Page 84 of Midnight Enchantment

The woman nodded, her face pale, her eyes wide. “Who … who are you?”

“Iam Dracula.”

The woman stared at him, and then she laughed nervously. “Very funny. Come on, Jerry.”

“You do not believe me?” Raedan asked.

“Of course not!” she exclaimed. She tugged on her boyfriend’s arm, frowned when he didn’t move.

Raedan let his eyes go red as he took a step toward her.

The woman gasped when she tried to back away—and realized that, like her companion, she couldn’t move.

Raedan flashed his fangs. “Do you believe me now?” he asked, his voice silky-soft with menace.

She swallowed hard. “They … they could be plastic.”

“They could be,” he growled as he folded his hands over her shoulders. “But they are not.”

She let out a startled cry as he sank his fangs into the soft skin of her throat. Her blood was warm but not so sweet or so satisfying as Liliana’s. But he hadn’t expected it to be.

When Raedan had taken as much as he dared, he turned to her partner. Ordinarily, he didn’t drink from men, but there were no other people on the street and he needed to be at his most powerful tomorrow night.

When he lifted his head from the man’s neck, he found the woman watching him intently.

“You really are Dracula,” she murmured.

“A distant cousin, perhaps. Enjoy your visit to the castle.” He released them from his thrall, bowed in the woman’s direction, and vanished from their sight.

Raedan found Liliana sitting on the mattress in his attic room when he returned to the house. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you had gone to bed.”

“Where have you been?”

He arched one brow in amusement. “Where do you think?”

A silly question, she thought. What else would he be doing in the middle of the night?

“It’s late,” he remarked. “You should get some sleep.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down beside her. “Raedan, please don’t go after the dragon by yourself. I’m afraid.”

“I will not put your life or Ava’s in danger,” he said quietly. “I do not think the dragon intended to kill us today. I think it was merely a warning.”

“And if it wasn’t?”

“Liliana … ”

She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “Please don’t go.” Falling back on the mattress, she tugged him down beside her, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.

He wrapped her in his arms, holding her close, her body flush with his as he took control of the kiss, his tongue ravishing her mouth as his hands stroked over her body. She was warm and pliable, her lips sweeter than life itself, her hair like strands of fine silk against his skin.

He groaned softly as he rose over her, everything forgotten save his desperate need to possess this woman above all others, to make her his, body and soul.

Yes! Take her. Take her now!The blood-demon’s voice, exultant, triumphant.

With a low growl, Raedan rolled to his feet and backed away from the bed.No!

Lily stared up at him, her whole body throbbing with desire, her lips bruised from his kisses. She had failed, she thought glumly. She had hoped to seduce him. Without a virgin, they couldn’t banish the demon, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t bear to put Raedan’s life at risk. She would rather have him as he was than not at all.

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