“Did he rape you?” Luther ground out through clenched teeth.

“No.” She scoffed. “He couldn’t get it up. He was impotent.” She searched Luther’s eyes. “It was the root of his obsession. He thought if he had me, his problem would go away. I had a certain reputation in Hollywood. They called me the modern day Mae West.” She shook her head, a smile forming on her lips. “It was all just an image. The studio wanted me to be a sex symbol, to hit the tabloids with lover after lover. It sold movie tickets. Everything in Hollywood was just for show. A big illusion. A person said or did one thing, but when you looked behind the façade, you saw something different altogether. It was one big stage. One big illusion.” She sighed. “In reality, most of the men the paparazzi photographed me with were hired by the studio to play my lovers. I had few boyfriends. But just like everybody else, my assistant believed in the image I portrayed. He became convinced that if he had me, he’d be cured.”

“What did he do to you?” Luther gritted. The tips of his fangs were showing now, and the rim of his irises shimmered golden.

“He kept me locked up. When he realized that he wasn’t able to rape me, he decided to hurt me instead. To take his anger out on me, he used a knife…”

“Oh God, Katie.” Luther threw his head back, growling.

“Haven found me. He traced my cell phone. He was able to heal me with his blood. I was lucky, there were no scars. Nobody would ever find out.”

Luther drew her against his chest. “Oh Katie, I’m so sorry for what happened to you.” He took a deep breath. “You think he’s come back to finish what he started. You think it’s Forrester?”

“No. It can’t be him. The man who’d kidnapped me was human. Haven killed him. Ripped him to shreds in front of me and buried his body in the woods. He’ll never come back.” She sighed. “And even though I know that, even though I’ve seen it with my own eyes, the fear never truly left me. I turned my back on Hollywood and my career, thinking if I left that life, I would feel safe again. But I didn’t. Not until I met you.” She reached for his face, cupping his cheek. “That’s why Haven agreed to let you stay. He knows how much I need this. I know it’s just for a little while, but when I’m around you, that darkness that’s always hovering over me, it retreats. You’re chasing away my demons.”

Luther took her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss into her palm. “I’m so sorry, baby. I wish you would have never had to experience such horror.”

She turned fully and slung her arms around him. He’d called her baby. Just like he’d done when he’d taken her in the bathroom. But this time it was different. Not spoken in the heat of passion, but meant as a true sign of endearment.

“Will you stay with me, until all this is over? Until Forrester is taken out and Isabelle is back? Just until then. That’s all I’m asking. After that, I think I’ll be strong enough to finally put all this behind me.”

He nodded slowly, his expression serious. “I’ll be here for you.”

“Thank you.” She pulled his head down to her and offered her lips to him.

34

Luther looked into Katie’s eyes and saw hope flicker in them. How could he refuse her anything now? She’d been through so much and yet asked for so little. The vampire in him still seethed with rage and wanted to hurt the man who’d caused her so much pain. But he pushed the beast back. What Katie needed now was tenderness. He still remembered what tenderness felt like, despite the long years without it. He knew he was still capable of it.

It felt strange at first to kiss her softly, to mould his lips to hers and not make any demands. To allow her to take the lead and give her liberty to take from him what she needed. To set his own needs aside and only respond to hers. Her need for tenderness and protection.

He held her in his arms like in a protective cocoon, cradling her to his body, keeping her safe. When her lips parted on a sigh, he took his time to explore her. Slowly and carefully, he licked his tongue against hers, waiting for her to ask for more.

Then he drew his head back by an inch. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want to feel you inside me again,” she murmured.

“Are you sure? If you just need to be held, I’ll hold you. I don’t need anything in return.”

She brushed her fingers over his cheek, her lips tilting upward into the beginnings of a smile. “Don’t tell me this big bad vampire is suddenly going all soft on me.”