Taken by the Vampire King (Vampire Warrior Kings 3)

How in the world did she find herself in this situation?

Sadness pricked at her eyes. Looked like she wasn’t going to be allowed to have that dream of being a professional photographer fulfilled after all.

A flash flood of anger flowed in behind the sadness. And confusion, too. Because while she was pissed at how unfair it was to have her life stolen out from underneath her, a part of her she didn’t understand felt like she was right where she was supposed to be. How crazy was that?

Across the room, a door clicked open. Kaira lifted her head as Henrik entered wearing a floor-length black robe, the trim and sleeves edged in a bold silver knotted pattern. He wore the hood drawn over his head, casting his face in shadow and preventing Kaira from seeing his expression or his eyes. Didn’t keep her heart from leaping into her throat, though. Bare feet emerged from under the bottom of the robe as he crossed toward her, making her wonder if the rest of him was equally bare.

Oh, what did she care? She was mad at him, mad at this entire situation. She had no interest in knowing more about his big, broad, powerful body.

Also wearing some sort of a ceremonial robe, Jakob secured the door behind them, then stayed where he was.

Kaira remained in a ball in the chair.

Henrik moved to stand in front of her, finally allowing her to see his eyes under the top of the robe.

Despite herself, she gasped and pushed to her feet. “Your eyes changed again.” Slowly, she reached up and pushed the hood off his hair. A soft blue, they weren’t as bright as after the first time he’d fed from her. The thought that she was responsible for restoring the color to his eyes... It was as heady as it was scary. What else would change for him if he fed from her in earnest?

A ticklish sensation skittered over her left palm and she scratched her short nails across the skin to make it go away. His gaze dropped to the movement, and the sensation got worse. What was wrong with her hand? It had been doing this on and off for hours now. She forced her fists to her sides.

Henrik grabbed her hands in his and slowly sank to his knees. “I know you don’t want this, and I don’t blame you. And I know there’s no way for me to make this right by you. Something about your blood cures whatever deficiency flows through mine. Still, I was prepared to let you go—”

“Then what changed?” Her tone was harsher than she intended, especially since his words were so soft and repentant. And she thought herself confused before. Oh, what was right in this situation?

His eyes flashed, a hint of that brilliant anger she’d seen in the hospital room earlier. Then he schooled his expression. “I received word that one of the other vampire kings was killed last night.”

The news made her throat go tight, like the loss was her own. So, now, only six vampires like him remained? “I’m very sorry,” she managed.

“If I die—”

“I get it,” she said quietly. And she did. She hated feeling like she was a tiny cog in some larger machine, but she wasn’t so selfish she didn’t understand that the stakes were bigger than her. Without these vampires, the other kind—the ones that attracted darkness and smelled of decay and attacked unsuspecting women on the street—would overrun society.

For a long moment, she let her brain play with this information, and it wasn’t long before a sort of peace settled over her. Saving him meant something and it was something no one else could do, apparently.

“Okay. So, what do we do? Should I—”

“Just have a seat, kjære.” He gestured to the chair she’d been sitting in all day.

Oh, the endearment in that low, sexy voice. Did he really hold her dear to him? Taking a deep breath, she did as he asked, her heart already sprinting before her bottom hit the cushion.

“If you’ll pull up your sleeve,” he said, his deep voice rasping with hunger. “I will drink from your wrist. That will help make this...less intimate.”

Those last three syllables rolled off his tongue with such exquisite promise, her whole body flashed hot. She yanked up both sleeves of her T-shirt and nodded, worried that her voice would express the arousal ramping up deep inside.

“Jakob?” the king said.

His brother crossed the room.

“Jakob is here to ensure I don’t lose control as you saw before, and to make sure I stop before the blood loss becomes harmful to you. He will need to monitor your heart rate. Would you be okay with him holding your other wrist?”

“Sure,” she whispered, her gaze flickering to the other vampire. He crouched beside her, his expression serious, a little on edge, even. His big hand wrapped its warmth around her right wrist, two of his fingers pressing firmly against the thrumming pulse there.