Page 74 of Deceived By a Warrior

Must be nice.

“Sebastian is a werewolf. Darius is a vampire. It’s different.”

“You’re losing me.” Of course she was losing Kelly. How could anything Eva said make any sense when she chose to leave out the most important part of her story?

“Vampires bite. I’m terrified of being bitten.” That wasn’t a lie. Eva considered herself courageous in many ways, but she drew a line at a vampire drawing blood from her. Though she did try to work her mind around accepting it, if only briefly, back on the plane the other day.

As if coming to some realization, Kelly relaxed where she sat. “That explains a lot.”

Now it was Eva’s turn to be lost. “Explains what?”

“It explains why he looks so weak. I couldn’t put my finger on it before.” Eva didn’t entirely understand what Kelly was saying.

Then, as if on cue, she heard Darius and Karina talking in a room across the hall. When he sneaked a look in Eva’s direction, Eva could see exactly what Kelly was talking about. The lower half of his eyes were encircled in a pale blue, his weight had dropped since she first met him, and he appeared almost sluggish as he talked. His eyes had that blue hue beneath them for so long she had forgotten that they weren’t so tired looking when she first met him.

He was exhausted. “Why?” Eva couldn’t look away from him, worry for him creeping into her mind.

“He’s starving.”

“Starving?”That couldn’t be her fault. He could feed off of any source. He didn’t need Eva.

Did he?

“There’s a vampire who lives here. From my understanding, she could never drink from anyone but the man destiny paired her with. She said the act of drinking from someone else is equivalent to the act of drinking piss. It’s possible, but really only done if necessary.”

“Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Maybe because he knew you were scared of it.” Pause. “Did he?”

Yeah, he absolutely did. Eva didn’t keep that a secret.

Eva looked at Darius in awe. Every day he proved to be a better man than she ever imagined he could be. It must’ve been so difficult to keep his hunger a secret from Eva. Yet he did. For her. He made attempts to drink from her, yes. But he never used guilt to get her to let him feed off her.

He was willing to starve until she was ready.

Eva had to admit she wasn’t the best at friendships. She never had a relationship with anyone. Therefore, she wasn’t entirely sure about right thing to do in any social situation. She felt she kept screwing up. For starters, did she have to treat Darius so poorly back in Romania? Truthfully, she didn’t know. She was still learning to communicate with others on a higher level.

She needed to start understanding there were others around her - Darius and Karina - who actually cared about her. She needed to accept that she cared for them as well, and she needed to start acting like it. They needed to know she was grateful for them and all they were doing to help her.

Aiding in the starvation of the man helping her wasnotthe right way to do things.

A chill swept over Eva at the thought of Darius’ teeth piercing her skin. The thought terrified her, but she knew she needed to overcome that mental obstacle. Darius was starving and,dammit,it killed her to know he was.

Because she believed she was falling for him.

Chapter Forty-Two

Eva Maas

“I know you’d prefer to have your own room, but I couldn’t risk it. Not with so many unnatural beings after you,” Darius explained to Eva as she looked around their quaint room, a queen bed resting against the far wall.

Eva cringed when she noticed the green quilt that covered the bed. It was the same color as the couches in the living room.

Seeming to notice her disgusted expression, Darius scratched the back of his head and said, “I’m going to sleep on the floor. You don’t have to worry.”

First he starves, now he plans to sleep on the floor?He’s too good to me.Without a doubt, he successfully managed to make up for his prior deceit. She could almost forget his betrayal ever happened. “If anyone sleeps on the floor it’ll be me.”

“I’m going to have to give you a firmnoon that one.” She expected him to say as much.

---