Her Devoted Vampire by Siobhan Muir

his approach
blocked her path to the bed as his scent filled her nose. She didn’t need to
open her eyes to know he’d stopped in front of her close enough to touch.
    “I don’t
really understand what is going on and why all this is happening,” she
whispered as her fear and confusion overwhelmed her. “None of this makes any
sense to me.” And she started to cry.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    Bloody hell, please don’t cry!
    Fredrick’s
heart bled with her tears, and before he thought about it, he’d gathered her
into his arms. He tried to tell himself it was just to comfort his Avatar, but
deep down he knew it was more. He’d watched her for months, slowly falling in
love with the red-headed woman who watered her plants with such loving
attention and read romance novels while she sipped coffee. He’d dreamed of
holding her, and the first taste of reality when she’d stroked his chest had
been better than any dream.
    Every
time he touched her, the electricity of their connection vibrated through his
body, reminding him of his duty and his desire to offer her pleasure and
comfort. Goddess above, he could take her right now, but he had no wish to
drive her away with his lust. He had to sternly remind his body it had to stay
calm. That was almost more difficult than watching her cry.
    When she
relaxed into his embrace, his heart danced a hopeful jig. She smelled like the
sour scent of rotting vegetation, and she shook against his chest. Her fear
screamed at him from the tension of her shoulders, but he didn’t know if it
stemmed from him or her legacy. He was one of the monsters she’d been taught to
fear since childhood. Bram Stoker had painted a dismal picture of the men and
women unfortunate enough to receive the genetic code allowing them to live
after death.
    “I’ve
got you. I’m here, Bridget. I’ll always be here from now on.”
    Her
breath hitched, and more tears soaked the front of his shirt. “You’ve said that
before.”
    “I
have?”
    “Yeah,
in my dream. At least, I think it was a dream.”
    “You’ve
dreamed about me?” Giddy delight uncurled within him.
    She
nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest, and he suddenly wished he’d left
his shirt off.
    “What
was I doing in this dream?”
    “You came
to rescue me.”
    “Did I
now?” Pride swelled his chest, but he resisted the urge to push it out. “Perhaps
now you can believe I’d do that in your waking life as well as in your dreams.”
    It was
the wrong thing to say. He felt her withdraw from him as soon as the words left
his mouth, and he mentally smacked his forehead. Her scent changed from rotting
vegetation to the smell of the land drying after flood waters recede. She
finally pushed herself back from him and rubbed her face with her hands.
    Fredrick
missed her soft body against his immediately.
    “Bridget.”
    She held
up one hand to forestall him.
    “I need
to think about this. Is there any way I can go outside and walk in the fresh
air? I think better when I’m walking.”
    He
glanced at the window. The clouds had cleared, and the nearly full moon blazed
white against an inky black curtain of stars. It provided enough light to see the
contours of the land around the house and the shimmer of the river through the
bare trees. The idea of her outside alone made his gut clench, and he had to
force his hands to relax from involuntary fists.
    With that much light, Cynthia and her wolves will have
no trouble seeing her. Bridget will be fine if she says on the estate.
    “Of
course, but stay on the grounds so that Cynthia or I can get to you if you
should need us.”
    “I
will,” she said so softly only his vampire hearing picked it up. “I won’t run again.”
    Fredrick
felt chagrin settle into his chest. “That was for your protection.”
    “I know.
Because there’s danger around me.”
    “I realize
it doesn’t make sense to you, but I’ve learned to listen to my instincts. They’re
screaming for me to protect you.”