Caressed by Night (35 page)

yet, it feels as if we have always been together.” She shook her head.

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Silvie said.

Kerstyn raised her head and met Silvie’s dark gaze. “Do you know something I don’t?”

The witch smiled and asked, “Do you love him?”

“Love?” Kerstyn echoed, the word made her body hum.

“Yes. Love. Do you love Dimitri?”

“I’ve never been in love,” Kerstyn whispered.

Silvie laughed and the ethereal sound filled the white emptiness around them. “That doesn’t mean that you can’t be head-over-heels, over-the-moon in love.”

My mate
. Dimitri’s words from the night before played in her mind.
My mate. My mate. My mate.
What did it mean?

“Mate?” she whispered, testing the word. Her mouth went dry as she recalled Victoria using the phrase whenever she spoke of Dorian.

Why had she not picked up on that word? Why had she not put it together before now?

Easy, my thoughts have been pulled in so many different
directions in the past month that I can’t seem to keep up with it all.

“Mate,” she said the word again louder and it…fit. It was right.

Dimitri had such a strange effect on her. Every time he was near, her heart rate skyrocketed. His voice…god, his voice was unlike anything she had ever heard. She could lie in bed and listen to him talk for hours. The tones put her in a trance…calming and comforting.

Happiness. Complete happiness is what she felt when she was with him.

“It is a simple question with a simple answer: ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” Silvie insisted.

“A way too easy answer,” Kerstyn said, her lips slowly curling into a smile.

Dimitri paced before the wall of windows as the bright lights of the Strip illuminated the room.

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His gaze flickered to the bed again. Kerstyn’s chest continued to lift and fall, the soft sound of her breath caressed his ears. He counted her breaths.

Almost twenty minutes had passed since she had fainted. In that time, she had not moved, not one twitch or made one sound. She lay on the bed, her breathing steady and her heartbeat even. Kerstyn had slipped into the blissful realm of unconsciousness to escape the harsh realities they faced.

With another set of violent curses, his speed increased. At this rate, he would wear a line in the carpet.

God, how could he have gone this long without telling her? He had been a selfish fool. She had every right to know what awaited her and yet he had kept silent, afraid to share his vision with her. He had felt that if he spoke of her death, then it would be real, that it would come to pass.

Images of her death flashed in his mind like lightning. Blood.

There was so much blood. He could almost taste the coppery tang as he saw her laying on the cement, the rain pouring down on her pale face as the vibrant light of life slowly faded from her eyes.

Dimitri roared and lashed out, his power shaking the room, toppling furniture, and knocking a mirror from the wall. The sound of shattering glass met deaf ears as terror claimed him, sweeping him into the void as Kerstyn remained silent and still.

He could not live without her. He would not live without her.

She was his mate. The sole reason as to why she had been born was to be with him, to stand by his side, to be his companion, his friend, his lover. And if they could not be together in life, then they would be together in death.

“Dimitri?”

Her voice was low, hoarse, and it forced him out of his dark thoughts so hard he may as well have landed on his ass.

Kerstyn’s eyes slowly opened, her long lashes fluttering as she blinked to clear her vision.

Time itself froze as she slowly sat up, resting against the pillows. He remained still, unable to move, unable to think.

“Dimitri?” she repeated.

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“I am here,” he said, taking a step away from the window. It took a few seconds for him to realize he had spoken and moved. His brain needed to catch up with his body. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus, “Are you well?”

She nodded. “The room isn’t spinning and I don’t feel like I’m going to lose my lunch.” She glanced about the room. “What happened to the mirror?”

“An accident,” he answered with a shrug.

Kerstyn nodded again and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I had an odd dream,” she began, “where everything was white and Silvie was there.”

Dimitri took another step completely entranced by her gentle voice, the most comforting sound in the world.

“We talked… Do you think it was real?”

Dimitri shrugged. After centuries of life, he knew anything was possible.

“Well, anyway, we talked and I realized something. Last night, you used a word that I thought was odd. Then again, you are a vampire and what isn’t odd about that?” She shook her head. “I’m babbling.”

“It is all right.”

“Silvie asked me a very interesting question which triggered…it made me remember the word you had used.” Dimitri replayed their conversation of the night before in his mind. What had he said? What word had he used? Nothing stood out or seemed out of place to him.

“Mate,” she said.

The breath he had not noticed he had been holding slammed from his chest causing his lungs to collapse. Had he called Kerstyn his mate and not realized it or had it been the vampire?

“When Victoria and I were together at the bar last night, she used it to describe Dorian. She did not refer to him as her husband, but as her mate.” Their gazes met for the first time since she awoke, “Am I your mate, Dimitri?”

“Yes,” he said on a breath. “Yes. You are.”

“We are meant to be together?”

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“Yes.”

“Am I the reason you came to Vegas?”

Again his answer was ‘yes’.

“And I am the reason you have revealed yourself to vampire society.”

Damn, the only word he seemed to know at the moment was

‘yes’.

“How is this possible?”

Dimitri’s brain slid back into gear, but his body remained frozen. For some insane reason, he did not want to move for fear he might frighten her.

“There is so much I have been wanting to tell you,” he sighed.

“Tell me now,” she said, it was a simple request and a hard demand.

“It all comes back to the curse of the vampire,” he began. “The Shaman knew the others would create fledglings, sharing the cursed blood with humans. He foresaw everything that would come to pass: the formation of vampire families, the wars between the Clans, the civil wars that would erupt within each vampire faction, the formation of the Red Order of Hunters, the conflict between the vampires and the shape-shifters…The last has yet to come,” Dimitri explained, “but he saw nothing of peace and was wise enough to know there would never be harmony among the supernatural cultures unless he took action. He could not undo the curse, he could not remove the demon from us, but he could add to the curse his tribesmen created.

“The Shaman cast a spell to strip the immortality of any vampire who ascends to the throne. Effectively killing all until the true, rightful ruler came to power. Each would have a companion created for them, someone to rule alongside them, someone to bring them balance and serenity. It is up to the vampire to find their mate or, in time, they will fall victim to the Shaman’s curse and meet the true death,” he finished.

“I don’t understand. Why would the vampires need a rightful ruler?”

“Peace, that is the goal. Once the intended rulers come to power, they will be able to work together to create peace between all the supernatural creatures.”

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“Since I am your mate…you are the rightful ruler of the Volkov Clan?”

He nodded.

“None of this makes sense. If I’m your mate, then why am I to die?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

Before he knew what he was doing, Dimitri came to the edge of the bed. Kneeling, he took up her hands and said, “You will not die.

We can change the future.”

He watched the sinuous movement of her throat as she swallowed and forced her tears back. “Silvie told me my future is not yet set.”

“In your dream?”

“Yes, and she helped me realize…some things.” Kerstyn leaned forward, coming away from the pillows. “Tell me, what are my options.”

Clearing his throat, Dimitri said, “There are two possibilities.

One, you can leave with Dorian and Victoria tomorrow morning.

Second, you can stay in Las Vegas under Gabriel’s protection and supervision.”

“Go to Dorian and Victoria’s home?” Kerstyn repeated Dimitri’s words. “Wouldn’t that be like running away? And, I don’t want to leave you here alone. What if something happens to you? What if your confrontation with Ven doesn't go as you plan?”

“I will handle Ven and after Sunday he will no longer be a threat to anyone,” he assured her. “In the meantime, going with Dorian and Victoria would be the safest route to take.”

“I can’t go. I can’t leave you.”

“Staying here is dangerous,” he warned, his tone hard and cold as a tombstone.

“I would be worried and stressed…I would go crazy. No, I'll stay and pray that I'm not too much of a burden to Gabriel.” She cringed as she thought of being locked in a room with that vampire. He was polite and all around cordial. But he made it clear he did not like humans. “Has Gabriel already agreed to this arrangement? I don’t want you to pressure him into guarding me.”

“Yes, he will protect you and I trust him fully,” Dimitri assured her.

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“I know he only agreed to babysit me because of you.” Dimitri’s brow furrowed.

“I know he doesn’t like humans.”

“He likes you.”

“Because you and I are together,” she countered, “I’m not stupid. I know my relationship with you is the reason I got the job at the museum. I am well-qualified, but his preju―” She shook her head.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I just don’t want him doing something he doesn’t want to do.”

“You have not known Gabriel long, but he is not the type of man who will do anything he does not wish,” Dimitri explained. “You need not worry.”

Kerstyn sighed and leaned back against the pillows. “What a mess.”

“We will make it through,” Dimitri vowed.

God, I hope we do,
she thought, but said, “I know we will.” Dimitri came to the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight as he sat. He lightly traced her jaw with his index finger.

“You are truly lovely,” he said, his voice a gentle whisper.

“Beautiful, intelligent, and strong. A true treasure and I will never, never let you go. Kerstyn, I will save you. I will love you and cherish you for eternity, if you allow me.” He kissed her forehead. “I will never know what I have done to deserve you and I still do not believe I do deserve such a wonderful gift. My angel. My mate. My love.” Love. She had never known such warmth, such pure joy as she did now. A simple word made her heart swell and her entire body tingle. Kerstyn let the tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

Dimitri brushed them aside, his hands caressing her face, his thumbs brushing her lips.

“I know of no one who can handle all of this information with such bravery and grace.”

“Grace?” Kerstyn laughed, “I had a panic attack and fainted.” He smiled, warmth softening his sharp, diamond eyes.

“Despite all the crazy crap that has happened and that has yet to happen, I can’t leave. I want to be with you.” She tugged on his wrist
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and Dimitri came to lie beside her. “I love you, Dimitri. My home is in your arms, my happiness in your smile. You are my future.” His anxiety vanished the moment she said those words. She loved him. She wanted to be with him, despite the danger. She accepted him and all his sins.

He placed a gentle kiss upon her lips and whispered, “And you are mine.”

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Kerstyn’s yawn stretched her jaw. Her vision was blurred from lack of sleep and her hands fumbled across the table until she found her coffee cup.

“You really ought to get some sleep.”

Kerstyn did not jump. She did not flinch. No, she had felt Victoria’s presence before the woman had spoken. Was she finally getting used to being around vampires or was it the exhaustion that threatened to knock her on her ass that kept her from being startled?

“I thought you had already left,” Kerstyn said, turning as she leaned against her makeshift desk for support.

“Our plane was scheduled to depart an hour ago, but Dorian’s meeting with His Majesty and Gabriel has delayed our flight.”