Read Bitten by Desire for Free Online

me.”
    â€œHow can it be? I don’t believe you,” she said defiantly, her tone brittle.
    â€œBut you do. It is why you are afraid. I can hear it in your voice.”
    â€œI fear the unknown, that is all. I wish you would be blunt with me.”
    â€œThat is me in the portrait as I was almost two hundred years ago, just as I am now. I have others I could show you, going back many centuries.” Vaelen spoke calmly, though Imogen listened with increasing incredulity, scarcely daring to breathe. “I have existed since the time when the Romans ruled your land. I have walked on this earth for longer than the history books can teach you. I have walked with gods and kings and creatures you cannot imagine. I will walk for eternity. That is my reward and my punishment for being who I am.”
    Imogen’s legs were shaking. She backed away, onto the chair which sat by the side of the fire, sinking into its depths, never taking her eyes from Vaelen, whose face was pale and taut, the confession taking a physical toll on him.
    â€œ Who are you?”
    â€œThere are names, words used to scare children, the language of mythology, but none are accurate. I am one of the ancients. We inhabit the world between reality and illusion, a middle ground known only to ourselves. We have powers you cannot comprehend. We have no shadows and no reflection, we are enchanters and beguilers. Though I cannot see myself, I know that my form pleases. It is how we are made, for we must be irresistible to survive.”
    â€œNo.” She could not bear to hear any more. Fantastical as it was, she instinctively knew he was telling the truth. But she did not want this truth. She did not want to hear what came next, for already she could guess—the dark lurking thing in the corner of her mind, the memory of that bruise, that feeling of extreme euphoria. “ No .”
    â€œWe are predators, Imogen. Though I fight it, have fought it, have managed to control it for years, centuries, it is what I am. And you, the likes of you, are my prey.”
    â€œVaelen, no.”
    â€œYou asked me into your house. You invited me into your arms. I gave you what you wanted. I took what I needed.”
    â€œNo, no, no.”
    â€œI will take it again. And again. And again. I won’t be able to stop. Not with you. You are not like the others, you see. The others are mere sustenance. You are my lifeblood, Imogen, and that will be your downfall. I cannot resist you. Do you understand now?”

Chapter 5
    â€œ No! ” Her voice was so high-pitched it would have been a scream, were she able to take a breath. She would not believe it. She could not believe it. She got to her feet and threw herself at him, her arms around his neck, her body pressed into his, sobbing and begging, feverishly pleading. “No, no, no. Not us. Not this. Not when it feels like this.”
    He fought to restrain her, but even as he tried to imprison her arms, he entwined his own around her delightfully soft body. The sash of her wrapper came undone. Through her nightgown her breasts rose and fell as she struggled, her skin warming his even through the barrier of his clothes. The longing for skin on skin, for flesh on flesh was extreme. He fought her, but he could not fight himself. His needs were too strong, her presence here, in his private sanctum too powerful. The scent of her was like the scent of no other. Not even Lucilla had been able to exert such power over him. No one in all the lives he had led had ever had the effect of Imogen.
    Irresistible. The word countless numbers of women had applied to him. Now he knew what it meant. His lips found hers. His arms drew her close. He heard her sigh in submission. He sensed her heated confusion but though he forced himself to look for it there was no resistance; nothing save a desire to submit and a need as strong as his. It was like looking in a mirror and for the first time seeing his reflection.