Blood Oath Read Online Free

think Valdemeer loved you as much he could…he
held great affection for you, m’lady.” He winced at how insensitive that
sounded. “I mean, with Madra—”
    “Shh, dear boy, I know what you mean.” A
faint smile crossed Katrine’s lips. “He could never love me as much as he loved
her, but he loved me well enough. If only…” She blinked, and her eyes cleared.
“I am entrusting my daughter to you. I invoke you to uphold your vow to protect
her.”
    “With my life,” he said solemnly.
    Her lips trembled, and she took a moment to
speak. “More than that, I implore you to treat her well and love her.”
    “With all my heart.” Demi’s eyes didn’t
shift from her gaze, and he allowed a hint of his emotions to show.
    Katrine
nodded, apparently satisfied.

 

     

     

    Chapter 3
     
    Despite the luxurious seating in first
class, Anca’s legs hurt from being on the plane for nearly two days. As soon as
they were inside the terminal at Kogalniceanu Airport in Constanta, she set
down her carryon and stretched. The muscles in her back loosened gradually, and
her legs stopped cramping.
    As she twisted her neck, Anca looked in
Demi’s direction and discovered his gaze rested on her breasts. She froze,
waiting for a reaction. He didn’t seem to realize she had caught him yet, and
his eyes remained focused on her nipples, poking through her white shirt. The thin
cotton clearly revealed the outline of her lacy bra, and his eyes didn’t
deviate from the sight.
    Experimentally, she thrust forward her
chest, under the guise of stretching her back again. His eyes widened, and he
stiffened. Abruptly, his gaze moved from her chest to her face. His expression
was inscrutable.
    Anca hastily broke eye contact and bent down
to lift her case, wondering at her impulse to tempt him. Why was a reaction
from him so important? She sighed quietly as she followed him through the busy
terminal to the luggage carousel. Perhaps she wanted to ensure the attraction
she felt for him wasn’t one-sided.
    After claiming her luggage, they negotiated
their way through the terminal. Anca was surprised at the variety of people
mingling. There were men and women dressed professionally walking side-by-side
with others who looked as though they could have stepped from a book on the
history of fashion.
    As soon as they stepped through the doors
and into the sunlight, Anca blinked. The brightness of the afternoon light hurt
her eyes, but it was a welcome respite from the dim interiors of the planes and
lounges they had passed through in the past day-and-a-half. When her eyes
adjusted, she glanced at Demi.
    He was blinking rapidly, and he had averted
his face down toward the sidewalk. He slipped sunglasses from the pocket of his
suit jacket. Once they were in place, he lifted his head again. “My eyes are
sensitive.”
    “I see.”
    “Are you hungry?”
    Anca nodded.
    Demi glanced at his watch. “We’ll be at Gara
Constanta soon enough.”
    “What’s Gara Constanta?”
    Before answering, Demi lifted his arm to
catch the attention of a driver at the curb. “The train station.”
    She frowned. “How far away is Corsova?”
    “The border is about 160 kilometers away.
It’s another 40 to the capitol, where we’ll get off the train. Beyond that,
Castle Draganescu is another 30 kilometers.”
    Anca’s brow furrowed as she tried to
remember metric conversions. “Um, that’s about 175 miles, isn’t it?”
    “More like 140,” he said as they walked
toward the cab. The driver had exited his car and opened the trunk for them as
they neared. Demi placed his small bag in first, then her two suitcases he had
insisted on carrying.
    Anca put her carryon in with the rest of the
bags and walked around to the back of the cab. She was conscious of Demi’s
proximity as she opened the door and slipped inside. Within seconds, he sat
next to her, with his thigh pressed against hers. Was it because the seat of
the Mini was small, or did he enjoy touching