“Of course I will. I’ll introduce myself once I’ve cleaned up.”

“Thank you, and one more thing…” Byron walked over to her and ran her fingers over Katie’s hair. “I won’t feed from you again.” She looked Katie directly in her eyes, and tried to convey her feelings clearly. Katie’s looks and her gentle, caring spirit were too reminiscent of the woman who burned in her blood, and therefore too dangerous. “I hope you understand.”

Katie gave her a sympathetic nod. “I understand completely, Principe.”

When she left, Byron hurried into her private bathroom. She wet a washcloth and began to clean the blood from her lips and chin. Byron stopped and gazed at her bloody appearance. She could only imagine how horrified Amelia would be to see her like this. Would she see a monster?

The unnerving thing was, even though she had taken too much blood, it still wasn’t enough. It had calmed her, but the hunger remained. She remembered her mother telling her about the intense hunger a vampire felt for another when they fell in love, as her mother had with her father. Sharing blood with a lover was a loving, intimate act. The most intimate act a vampire could share with another.

But then, Amelia would never want to taste her.

Was that where her unquenchable hunger was coming from?

Byron threw the towel into the sink, lowered her head, and let out a sigh. When she looked back up at herself in the mirror, she heard one question in her mind.

Was she in love? She had never, ever allowed herself before. There was only one other woman who had come close. Rose, the one woman who had understood her and tried to convince her there would be someone who would give her heart no option but to love.

Deep down inside Byron felt that someone was Amelia Honey.

Chapter Five

Amelia looked around her large, richly furnished bedroom, and suddenly felt quite lonely. The room was more than comfortable. A four-poster bed dominated the space, and French doors opened out onto a balcony where there were a table and chairs. At the other side of the room was the most sumptuous marble bathroom, with a walk-in wardrobe and dressing room. Her little flat back in London could probably fit into this bedroom.

So why did she feel alone and out of place? When her luggage was delivered, a young footman informed her someone would be along to put away her things, and then the door was shut and the lonely feeling set in. It was only when she was alone that she wondered why she and Byron were not sharing a bedroom. They did when she stayed at Byron’s London penthouse suite, but now spending time together on holiday, they weren’t.

Amelia sighed and told herself to stop being so needy.

There was a knock at the door, and Amelia opened it to one of Byron’s staff.

“Hi, I’m Katie. Byron asked me to help you settle in.”