Prince Vampire by Amarinda Jones Page B

will never happen. You cannot have what is mine.”
    “Then I will destroy you and you know I can. Besides, this woman is not fully yours and you only have a short period of time to make her so. From what I can see this bitch may want your cock but she wants no part of your life.”
    “Oh you pus bucket of scum—” Aureliann struggled as Valdemar held her back from launching at Victor’s throat.
    “If you want a fight I will meet you on home soil and do it.” Valdemar’s mouth was tightened in anger.
    Victor bowed. “So be it. I wonder how dear Thomas will feel when I dump your broken body before him? He does seem like the sensitive sort to me.” He waved his hand and disappeared.
    “What an asshole.” Yet because of him Aureliann’s mind was churning. Valdemar’s life and the future of the people he loved were at stake. She could help him but the cost scared her.
    “Him or me?” Valdemar quipped in wry amusement. “You didn’t like me before.”
    “Because you were being pushy.” She moved away from him. Aureliann needed time to think and touching him discombobulated her thought processes.
    Valdemar nodded in acceptance of that fact. “How did you know Victor was not me?”
    “I just knew by his hands, manner and the hard look in eyes.” Because I know you as I know myself. But Aureliann wasn’t about to say that as it would give the man ideas. “You may be almost identical but your cousin is a pale imitation of you.”
    “Aureliann, I don’t want to lose you.”
    The quiet look of desperation in his eyes was almost her undoing. “Or is it more you don’t want to lose power?” It was a hard thing to say but she wanted to know the truth. Where do I stand with you? Make me believe that this is more than just one crazy moment in my life.
    Valdemar sighed and sat down on the arm of the sofa. “While it’s true my people need me, I would not take from you what you do not want to freely give me. If you doubt my love for you than I cannot make you love me.”
    Her heart flip-flopped at the sincerity in his voice. If Aureliann was honest she was already in love with the man. The character from the book was just that. Loveable, sexy and strong as was the real-life man. But Valdemar was more than that. He was also vulnerable and not afraid to show it. That he could be himself around her without any pretension showed great strength and Aureliann admired that.
    “So if I let you bite me I’m stuck with you for life?” That thought was not unpleasant—more scary. If she was honest it was not the possible pain of being bitten, it was the giving of herself totally to one person. She had no practice at doing that.
    Valdemar smiled softly. “It could be worse and I think we’d have a lot of fun.”
    Yes they would. Aureliann could feel that. In the short period she had known him, she had enjoyed herself more than she had in a long time. “But you would become mortal and that would weaken you.” And she knew Victor would take advantage of that.
    He shook his head. “No, it actually works in the reverse. Your bond with me strengthens me.”
    Aureliann understood that. She felt strong with him beside her and she was not someone who had ever needed a crutch to lean on. But there were other types of strengths. “What about the vampire thing?”
    “I am who I am, that does not change.”
    “So you still go around biting people?” I’m not sure that I like that.
    “While I do lose my immortality, I still rely on a small amount of blood.” Valdemar looked her straight in the eyes as if wanting Aureliann to understand what she was letting herself in for. “I would rely only on you for sustenance in times of stress.”
    “O-kay.” Aureliann pondered that for a moment. It was weird yet there was also a rightness to it that seemed logical to her. A week ago she was wondering whether to buy new brown shoes or new black shoes, and here she was deciding whether to throw her lot in with a vampire prince from