Free On My Knees by Ciana Stone Page A

them in the name of the general welfare and pretty much turn them into lab rats.
    "Okay, so maybe we humans aren't exactly perfect, but in time you could help Augustus."
    "Yes, in time."
    She thought about it. "So, can I ask you something?"
    "Yes."
    "How did you become a Vampire?"
    "I was born Vampire."
    "Really? Vampires can have children? But I thought you said you could make a Vampire? I mean, are you alive as in alive like me or are you…"
    "Part of the undead?"
    "Well, yeah."
    "No Vampires are not undead. Even when we make a Vampire it does not require true death."
    "So the stories of the undead are just that? Stories?"
    "Yes."
    "This is … this is incredible. You know my book was about a Vampire, right?"
    "Yes, I read it."
    "You did?"
    "Yes."
    "Okay, I'm almost afraid to ask but what did you think?"
    "I like the love that develops between the Vampire and the human woman, the depth of emotion they share and the risks they are willing to take to be together."
    Layla felt a bit flattered and a lot surprised. "So, that means that at heart you're a romantic."
    "No."
    "No?"
    "No. I wanted to be but until now I was not."
    "Until now?"
    "Until you."
    All of the questions assailing her mind vanished at his words. He smiled and pulled her down into his arms. When their lips met, all other thought fled. Right or wrong, real or fantasy, she wanted him more than she'd ever wanted anything and she didn't have the strength to fight the desire.
    This was the stuff of dreams, her dreams, and there was nothing in the world that could stop her from making love with him.
     
    *****
    Augustus watched her sleeping. They'd made love half the night and it had taken the remainder of the night for him to ease the torment in her mind over what she'd suffered at Madeline's hand.
    Layla didn't realize that he'd used his abilities to heal her in more than a physical way. He suspected she would view that as a type of control and one thing he'd learned about her was that she balked at any type of control.
    She had a great need to be in charge of her own life and he respected that. Despite her youth, she was quite remarkable. He'd never known a woman capable of the level of passion that came naturally to her.
    Even now he could taste her, feel the lingering tingle of her touch on his skin and echoes of her orgasms in his mind. He felt a bit foolish. After having lived so long to have just now discovered this type of passion and desire made him feel like a young man just starting a journey.
    Perhaps he was. A Vampire's lifespan was measured in centuries rather than years. He'd known Vampires who'd died, killed by humans or catastrophic events, but it was a rarity.
    Could that be the reason there were so few of his kind? Nature was far superior to man in many ways. Through Nature, a balance was achieved. There might be moments of imbalance but left to Nature, the world righted itself. Were there too many of his kind, there would not be sustenance enough to sustain them. Perhaps Nature's wisdom kept that from happening. It was humans and perhaps his kind as well that disrupted the delicate balance.
    Augustus shoved aside those thoughts as he felt her waken.
    Layla opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Yes."
    "Yes?"
    "To staying for one month. Not to the other."
    He had not expected her to accept. While making love he'd bitten her. He could see the two nearly healed wounds on her right breast. She'd allowed it. Once.
    Augustus had asked her to allow him to turn her. She would be virtually immortal, possessed of great strength and immune to disease and old age.
    She'd said it was not a decision to make while distracted and now she wanted more of the distraction he so talentedly delivered. He had to admit that it was a masterful way of evading – stroking his male ego.
    "You may change your mind. In time."
    "No."
    "You can't know—"
    "Augustus." She lifted one hand to stroke the side of his face. "I may be young in comparison to you but I know who I am.