Free HerVampireLover by Anastasia Maltezos Page B

around her waist. “I want to show you my favorite spot in New York City.” He sailed through the air with her, landing on every rooftop, until she could see it.
    The Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor.
    Cat squeezed her eyes shut as they flew over the Hudson River and landed in between the crook of the statue’s raised arm and neck. Tobias settled back comfortably and gathered her close on his lap, her back against his strong chest.
    “Open your eyes,” he said quietly.
    Slowly, Cat did and looked around her in awe. The city was beautiful at night with all the lights, the stars framing it, the sparkling water surrounding it. And it was quiet. She could hear the distant sounds of the city, but they were faint, like a whisper of a song filtering through the night.
    “It’s…it’s beautiful,” she said breathily.
    “I come here often when I feel lonely. Up here, I feel surrounded by every single person in the city. I can’t see them, but I know they’re there and I don’t feel so alone.”
    “Mm,” she replied, leaning her head back. The cool air was soothing on her skin and his body was even nicer beneath hers. Comfort and security flowed through her veins, dissolving her earlier hysteria.
    He kissed her neck. Cat sighed. She loved being this close to him. With his arms around her, his breath on her neck, his heart beating beneath her.
    It would be dawn soon and the star-filled sky would glow with a rosy hue heralding the sun’s imminent appearance, signaling their departure. She didn’t want this moment to end.
    He gathered her closer to him. “A long time ago, I was obsessed with finding a cure for what I’d become.”
    “Is there a cure?”
    “No, and I’m happy there isn’t. I would have never found you if there were.”
    She nestled deeper on his chest. “I’m glad, too.”
    “You are?”
    “Yes.”
    “Do you now believe you are the reincarnation of Seraphina?”
    Cat stared at the dark, glistening water. “I’m not as opposed to the idea.” She was still afraid to admit it aloud.
    “Does that mean you will stay with me?”
    She sighed, struggling to make sense of her emotions. “I’m scared, Tobias. I’m a vampire now, and you’re the only person on earth who can help me get accustomed to my new life.”
    “I see.”
    She felt him tense beneath and she regretted her words. She knew she’d disappointed him, hurt him. He had expected her to tell him she wanted to stay with him because she loved him, but she couldn’t—not yet. She was petrified of opening her heart to him. She’d opened her heart before and it shattered.
    “I will never hurt you, Cat.”
    She tensed. “Did you just read my mind?”
    “I wanted to, but I didn’t. I know you’re afraid of love. I know that other man hurt you, but you must realize I’m not that man. I’m a man who’s loved you for three hundred years.”
    She felt the back of her eyes sting. “I know.” She wondered how he’d lived, how he’d survived for three hundred years, alone. She stared at the city lights and thought about all the lives going on around her, oblivious of the two vampires sitting atop the Stature of Liberty.
    “Tobias, how did you survive all these centuries? I mean, what did you do?”
    “For a living?”
    She turned her head slightly and nodded, interested in his response.
    He sighed heavily. “Well, in my case, it would be livings . Plural. At first it was tough. I had to find jobs where I could work evenings or make my own schedule and work during the day when it was overcast or raining. I stayed in London for a long time, and then I moved to the States and settled in places like Seattle where sunshine isn’t prone to long stretches. At the beginning, I worked as a carpenter and then a blacksmith. With the turn of the industrial revolution, I had more resources at my hands. I worked evening shifts as a foreman in numerous plants and eventually fell into managing them. By this time, I had accumulated