Levet Read Free Page A

acutely aware that if she had been alone with Elijah she would have already ripped off his Gucci suit and had her wicked way with him. Not the best way to convince the crazily possessive man that she wanted to maintain her independence. She held the dark gaze. “Please, Elijah.”
    His jaw tightened, but clearly sensing now was not the time to press her, he gave a grudging nod of his head.
    â€œI’ll make sure you weren’t followed. But I’ll return.” He sent Levet a warning glare. “Soon.”
    Valla busied herself making the tea as Elijah turned to leave the apartment, taking with him the frosty disapproval and pulsing power.
    She breathed a faint sigh of relief, carrying the tray to the table and taking a seat.
    â€œA little on the possessive side, is he?” the tiny gargoyle asked.
    She shrugged, sipping the tea with an odd sense of disorientation.
    Something had changed.
    She just wasn’t sure what.
    â€œHe feels responsible for me,” she murmured absently.
    Levet snorted, reaching for a cookie. “Responsibility isn’t the only thing he feels.”
    Heat stained her cheeks. “Maybe not. He is a male, after all, but—”
    â€œBut what?”
    Her fingers lifted to trace the scars that marred her cheek.
    â€œAfter I escaped from the slavers I just wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide.” She shivered at the painful memories. “I don’t even remember how I made my way to France, but I was floating down the Seine on a rapidly sinking boat when Elijah found me and took me to his lair.”
    â€œAh.” His wings fluttered. “Your knight in shining armor.”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œAnd that’s a bad thing?”
    She hesitated, trying to put her nagging concern into words.
    â€œNot bad,” she at last said. “He’s like most clan chiefs.”
    â€œArrogant pain in the derrières ?”
    She gave a sudden laugh. The small demon really was a charming companion.
    â€œI was going to say that he’s obsessed with protecting the people he considers his duty.”
    â€œIncluding you?”
    â€œElijah sees me as a damsel in distress, not a flesh-and-blood woman.” She grimaced. “I don’t want to be rescued.”
    The gray eyes held an unspoken sympathy. “What do you want?”
    â€œWhat every woman wants.” She glanced toward the window overlooking the rose garden drenched in silver moonlight. “To be loved.”

CHAPTER 3
    Elijah made a sweep of the dark streets, pausing long enough to warn his lieutenants that the gargoyles were looking for trouble before heading back toward Valla’s apartment.
    He smiled wryly as his feet followed the familiar route.
    If he had any pride, he’d be heading back to his own lair. There were, after all, hundreds of beautiful women who would be eager to indulge his every desire. Hell. He could stop on the nearest street corner and within minutes there were be a dozen females hoping to capture his attention.
    But the pride that had once led him to battle the corrupt chief to take command of Paris had been lost the moment he’d discovered a half-dead nymph floating down the Seine.
    Even now he could remember the shock of recognition as he’d carried her in his arms to his lair, her golden hair flowing over his arm and her stunning blue eyes dazed. He’d known that he’d been waiting for this woman from the moment he’d awoken as a vampire.
    She was his destined mate.
    Unfortunately, the aggravating female hadn’t been prepared to accept her inevitable fate. And who could blame her?
    She’d spent months being raped and tortured by animals before she’d managed to escape. And even then she’d nearly died. If it hadn’t been for his healers she would be in her grave.
    Was it any wonder she needed to keep the world at a safe distance?
    Including him.
    So he bided his time, taking what