Danielle slid her legs out from under the warm covers, set her feet on the floor, stood and then closed her eyes submissively. Ethan took her hand gently and led her closer to the fireplace. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers gently. He then released her hand and pulled her close with one arm, while he cradled her face with the other.
“Keep your eyes closed,” he instructed gently. “I need to make sure you understand what’s going to happen. I’ve never looked at you like this at night before; I’ve always protected you from this.”
“Okay,” she whispered. Her arms hung at her sides.
“Do you remember all of the things I told you that happen with my powers at night?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Those are the things you will have to fight if this does affect you more strongly. I may be around mortals at night, Danielle, but I keep a fair distance from them for a reason. Do you understand this?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Open your eyes, Danielle.”
She did as he instructed, then gasped and bit her lip to control any noise she might make. Ethan looked into her eyes with an intensely piercing gaze. As the force of it rolled over her, she then understood his nightly avoidance of her.
“What do you feel?” he whispered kindly.
“It-it’s stronger. A lot stronger,” she conceded.
“Can you fight it?”
“Maybe.” Though she wasn’t sure at that point, she actually wanted to drop limply in his arms and let him do whatever he wanted to her.
Ethan then blew his intoxicating, potion-like breath into her face. As the heavy magic filled her lungs, her breathing became irregular, her heart began trying to pound its way out of her chest, and she was trembling. That breath of his was much more potent than she’d expected. His daytime magic was nothing compared to this.
Concern for her flickered to life in his eyes, but he didn’t release her from the overpowering stare. “Danielle, please fight it,” he appealed gently.
“I’m trying,” she breathed weakly.
“What would happen if I let go of you now?”
“I would drop to the floor.”
She could almost hear the disappointment in his breathing. Clearly Ethan had been hoping his effect on her would be weaker at night, but it wasn’t, it was stronger.
Ethan let his stimulating breath wash over her again in a second attempt. She took it deeply into her lungs. Her eyes rolled back and closed, her head lulled backward as her body went limp, and she groaned in response.
“Fight it!” Ethan commanded, as he tightened the arm around her waist and then curled the fingers of his other hand around the back of her head to cradle it, but not force it up. Ethan dipped his lips to the hollow below her chin to offer an encouraging kiss, then spoke softly in her ear. “Fight, Danielle, fight.” he ordered.
She moaned. She knew she had to fight and knew that’s what he wanted from her. So she struggled against the magic taking her, until finally she was able to lift her head. She grasped fistfuls of his shirt into her trembling hands.
“That’s it! Yes, Danielle, spar with the magic!”
She leaned her head against his firm chest, exhausted. That took a lot more out of her than she’d anticipated, but somehow she’d managed it. She rested herself from his power for a moment, trying to control her breathing.
After a short rest, her determination renewed, and she was ready to try again. Danielle met his eyes to see if she could hold her success. She felt a little less weak this time, but then a new sensation began to devour her. She felt an incredible urge to kiss him, and pushed up onto her toes to reach his mouth.
Ethan stopped her just inches away from his delectable lips. “No, Danielle, that’s the curse talking.”
“Are you sure?” she whispered appealingly, trying to go for a kiss again.
“Yes.” He chuckled softly as he prevented her from kissing him again. “You want me to bite you, remember?”
“No, I want to kiss you,” she argued dreamily, gliding her fingers along the sides of his attractive face.
“Danielle, please get control of yourself. I can’t let you kiss me now, definitely not on the lips. It wouldn’t be safe,” he demanded capturing her wrists.
Having to fight this side of the curse had never occurred to her, apparently being one aspect of it that she’d neglected to discern—the part where the victim asks to be bitten. She understood it now, but she really didn’t care anymore. She still wanted to kiss him, and she didn’t want to fight it. Danielle had kissed him before, so she couldn’t see how this was different.
She was practically throwing herself at him now.
Ethan struggled with her pawing at him before he sighed and shook his head—he wasn’t going to allow it. She was lucky he did happen to be a true gentleman and would never take advantage of her because, Heaven knows, she would have let him.
He lifted Danielle into his arms while she struggled, playfully intoxicated and carried her to the bed, tucked her in under the sheets tightly, and held her down. “Danielle, you still need to fight it. I know you don’t want to, but you must fight,” he demanded.
She knew what he was saying was true, she was losing the battle and he would be forced to leave her. The thought of him leaving, because of her, sobered her a little.
“Oh, Ethan…” she groaned. Danielle pulled one hand free and reached for his face, but then stopped herself before she touched him. She was fighting an internal battle brought on by his seductive curse. She withdrew as she struggled to curb her reaction, and rolled away from him, grasped her bed sheets and tugged them up over her head. She had to gather herself. She had to bridle the cravings from this intense magic.
She could feel him sitting on the bed next to her. And she knew he was waiting patiently for her to gain control of herself as he placed an encouraging hand on her waist.
Danielle waited under the sheets for her breathing to become regular while she wrestled with herself mentally. Her mind cleared gradually, but not completely. When she felt like she was ready to continue, Danielle pulled the sheets down, and rolled to face him again. She took one big breath in through her nose and exhaled slowly through her mouth. “’Kay … sorry … let’s try again,” she said softly.
Ethan leaned forward to let his enchanting eyes pierced right through her again. Dang it! She really did want him to bite her now. She clenched her teeth, I can fight it. I must fight it!
Danielle attempted to distract herself this time by talking to him. “So what are you feeling right now? How is this affecting you?” she asked through gritted teeth as she fought the craving to kiss him, and give up her life to him.
“This isn’t a piece of cake for me either. You smell much more appetizing to me right now. It’s a good thing I’m not thirsty or I might have bitten you earlier. And,” he added slowly, “it is very tempting for me to take advantage of the effect my powers have on you.”
She leaned up onto her elbows, but kept her teeth held together tightly. It took so much effort to control herself. She believed he had to be fighting as hard as she was, even though he appeared to be in more control than her.
“We can’t kiss right now, can we?” She wasn’t really asking, she already knew the answer as she was beginning to understand.
“No. That would be flirting with temptation, which is never a smart thing to do. The layers of this curse are powerful and intense. I can control some aspects of it if I keep my eyes and the full potency of my breath from you, but—you can taste it when I kiss you, can’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I can taste you too, and that would be disastrous at night with this curse.”
She moaned. “Is there any hope for us?” she asked desperately; dropping back into her pillow as she ran fingers through her hair in frustration.
“I think there is because we are fighting it right now.”
“True, but we couldn’t do this all night.”
“Um, no … yes … no…. Honestly, I don’t know what I want,” she admitted angrily, then rolled away from him and threw a fist into her pillow.
Ethan placed his comforting hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear. “Danielle, I will find the cure to this curse, I promise.” He kissed her hair fleetly as his fingers combed through her locks. Then rubbing her back, he spoke softly into her ear again. “I’m leaving now. You did great, be proud of yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He left through the window without another word.
Danielle lay in her bed, alone in her room, feeling utterly alone as she sank into sudden depression. She was living in her own fairytale, and felt like Cinderella—when the clock strikes midnight the magic ends. Except in her case, the magic begins and the fairytale ends. Her handsome, yet cursed Prince Charming is then forced to leave her before he is tempted to kill her, with her, all the while begging him to do it. What a twisted fairytale.
* * * * *
Danielle awoke feeling the same bruising frustrations still punching her.
And she had to fight back.
She didn’t normally exercise two days in a row, but she was driven with a maddening need this morning. Danielle was glad the fairy juice had worked so well on her overtaxed muscles. She felt none of the stiffness from the day before that she certainly should have.
Hastily getting dressed into her workout clothing, she didn’t bother to eat breakfast before heading straight for the garden, armed with her portable iPod dock. She set her iPod, which was loaded with head-banging, screaming music, into the dock and pressed play. Danielle had the need to bash something, even if it was just the air. This behavior wasn’t very “girly” of her, but it was something learned from five years of karate training, rather than a trait that came naturally to her.
The lush, fragrant garden remained cheerful despite her hostile mood.
She skipped the Pilates and yoga parts of her routine, which were inappropriately relaxing for her current mood. She hit play aggressively, closed her eyes, and settled into guarding stance while she waited for the hard music to begin.
The cheery garden seemed to resent the music as it pounded its way through the once calm air.
Danielle threw all of her energy into each punch, block and kick. She fiercely clobbered the air through several banging songs until she began to get tired. She didn’t want to overwork her muscles again so she started her cool down.
Feeling her heart rate slow, she thought of Ethan, and felt her eyebrows draw together. She’d forgotten that he could be there watching. Shocked at herself for forgetting such an obvious thing, she opened her eyes abruptly. He was there, peacefully lying on the grass a few feet in front of her with a smile spread across his noble face. Amusement frolicked in his eyes.
Danielle stared at him as he lounged quietly before her, adding mythical beauty to the already mythical garden.
She couldn’t help but feel chagrined about his seeing this uncharacteristic side of her. But he only beamed a heart-stopping smile of admiration in her direction. She was puzzled by that, thinking it may now be his turn to run from her.
He lifted himself lithely from the grass and stood right in front of her, with his blue eyes filled with adoration. “Feel better now?” he asked in an alluring voice.
“A little.” However, she still felt frustrated over their situation.
Ethan wrapped his well toned arms around her and tugged her into a firm hug. She responded to that, it seemed to be exactly what she needed. Danielle buried her nose into his thick shoulder and relished in the consoling, nicely scented embrace. This was so different than it was at night. It may have made her feel slightly dazed, but in a comforting sort of way. After a few delightful moments of that, Ethan leaned back, tipped her face to his and gave her the kiss she’d wanted so badly last night. Danielle consumed it gratefully as it further soothed her soul.
The dark magic was weakened, the gentle prince was back and the fairytale had returned.
“Feel better now?” he asked seductively.
“Immensely,” she breathed. “Why didn’t you do that earlier?”
Ethan chuckled as it seemed the memory of watching her replayed in his head. “I enjoyed that way too much to stop you.”
“Are you sure you aren’t disappointed in what you witnessed? You saw my dark side.”
“If that’s your dark side, then I’m even more charmed.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Yes, I am. I’m crazy in love with a fearsome enchantress,” he said, his voice always dripping with that hot accent.
Was that the first time he’d said that word to her? Before she got very far with that thought, however, Ethan focused the force of his gaze on her, and with that he showed her why he loved her and why she loved him back. There was no darkness in the magic now, only that familiar man from her forgotten pre-life gazing back at her.
“I do have a surprise for you that I thought might cheer you up,” he said.
“You’ve already cheered me up, how could there be more?”
“I still need to go pick it up. But I want you to meet me at my place later this afternoon.”
“How will I get there?”
“Just take Bri’s car.”
Danielle’s smile fell. “But I’ll just get lost and it’s confusing enough for me to drive on the left side of the road. Do you not know my weakness by now? Can’t you come get me?”
“I have to travel too far to run this errand, and we’ll lose too much sunlight together if you require me to come get you. I’m sure you can do it. I’ll enter the address into your GPS,” he offered encouragingly.
“I’m not sure that’ll help,” she grumbled as she pulled her long face on.
“What happened to my brave Danielle?” he questioned, sweetly reproving her for her doubt.
“Ever heard of Achilles’ heel?”
“I think you can overcome it. But if you don’t want this surprise we can just forget it.” Oh great, now he’s resorting to blackmail. “Fine, Ethan, but this had better be good,” she said unsmiling.
“Trust me,” he breathed charmingly. “Go take your shower. I’ll see you at two-thirty sharp. Don’t be late,” he said, before kissing her on the forehead and stepping back. He then left the garden with a wave.
Danielle sighed, gathered up her musical weapons, and went inside to eat before she showered. While she munched on a bowl of cold cereal, she wondered what the surprise could be.
After showering, she entered her room and noticed her GPS on the unmade bed. That had been in Brianna’s car ... so how did it get here? Her eyes landed on the closed window, he couldn’t have come in that way during the day could he? Or rather had he snuck through the house like some thief? Nervous for a moment, she tugged the bathrobe tighter, wondering if he could still be in her room.
When Ethan didn’t pop out of her closet shouting surprise, she relaxed a little and dropped her gaze to the note stuck to the front of the GPS. She pealed it off and read it. Laughing, she saw that he’d written “Drive on the left” in big letters.
Chapter 14
Dr. Deveroux
After her classes, Danielle stuck Ethan’s note about keeping on the left to the dashboard of Brianna’s car and pulled up the directions for Ethan’s place on the GPS. She planned to leave early, knowing there was a huge chance she could get misdirected even with electronic guidance. She didn’t get lost, however.
Arriving thirty minutes early, she toyed with the idea of driving around the block for a few more minutes, but decided against it. She didn’t want to risk actually getting lost when she’d already made it there.
Danielle went up to the enormous front door anxiously wonde
ring what Ethan would think about her early arrival. Her finger hovered over the doorbell button before she took a breath and then pressed it. She could hear the dulcet chime it made through the wood.
She didn’t have to wait long before the door swung open. It was Nadia, and she looked a little startled to see her standing there. “Hi, uh ... you’re so early. Ethan isn’t back yet.”
“Thanks to the GPS, I made it here faster than I thought I would. I hope it’s all right.”
The expression on Nadia’s face made her wonder if maybe it wasn’t all right, but instead she said, “Of course, come in.” Nadia took Danielle by the hand and then said, “I’ll take you to Ethan’s room. Shall we?”
“Okay, thanks Nadia,” she said as they passed the drawing room that was bustling with several members of the Order. They paid no attention to her and Nadia, though.
Danielle almost had to run to keep up with Nadia’s quick stride. Why was she in such a hurry? After making their way up the stairs and then down the hall, Nadia tugged Danielle into Ethan’s bedroom and said abruptly. “Please, make yourself at home.”
“Thanks, I—”
Cutting her off, Nadia said, “Ethan should be back soon. My mother is making treats for you again, and she needs me to go help her.” Nadia twisted the lock on the door. “You’ll be fine waiting for him here, won’t you?”
Before Danielle had a chance to say anything more, the pretty vampire was gone. Her gaze dropped to the doorknob as she pondered, Why did she lock me in? Noting the way the lock worked, however, she realized she had that backwards. She could get out while others couldn’t get in. Was she in danger here?
Taking comfort in the fact that the door was indeed locked, Danielle shifted her focus to exploring Ethan’s room, and noticed a book on his nightstand. Upon picking it up she found, with surprise, that it was a bible. She flipped through the pages and then realized that it was something he read frequently having become tattered and worn from loving use. Ethan had told her that he believed in God, and here was the proof. Wow, she mused as she set the book back on the nightstand—still no skeletons in the closet—well aside from the venomous, fanged, cursed vampire one, but she could overlook it. Her eyes trailed to his closet. She considered taking a peek inside, then resisted the draw of her curiosity. Knowing her luck, he would walk in while she was snooping.
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