Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Lara tucked the blanket around her, thinking she wouldn’t mind it being his arms that kept her warm, but when he reached out and took her socked-covered foot and began massaging it, she changed her mind.
She relaxed, not wanting to think beyond this moment, though curiosity had a way of poking at her. She tried to ignore the pokes and think of nothing but how great he was at giving a foot massage. His fingers were strong, the pressure hard and her feet ever so grateful. Yet the pokes continued.
“You have something you want to ask me?” he said.
“You read me as easily as an open book.”
“You keep leaving the book open.”
“Then I’ll have to close it,” she said with a determined smile.
He laughed. “I’d just pick up the audio version.”
She shook her head, though continued smiling. “You’re impossible.”
“That is a trait of mine you should be aware of, but back to what it was you wanted to ask me.”
“I’m curious—”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he reminded.
“But satisfaction brought her back,” she said with a grin.
He smiled. “Your question?”
“Do you ever regret being a vampire?”
“I can’t say that I do. It’s my heritage and knowing my family history, I must admit I’m proud of my grandfather for all he has done to create a loving family of strong and courageous creatures.”
Curiosity kept poking, and so she asked, “With your grandfather cursed how did he ever find a woman to—”
“Accept who he is?”
“Love him regardless for who he is,” she said, “especially over two hundred years ago. Myths, fears and ignorance flourished.”
“My grandfather never let fear rule him, though he’s been quick to point out that it’s not that he has never feared anything. He just doesn’t let fear rule his decisions, his life. He always took chances, and he never regretted the choices he made, though he will admit to making some mistakes. However, he told me, from when I was very young, it’s not just admitting your mistakes but learning from them that makes the difference. Besides he claimed that without mistakes we never see the true worth of wise decisions.”
“He sounds like a remarkable man, but then he would have to be to have not only survived such a dreadful curse but thrived in spite of it.”
“It was a challenge, but he accepted it and did what he needed to do. Besides, he had someone there to help him.”
“Your grandmother?”
Michael smiled and chuckled. “A woman far beyond her years, even more so than my grandfather. They make a good pair, but then they have been through much together.”
“So, your grandfather knew your grandmother before he was cursed and became a vampire?”
“Yes, they were lovers.”
“Wasn’t she afraid of what he had become? It wasn’t like he had someone to teach him how to be a vampire. He was on his own with no guidance.”
Michael nodded at the window. “The snow still falls. We may be stuck here longer than expected.”
With her question sidetracked, Lara followed his glance. The day had dawned, at least as best it could since the skies were a heavy gray and snow was falling, though not as heavily as yesterday.
“We’re snug, safe, and warm,” she said, trying not to moan as his fingers dug into the soles of her foot. Good lord, could he give a good foot massage.
“This may be a good time to remind you that vampires have ravenous sexual appetites, as I told you when we first met.”
“I’m experiencing that firsthand,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a smile.
“Not yet you haven’t?”
“What do you mean?” she asked with a boatload of curiosity and a tiny twinge of fear.
“You’ve experienced me as a man making love to you, not as a vampire. And the vampire in me wants you even more than the man in me does.”
“Why?”
“Biting you during sex—tasting your blood—is the ultimate in intimacy and I want to experience that kind of intense intimacy with you.”
Why did that have to sound so appealing to her?
“And the more we make love the stronger my need to taste you becomes.”
“You mean the harder it is for you not to bite me?”
He nodded.
“But you won’t bite me without my permission, right?” she asked anxiously. He didn’t answer as quickly as she expected. He seemed to think about it. “Right, Michael?”
He shut his eyes for a moment and before he did, she thought she saw a glint of red in them. But when he opened them, it wasn’t there.
“You’re much too tempting.”
She eased her foot out of his hand, inching it further and further away from him and tried to make light of a situation that seemed to grow heavier by the minute. “You wouldn’t like the taste of me. I haven’t an ounce of sweetness to me. I’m much too tart.”
“Perfect, since I don’t have a sweet tooth.” He reached out, his fingers caressing her ankle. “Where’s your myth hunter curiosity?”