Lucian sighed, as if her words toppled a huge weight from his shoulders. “I thank you,” he said, bowing formally.
“You will have to be cautious,” Lira warned. “A human here could expose us easily. She will have to be kept an eye on at all times.”
“Of course,” Lucian said quickly. “I’d already thought of that.” He moved to the corner of the room where a thick velvet cord hung from the ceiling. Giving it a good yank, he heard the bell peeling in the deepest bowels of the house where the servants worked. He waited until there was a knock on the door of the library.
Going to the door, he opened it to a human male dressed in burgundy and gold livery. “We have a guest, Rogers. Please have a tray of food prepared and taken to the room adjacent to mine. And please have Mrs. Towers prepare a bath for the young lady as well.” He thanked the man, shutting the door quietly as he left.
Lira rose, her graceful walk seemed more like she was gliding as she moved to Lucian’s side. “When was the last time you fed?” she asked, staring deeply into his blue eyes. There was the tiniest bit of red rimming his irises. “You must feed,” she said. “You don’t wish to become a danger to your guest.”
“I wouldn’t hurt her,” Lucian stated a bit defensively. “I’d rather chew off my own arm then hurt her in any way.”
“So then you must feed.” Lira reached out, smoothing Lucian’s dark hair and straightening the collar of his shirt. “I will watch over your human for you if you’d like.”
“It’s not necessary,” Lucian said quickly. “I’ll feed later, when she sleeps.”
Lira didn’t press the point but she looked at him, a question in her dark emerald eyes. He excused himself, taking the stairs to the second floor in three huge leaps. Going into his own room, he stood at the connecting door and listened.
It was quiet, almost too quiet. He was about to turn away when he heard the sound, a sound so hushed that he could have missed it. It was the slosh of bath water against bare flesh. Lucien growled, feeling his desire for the red haired human as an almost overwhelming need, like the thirst for blood after going without for too long. He could see her in his mind’s eye, her soft skin flushed from the heat of the water, her hair piled high upon her graceful head. Her neck would be pale and perfect, bared and vulnerable to him. He could see the pulse beating in her neck, that pulse that radiated with heat as her blood pumped through her veins.
At that moment he knew he wasn’t going to stop. He pushed open the connecting door, his movements as silent as a ghost. The door to the bath room was open, an invitation that he didn’t even think of denying himself and he slipped through it.
Kendra sat in the bath, her leg bent, her shoulders barely breaking the surface of the deep water. Steam and the scent of gardenias rose from the water, leaving a gleam of moisture on her face. She didn’t hear him come in; she was humming an airy little tune to herself.
He stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb for just a moment as he took in the sight of her. She was even lovelier than he’d thought the first time he saw her. Tiny ringlets of red silken tresses curled at her nape and temple. Her eyes were wide with pleasure, their color more green than gray now. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat, her thick lashes brushing against their soft pink color. She had the lips of an angel, slightly parted as she breathed, slick as her tongue peeked out to slide over them.
They were soft and lush and oh so very kissable. He could remember the taste of her, the scent of her blood as it pulsed through her veins. He could remember the way she’d felt against his body, so soft against the hardness of his muscles, infinitely breakable, tenaciously human.
Human. That was the rub. She would grow old and die and he wouldn’t age a day. Not unless … he changed her. Could he do that? Did he want to spend eternity with her? He pushed those thoughts out of his head. They were worries for another day. Now, well now he just wanted to talk to her, maybe kiss her again, touch the softness of her skin. He could resist the pain of the thirst.
He moved from the doorway, going to her side and dropping to his knees next to the tub. He’d surprised her and her mouth opened in a squeak, her body slumping further into the sudsy water.
“Lucian? What are you doing here?”
“This,” he said in a deep, husky voice. His hands dove into the water, finding her slender waist easily. He lifted her out of the tub, rising to his feet even as his mouth dropped down upon hers. He kissed her with every pent up emotion he’d had since his first glimpse of her earlier in the day, ignoring the water that drenched his clothing.