In a flash he grabbed both my wrists in one hand and pulled me closer to him. The stake came up to graze my chest.
“Are you truly lost to me?” he said, the strain now evident on his face.
I tried to pull away from him, but he was strong. I don’t think I ever realized just how strong Thierry was before.
“Let go of me, you son of a bitch,” I snarled through clenched teeth. “Or kill me. One or the other. Make your choice.”
His expression darkened. “I’m deciding.”
I managed a smile at that. “Right. Of course. Let me think back to earlier today. I think I asked you to slap me and you couldn’t. If you couldn’t do that, then how could you stake me?”
“I can stake you if I have to,” he growled. “And I will. I was instrumental in ending the last wave of nightwalkers that existed. I know very well the danger they represent.”
“Blah blah blah. So, what happens after you stake me? Will the world go back to normal?”
“I won’t know. You said to me once that if you couldn’t live with me, you’d rather not live without me. Well, I feel exactly the same way about you.”
“So sentimental.” I said it snarkily, but my throat felt suddenly very thick. “Who knew?”
His black eyes narrowed. “Would you hesitate to stake me if you held this weapon in your hand right now?”
“Not for a moment.”
All remaining hope left his eyes as I uttered that flat statement. “I see.”
I gasped as I felt the sharp tip of the stake jab against my chest over my currently unbeating heart. He was going to do it.
“Je t’aimerai toujours,” he said. I’d never heard him speak French before.
“What?”
He pulled the stake away from me for a moment. I figured it was to get some velocity.
After all, it takes a lot of upper body strength to properly pierce a rib cage.
I tried to prepare myself. I’d wanted this, I’d asked for this—hell I’d begged for it.
Be careful what you wish for: part two.
The very next moment, Thierry crushed his mouth against mine. It was the last thing I’d expected. His tongue swept against mine in a kiss that nearly hurt.
Way different from being staked. And way, way better.
I blinked rapidly when he finally pulled away. My head swam.
“Was that a good-bye kiss?” I asked shakily.
He swallowed. “You were right. I can’t stake you, Sarah. No matter the consequences.”
“Wish I could say the same.” I clutched the stake I’d snatched away from him during our impromptu make-out session and sliced it into his chest.
T hierry clutched at the stake and staggered back from me a few steps before he fell to the ground. He looked very shocked.
Couldn’t say I blamed him.
“Sarah,” Gideon growled as he finally dragged himself back up next to me again. He looked down at Thierry. “You killed him.”
Thierry continued to gasp for breath.
“No,” I said. “I staked him, like I told him I would. There’s a difference.”
“You missed his heart?”
“If I hadn’t, he’d be a sullen, moody puddle right now, wouldn’t he?”
Gideon’s jaw clenched. “Why didn’t you finish him?”
I shrugged.
Gideon cast a dark look over at Steven. “What am I paying you for, boy? A little assistance or a warning might have been nice.”
I tried to pay attention, but I was dealing with a rather intense inner battle at the moment.
I could have killed Thierry, but I didn’t. Something stopped me.
When he kissed me it worked a bit like a slap, helping the other side of me gain much-
needed strength.
He loves me. He wouldn’t kill me.
Maybe he should have.
“Drink more, then,” I heard Steven say. “If you want to.”
“Give me everything,” Gideon commanded. “I want her power. I want her strength.
Everything.”
“Understood.”
“What are you—?” I began, but then felt Gideon’s sharp fangs sink into my throat.
His fangs? He had fangs already? How was that even possible? Fledglings don’t develop fangs for a long time after they’re sired. I got mine quicker than normal only because I’d been on a fairly steady diet of master vampire blood from the beginning.
But Gideon wasn’t a typical fledgling.