“Stubborn vampires are a pain,” she claimed.

“That’s right, chérie, but you know what’s even worse?” He paused briefly. “A vampire in love. Because when he gets something into his head, there’s no stopping him.”

“In love?”

“Yes, chérie,” he whispered, “I love you.”

Amaury took in the hitched breath she released and brushed his lips against hers. “Now, are you ready for that apology I owe you?”

“Kiss first, talk later.”

“If I start kissing you, I’ll never get to talking. And besides, shouldn’t you still be mad at me?” He gave her a curious look. Would he ever figure out what was truly going on inside her pretty little head?

“It’s kind of hard to be mad at the man who just saved your life without any regard for his own. And it’s even harder to stay pissed off with you, knowing the kind of power you gave me over you.”

She could only have found out from one person. “Delilah told you that?”

“Yes, she and I had time to talk. So tell me, why would he do such a stupid thing?”

“What stupid thing?”

“Bonding me without my permission, without knowing whether I would stay with you.”

Amaury swallowed away the lump in his throat. Yes, he’d given her power over him, made himself vulnerable, yet he didn’t feel weak. “That night, I realized I needed you. For the first time since I became a vampire, I felt something. I wasn’t prepared to give up this feeling of finally being complete. And tonight, when you stood up on that platform a minute away from dying, I knew a life without you wouldn’t be worth living. Nina, I love you.” He closed his eyes for a second, knowing he had to offer her a way out. “But if you don’t feel the same for me, I will let you go.”

***

Amaury loved her. Her crazy, stubborn, big vampire loved her. Yet was prepared to give her her freedom. Loved her? But, he couldn’t, could he?

“But you said you weren’t capable of love.”

He smiled. “That’s just it, I wasn’t. And then you came along. I was told by a witch that there was one way to reverse the curse. At first I didn’t believe her, but then she proved me wrong. You proved all of us wrong.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me that the object of my affections had to be a forgiving heart. That could only be you—you forgave not only me for what I’d done in my past, but also Luther.”

Nina smiled. “Without forgiveness life stops in its tracks. It was time for you to move on.”

Amaury gave her a soft kiss on her lips. “I know that now. You’ve helped me see that. But it wasn’t the only thing that the witch said. My control over you had to be ineffective. Remember? Mind control didn’t work on you.”

“You mean when you tried to get me to untie you?”

“That’s right – and let’s not try this again, at least not with silver. Other materials, I’m open to …” The hungry look he raked over her made her shiver with pleasure. “And I still don’t know how you were able to do that.”

“You mean push you out of my mind?” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m stronger than you.”

He grinned. “I can live with that.”

“So can I.”

“But the last thing she said was that your love had to be unknown. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I think I do now. I could never read your emotions, which meant I didn’t know whether you loved me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what she meant. A love unknown? It was me: I didn’t know I loved you until I almost lost you. My love was unknown to myself.” Not anymore.

“And now?”

Nina brushed a strand of hair out of his face. “I love you. Is the entire curse reversed now?”

“Ever since we bonded, my head has been clear. I haven’t sensed a single emotion from anybody, except—”

“Except?”

“I’m starting to sense you. I could sense you right after the bonding, but then it vanished. I should have been able to feel you continuously, but I didn’t.”

“It might have something to do with the fact I was resisting it. When Delilah told me about the bonding, I was a tad angry with you for not asking me and tried to block out everything about you.”

“A tad angry? I don’t think I want to be around when you get really pissed.” Amaury stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “I’m sorry, Nina. Believe me. I wanted you so much, my heart just took over. I thought I saw in you that you wanted me too, but I know it was wrong. I should have given you a choice.”