The unconscious act of clutching his heart to hers was the most intimate gesture she’d shared with Élan since the night of the heady, reckless coupling that had ended her life.
She’d been drawn to Élan by a physical attraction that had tempted her senses to the breaking point. Though her conscience warned her against acting on those desires, she’d ignored her better judgment and slept with him. What harm could come of a toss-away affair before she married Stephen? Her fiancée would never know. She’d indulge herself in one last fling before committing to a lifetime of monogamy.
A human lifetime had seemed so long and tedious then.
Élan had nearly apologized to her, once, for turning her. Said it was an accident; that he’d been so frenzied by passion he’d lost track of the blood he’d drunk. Alyssa knew his excuse was a lie. Élan was a master of calculation and control. If he’d intended for their affair to be fleeting he would have walked her to the door by dawn.
Of all the women he’d had through the ages, he’d kept only her.
For that, she would make him suffer.
Since the night Élan had become her maker she had spurned him, taunted him, and rebuffed his advances through painful, sheer force of will. His hold on her was iron clad, but her rage at his turning her into a vampire burned just as strong. She hadn’t yet found a way to make him pay.
Alyssa had been an independent, dynamic, smart young woman at her sexual and intellectual peak when Élan had stolen the life she loved. She’d been a daughter, a sister, a friend and a lover to someone who’d cared deeply for her.
Sometimes at night, she’d sit across the street from her elderly parents’ house while they slept; wondering when they’d stopped searching for her.
Did her mother still cry over her disappearance? Had the haunted look in her father’s eyes remained?
There were times she’d give anything to hold them in her arms again and thank them for the love they’d shown her.
And Stephen? Her betrayal of him had cost her everything. If she hadn’t given-in to the temptation of a final, self-indulgent fling before marriage she’d be mortal today.
Her former lover had no way of knowing he enacted his revenge on her again and again while she watched him age gracefully with the tiny blonde woman who’d replaced her. The woman he’d married looked nothing like Alyssa—a fact that stung even today. It was as if Stephen had erased her memory with the deliberate choice of a woman as much unlike her as possible.
She clutched Élan’s heart to her breast until her fingers ached. He had stolen her life from her and she would never forgive him for that. Yet, the undeniable carnal attraction that had brought them together survived.
Alyssa relaxed her grip on the jar and stared down at its contents. Attraction or no, she’d be damned if she’d relent to Élan again.
And damned she was.
His future lay in her hands as hers had once lain in his. Though his heart would never again beat inside his chest, it contained the center of his power. His heart was his Anahata Chakra. Without it, he was powerless, and power was what Élan craved more than sex or blood or companionship.
What would he give for its return?
Alyssa’s nostrils flared with the question and she stifled a smile. Élan’s heart had been stolen the way he’d stolen her soul—violently, unawares, and without warning. Would this thievery make them even? Could she gain her freedom from his hold with an exchange?
She would savor having Élan at her mercy, forcing him to bargain and beg and cajole her into returning his center of power.
And she would…in time. Perhaps.
What would she demand in return for restoring his heart?
Her eyes lifted to the ceiling and imagined the brilliant array of stars, moon, and planets in the nighttime sky. Their glow was the only natural light a vampire could both tolerate and enjoy. She needed to be outside with them to meditate. Plan her next move.
She turned to Javier. “After the demons ravaged Élan you could have beheaded him with your silver broadsword and turned him to dust. Yet you didn’t. Why?”
Javier grazed her cheek with the back of his hand. “In the end, you would have hated me for destroying him, mon cher.”
The intensity of his gaze and the truth of his words forced her to look away.
“You’ve always held Élan’s heart, Alyssa. I took from the demons what rightfully belonged to you. We’ll find Élan’s body. With Aphrodite’s help, you can make him whole again. Only you can seal his destiny. And your own.”
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