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attitude towards him had been because of women? He wished Regis
were here. All of his crew had little experience of the opposite
sex and none had ever had contact with a member of the opposite sex
who was also of another species. He didn’t understand.

    Amerii turned away from
him fully, her arms wrapped tight around herself.

    Women.

    Beautiful.

    The answer hit him hard,
sending his eyes wide.

    She thought that he would
want such inferior females as those under his command?

    Van stepped up behind her,
took hold of her shoulders with trembling hands, and turned her
swiftly to face him. She stumbled but regained her footing. He
frowned down into her eyes, trying to discern whether he was right.
They swam with tears.

    Foolish Lyran.

    He raised his hands to her
face, cupping her cheeks, and wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
His hands shook, the feel of her soft warm skin triggering a war
within him, a battle to control his bloodlust.

    “ Amerii,” he
husked, his voice tight with his fight against his hunger. He
stepped into her, so their bodies were pressed against each other,
desperate to slake a little of his desire with the sense of
contact. He ran his hands down from her jaw to her neck, caressing
the delicate curve of it. The room brightened and an intense wave
of bloodlust crashed through him. “You do not know how much I want
you.”

    ****

    Chapter
4

    Amerii stared into Van’s
eyes. Their bright crimson depths and the strain in his voice told
her exactly how much he wanted her. Her heart beat hard against her
chest, her body quivering under the intensity of his touch and the
heat of his gaze. She swallowed and pressed her hands into his
chest, against rock hard muscles that trembled with restraint. He
was fighting it.

    He dipped his head towards
her and her eyes closed as their cheeks brushed, sending a shiver
of anticipation through her. His lips caressed her jaw and then
trailed downwards towards her throat, his breath hot against her
skin.

    She swallowed again,
waiting, aching to experience what Sophia had called exquisite when
she had spoken of being bitten.

    Van’s mouth closed over
her neck and Amerii shuddered when his tongue brushed her
skin.

    A second later his lips,
hands and body had broken contact with her. She opened her eyes to
see that he had moved away from her and was standing by the window,
his breathing heavy and his eyes still vivid red.

    “ Leave,” he
said in a gruff voice.

    Amerii didn’t understand.
One moment all of her fantasies had been coming true and she had
felt as though Van really did want her, and the next he was distant
and cold.

    “ Leave!” He
turned his back on her.

    His shoulders shook
violently.

    Why had he suddenly
changed? Was his hunger too strong for him to control? Perhaps she
had been wrong. Perhaps he might hurt her if the bloodlust took
hold of him and he couldn’t control it. She had thought it would be
others in danger, not her. Nerves fluttered in her stomach but she
slowly walked towards him, intent on soothing him if she could. She
had brought out this hunger in him. Maybe she could ease it and
help him.

    “ No,” she
whispered and he looked over his shoulder at her, his expression
solemn. “I don’t want to leave.”

    “ You don’t know
what you do to me,” he said, his voice so low that she barely heard
the words. She edged closer, her movements slow so she didn’t
startle him into reacting. He laughed; a self-mocking one that made
her wonder what he was thinking. “I cannot do this... I don’t... I
am not worthy and you are royalty... you... Amerii, you don’t know
how dangerous I am.”

    Amerii swallowed her fear
and stepped up to him. With a steady hand, she reached up and
touched his back. His eyes closed and he inhaled slowly.

    “ I think I
know,” she whispered in a soft tone, full of the warmth she felt
inside. “I believe that you won’t hurt me. You don’t.”

    Van frowned, his eyes
still closed, black