Her breathing slowed as he ran his fingers through her unbraided strands and rocked her slowly. Ruby waves recessed with golden dips shone in her hair.
“Will you look at me, Annalise?”
Her shoulders remained tense, her fingers covering her eyes. “No.”
He sighed. Perhaps it would help her to know she enjoyed it whenever he fed from her.
He glanced down at the tight way her hands covered her face. Perhaps not.
“We are not monsters.” Or maybe they were. What other creature could create such terror in another? “I know you think you know what we are, but you confuse us for something else.”
She didn’t respond, but she also wasn’t interrupting for a change, so he went on. “You’ve heard stories of others, folklore and fantasy. We are not like the monsters of those stories, but there is truth to the legends. We’ve found a way to live in gentle simplicity. We do not wish to harm, and we do not wish to be harmed. You’ve seen this with your own eyes.”
His lips pressed to her temple, her fingers lowering an inch.
“Do not see us as a parasite. There’s nothing demonic about our kind. Think of Gracie, her innocent eyes and gentle laugh. She’s an immortal infant. And while she might tease and speak with unguarded honesty, she’s not a danger to anyone. Only a young hellion, just like the young females of your kind.”
The more he reminded her of their similarities and goodness, the more she seemed to relax.
“We have families and weddings. We enjoy leisure and appreciate a hard day’s work. We know love and loss. We feel, ainsicht. We feel as much as you.”
Slow tears trickled down her cheek, but she was not the bundle of tension she’d been minutes ago.
“And this morning, when I made love to you, and looking into your eyes, I felt your soul stroking mine. It was like touching heaven.”
He nuzzled his nose against her fingertips, pressing a kiss to both her eyes.
“We’re different, Annalise, but we’re also the same. You and I are the same. God saw to it when he created us. We were once one, incomplete for all these years, but together we can become whole again.”
Her brow wrinkled as she blinked up at him with uncertainty. Her lashes spiked with tears and her skin wore tracks of salt.
“There you are,” he whispered. “I knew you’d come back to me.”
He gently pulled her hands away from her face, pressing them softly against her chest. He kissed away her fallen tears, following each track until his lips met the corner of her mouth.
“Tell me you believe I won’t hurt you, Anna,” he whispered. “Tell me you trust me.” He needed to know she still believed there was good in him, despite their differences and what he’d done.
She drew in a stuttering breath and rasped, “I believe you won’t hurt me.”
He waited for her to admit she trusted him, but nothing else came. His gaze fell to a point just over her head and he swallowed down his regret. He’d broken her trust and he had no one to blame for the loss but himself.
“I’ll earn your trust again. I swear it.”
Her eyes searched his face, her frown deepening. “Are you going to bite me?”
He drew back. “Why would you...”
Her shoulder lifted with a slight shrug. “That’s why you’re weak, isn’t it? That’s why you have such gnawing hunger, and you can hardly stand up without losing your balance.”
Her precise observations surprised him, but they shouldn’t have. She always paid close attention whenever he explained his condition to her. “The next time I take your blood, it will be with your permission.”
“What will happen if you don’t have it?”
He swallowed. “I’ll get weaker. The animals help us withstand the rays of sun, but my appetite’s withered. My nocturnal nature will take over and feeding will become ... difficult.”
By that point he would send her away. His father would see she was hidden where even Adam couldn’t track her and then his grandfather would do as instructed and take him before the Council. His logical mind would wither and the council would do everything to protect her, as would be his final wish.
“And if I give you my blood?”
His gums tingled and his body thrilled with reflexive anticipation. “The symptoms would go away for now. My strength would return, and the pain would subside.” He couldn’t keep any more secrets from her. “Our connection would strengthen. You’d feel my emotions with less effort. And ... I’d be able to track you from miles away.”
“Is that why you did it? To track me?”
“I did it because my natural instincts demanded it of me, but yes, I feared losing you. Your blood ensured that I would be able to find you again with little effort.”
“How long does that last?”