Vampire's Prey

Chapter 43: Freedom

A tickle down my back wakes me up. I open my eyes to find my face caked in Rahlan's white shirt. I fell asleep on him. Blue light pokes through thin holes in the window shutters, so it couldn't have been longer than a couple of hours. I've had nearly no rest over the last few days, and I fell asleep the moment I was wrapped up in his arms again.

"My apologies for waking you," Rahlan says, "Your human friend indicated that a meal would soon be ready."

I press myself to sit up. Jaclyn not only saw me kissing a vampire, but also sleeping in his arms? She must think I'm completely dependent on him, like a child.

Rahlan shoots up straight, eliciting a yelp out of me. I'm sitting on his legs, with my nose up against his chin. He recovers fast.

His gaze finds mine again, and his hands rest on my back, keeping me close. I know what he wants.

"You can drink," I say.

He leans down. His breath rolls over the base of my neck, and the memory of his kisses jumps to the front of my mind.

He bites, and a sigh escapes my lips. I curl my legs around his waist.

Soon his teeth disappear, and his finger applies a little pressure to the cut. The hand on my back doesn't let me go, keeping my body pressed up against his.

I rest my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes wander around his profile. He trekked through the forest for days to find me, worrying about what may have happened. This man, this vampire, wants me as I am, a girl with no status, no family and nothing to her name.

"Julia."

"Mm?" I close my eyes again.

"You must return with me to Litton."

He wants to take me back with him, to my country, to a land now ruled by vampires. I've personally witnessed how humans are treated in a vampire country, where they are imprisoned in dungeons, humiliated in pillories and are nothing more than property.

"As a slave?" I ask.

"As my woman."

My heart thuds, and my cheeks go pink. Fortunately, I'm too close for him to see. As his woman – is that his way of saying – "As your wife?" I ask.

His hands touch my sides, and he moves my body further back down his legs, breaking our embrace. I can just imagine it – me, Rahlan's wife, not a lesser, but an equal. I'd be forever bound to a man who cares about my safety, a man who wants me as I am and would leave his castle to travel for days through thick forest to find me. I will not only have a home with Rahlan, but I will be part of a family again.

"Not as my wife," he says.

The smile drops from my face.

"As my woman, I will be committed to you alone. You bring me great joy, but our priests would never join a human and a vampire in marriage."

My eyes fall to my lap. I'd be going back to a dangerous land on Rahlan's promise alone. He enjoys being with me now, but what if his feelings change?

He touches my cheek, gently brushing the hair out of my face.

"Then let's go to a country with priests that would marry us," I say.

He shakes his head. "It cannot happen."

My arms hug my middle. I want to go with him, to be with someone who values me. If he promises to love me like his wife, then is it really any different than being married? He has given up a lot to have me, and that should serve as proof of his commitment. I know now that I love him, and he loves me.