Page 83 of Shadows of Eternity

Leia bit down on her lower lip as the tension between the two vampires grew palpable.

“She’s mine, damn you!” Rohan growled. “Back off.”

Leia felt the power around Josiah grow stronger. It raised the hair along her arms and made her stomach churn.

“I’m your sire,” Josiah said. “Surely you remember that what is yours is also mine?”

“Go to hell.”

“Are you willing to fight me for her?”

Rohan nodded curtly. “Right here. Right now.”

Josiah glanced around. “Alas,” he said, with a wry grin. “We are no longer alone. Perhaps another time, in another place.”

Leia blinked and Josiah was gone. She gasped as all the strength went out of her legs. She would have fallen if Rohan hadn’t quickly turned and threw his arms around her. The next thing she knew, they were in her apartment.

She sagged in his arms.

“Shh, love, it’s all right now,” he whispered.

“He … he wanted me … to be his … his companion.”

“No way in hell,” Rohan said, and then swore a crude oath. “He bit you! Dammit, I’ll kill him for that.” Cradling her in his embrace, he sat on the sofa and rocked her back and forth until her trembling ceased.

“My car … ” Leia said.

“I’ll get it later. Right now, you could use a drink.” He settled her in a corner of the sofa, covered her with a throw, and went into the kitchen but found nothing stronger than soda. A thought took him to the nearest liquor store where he bought a bottle of port wine. He was back in the apartment before she knew he’d been gone. In the kitchen, he poured a glass of port, then carried it out to her. “Here, love, drink this.”

She sipped it slowly, then frowned. “Where did you get this? I don’t remember having any wine in the apartment.”

He shrugged. “I made a quick trip to the liquor store.”

“You’re so thoughtful,” she murmured, leaning against him.

“Drink it all, love.”

She did as he asked, sighed as a delightful warmth spread through her. “His bite wasn’t as nice as yours,” she murmured, her eyelids fluttering down as he spoke to her mind, willing her to sleep.

Rohan held her close, his hatred for his sire swelling within him. There was an unwritten law that vampires did not prey on humans who had been claimed by another. He swore again. “All that crap about what’s mine is his,” he growled, “I don’t think so. Not by a long shot.”

He stretched out of the sofa, content to hold Leia close to his side.

Sometime later, Leia woke to find herself alone on the sofa. She glanced around the room but there was no sign of Rohan. No doubt he had gone hunting

Sitting up, she lifted a hand to her neck, felt a wave of revulsion as she remembered Josiah biting her, drinking her blood. She had felt violated, unclean. Something she had never felt with Rohan. She had never been so frightened in her whole life. One thing for certain—Rohan’s sire was scary with a capital S.

What if Josiah came after her? She knew Rohan would fight for her, but could he win? Josiah was older, therefore stronger, according to what Rohan had told her. And like Rohan, Josiah could be awake during the day.

She put the troubling thought out of her mind. They were getting married in a few days. Rohan needed a tux. She needed to rent a hotel room for her parents. So much to do, she thought. So little time to do it. She shouldn’t have left everything until the last minute

Slipping off the sofa, she went into the bathroom to shower, hoping she could scrub away the memory of Josiah’s vile touch. She was drying off when her cell phone rang. Wrapped in a towel, she dashed into the living room and scooped it up. “Hi, Dad.”

“You sound out of breath,” Brian Winchester said. “Are you all right?”

“Of course I am. What’s up?”

“What are you doing?”

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