When Darkness Ends by Alexandra Ivy Page A

vying for more power?
    Now she found herself incapable of resisting the urge to probe for information on her aggravating host.
    â€œWhat reputation?” she at last demanded.
    â€œHe is a fierce warrior, naturally,” Levet said, his tail aimlessly twirling around his clawed feet. “Berserkers are always dangerous savages.”
    Fallon frowned. She didn’t need anyone to tell her that Cyn was a lethal enemy.
    â€œIs that all?”
    â€œ Non .” Levet waved a hand to indicate the vast medieval palace that served as Cyn’s lair. “He is also a notorious hedonist who takes great pleasure in indulging his senses. His parties are legendary throughout Europe.”
    Fallon released her breath as a low hiss.
    She’d already suspected the truth. No man could be so gorgeous and possess such irresistible charm without attracting hordes of women.
    And he wasn’t the sort of vampire to say “no” to a night of fun.
    â€œI knew it,” she muttered.
    â€œKnew what?”
    â€œHe’s what you would call a player, isn’t he?”
    Levet’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Does that trouble you?”
    Did it?
    Hell, yeah.
    And she didn’t know why. Okay, she was attracted to him.
    Indecently, compulsively, unexplainably attracted.
    But it wasn’t like she was going to give in to her desires.
    Was she?
    She wrapped her arms around her waist, telling herself that the small shiver was caused by the nip in the air, not the image she had of being spread across his bed while Cyn gently peeled off her robe, his fangs pressed against the vulnerable flesh of her throat.
    A hot flash seared away any hint of a chill, sending a rush of color to her cheeks.
    â€œNot as long as he realizes he can’t play me,” she forced herself to snap, acutely aware of the gargoyle’s gaze that saw too much.
    â€œFew women can resist the allure of a vampire,” Levet said, heaving a deep sigh. “It is a baffling mystery of nature, like rainbows and unicorns and the breakup of the Backstreet Boys.” He shook his head. “Unexplainable.”
    â€œChatri females prefer men who are cultured, intellectual companions, not heathens,” she lied with perfect composure.
    â€œIs that right, princess?” a dark male voice drawled from behind her.
    Oh . . . crap.
    Slowly turning, Fallon watched as Cyn stalked toward her, holding two large bags.
    He looked delectable in a pair of casual jeans that hung low on his hips and a cream cable-knit sweater that did nothing to disguise the massive width of his shoulders. The casual style should have made him seem less intimidating. Instead it only emphasized his lethal power and the impossible beauty of his fiercely male features.
    But it wasn’t just his undeniably gorgeous face and large body that made her heart slam against her ribs.
    Halting just a few feet from her, the clan chief seemed to suck the air from the hallway, commanding attention by the sheer force of his presence.
    A purebred male in the finest sense of the word.
    She sternly squashed the urge to flutter like a damned dew fairy. She was a royal princess.
    She didn’t flutter.
    At least not visibly.
    â€œI thought you were entertaining a guest,” she said, proud of her cool, aloof tone.
    His gaze focused on the pulse that pounded at the base of her throat. “You seem fixated with who I might or might not be entertaining.”
    She tilted her chin. “My only interest is in completing my task for Siljar so I can leave here.”
    â€œAnd go where?” He stepped forward, his aggression suddenly prickling in the air. “Back to your fairy prince?”
    She frowned. He almost sounded . . . jealous.
    Which was totally ridiculous.
    Her lips parted, but she found herself unable to speak beneath the intensity of his jade gaze.
    Logic told her that she would eventually have to return to her homeland and fulfill the marriage