Kiss of Crimson by Samantha Coville (best love story novels in english txt) 📕

her." There was regret in her voice, and I wanted to come around the corner and wrap her in another hug. "I believe you understand her and will be good for her in many ways. And perhaps you will help me see when I am wrong. And besides, it's far too large a house for just the two of us."

A laugh slipped out from my lips, and I grabbed them to try and quiet myself.

There was a moment of silence before Arden finally replied. "I think I would like to take you up on your generous offer."

Then he shook his head.

“But only for a little while. Just until I get my feet back under me.”

She nodded. “As it should be.”

My heart fluttered. What more surprises could the day possibly hold?

It was the only thought I had time to think before footsteps alerted me that my mother and Arden were coming inside. I quickly darted away. I couldn’t risk getting caught, could I?

Epilogue - Arden

"I can't stand how mysterious you're being, Arden."

I loved the way her honeyed voice curled around the syllables and goosebumps ran along my skin as she finished on a soft, breathy exhale that, were I a lesser man, would've forced me to pull over and take a moment to compose myself.

But there'd be time enough, more than enough time to treat her like a queen.

Just not at the moment.

This had to be done now, at least while I still had the nerve.

Even though I said there'd be no more lies, only truths and nothing but the truth, a small, irritatingly persistent part of me couldn't help but wonder if I was doing the right thing.

What if she recoiled?

Don't be an idiot.

Do you really know her so little?

You know there's no way in hell Eloise would look down on you once she knows the truth.

That's not who she is.

And yet...

"Arden?" she prompted, bringing my attention back to the present and the fact that I really should focus on the road, no matter how deserted it was.

"Sorry, love," I replied, my fingertips tapping on the leather-stitched steering wheel of a silver Audi R8, a gift from Jardin that I now sincerely hoped hadn’t come with strings attached. Otherwise, I was going to have to sell it, something I was loathed to do. I loved this silvery automobile that continuously amazed me with its hi-tech machinery and purring engine.

She tucked a lock of hair behind one coral-shaped ear, glancing at me from under artfully darkened long lashes.

"Is everything okay? I know you told me to wait, but I can't help but feel curious. What ever in the world are we doing in the backwoods of Louisiana? We left Alexandria almost three hours ago and we've been on a road so bumpy I'm surprised I still have any teeth."

Three hours away from Alexandria.

Meaning we were less than half an hour away from the tiny village of Walterville.

If it still existed, that is. The last time I'd checked on the village, less than a hundred people still called the place home, and almost all of them were over the age of seventy.

I cleared my throat and sent her a quick smile that felt more like a grimace. "No worries, my dear. Only half an hour more. And unfortunately, I think the road is going to get even worse. I'll try to avoid the largest potholes."

She gave a mock sigh (at least I hoped it was a mock sigh, even I thought the road was in terrible condition and I was from here) of petulance and I sent her a wink to soften the blow. "But just in case, I would tighten your seatbelt. I'd hate for my lovely lady to lose her teeth all over this expensive dashboard."

"If I did, it'd be completely on you," she replied with a soft grin.

About fifteen minutes later, I turned left onto a path that didn't even qualify as a road since it wasn't paved and hardly qualified as a footpath either.

Of course, that made sense.

After all, the last person to walk these roads was me almost twenty years ago.

Soon, the brush became too thick to drive the car into and I loved the Audi far too much to risk getting the sides scratched to hell.

I cut the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Eloise blinked at me from her seat, the seatbelt still strapped across her midsection. "Are we here?"

"Just a little farther. I can't take the car in, but the walk won't be too bad, I promise, my love."

Ever my patient darling, she nodded and followed me as I shielded her from the most offending branches that sought to tear through our clothes and hair.

The sound of the cicadas was almost too loud and shrill to bear, with the occasional owl hoot barely audible over the bug’s high-pitched shrieking.

I felt Eloise's hand on my back as she used her cell phone to light our way. I didn't need the light, vampires could see quite well in semi-darkness, but her human eyes were having problems trying to navigate through this thick, forest labyrinth.

Finally, we came to a small clearing; the grass had gone yellow and hard, poking up through the dry earth like finger bones.

I paused in front of the tiny hovel that had once haunted my nightmares and tantalized my dreams for the last hundred years.

Strange.

I looked at the crumbling structure, the porch all but having sunk into the earth, the railings covered in various dark vines, the empty doorway beckoning to us as we stopped in front of the three stairs onto the porch that was now just a mass of broken, rotted wood.

Eloise's hand clenched on my upper arm, a small sound rising from her throat. "Wha—what is this, Arden?"

I pressed a finger across my lips. "All will be revealed shortly, my love."

I slid her hand down to mine and clenched it tight. "Come. There is something else I would like to show you."

She nodded, her hair a dark spirit under