Authors: Amanda Ashley

Tags: #Fiction, #General

His Dark Embrace (34 page)

BOOK: His Dark Embrace

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Epilogue

Tonight was the night.

Skylynn stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, carefully plucking her eyebrows. She had washed her hair, painted her nails, shaved her legs, and put on her prettiest, sexiest nightgown. It was long and black, a mere whisper of gossamer silk.

Moving into the bedroom, she stood in front of the full-length mirror in the corner. She looked good for her age, she thought. Not that thirty-four was old, exactly. But it wasn’t young, either.

Their son, Josh, a very grown up nine and their daughter, Janae, a sweet and spoiled seven, both had their father’s dark hair and their mother’s blue eyes. From time to time, Sky wondered if her children would become vampires even though Kaiden assured her that such a thing was next to impossible. But she wasn’t so sure. He had also told her that vampires couldn’t create life, yet they had two beautiful children, children that were so healthy they had never had so much as a cold or a cavity.

A lot had happened in the last ten years. Kaiden and Sam had managed to recreate Granda’s formula so that they rarely needed blood, and then only a little. They were still vampires, after all.

Eight years ago, Tara had decided to move to California. It had been love at first sight when Sam and Tara met. Skylynn had worried that Sam’s being a vampire might pose a problem, but Tara had only laughed and said she didn’t care what Sam was, as long as he was hers. They had married six months later. Sky loved having her best friend for a sister-in-law.

Three years ago, they had all moved up to Northern California. It had taken some getting used to, living in a small town, having to drive the kids to school, not having a mall nearby. But, on the plus side, Sam and Tara lived in the house behind them. Kaiden had put a gate in the fence so the kids could run back and forth.

Sky glanced over her shoulder as Kaiden strolled into the bedroom. He whistled softly when he saw her.

Sky smiled at her husband. He was still as wickedly handsome and sexy as ever, still had the power to make her insides curl with pleasure with just one look. He wore a pair of jeans low on his hips and nothing else.

“Are you ready, love?” Coming up behind her, he slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure? There’s no going back, once it’s done.”

“We’ve been over this a hundred times.” Sky leaned against him. She was thirty-four years old. Kaiden had been thirty-nine when he was turned. She didn’t want to wait any longer, or get any older. “I’m beginning to think you don’t want me to do it.”

“I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” She smiled at him in the mirror. “Happier than I ever dreamed possible,” she said, and then frowned. “Are you sure it will work? I mean, now that you’re taking the potion again ...”

He placed his fingers over her lips. “I’m still a vampire, Sky. Besides, I’ve been drinking a little blood every day. Stolen from a blood bank,” he added when he saw the expression on her face. “If it doesn’t work this time, then I’ll stop taking the potion for a while.”

“Let’s do it, then. The kids are spending the night over at Sam’s.”

With a nod, Kaiden took Skylynn by the hand and led her to the bed. Sitting down on the edge of the mattress, he tugged her down beside him. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

“Not since last night.”

“Never doubt that I love you. Whatever the future holds, you’ll always be the sunshine in my world.”

His words sank deep into Sky’s heart as she wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her, slowly at first, his tongue teasing her lips before delving inside to tangle with hers.

He kissed her again, and yet again before he eased her down on the mattress, his hands moving over Sky, readying her for what was to come.

When she was breathless with anticipation, he removed his jeans, slid her nightgown over her head, and then rose above her. For a moment, he gazed into her eyes, humbled by the depths of her love, her unconditional trust.

Murmuring that he adored her, he kissed her again, ever so tenderly, and then he gathered her into his arms. Her hair was like fine silk against his hand as he brushed it over her shoulder, baring the smooth line of her throat to his gaze. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart, smell the blood flowing sweetly through her veins.

Murmuring, “This time forever, Sky Blue,” he bent his head to her neck.

After tonight, she would be his as never before.

Always and eternally his.

If you’re a lover of vampire romance,
read on for a taste of
Amanda Ashley’s
Desire the Night
,
coming in September.

Gideon Marquet stared into the darkness, his limbs aching from the weight of the heavy silver chains that shackled his ankles to the thick cement wall behind him. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out, causing his veins to shrink, while his skin grew painfully tight with the need for sustenance.

So long since he had fed.

So long since his thirst had been satisfied.

His eyes narrowed as a tall woman entered the basement. Clad in a shimmering white robe trimmed in white fur, she looked like an angel when, in truth, she was anything but.

The hem of her velvet robe made a soft, swishing noise as she drew closer, then knelt outside the cell.

Gideon groaned inwardly as she picked up the slender, silver-bladed dagger that rested beside a golden jewel-encrusted goblet on a low wooden table. His body tensed as she began to chant, her voice soft, almost hypnotic. He winced as she reached between the bars and dragged the blade across his right thigh. Lifting the goblet, she held it under the wound to collect the dark red blood that leaked from the long, shallow gash. When the goblet was half-full, she made a similar cut in his left thigh, chanting all the while. When the cup was full, she left the basement.

She returned a short time later.

Gideon sat up a little straighter, his fangs extending as the cell door opened and a young blond girl clad in a wrinkled brown dress was pushed inside. She fell to the floor, crying out as she scraped her knees on the cold cement. His hands clenched as the warm, sweet coppery scent of her blood filled his nostrils.

Blind with panic, the girl, who couldn’t have been more than nineteen or twenty, scrambled to her feet and ran to the iron-barred door.

“Please!” she cried, her hands fisting around the bars. “Let me out! Please, oh, please, let me out of here!”

But her frantic plea fell on deaf ears.

The girl sobbed hysterically as the woman turned and left the basement.

With her only hope gone, the girl darted to a far corner of the cell, her back pressed against the bars, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Tears flooded her cheeks as she murmured, “Please, don’t.”

But all he heard was the frantic beating of her heart, the whisper-soft sound of the blood flowing through her veins.

“Please.” She fell to her knees, hands raised in supplication.

But that wouldn’t save her.

Nothing could save her now.

It was feeding time.

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
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New York, NY 10018

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

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ISBN: 978-1-4201-2828-4