Free Vampire's Thirst (The Awakening Series) by Cynthia Garner

effects it has had on our realm.”
    “Just what effects are you talking about?”
    “We don’t have zombies, thank the Makers, but we are losing magic. It’s as if the Unseen is sucking it up like a sponge. Our best philosophers have determined it is using our magic to continue to fuel the apocalypse here. If we can stop the zombies in the human realm, our realm will also be saved. That’s our greatest hope, anyway.” He reached out and took her hands in his. “I would have come back sooner if my people hadn’t been in such danger, Natalie. You must believe me.”
    At his words, much of her anger retreated. She swallowed. “Why?” she asked in a whisper. “Why would you have come back? To help protect Kimber?” As far as she knew, that was the only reason he’d stayed to begin with. Other than tease her with sexual innuendos, especially about his mighty sword, he’d never really showed a lot of interest in her until right before he’d left. And then he’d left anyway. Oh, she realized it was necessary. He had to help his people. It just wasn’t fair.
    “For you, grá mo chroí. I would have come back for you. Kimber is merely my friend.”
    She stared down at their joined hands, then looked into his face. Sincerity blazed from his eyes. Her pulse skittered. “What does that mean, grá mo chroí ?”
    “Love of my heart.” He let go of her hands and cupped her face. “You are my heart, Natalie. The reason it beats, the reason I draw breath.”
    “You have a funny way of showing it.” She drew away from him and stood, putting distance between them. She couldn’t think when he touched her. “You kissed me like you thought you’d never see me again. You can’t sit there and tell me you planned on coming back when you left the last time and expect me to believe it. If it weren’t for the problem with the Unseen in your realm, you wouldn’t be here now. At least admit that much.”
    Or was she just being a selfish, frustrated bitch?
    He stood, too, but didn’t come any nearer. “I won’t lie to you. At the time I was leaving, I thought I would never leave the fey realm again. I thought I would go home and be able to forget about you. Get on with my life. Find a nice fey girl to fall in love with.”
    She narrowed her eyes. This she didn’t want to hear. At all. “You’re such a jackass.”
    He ignored that. “But as time went by, I realized I wasn’t forgetting you. You had worked your way under my skin, into my heart, and you weren’t budging. I had no life if you weren’t in it. There weren’t any fey girls to fall in love with, because I had no more love to give. It’s all yours.”
    Her heart thumped a staccato beat against her ribs and thrummed wildly in her throat. Dare she believe him? “Those are some awfully pretty words, Aodhán.” From an awfully pretty man. She shook her head. “I’m afraid to believe you,” she finally whispered what was in her heart.
    “I know, mo chroí. I’m sorry for that, and I mean to prove you can believe what I say. That you can believe in me. ” He came closer then and drew her into his arms. “There is a human saying that actions speak louder than words. If you have trouble with what I say, then believe this.”
    He slanted his mouth over hers, lips coaxing her to open. When she parted on a gasp, his tongue surged in. One big hand wrapped around her nape, holding her head where he wanted it, and the other grasped her hip to pull her lower body closer. The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her belly with only a few layers of clothing separating them. It was just like that last kiss all over again.
    With a low moan, Natalie twisted away from him. She blinked back tears. “No! You can’t just waltz in here and kiss me, then expect me to fall into your arms. You hurt me,” she yelled. “You kissed me, like you just did, and then you left.”
    He held himself stiffly. “I had an obligation to my people,” he said.
    “I understand