A Vampire To Watch Over Me [Vampire Coven Book II] by C.L. Scholey Page B

scared.”
    Laken stood up and went to her. He brushed a lock of hair from her face. His thumb trailed a line down her cheek. Honor stood still but she shivered. It was so strange to have a man touch her without hurting her; it was so nice, comforting. Honor had always wanted to be comforted and the action came so easily to Laken.
    “In your world, touching is forbidden; in my world, it’s everything. I know it frightens you—I hear your heart pounding, but I won’t hurt you.”
    Honor knew her heart wasn’t thumping wildly in her chest from fear. When he touched her she felt her belly flip-flop. Peter was her first real kiss, but it was done in malice on her part—to prove a point. There was no malice in Laken’s soothing gesture. Honor had a decision to make. She could cower at little glass figures and other strange objects, and roaming animals, or she could be the person she knew she was. She was a fighter; she had met the monster vampires and she was still alive; she had looked into the eyes of a polar bear and lived. Honor had braved the ice-clapping thunder sound. Maybe it was time she lived up to her name.
    “Show me your world. Teach me, I’ll be brave,” she whispered.
    Laken smiled.
    * * * *
    The first thing Laken wanted to teach Honor about was flight. If ever a scary situation erupted, he would need for her to be still and cling to him—not take a swing at him while in the air like a pro-boxer—she had a helluva right hook, for a human female. The sky outside was overcast and another storm was brewing, but Laken felt they had some time. There were shelters if he needed them.
    “Honor, I’m going to take you in my arms, and I want you to hang on,” Laken said.
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Fly.”
    Laken pressed her close to his chest and leaped into the air. Honor cried out. She clung to him. Her eyes squeezed closed. Laken could hear her heartbeat quicken. She was scared but not terrified. He didn’t take her far, just a little ways over the tall foliage within the perimeter of the fence.
    He could tell each time she looked down; her heart rate shot up and she clung tighter. When Laken touched ground, he let Honor slip to the forest floor. Her knees buckled for a brief moment, but she maintained her footing.
    “That—was—horrifying.” She gasped; her teeth were clacking together and Laken couldn’t help thinking she was so damned cute.
    “And yet you live.”
    “I was always told you would be surprised with what you can live through,” she muttered.
    “If ever I feel you are in danger, I will need to move quickly, and Honor, I’m a fast son of a bitch.”
    Her eyes rose in surprise. “Yes, I suppose you are.”
    “There are animals here you have never seen. Anivamps walk the compound—much like Ursus who is a hybrid animal-vampire. They won’t hurt you, but the animals over the fence will. I know it sounds strange, but you are safer with the Anivamps. Never go over the fence, it’s too dangerous. There is enough area around here to keep you occupied.”
    The sky rumbled again and a flash of lightning lit the sky. Honor jumped back into his arms. A slow grumble from the skies made her tremble harder. Laken ran his hand over her soft hair.
    “The ice cracking makes that sound; it means death, and I’ve seen it firsthand. Why do flames shoot across the sky like cruel fire waving a wicked fist?” she asked.
    “Thunder and lightning usually go hand in hand,” he explained. “It’s best to be inside during a bad storm.”
    Laken pulled her into a cave and held her when the rain began to fall in heavy sheets. He stroked her hair and her arms. She was wearing a silk blue teddy. All breeder females wore the same garment, with many colors and styles to choose from. When the clasps on the bottom were opened it meant she was breeding with two chosen human males. Honor’s were closed.
    When Honor shuddered at the booming thunder Laken sat on the dry ground in the cave and pulled