Miah shook her head. “What I believe is, you rigged this wager. You did something to win.”“It is called practice. I have spent a lot of time skipping rocks across the lake.”Miah laughed softly. “You are not telling the truth, Alexander. I don’t believe you ever skipped a rock in your life until now. You tricked me.”“You think?” He asked innocently. Too innocently.“You know you did. Just to win a silly bet. I can’t believe you.”He reached out to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, making her heart leap wildly. “It was not just a silly bet, cara, it was a way to get you to brush my hair. No one has ever done such a thing for me, and I think I crave attention.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose again and grinned at her almost boyishly. “I asked Luther to do so once, and he threatened to beat me to a bloody pulp.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Some things are just not worth it, you know.”“You’re nuts,” Miah decided, but she was laughing, unable to help herself. “Fine, I
More than the looks of the man, it was the cunning, crafty hatred in the repulsive creature that frightened her. Miah, as far away from him as she was, could still sense the stench of depravity that surrounded him. She made herself look at the creature and feel its evil. It was important to realise just what Alexander had faced his entire life. This monster. How many of them? How often? How many had he known personally, grown up with before they had turned? She had thought her life difficult and solitary, yet staring at the undead, she began to understand just what his life must have been like.All those years, she had viewed him as a hero, a revered legendary protector of the boundary. Now she recognized just what being a hunter entailed. His own people had feared his power and skills. Even human males would have kept away from him, fearing he might later have to hunt and destroy them. He could never afford to have friends. Worse, he was turned into one, had become a rogue, and Alexa
A small, pleased smile escaped before Alexander could stop it. Miah had a way about her. There was no doubt in his mind why Bert wanted her. It wasn’t because she was a healer, as Bert was. It wasn’t because her supernatural beauty drew men to her. It was the entire package. Miah. His Miah. “You give me far too much credit,” he answered her softly. “Thank you for that. Thank you for making a difficult situation easy. I did not expect to feel this way.” He flashed her another smile. “These emotions are difficult to control.”She tilted her head to look up at him. It should have been declared a sin to look as good as he did. He made butterfly wings brush at her stomach and made her heart somersault at the most unexpected times. His eyes could create a firestorm in her with just one smouldering, brooding look. He could melt a woman, any woman, at twenty paces. Miah cleared her throat, trying hard not to blush, suddenly remembering he was more than likely a shadow in her mind, reading her
Miah could feel Alexander’s mounting desire, the way his body burned and ached, hardening to the point of pain. His hands were becoming rougher, more demanding, and she reveled in the thought of his own loss of control. “I want you inside me, Alexander,” she murmured softly, a demand. “I want your body in mine. I don’t want you to treat me as if I might break either.” She said it deliberately, knowing what it would do to his body, knowing he was caught up in the same storm of fire as she was.She looked beyond him to the bank of mirrors, saw his perfectly formed masculine body, the defined muscles, and the long, shiny hair, and her body fragmented again—an explosion of such force that rocked her and shook her so much that she cried out with the fury of it. “Alexander, now, right now.”“On the floor, where I can go deep, I want to be so deep inside you, you will never get me out.” The admission was torn from him as he dragged her from the counter and laid her on the thick carpet. He fo
There were several moments of silence. Once again, without conscious thought, Alexander had reached out to share this new knowledge with Luther. He touched his twin easily and lightly, as he had done for nearly two thousand years. Luther was immersed in a complicated text he was finding highly interesting. That always astonished Alexander. That Luther had retained his need for knowledge. He had always been a sponge, soaking up information. Now he reciprocated, sharing all that he had learned about the modern world, flooding Alexander with so many facts, he began to laugh.“What is it?” Miah asked softly, seeing genuine affection for just a moment in the depths of his eyes.He sighed, “Luther…I wondered why he chose me.”Miah frowned, “Maybe because he knew you were the reincarnated version of his twin brother?”“You mean, Luther is my twin? I mean, from the past…me?”“Just my theory.”“Deep down, I think I knew... even without my full memories. I know. Shit! Fuck!” Alexander groaned a
“Tell me about your art. It is very beautiful and peaceful. When I was examining the pieces in your studio, I could feel the presence of power woven into the patterns. Safeguards of a kind.” Alexander was slightly in awe of her healing talent. Few had it so strongly. Her touch alone could impart a soothing peace, and he detected that same sense of peace in her work.She smiled, a quick flash of happiness that he would be interested in the things she enjoyed. She was glad to finally have someone she could talk to about her discoveries. “I started long ago working with small pieces. The idea was to use quilts and coverings of that nature to aid the sick. I often found when I examined a patient that there were other things involved than simply physical illness. Grief for the loss of a loved one, marital troubles, things like that. I began to experiment with making specific items for individuals I had touched. I wove patterns that would aid my patients while they slept. Eventually, my wor
“Bert examined Shaina extensively,” Alexander said. “He saw how withdrawn she was. That comes from trauma. He knew. He probably knows all of it—the physical part anyway—and he can guess at the mental and emotional trauma. It does not touch him once she is no longer his patient. That bothers you.”Miah turned away from him and began to walk along the sidewalk. “Maybe you’re right, Alexander. I don’t know. I’m very confused.” He had torn out her heart. He would again when he left her to follow his twin, as he must. She could feel the touch of his mind gently reaching for hers. She hastily forced herself to think of Shaina and focus on the teenager.“I know you’re confused, love, and it is no wonder that you are,” Alexander said softly, but he was watching her with his intent black gaze. “For now, we should concentrate on how to bring Shaina home and provide a decent home for her. We will need to decide which memories to erase completely and which to minimize.”“I don’t think we have the
Alexander pushed open the front door, stepped back to allow her to precede him. He was continually scanning the area around them, a habit long since drilled into him by his lost brother. Sorrow welled up out of nowhere. “I sometimes think I could have destroyed him by now if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t bear to be in the world without him. I gave my word of honor to him long ago that I would be the one to destroy him should he lose his soul. We both did. If one turned, the other would hunt and destroy, yet I have been unable to fulfill my promise to him. Is it deliberate, Miah? Is it?” He sounded lost and very alone.She closed the door firmly against the light beginning to streak through the early morning sky. “No, Alexander, you would have honored your promise if you were able to do so. And I believe that you will. You honor him.”“Luther lost feeling while he was a mere fledgling, long before our males normally do, yet he endured for two thousand years. He was now a lost de