A heart of the vampire

Chapter 18

Serena turned her head to look at him, meeting his gaze. "You're quiet," she murmured, her voice still hoarse from the intensity of their earlier encounter. She could feel the weight of his stare, the way his eyes lingered on her as if he were memorizing every curve, every feature.

Lucian's lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. "I'm trying to decide if I should regret what happened," he said, his voice low and rough. There was no warmth in his words, only a stark honesty that sent a chill down her spine. He wasn't the brooding lover of moments before—he was something far more dangerous now, distant, calculating.

Serena stiffened slightly under his gaze. "And do you?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended, a sudden flare of anger igniting in her chest. She didn't like the coldness she saw in him now, the way he seemed to pull back after everything that had just passed between them.

Lucian's eyes narrowed, his hand stilling on her skin. "You don't understand what you've done, Serena. You've awakened something in me that I've spent centuries trying to control."

Her breath caught at his words, a mixture of fear and excitement sparking through her. "Is that really such a bad thing?" she asked, sitting up slightly, her fingers brushing against the marks his fangs had left on her neck. The memory of that moment still sent shivers down her spine, but it hadn't been fear she felt—it had been something else entirely, something primal.

Lucian sat up too, his expression darkening. "You don't get it, do you?" His voice was harsh, the softness from earlier gone entirely. "I've spent lifetimes keeping this side of myself in check, locking it away. I was trying to protect you."

"I didn't ask for protection," Serena shot back, her eyes flashing with defiance. "I knew what I was getting into."

A cold laugh escaped Lucian, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine. "You think you know, but you don't." He stood abruptly, his movements fluid and inhumanly graceful, as if the predator within him was still in full control. His eyes gleamed with something dangerous as he looked down at her. "You have no idea what you've invited into your life."

Serena rose to her feet, refusing to be intimidated, even though the air between them had shifted so dramatically. She could feel the power radiating off him, a reminder of what he truly was—an immortal creature of the night, with centuries of darkness and violence lurking behind his intense gaze. But she wasn't afraid of him. Not anymore. She couldn't be, not after everything that had happened.

"Then show me," she said, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. "Stop talking like I'm some fragile human who can't handle the truth. I'm here, Lucian. I'm not afraid of you."

Lucian's eyes flashed dangerously, his jaw tightening. For a moment, it looked as though he might snap, the predator inside him rising to the surface. He took a step toward her, his gaze piercing. "You should be afraid," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "You should have run when you had the chance."

But Serena didn't move. She held her ground, her heart pounding in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She wasn't about to back down now, not after everything they had shared, everything they had ignited in each other. "I didn't run," she said quietly, her voice steady. "And I'm not going to."

For a moment, Lucian simply stared at her, as if trying to decide whether to believe her or not. His gaze was intense, dark, and unreadable. Then, without warning, his expression shifted, the dangerous gleam in his eyes softening just slightly. His lips parted as if he were about to speak, but then he stopped himself, shaking his head as if to dispel whatever thoughts had been lingering there.

"You don't know what you've done," he muttered again, but this time the words were quieter, more to himself than to her. His hand clenched at his side, the tension in his body palpable. "You have no idea what it means to bind yourself to me."