Vows of a Vampire Read Online Free PDF Page B

How could she even think about sex with a—a vampire? Look where it had gotten her mother.
    Aubrey’s voice shook as she tried to sound confident in her decision. “Yes. Take me home. As of tonight I want you to leave me alone. I don’t want you in my thoughts, or in my dreams. I want to be my own person, and I can’t if I know someone is watching my every move.”
    Several minutes of silence passed, and she didn’t know what else to say.
    Finally he spoke in his deep, rich tone. “You don’t understand.”
    Why did she feel like an invisible string holding them together had suddenly broken apart? They weren’t bound. Despite what he’d shared with her or the familiarity of his touch and face from her dreams, she didn’t know him.
    Aubrey averted her gaze from his tortured stare. “Yes, I do understand. The promise you made, you’ve more than fulfilled it. You don’t have to concern yourself with my life or my choices, poor as they usually are. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate what you’ve tried to do, but I’m an adult. I’m not the little girl who had her mother ripped from her. I can take care of myself.”
    “Please, I—”
    Hand up, she put considerable distance between them. “Thank you for being the first person to tell me the truth. I will always be grateful. From here on out, we go our separate ways.”
    He took a step toward her. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”
    Aubrey almost wished her car had gone over the cliff after all. With a sigh she went to the doorway and spoke to him over her shoulder. “No more. Now, take me home.”

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    Varick paced in the corridor. It pained him to leave Aubrey after everything she’d been through. A near fatal accident, betrayal by a lover, learning the truth of her mother and meeting a man who practically admitted he was a stalker. For years he’d practiced how their initial meeting would go, and none of it had gone according to plan. He’d blown it by revealing too much at once. While not a child, she was still fragile.
    He smoothed his hand over his face. He’d almost opened up about his feelings. Almost spoken of his love for her. What had he expected would happen? That she’d spread her arms and welcome him without hesitation? Look into his eyes and fall madly in love with a stranger, a monster in her eyes? His life had been full all these years only because it held purpose—guarding her life. Her request to part ways didn’t sit well. Without her to look after, he lacked…meaning.
    Varick stepped into the Grieving Hall and knelt beside Dante’s tomb, his head bowed in shame. “I’ve failed you, and by doing so, I’ve failed Laura, Aubrey, this coven, and myself. I’m sorry.”
    Everything he touched turned to failure. No one wanted him as leader, they’d rather serve under Luke. Much as he disliked his coven brother, Luke had come before him and had expected to be the next in line. It seemed a day didn’t go by where he wasn’t reminded of that fact. He missed Dante’s guidance. His great mentor had a flawless way of putting their family’s best interests first while keeping balance. Varick knew he would never be as wise and experienced. What good was being leader if he lacked the ability to lead? Try as he might, thoughts of righting the coven were overshadowed by his emotions for Aubrey. More than his craving to kiss her lips and taste the apex between her thighs, he needed to be sure she stayed out of harm’s way.
    Varick rose and paced the room. He forced himself to not use his mind’s eye to see into her thoughts. The night would torture him, not having the beauty of her dreams to slip into. In the dreams they were lovers. In the dreams she welcomed him and wanted him. But not now. Now that she knew what he really was.
    How could he separate himself from her after all this time? How could he pretend not to care? He stalked up and down the floor, cursing his own stupidity. At one time he had