shaky breath as he ran the backs of his fingers against my cheek.

"None," I murmured. Evander's lips curved upwards as if he already knew that would be the answer, and prided himself in being the only one who had.

"I've grown quite fond of you, Piper," Evander admitted, "And a woman like you deserves a suitor who will send her roses."

"A woman like me?" I raised my eyebrow at him playfully. Evander chuckled, his laugh warm and deep.

"Yes, Piper, a woman like you."

I brought Evander's face back down to mine and pulled him back to my lips. I could kiss those divine lips of his for the rest of my immortal life and be content. More than content. I had never had a man affect me the way Evander did.

I felt his tongue trace my bottom lip, which I soon permitted access to. I smiled in the kiss, the pleasure of his tongue on mine insatiable.

That was when Evander's tongue grazed my teeth and I tasted blood.

––––––––––•A/N•––––––––––

Oh shit. Ugh, I love the romantic chapters.

Thank you guys for getting this book to 9k! HMB just hit 8 million a couple of weeks ago and I cannot believe it! You guys are amazing.

I am sorry for the wait. I started the school semester and had some stuff happen in my personal life that took all of my time and energy away from what I enjoy.

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