Read MIDNIGHT CONQUEST: Book 1 of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles for Free Online

indicated he didn’t think he was at fault: “Whatever I may have done…” In the fourteen months Davina and Ian had been married, she had come to notice these veiled signs meant to draw sympathy and surrender but instead indicated the truth behind the façade.
    Munro turned his piercing eyes toward Ian as he spoke. “To show you my efforts to make this right, Parlan, I will indeed do as you suggest and close my coffers to my son.” A subtle flavor of smug satisfaction touched Munro’s features as he held this position of power over his son. Davina easily recognized Ian’s body trembling with hidden rage, his fists clenched behind his back. A foreboding terror flowed over her, like the freezing water of a winter current taking her down into its murky darkness. She would surely be the object of his frustration once they were alone and back at their own, cold manor.
    Hold on to that image of strength , Davina chanted in her head, as she had done countless times before, the voice and the face of Broderick being that strength. Whenever sorrow or despair threatened to consume her and drive her mad, she focused on his flaming red hair, his broad chest and strong arms encircling her in a cocoon of safety, his full lips pressing a comforting kiss to her brow. Broderick would never treat her in the way Ian did and she found refuge in the fantasy of being the Gypsy’s wife. In that world, that realm of fantasy, Ian could not touch her, break her spirit, nor destroy her pride.
    Pivoting on his heel, Munro faced Parlan once more and gave a curt nod, drawing Davina’s attention. “A very wise counsel, indeed, and I’m ashamed I didn’t think of it sooner myself.”
    “There is more to responsibility than the managing of finances, Ian.” Parlan stood before his son-in-law, glowering down at the top of his bowed head. “Davina is a kind heart, a loving soul—”
    “All the more reason why I’m overjoyed at the union,” Munro interrupted, standing beside Ian. “She’s the sweet hand who will gentle the beast inside my son. I’m sure you have seen the wisdom in this and why you agreed to the union. Davina will succeed in wooing my son into a loving husband and father.”
    Parlan’s face grew dark and he stepped within a breath of the two men. Studying them, his eyes settled on Ian, who met his gaze. “‘Tis difficult to become a father, Ian, when you beat the vessel that contains your child.”
    Davina used the sleeve of her dress to muffle her tears of release. Loneliness had been her only companion under the brutal hands of her husband, and the unborn child she lost was more grief than she could bear. She had no idea her father knew what she had endured. Ian threatened her repeatedly, saying he only did the duty of a husband disciplining an unruly wife, and if she said anything to anyone of the constant deserved correction, she would regret it. After fighting against him proved to bring more of his dominance, she began to believe she was at fault, and indeed brought his wrath upon her. After all, many of her cousins spoke of the discipline all women must endure at the hands of their husbands, even the cruel methods their husbands chose to bed them. Why should her situation be any different?
    Ian’s inconsistent moods made her guarded at all times. One moment he displayed loving attention and whispered promises; the next he blamed her for whatever fouled his mood. Her mind spun with the torrent of various accusations and reasons for his shifting disposition. At times, Davina could hardly tell up from down and all rationalizations fell short to the chaos of her circumstances. Seeing her father come to her defense and knowing he did have eyes to see the truth, she gripped the wall to steady her legs buckling from sheer relief. She wasn’t crazy! She wasn’t at fault!
    “Hold your coffers, then, Munro. Until Ian can prove to be gentler to Davina, she’ll come back home here and the courtship will begin