If doing this meant they stayed the hell away from him, so be it.
I would do whatever he asked of me if it meant he stopped hurting so much.
Once both tubes sucked thick, hot blood, I backed up and balled my hands. “W-What else do I have to do?” My voice wavered a little, but I hadn’t passed out so I took that as a win.
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
He looked as if he wanted to ask why I’d suddenly become brave but the way he watched me said he knew. He correctly read my rage on his behalf and just nodded, accepting that there was something going on between us and neither of us had the guts to acknowledge it.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Just wait. The newer bags are already laced with anticoagulants. I used to have to inject it myself, but they’ve made it more efficient in recent years.”
“That’s...nice of them?”
He chuckled.
I blinked.
A new, savage kind of loyalty rose from nothing, tangling tight around my heart. Loyalty towardhim.
The bags continued to fill with dark, thick, horribly warm blood. The more they swelled, the whiter he became until his lips went a horrifying shade of blue.
Finally, when I thought my heart would hammer its way through my ribs to run, something hissed, clicked, and the computer monitor flashed with a pop-up box.
“Unhook the ports,” he commanded, his tone quieter than usual.
My hands trembled all over again as I obeyed.
“Toss the tubes into the biohazard bin.” Leaning forward, Lucien gathered his shirt and slowly shrugged it on. The urge to help him became unbearable but I locked down every emotion and did as he requested. The red stained tubes vanished into the bin, and I cringed as my eyes fell on the two bags of his blood.
He smirked, his arrogance showing even now. “Click the ‘yes’ button and attach the label that the printer will spit out.”
Feeling sick, I obeyed.
Gathering the two labels that appeared a moment later, I held them up.
I already knew what he was about to say but I hoped he’d do it. “Here.” I tried to give them to him. “I don’t think I can—”
“Stick the labels onto each bag and place them in the fridge.”
“I really can’t—”
“Do it or die.” He pushed to his feet, wobbling a little.
Instinct made me reach for him. My arm snapped around his waist.
Whisper snorted.
Lucien stiffened.
God, Rook. Have you lost your damn mind?!
Neither of us spoke and I couldn’t move away. Sheer fear orsomethingkept me glued to his side.
Finally, he cleared his throat and growled, “Hold me any longer and I’ll suspect you’re trying to get me into bed like the rest of them.”
The fact that he was the opposite to other men.
That sex to him was a threat instead of a pleasure.
