Page 59 of Midnight Enchantment

Lily stared at her, eyes haunted.

She looked like hell, Ava thought, but who could blame her? Kidnapped by a lunatic vampire. Held captive in a coffin in a tomb. “You can tell me, child.”

Lily shook her head. “Don’t ask me. Don’t ever ask me again.” A shudder wracked her body. “I want Raedan.”

“I’m sure he’ll be here as soon as he can,” Ava said.

Lily stared into the mug in her hands. It wasn’t chocolate she saw, but the mad gleam in Varden’s eyes as he promised to get her with child no matter how long it took. Bile rose in her throat as she heard his words in her mind again, saw the lust in his eyes as he climbed into the coffin.

With a cry, she lurched to her feet, chocolate splashing over the rim of the mug as she dropped it on the table and ran for the bathroom.

Ava stared after her, her heart and soul aching.

Leaning forward, Mason reached for her hand. “If there’s anything I can do … ”

“I know. Thank you for being here. She’s had a traumatic experience, but it could have been so much worse. And it’s all my fault. I never should have left her home alone.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“Can’t I? My wards were inadequate and Lily paid the price.”

“Perhaps it’s my fault for refusing to take no for an answer when I asked you out.”

“It doesn’t matter where the fault lies,” Ava said. “The damage is done.”

“She’s young and resilient,” Mason said quietly. “In time, she’ll be able to put it behind her.”

“I hope you’re right.” Patting his hand, Ava stood. “I’d better go look in on her.”

Raedan lingered outside in the shadows. Filled with rage and a desperate need for blood, he had preyed on the six men in the tomb and left them there, barely alive. He had made a quick trip to his lair to clean up and change his clothes and now he stood outside Ava’s house. Lily had screamed when she saw him inside the tomb. Had she mistaken him for Varden? Or had the presence of another vampire—even one who loved her desperately—terrified her?

And then he heard her whisper his name. He waited until she returned to the living room with Ava before he knocked on the front door.

Ava let him in. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said quietly. “Lily needs you.”

He nodded, then followed her into the front parlor.

Ava motioned to Mason and they quietly left the room.

“Liliana?”

She looked up at him, her eyes like dark smudges in her pale face. “Oh, Raedan,” she murmured, and burst into tears.

Crossing the room, he sat beside her and drew her into his embrace. “I’m here, now,” he said, lightly stroking her back. “No one will ever hurt you again.”

She snuggled against him, her tears wetting his shirt front as sobs wracked her body. He held her while she cried, his heart aching for her, for the terror she had undoubtedly felt when she woke and found herself inside a tomb, at the mercy of a monster. He wished fleetingly that he could destroy Varden again, that he had ripped the vampire to shreds before he destroyed him. Just killing him hadn’t been enough by half.

Gradually, Lily’s tears slowed and stopped. Her even breathing told him she had fallen asleep. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her up to bed, removed her robe, and tucked her under the covers. She looked like a wounded angel lying there, her pale cheeks stained with tears.

After removing his boots, he stretched out on top of the covers and closed his eyes.

Your promise, vampire. Remember? I thirst.

Not now, demon. She is too weak.

Now!

Raedan muttered an oath as pain ripped through him. Sitting up, he leaned over Lily and brushed the hair away from her neck. Hating himself for what he was about to do, he bit her as gently as he could. Exhausted as she was, she didn’t stir.

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