But weakness had mattered little when Layel turned his face away to avoid her kiss. Not in pain when her body was abused beyond recognition, not in sadness when she buried several of her sisters after battle, not in shame when Vorik left her. Her first tutor had beaten her for those tears.

She had shed tears only once in her life: the day her mother sent her away to begin training as a warrior. Once again she would be nothing more than a pleasurable encounter, easily forgotten. He would walk away afterward without a backward glance. For once she would be the prize and not the conqueror. Would know him as intimately as a woman could know a man, allowing him inside her body, perhaps her soul. She was going to be with the man who'd captured her interest. Would have killed for this moment with Layel, harshly and without remorse.

She wanted this more than she'd ever wanted anything. For in an impossible game of the gods’ devising, they’ve been trapped on an island, about to face the ultimate challenge: surrender to the passion that will bind them forever.or be doomed to an eternity apart.A THOUSAND EMOTIONS SEEMED to swirl through Delilah - excitement, joy, sorrow, tenderness, passion, anger, regret, confusion, even the nervousness she'd told Layel she didn't feel. Neither trusts the other – nor can they survive alone. Yet there’s no denying their consuming desire every time he nears her. Wary of love, the beautiful Amazon wants nothing to do with the tormented vampire. But since a rogue horde of dragons killed his beloved over two centuries ago, Layel has existed only for vengeance.until he meets Delilah. He is Layel, king of the vampires, a master seducer no woman can deny. Because there’s one thing Shaye doesn’t know: that when a nymph discovers his true mate, she’s his for life. Now Valerian must fight for the privilege of claiming her as his own. For underneath the warrior’s arrogant beauty lies a complex and powerful man. The cynical Shaye wants nothing to do with the mighty warlord, but she’s inexplicably drawn to him. None can resist his blatant sensuality and potent allure – until he steals Shaye Holling from a Florida beach and holds her prisoner in his underwater kingdom. Females young and old, beautiful and plain crave Valerian’s touch.

The Vampire's Bride by Gena Showalter