This Time Next Year Read Online Free PDF

he.”
    He nodded, as though he had more to say. She debated prodding him for more information, like why the hell someone would be okay with Willem creating more vampires in his image, what the hierarchy was, if the obscene amount of vampire novels in bookstores had any accuracy at all, but the faraway look on his face stopped her. Pulling him out of the memory now would make it that much more difficult to start again. He deserved to tell his side of the story.
    “He’d always been able to read me,” Kiernan continued. “No matter how I tried to mask my emotions or intentions, I became an open book in his presence. ‘I knew this day would come,’ he said. ‘You were never meant to be a true vampire.’ He sounded hurt and disappointed, like a parent whose child had never quite measured up. ‘I should have destroyed you when I destroyed Marguerite.’”
    “Ouch.”
    “He challenged me. The other vampires stopped moving, and I think the music may have died then. Everything faded away until Willem struck.”
    A shudder passed through him. Should he keep going or should she stop him now? She could imagine the rest.
    “I needed him dead to make sure you stayed safe. By the time I killed him, the club looked like two rabid tigers had gone to war within it.” Another long pause. “There is no easy way to say this—in killing Willem, I killed the entire coven. The ashes of Willem’s progeny covered the floor. I survived because Willem was not my maker. Marguerite’s blood had created me, and it protected me.”
    Sitting up, Moira looked at her new hero. He faced straight ahead, eyes still closed. She traced the line of his jaw with her index finger. “You’ve been through so much.” Emotion choked her voice. “For me. I can’t understand it.”
    He turned toward her. His weary eyes looked her over. Retelling the ordeal seemed to have aged him. “Neither can I. But you’re the first thing that’s mattered since my transformation. To lose you would be to lose myself.” He threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her.
    She nearly melted into a puddle. His kiss was the kiss of someone who loved her. Desire pooled in her belly and spread lower as she opened her mouth to him. Just one kiss, and she burned for him, ready and willing to give him everything she had.
    She needed him inside her, filling her. Grabbing his erection, she maneuvered her body until he brushed her opening.
    He gasped then knelt between her thighs, dragging her to him, lifting her so she sat astride him, face-to-face.
    Chest heaving, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her again, stroking her tongue with his.
    Hours earlier, he’d been a stranger, someone she’d feared, but with his arms enfolding her in protection and affection, she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.
    She’d found perfection, but it wouldn’t last. She would continue to age while he looked as youthful and beautiful as he did now. Kissing his neck, she ran her hand over his chest and smiled when he shifted and held her tighter.
    “Did it hurt?” she murmured.
    “What?”
    “Being changed.” She nibbled along his jaw, seeking his lips.
    When he stiffened, she gave up her search and leaned back to see his face. His eyes were closed, mouth in a taut line. Maybe he didn’t want to remember. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked.
    Minutes passed before he spoke again. The grandfather clock in the main room ticked in rhythm with her pulse, one second for every two beats.
    “It was hell.” In the dim lighting, pain flickered in his eyes, dulling them for a moment. “And it’s a hell I would never wish on you.”
    “Even though I’ll die? Even though you’ll have to watch it happen, someday?” She placed her hands on either side of his face, ensuring he couldn’t look away. “I have spent two decades living in fear. Living in denial. I’ve never been in love until now. Tonight. With you. You can’t deny what’s between us. What’s