Dark Slayer

He let his breath out in a long, slow exhale. «Listen to me, Ivory.» Razvan caught her wrists in his hands and held her away from him. His touch was gentle, incredibly so, but his grip was unbreakable without a fight. «My body betrayed me over and over. I do not even know how many times Xavier used my body to bring himself not only pleasure with other women, but to deliberately have a child with them so he could use the child's blood.»

«I do not understand what you are saying to me.» Her eyes met his. Held there.

«I am saying this is dangerous. You are my lifemate and everything in me demands I claim you. Once I weld us together it is for all time. I would not do that to you when it is so dangerous. You seemingly purged Xavier, but I was weak enough once that he managed to place not one but four pieces of himself into me. He used me for abhorrent, vile crimes. There are children in the world who suffered horribly because of my body. I do not know them. I would not recognize them if I saw them.»

«You would,» she denied, believing her words. «You would recognize them.»

«The healer and the prince tentatively accepted me, but only because I was with you. You would live the life of an outcast should you join with me.»

Ivory shook her head. «You are so noble, Razvan, always putting others before yourself, but in truth, you have not thought this all the way through.» What was she saying? Ivory was appalled at herself, arguing with him as if she wanted him to claim her. When had her feminine nature become so perverse that she wanted him to want her, even though she would never accept his claim? What in the world had gotten into her? She must be far lonelier than she realized. She enjoyed her life. She had chosen her life. She licked her lips, tasting him. Craving him.

«I am sorry. I do not know what got into me.» She turned away from him, but he didn't loosen his hold on her wrists, forcing her back to him.

«Do not do that. I would never reject the one person I want in my life. Though you have studied Xavier, you do not know how truly evil he is. If he knew you meant everything to me, that you are the reason I still live, then he would cease trying to find me and turn everything he has to acquiring you. I cannot allow that to happen. You are the one person I would trade my soul for. He cannot know that.»

She strained away a second time and he pulled her back, forcing her gaze to meet his, his grip firm, but still as gentle as ever, disarming her.

«I would trade everything, even honor, for you. It is the one thing I have kept intact all these long years. I endured much for honor.»

She nodded slowly. «Until I experienced the compulsion myself, I had no idea of the draw between lifemates.»

He shook his head slowly, still holding her gaze. «It is more than the draw between lifemates-much more. I have been inside your head. I have studied your home and the drawings you so patiently carved into the rock. Everything about you appeals to me. Every moment in your company only makes those feelings stronger. Perhaps the pull between us is strong physically because we are lifemates, but the pull on my heart and soul is equally as strong.»

She drew in her breath. «Thank you for that.» She would hold his words to her. They were spoken in truth. She knew purity when she heard it. «We must feed before we return to our lair, and I should erase the memories of the farmer and his wife so they do not inadvertently speak of this and draw Xavier's attention.»

«I touched his mind.» Razvan brought up each of Ivory's hands and pressed his mouth to the sensitive skin on her inner wrists where he'd been holding her. «The farmer would have fought for you, knowing he was going to die. He is a good man.»

«I liked his wife as well. I am glad we found them before it was too late. Very few vampires dare to enter into the territory protected by hunters. This is just outside the hunter's range. I come here often to check, and even here, probably because the vampires disappear when they come this way, this region stays fairly safe-at least until recently, since Xavier has expanded his territories.»

Ivory stepped back away from him. She should have been shaken up by his rejection of her blatant advances, but instead, she felt comforted and… cared for. She hadn't felt that way in more than a century. She found herself smiling up at him. His answering smile was slow in coming, but it warmed her.

Ivory paused and allowed her senses to flare out to search the night for other hidden dangers. A fox was close, searching for stray chickens that might have missed the lockdown for the night. A few mice hid from an owl circling overhead. She touched the owl several times to make certain it wasn't something else in bird form, but it was diligently hunting for a meal and not at all interested in what was happening in the human world.