Night's Surrender by Amanda Ashley Page A

exclaimed, “I guess you can ride!”
    â€œI’d forgotten how much I loved it.”
    â€œIf it had been anybody else on her back, I’d have been worried sick,” Abbey remarked as she ground-tied Freckles. “But I knew if Serenity stepped in a hole and broke her fool neck, or yours, you’d walk away from the fall.”
    Laughing, Nick pulled Abbey into his arms. “Indestructible,” he remarked, nibbling her earlobe. “That’s me.”
    â€œIrresistible, too.”
    â€œYou are.” Gazing deep into her eyes, he murmured, “How did I live so long without you? I look back at all those empty years . . .” He shook his head. “But now you’re here and it’s like I’ve been reborn.”
    Abbey looked up at him, her throat thick with unshed tears. “Was it really so awful?”
    He drew her down on the grass beside him, then pulled her close to his side. “You have no idea. After Mara left me, I wandered aimlessly from place to place. I hated what I’d become and yet—I probably shouldn’t be telling you this—I loved the blood. The taste of it on my tongue, the power of it! I loved the hunt, and yet, at the same time, I hated it. For years, I was wracked with guilt for what I was, what I did to survive. After a while, I vowed never to kill again and that’s when I learned I could take what I needed from a few instead of taking it all from one.
    â€œI met other vampires as I traveled the earth. A few knew Mara personally. It seemed I wasn’t the only one she’d seduced and abandoned. Like me, they all hated her for it. Others, those who didn’t know her, were awed by the fact that she was my sire. She had a reputation, even then.” He paused, his thoughts obviously turned inward. And then he said, “Not long ago, I was determined to end my existence . . .”
    â€œNo!” Abbey couldn’t imagine why anyone, even a vampire as ancient as Nick, would seek death. Life in any form was sacred.
    â€œIronically, I was hoping to find Mara and ask her to destroy me. And then I met you.”
    Tilting her face up, he kissed her, a gentle kiss that was little more than the whisper of his lips against hers, and yet she felt it burn deep into her soul.
    â€œI love you,” he whispered. “I would never have believed I could fall in love with anyone so quickly, but I love you, Abbey. I’ll love you until the end of time.”
    With a sigh, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. It humbled her to think that he loved her so deeply. He had seen everything, been everywhere. He was a gorgeous, sexy, supernatural being who could have any woman he desired.
    And he wanted her.
    The thought that she also wanted him frightened her in ways she didn’t understand. She told herself he would never hurt her, and yet . . . what if she decided she didn’t want to spend her life with a vampire?
    What if he refused to let her go?
    What if he turned her against her will? She would hate him if that happened.
    He had said he loved her. That he had intended to end his life before he met her. That was a heavy burden to bear.
    â€œYou’re awfully quiet,” Nick remarked as they rode back toward home. “Is something wrong?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYou’re troubled by what I said earlier.”
    â€œNo. Well, yes, a little. I mean, we’ve only known each other a short time and yet, all of a sudden, things are kind of intense, what with you declaring your undying . . .” She grimaced, thinking undying was a poor choice of words. “Declaring that you’ll love me forever.”
    â€œI’m sorry I upset you. Vampires tend to be over zealous when they see something—or someone—they want.”
    â€œOh.” It wasn’t the most intelligent reply she’d ever made, but she was at a loss for words. Had all the men in her family compelled the