Page 36 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“If I had known I was putting on a show for you, I would have dragged it out.” His eyes drifted down my chest to where my nipples showed through the cheap cotton of my shirt. I willed myself not to cover them, but my arms went up, crossing over my chest.

“Yes, I’m attracted to you. In otherbreakingnews, water is wet.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, brows furrowing a little, again displaying his mouth-watering muscles. I wanted to trace my tongue over every grove and dent. I ached to touch him, my fingertips tingling with the need. No! Why was I so weak when it came to this one man?

He noticed my focus, his smirk returning. I forced my gaze away, stepping deeper into the room, pretending interest in the weapons lining the walls. I needed to think about anything but the way he touched me earlier, howexposedI’d felt. I couldn’t give in to the part of my mind that wanted to cling to him and let him shelter me.

“Quite the collection you’ve amassed here,” I croaked out.

He reached for a towel and wiped some of the sweat from his face and chest. I would not be jealous of a towel. I absolutely refused.He didn’t put a shirt on, coming back to stand far too close. I forced myself to plant my feet and not move away. Every nerve in my body was aware of him, every follicle and muscle urging me to spin around and jump him. This was a struggle I couldn’t afford to lose.

“Have you used them all?” I squeaked. The scent of him surrounded me. My mind went blank for a moment.

“Most.”

His voice sounded off, and without thinking, I glanced over my shoulder. His eyes weren’t lingering on the weapons, but locked on me. He slowly trailed his tongue over his lips.

“Which one is your favorite?” I asked breathlessly, though I couldn’t care less.

“None,” he responded, shocking me a little out of the daze of lust.

“None?” I repeated. I turned to face him, finding him even closer, and just stopped myself from taking a step back. He was just a guy. I’d dealt with guys before. He was just like them, a normal guy looking like he was just waiting for the opportunity to swallow me whole.

Lucien shrugged, his wicked smile making my heart thud faster, which I knew he heard as his grin grew. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes. That warmth from earlier was gone. “If you’re constantly usingyour swordoryour ax, you miss the opportunity to turn your enemy’s own weapons against them.”

Did he just quote rule number two?

I tilted my head, fascinated. “You gounarmedinto battle?” That couldn’t possibly be true.

He nodded. “Only until I meet my first opponent. Plus, I’m never truly unarmed.” He flashed his fangs to demonstrate, and heat speared through me. I felt my cheeks flush again.

“I’ve never even held a sword,” I murmured, hoping to conceal my arousal.

“Never?” he asked. Swords were the weapon of choice for most immortals. Modern weapons could cause painful injuries, but a beheading was the only sure way to kill every immortal. Though each species had other weaknesses, like witches were vulnerable to fire, lycans to silver, vamps to sun, a beheading was the end forall of us.

“Why would I need to?” I held up my cuffed arm, which caused him to look away. “With barely a thought, I can incinerate my enemies.”

It was only a brag when you couldn’t back it up.

“Truly?”

I wondered if I had impressed him. I hated to admit that I flushed at the thought of him in awe of my power. No one had ever been anything other thanterrified.

“If you removed the cuffs, I could show you.” I smiled teasingly at him. Lucien rubbed his palm over his chest absently, his eyes returning to mine. “Are you okay?” Did Elijah get a lucky shot in when I wasn’t watching?

“I’m fine.” He smiled brightly, making my heart skip a beat.

Blindly, I pointed to a sword on the wall, seeking a distraction. “Will you teach me?” Because hand-to-hand combat with him wassucha smart idea, but I was too proud to call the words back.

“You want to learn?” Another stunned question from the vampire. I was enjoying surprising him, especially since he was at least twenty-five hundred years old, based on the library etchings. It was good to knock the fossil off his axis.

“I guess Elijah could teach me…” I goaded, noticing his eyes flash red for an instant before cooling. I blinked in surprise at how quickly they changed. During his fight with Elijah, they never wavered from their enigmatic green.

“No other male is teachingmy queento fight.”

I winced at the title but nodded and lifted one of the two swords they’d used earlier from its hook on the wall. The weight of the sword fell into my hand, and I fell back a couple of stumbling steps. I tried to balance it, but instead, I hit the ground. The weapon landed across my chest, its weight pinning me to the mat.

Lucien’s laugh echoed through the sparring room, and I shot him a venomous glare. “You could have warned me they were so heavy.”

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