Kerrelyn Sparks - How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying)

Somehow their paths were connected. He’d felt that from the beginning. She held the answers to the mysteries from his past. And he was becoming more and more certain that she was his future. He just needed to convince her.

He would hold her in his arms and woo her with kisses. He would gain her trust. And her love. The prospect made his heart pound with anticipation.

He strode into the cabin. “Neona?”

His heart sank. The cabin was empty.

Was he waiting for her? Neona glanced up at the moon, which was three-quarters full in the clear starry sky. Zoltan had said he’d meet her at midnight, but she didn’t have a way to know the exact time. Her contact with the outside world was so limited that she’d never needed to keep track of time.

She’d seen a clock before. Frederic had owned a pocket watch that he’d given to Calliope before leaving. Freddie was the proud owner now, even though the watch had broken years ago.

Neona wandered over to the grassy mound where Calliope was buried. Moonlight glistened on the long grass, lending it a silvery hue. A breeze blew down the mountainside, rustling the trees that flourished higher up the hill.

“I miss you,” Neona whispered to the other healer.

Calliope had died six years ago when the new cycle had started. Her death had devastated her three daughters. The oldest daughter, Farah, fathered by a Persian long before Frederic’s arrival, now lay buried next to Calliope. Farah had died two weeks ago in the battle that had claimed five of the women of Beyul-La. Only Winifred and Freya remained from Calliope’s line.

Neona paused in front of Farah’s grave, bowing to pay her respects before moving on to the mound where her sister was buried.

“Minerva.” She sat next to the mound. “I had the dream again last night.” It seemed like the memory should have faded with time, but she could still see the injured boy so clearly in her mind. He’d remained unconscious the entire time she’d treated him. He’d taken some harsh blows to the head, some gashes to his shoulders, and a nasty burn down his back. “Why do I keep dreaming about him? And that terrible day?”

No answer.

Neona sighed. “It must be a reminder of what happens when one of us shirks our sacred duty to follow a man.”

She gazed up at the stars. As much as she wanted Zoltan to be different, she couldn’t allow herself to trust him. If she continued to see him, she would be putting the secrets of Beyul-La at risk. She could end up destroying everything if she wasn’t careful.

“I know I mustn’t go to him.” But what if Zoltan was waiting for her?

She imagined him pacing in front of Frederic’s cabin. Would he become angry, like he had last night? Would he feel betrayed when she didn’t come?

The thought made her heart ache. She didn’t want to cause him pain. By nature, she was a healer. She took pain away; she didn’t cause it. But because she was one of the guardians of this valley and its secrets, she’d also been trained to be fierce in battle. She knew how to be ruthless when her own life was hanging in the balance.

Now it was her heart that was at stake, so she had to be ruthless where Zoltan was concerned. And she had to be honest with herself. She was hopelessly attracted to the man. It would be far too easy to fall in love with him.

“Why am I so drawn to him? I hardly know anything about him. Where does he come from? Why is he so curious about me?” She mentally ticked off what she did know about him. Handsome, brave, quick, strong, intelligent, honorable, charming, sweet.

She winced. How could she not fall for such a man? He’d tried to save her life when he’d thought she was in danger from Zhan. Noble and protective, she added those to her list. Then she smiled, remembering how offended he’d been when she’d told him men were unnecessary. There was a vulnerability to him in spite of his strength. He seemed to need love as much as she did.

“Did I tell you that he kissed me again?” Neona whispered, then closed her eyes, letting the memory of last night’s kiss flood over her. He’d been so sweet, so tender, and incredibly exciting because beneath it all she had sensed a fiery passion ready to burst into flames and consume her. He’d pulled her tight against him, and she’d felt his swollen manhood, large and straining against the confines of his pants.

If she went to him tonight, she might end up in bed with him. Skin touching. Arms embracing. Legs entwined. The images racing through her mind made her heart pound, made her yearn to give in to desire.

But it was too dangerous. She knew deep inside that bedding Zoltan would change her irreparably. He would take her heart along with her body.

She couldn’t let that happen. For both their sakes. How could she live with herself if she encouraged his affections and he was killed because of it? Each time he invaded their territory, his life was in danger.

“I mustn’t go to him.” She pulled her knees up and hugged them. It was the right decision. The wise decision. So why did she feel like screaming in frustration?

A twig snapped behind her, and she instantly pulled the knife from the sheath strapped to her calf, then turned to look.

It was Zhan, emerging from the forest.

“Oh, it’s you.” She slipped the knife back into its sheath. “I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”

The snow leopard drew closer, moving from the shadows into the moonlight.

She sat up, noticing the arrow gripped in Zhan’s mouth. It looked like the arrow that had pinned Zoltan’s note to the tree branch.

Her eyes narrowed on the folded piece of paper stuck on the arrowhead. “Did you just come from Zoltan?”

Zhan dropped the arrow at her feet, and she huffed in indignation. “You rascal. Whose side are you on?”

Zhan sat, curling his tail around his front paws as he gazed intently at her.

She nudged the arrow away with her leather slipper. “I don’t want this. And I can’t believe you went to see him.”

Zhan continued to stare at her.

Her gaze drifted to the note. Blast that man. He knew her curiosity would get the better of her.

“Fine. I’ll read it.” She pulled the note off. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll go see him. My mind is already made up. He can beg all night, and it won’t affect me in the least.”

Zhan blinked at her slowly.

“Traitor,” she muttered and opened the note.

Neona,

I have taken over this valley and the cabin. This territory is now mine.

“What?” She read the first two sentences again to make sure she hadn’t imagined it. “He can’t take over our territory!”

No women are allowed here. If you attempt to invade my territory, I will attack. I advise you to stay away.

Zoltan

Neona scoffed. The gall of the man! “He advises me to stay away? From my own land!”

She jumped to her feet, wadding the note up in her fist. “How dare he! I’ll show—” She stopped with a sudden thought, then gave Zhan an incredulous look. “He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he? He knows this will make me come to him.”

She jammed his note into the drawstring pouch that dangled from the sash tied around her waist. “The fool. He thinks to manipulate me? This ridiculous game will get him killed! If any of the other women catch him in the neighboring valley, they will execute him on the spot.”

Leaving the arrow behind, she stalked toward the ridge where the rope ladder lay in waiting. And to think that just moments ago, she’d been listing his finer points. Ha! She would add stubborn, manipulative, and sneaky to the list.

“I will not fall for this outrageous ploy of his. I will force him to leave, even if I have to tie him up and haul him like unwanted baggage to the nearest village.”