Claire must deceive a vampire prince while resisting her desire for him.
Season 1 of Fated Series
***
Nothing in my life has ever been easy. Including the mission my family has sent me on.
My sister and I have traveled to the vampire stronghold to...
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Dénouer (verb) to untie a knot
"Are you quite well?" the vampire asked.
I swiped my hand across my forehead, wicking away the sweat. "Yes, I'm fine."
Even though I was nervous about him seeing me naked beneath the surface of the water, I was more concerned about losing the opportunity to test my theory and see if the sleeping draught would work on him, too.
He didn't seem convinced if the furrow between his brows was any indication. He drew in a long breath and then blew it out. "I'll bathe at the other side of the pool. And, I swear, I won't look at you."
His pledge did nothing to ease the tension inside me. If anything, it made it worse.
"Same," I said, then bit my lip. "I mean, I won't look at you either."
With one last sidelong glance, he turned around and made for the other side of the pool. His figure disappeared into the muted darkness. I only caught glimpses of him whenever he walked under the light of a candle.
As much as I was loathe to enter this water, I needed to be quick about it.
I fumbled with the sash around my waist, trying to work free the knot Bastien had tied but couldn't loosen it.
I thought to ask for his help but hesitated, wondering if it made me look incompetent. After another failed attempt to get the knot loose, I whispered his name into the darkness.
"Bastien?"
A breath later, he was standing in front of me. I knew how fast he could move, but still, I gasped.
His shirt was already off, and oh, Diana. His body was just as perfect as I imagined it would be. His smooth skin was marred with ropey pink scars, but it didn't make him look any less attractive. Instead, it added to his allure.
This was a warrior. A man battle-tested.
He'd taken lives and left the battlefield with only these cuts.
But it wasn't just his muscles that caught my eye-the gold necklace he wore around his neck was visible, and a bright red crystal dangled from the chain. I tried not to look at it, but it was impossible. Especially because the stone pulsed with warm light.
"Did you need something?" Bastien asked.
His question restarted my brain. Yes. I needed something. But I struggled to remember what it was as I dragged my attention to his face. Everything about him drew me in and wouldn't let go. The pulse of that light from his necklace seemed to mimic the sound of blood pounding in my ears.
I smoothed my hand over my robe and remembered the knot I'd just been working on.
Surely, the sleeping draught was to blame for my brain fog. Not him.
