Chapter Eight

Rurik’s voice dripped with enticement. Delight twinkled in his eyes as I continued to watch, forgetting to answer. He gave a purely masculine laugh that conveyed his pleasure more than words ever could.

He strode to the tub next to mine and stepped in. Water sloshed over the edges as he made himself comfortable. He rested his head back against the edge and he gazed across at me. The heat of his stare reminded me of my own nudity. There was only a sheet of water covering me and I ducked down further, thankful it was deep.

“Ask me a question, Rabbit.” His voice caressed me like the steam, warm and moist.

“Why?”

“I make you uncomfortable. Ask me a question, it’ll make conversation easier.”

I didn’t need to think too hard on what I wanted to ask—it tugged at my mind all day. “Why did you drug me?” It’s one of the things that kept me from believing his innocence—that horrid act and giving me to Dragos.

He made a rude noise. “You’re so subtle.” His grin softened his sarcasm. “I am trying to lighten the mood, and instead you make me uncomfortable, too.” Rurik’s quiet chuckle echoed off the tiled walls. His broad shoulders hunched slightly and his chin dipped to his chest as he avoided my direct look. “It is regrettable but I had no choice in the matter. Dragos is traditional in his rule. His people insisted on a gift and I am not powerful enough to deny him anything. When he commented about your presence at the hot springs I knew you’d be perfect. I noticed you myself a few nights ago at the concert.” Finally he met my gaze. “I wouldn’t have let him kill you.”

The comment knocked me in the chest. Would he have let him hurt me? Either way, he never had to make that choice and he did rescue me from my own Calvary. “I actually understand being forced to gift me but why drug me and not just mesmerize me?”

He leaned forward and rested his arms on the tub’s edge. “I tried. You’re not as susceptible to my mind, and stronger than most prey. I needed the drug to break down those walls.” He sounded sincere and I wanted to buy into it. “Dragos is not easy to please. I did all I could to protect you. Please tell me you forgive me.”

I didn’t know what to say. There had to be a way for me to find out who the real Rurik was.

He sighed. “You confound me, Connie. You came into that club looking for trouble, now you act betrayed that I found you.”

“Looking for trouble?” He was closer to the truth than he knew. It made me more wary but if he suspected me as the source of last night’s attack I’d already be dead.

He leveled his gaze at me and quirked an eyebrow. “Someone who wears a dress like that is asking for attention.”

“Fine.” I looked away chagrined, and changed the subject. “Will Dragos be hunting for me?”

“Why would he?”

“Don’t I belong to him now?”

Rurik relaxed deeper into the hot, steamy water. “He won’t waste the resources on you. There are other things occupying his attention at the moment. For your own safety, forget last night—and forget vampires.”

The reflection of the colored glass danced on top of my bath water, over and around the ripples. “You too?” My whisper was so soft it was barely audible to my own ears.

“It’s my turn to ask a question.” He didn’t hear my question, or he ignored it.

I smiled to myself, pleased he didn’t answer. “Okay.”

“Where are you from?”

“Didn’t you ask me this last night?”

“You can’t answer a question with a question. That’s cheating.”

I looked away from the colorful reflections in my tub to watch him. He still lay back, enjoying the wet heat with his eyes closed.

“Presently I live in a hotel room in Budapest, I was born in America.”

“And your heritage?”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted. My silence must have mirrored my puzzlement.

“You have some Romanian in your features.”

I nodded. “Yes, Romanian and French.”

“Your skin is too dark for either of them. There is something else.”

I’d had some of the oddest, yet most interesting moments with this man. I rested my chin in my hand and watched him soak. “There is? I didn’t know my parents, they died when I was young. My maternal grandmother raised me. Pictures showed my father was dark. The Romanian comes from his side.”

“A dark Romanian.” He continued to soak quietly while he mused over this. Then quick as lightning, he leaned way out of his tub toward mine. “Let me see your eyes again.”

I put my hand up to stop him from getting more of a view than I was ready to share. “Whoa there, buddy, that’s close enough. You can see my eyes from there.”

His amused grin returned.

I placed my chin on the tub’s edge and opened my eyes wide.

He laughed at me. “I’m not giving you an eye exam, Rabbit.”

I retreated to my comfy spot. “What’s the prognosis?”

“I think it’s gypsy. It would account for your sweet olive skin and your beautiful gray eyes.”

“You know, my grandmother told me she was a gypsy. I thought it to be a lifestyle, not a nationality.”

He leaned back. “See? A few questions and already we begin to know each other. Nothing to worry about—I don’t bite—not unless you want me to.”

Thick lashes made dark half moons under his closed eyes. He feigned disinterest. The steam beaded on his pale smooth skin. Some of those beads slipped down his face, tracing a line from his jaw, to his neck, then along his well defined chest.

I wanted to do bad things with him. I wanted to reach over and lick the beads off his chin then work my way down. I wanted to stroke my hands along...

“Rabbit?”

“Yeah?” My gaze rose from tracing the streams into his blazing stare.

He enjoyed my admiration. “Would you like me to ... bite you?”

“Not yet. What? I mean, no. Thank you.” Thinking was hard enough with Rurik fully clothed. Now it was impossible. I could tell I entertained him to no end. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, but not for your blood.” The edges of his eyes crinkled with his grin as he showed fang.

I was tired of him taking the lead in our rapport. My job dealt in seduction, yet since I’d met him, I’d lost control. He teased me with his flirtation and his body but two could play this game.

Self-confidence stirred back up, I turned away from Rurik and reached to get a sponge from the table. My movements exposed the length of my spine and a little more, just enough to make him think he got a peek.

His eyes burned along the curves of my hips and shoulders. They left my skin scalded with his desires. It’s been a long time since I dared play this game with such stakes on the table. Did I dare collect the pot if I won?

I knelt in the water, still facing away from him, and shook my hair free of its ponytail. The sponge spilled water as I squeezed it over my head. Warm and delicious it ran down my heated skin. I repeated this over and over until my hair was soaked. The tangle of my frizzed out poof tamed to soft curls once more.

“Why do you insist on calling me Rabbit?” My question floated on the steam in the room across to him.

“Rabbits are soft, quick, sweet creatures. You bring to mind a favorite poem.” The hunger in his voice made it deeper, almost sensual.

“Run, rabbit, run

Try to get away.

Run, rabbit, run

I’ve come out to play.

Run, rabbit, run

For it’s the end of the day.”

The poem sent shivers down my spine. ‘Run, rabbit, run ’ was what he shouted as he shoved me out the window. Another shiver followed. Soft, quick, and sweet. He described me as prey. This was not a man but a vampire. If he liked me, did that make me safer or more tempting?

The splash of water landing on the floor caused me to look over my bare shoulder. Rurik retrieved a bottle of shampoo and paced back towards me. Bodies like Rurik’s were made for fantasies. Lean, long muscles moved under his skin, his actions graceful and strong. His heavy lidded glare made me feel like his thoughts could travel places his hands hadn’t touched.

“Let me wash your hair.”

I looked at him, cynical of his offer.

“So wary.”

“Can you blame me?” I didn’t know if I was ready for this, I wanted to be. It had been a long time since I was intimate with anyone. The need in my body encouraged me along this path of seduction. Rurik represented most women’s wet dream but a heaviness in my heart held me back, twisting me up inside like a knot. Sex could never be just a physical thing, my heart always got dragged into it, and in the end, it was broken.

“It’s good to be wary. I am a predator after all.” He knelt by my tub. “Indulge me. I like to do this.” For a fleeting moment, a touch of vulnerability peaked through the veil of intense, blue eyes. A yearning for my acceptance. It flashed so quickly, I doubted if it was real.

“Lean your head back and put your hair over the edge.”

“The water will spill onto the floor.”

“That’s what the drain is for. Take it easy, I won’t mislead you ... again.” A soft smile touched those full kissable lips.

My hair did need a wash. Who was I kidding? I wanted to feel his touch. It had ignited an inferno when he held me last night. I gave in to my dark side and did as he asked.

He took the sponge and squeezed more hot water over my hair, making sure it was saturated. He then worked the shampoo through the tangles of curls. His strong fingers massaged my scalp, my forehead, and down behind my ears. They made firm, confident circular motions.

The tension in my neck melted away where he applied pressure, kneading those sore tight knots. Tingles ran along my nerves wherever our skin pressed together. The spark of desire grew more intense.

The strength of his hands caressed the tender muscles of my shoulders. My moan echoed in the room as the pleasure bordering pain pulled from my injuries.

The floor ran slick with steaming water and soap as he began to rinse my head. He abandoned the sponge to use his hands to scoop water from my tub over my hair. His fingers ran through the curls, gently tugging them. It felt wonderful. This was the first time I allowed a man to do this. The pull on the strands increased with each pass of his hand, pulling me up out of the water, arching my back in response to the delicate pain.

He gathered a handful of my hair and pulled forcefully trapping me with my back arched against the edge.

He whispered in my ear. “Run, rabbit, run, try to get away.” He slowly moved to the other ear. “Run, rabbit, run, I’ve come out to play.” He pulled harder on my hair making the pain a little sharper. I cried out in surprise. “Run, rabbit, run, for it’s the end of the day.”

He sipped at the water running down my neck making his way to my shoulder. The pulling eased but he didn’t release me. “Sweet, sweet, Connie.” His cool breath flowed down my skin raising goose flesh, making my exposed nipples harden. Only then did I realize how shockingly far out of the water I’d raised myself. I tried to cover up with my hands but the tension on my hair increased.

He released it but I felt his hands run under mine to cup my breasts as he continued to rain kisses down to the hollow of my neck. His teeth dragged along my skin as if to test my skin for tenderness. I had almost forgotten how it felt to have someone touch me. A fire built inside of my chest where his hands kneaded me. I took all my loneliness and grief then shoved them into this inferno. It burned.

Lifting me from the tub, he pressed my back to his solid chest. He was hard against me. His hands explored my skin and his mouth consumed mine.

My body screamed ‘yes ’ but my soul wasn’t ready. The passion dissolved into guilt, as similar memories were dragged from the corners of my mind. An old familiar hurt twisted my heart as a vision of my dead husband returned.

I sobbed.

Rurik misunderstood it for desire. He laid me on the soapy tiles and crawled onto me. “Oh, Rabbit.” He moaned as he tried to press his lips to mine.

I turned my head, hiding the tears that trickled from my eyes. Stupid of me to allow things to get this far, I should have known I wasn’t ready.

His weight no longer bore down on me instead he hovered over me and tipped my chin back toward him. “Connie?” His gentle tone caressed me. “Did I hurt you?” The concern in his voice sounded genuine.

I reached up and touched his handsome face and traced those well-defined cheeks. “No, but I’m not ready. I-I haven’t been with anyone but my husband in years.”

His eyes widened. “You’re married?”

I tried to sit up but he still pinned me. “No, I’m widowed.”

He sighed and rolled off me. “You shouldn’t tease a man like that.”

It felt like I’d been slapped. “Tease! You invited yourself in here.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “Pembe said you requested my presence.”

I sat there on the wet, soapy floor, naked looking like a fool. “But...” At the pool! I’d asked Pembe for Rurik because I’d been afraid to get into a pool filled with vampires. “I... Oh, Rurik, I didn’t mean...” Getting up I rushed over to the table and wrapped a towel around myself. I felt horrible and embarrassed. “It’s a misunderstanding.”

Rurik watched as I tucked the towel securely in place. A frown marred his features. “I’ve already seen your breasts.” He fluidly stood and sauntered over unfazed by his nudity. He reached for a towel as well and began to dry off. He glanced at me with a wicked smirk. “And fondled them.”

The tub room lacked places for me to crawl into. I couldn’t look up from my feet. Rurik had his little revenge.

He wrapped the towel around his hips. Patiently waiting for me to get over myself.

I looked up at him.

His face softened. “How long since he passed?”

I wrapped my arms around my body. “Eighteen months.”

He nodded to himself and gazed at the tubs. For a moment the seductive, confident vampire dropped his mask. Grief remembered reflected in his conflicted eyes. Just as quick as it came, it disappeared.

Twisting sinuously, he caught my chin, lifting it up to his face. A slow sensuous smile graced his face. “Vampires know grief well. I can wait, Connie.”

Stunned, I nodded. Pulling my towel tighter, I left the private tub room in search of my clothes.

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