She’d known vampires could do such a thing, but witnessing it was something else entirely. Then it had dawned on her that she could do such a thing now too; the realization unsettled her. A couple of weeks ago, she’d been one person, and now she was someone entirely different.
Her head bowed as she stared at her clasped hands. Who and what was she now?
Not knowing the answer to that was like plunging over a cliff, entirely terrifying yet strangely freeing. She hoped she discovered the answer before she hit bottom.
After receiving the room key from the clerk, Killean gathered a stack of brochures from a rack beside the door in the office. Those glossy prints now sat beside her on the bed.Welcome to the Green Mountainswas printed on more than a few of them, and as she flipped through the attractions, she realized they were in Vermont.
“Would you like a shower?” Killean asked.
Excitement shot through her before diminishing. “I don’t have any other clothes to put on.” And she didn’t see the point of showering only to throw her grubby dress back on.
“There are bathrobes in the closet; you can wear one of those. We’ll get new clothes tomorrow.”
The idea of wearing only a robe around him caused a blush to stain her cheeks; she’d never been so indecently dressed around a man before. However, the allure of a shower won out over her sense of modesty. Rising, she walked over to the closet, removed one of the two bathrobes within, strolled into the bathroom, and closed the door. She couldn’t wait to scrub the feel of that place off her.
She turned the water as hot as she could stand it and undressed. Looking at her soiled underclothes made her cringe. She’d have to wear the dress again, but there wasnoway she could let those filthy things touch her body again.
She tossed her underclothes into the trash and stepped beneath the pounding stream of water. She scrubbed at herself until her skin turned red and continued until it was raw. No hot water remained, yet she lingered until she couldn’t tolerate the cold anymore.
Chapter Seventeen
When she climbedfrom the shower, she felt more refreshed and cleaner, but she hadn’t succeeded in scrubbing away the memories of what the Savages did to her. With a sinking heart, she realized she would never be free of those memories, and she didn’t want to be. The hunters who remained there deserved for her to remember and to do what she could to stop it. What that was, she had no idea, but she wouldn’t let Joseph and those other bastards get away with destroying her kind.
She may not have rid herself of the memories, but at least she smelled of soap instead of the rank body odor, garbage, and mildew aroma of that place. Standing before the steam-covered mirror, she worked the tangles from her hair with her fingers before wiping away the steam to inspect herself.
Simone blinked at the image staring back at her. She hadn’t known what she expected to find in the glass, but discovering she looked the same caused her hand to tremble. She’d been through so much and she was no longer mortal, yet that was her pale skin, deep auburn hair, and though she’d been raised not to be conceited, she was aware many considered her pretty if not beautiful.
There were minor differences, such as her cheekbones were more noticeable and she’d lost some weight, but she suspected those differences were more noticeable before she fed from Killean.
Darn it, there was that blush again as the memory returned of his blood filling her mouth while she did things she’d never thought herself capable of doing to him. Refusing to delve into why she’d acted in such a way, she shoved the memory aside and turned away from the mirror. She picked up the robe, slid it on, and belted it around her waist.
She was relieved to find that, with the belt tied, the thick robe was as modest as some of her dresses. Gripping the neck, she held it close together, and after opening the door, she kept one hand on the belt while she exited the bathroom. Killean sat at the foot of the bed with his elbows on his thighs. His dark brown hair stood on end as he ran his fingers through it and tugged at the strands in a way that must be painful.
Sensing something explosive about him, Simone stopped in the doorway. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
Killean couldn’t look at her; not after he’d spent the entire time she was in the shower fantasizing about what it would be like to join her. He’d lick every bead of water from her silken flesh before dipping his head between her thighs. Killean almost groaned when his cock stiffened at the image. He hoped she hadn’t left him any hot water. Shoving himself off the bed, he walked awkwardly toward the closet.
“I’m fine,” he said. She edged out of the way when he approached, and her hand gripped the robe against her neck. He couldn’t stop himself from scowling at her. “I’m not going to attack you.”
“I… I know,” she stammered. But did she?
“I’m not going to try and see your breasts either,” he said and flicked a pointed glance at her white-knuckled grip on the robe.
“I… I…” Simone’s voice trailed off; she had no idea how to respond to him. She should apologize, it was what she did after all, but before she could get the words out, he was speaking again.
“Did they do something to you in there?” he demanded.
Joseph had told Killean the hunters remained chained almost all the time and were off limits, but was that just for him? Joseph was the one who changed her, had he violated her at the same time?
A haze of red shaded Killean’s vision at the possibility. She would never be his, but the idea of such a thing happening to her made his blood boil.Noone should ever have to endure being violated, but especially not Simone, who was practically a babe in this world. He wanted to draw her into his arms and shelter her; at the same time, he itched to tear the life from something and batter it into a million pieces.
“They did plenty to me in there,” Simone replied slowly, wary of his red eyes and the violence his tensed muscles, clenched jaw, and the throbbing vein in the center of his forehead radiated. “They chained me, they turned me into a vampire, they starved me, they—”
“Did they rape you?” he interrupted sharply. When Simone’s heartbeat skyrocketed, he realized he’d better rein in his temper; he was scaring her.
“I… uh…” Simone grappled to fit more pieces of her memory into place as she contemplated Killean’s question. She recalled Joseph forcing his blood on her and the agony of the change afterward. And when it was over, she’d woken to find herself chained with the others, but he hadn’t done anything else to her. “No, he didn’t.”
“Did anyone molest you inanyway?”
