The War Lord's Prize

Chapter Twenty Five

~~~

I was lost in him.

Lucien heard the words as if they were his own.

He had never fancied the ability to pry into people's minds and rarely attempted it.

When he had teleported to a place he had no clue about, he had just wanted to be as far from Etienne as possible and be in a place that was raining (the rain always calmed him). His mind had taken care of the rest and had brought him and his pet here.

After all these centuries, one would think he wouldn't get flashbacks of the past, of the many failed lives he had lived, but he did.

That was perhaps a part of the curse.

Wanting to escape his thoughts, which were pulling him down like an anchor, he had delved into hers. That was the true reason he had invaded her mind, not the sorry excuse he had given her.

And at that moment, he understood a fraction of why he was so drawn to her. She didn't see him or his sister as vampires; she saw them as people. She saw him. She saw the curse for what it really was. She understood their sorrow, the pain. She understood, even though she really couldn't ever understand. She was different, and by the creator, he was the one who was...

"Lost," he whispered against her lips. She gasped, her breath fanning him. She had realized he read her mind.

He continued. "I am the one who's lost."

He opened his eyes to find hers already open. Her brown eyes were like a trance. They were flecked with gold, glistening like gems. He could lose himself in their depths forever.

He traced her lips with his thumb. "I feel like I am utterly and thoroughly damned," he moved his nose to her neck, and his fangs shot out, aching to taste her blood again. He restrained himself. "I have never met anyone like you. I barely know you, and yet, you set my entire being on fire, extinguishing everything I thought I knew."

Her heart beat accelerated more. Her blood called to him. He swallowed.

"I found myself counting the seconds until you became mine after that duel. Counting the seconds until I could hold you. You are going to be my undoing," he confessed.

He moved away then, walking a while away from her, fighting an internal battle between his strong thirst for her blood and his emotions he had no clue about.

"Lucien," she called him after a moment. Slow, and forced, almost a whisper. Like she was scared to say the name. Which was understandable, no one except family perhaps called kings by their given names.

He turned around to look at her.

Her eyes were concerned. "Are you... Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

She offered a shy smile, biting down on her swollen lips. His jaw clenched at the action. He hadn't meant to stop kissing her, but it was the only way to control himself from feeding from her.

This was the second time he realized that they had kissed, and the second time he was leaving her obviously confused.

However, she didn't show it. She tried not to show it.

"May I ask where we are?" she inquired.

He shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "I wish I knew."

A moment went by before he explained, "I love the rain. My mind takes me wherever it is when I'm troubled." His next words were softer. "It soothes me."

She remained silent, and he forced himself to stay away from her mind to know what she was thinking. She should have the comfort of her own mind.

She said, "I hate the rain, but this one in particular, I adore."