The warm trail of her blood slid over herskin, down her back, and onto his hands when he pulled away fromher. “Stay with me, Paige,” he whispered in her ear.
She thought she told him she would neverleave him, but she couldn’t be sure her mouth opened. A ringingbegan in her ears as her heart continued its odd, stuttering beat.Then she felt the warmth of his wrist pressing against her mouth.Something coppery and delicious dripped onto her tongue and slippeddown her throat. It took only a second for her to recognize it washis blood filling her. She could feel the strength of his bloodstealing in to replace the weakness holding her body immobile.
A slight mewl escaped her, it was the onlysound she could make as her heart turned over in her chest andbroke free of the arteries connecting it to her body, or at leastthat’s what it felt like. Then, it just stopped completely. A gaspescaped her, she lost all control of her body as it went completelyrigid upon the bed. Cold and immobile, she felt like a cadaver,then she realized with an air of almost detached and insaneamusement, that she was. Ian held her against his chest as hisblood continued to fill her mouth and trickle down her throat. Shecouldn’t swallow anymore, she had no control over any of thosemuscles either.
Has something gone wrong?Shewondered frantically as her body remained stiff. Is this whatreally happened when a person died? Their body went beyond theircontrol, but their mind contained all awareness? It was the mosthorrific thought she’d ever had, but now that it had taken root,she couldn’t shake it.
Feeling burst back over with an agony sointense there was no way she could think she was dead anymore. Shewas very much alive and wishing she wasn’t. A scream built withinher throat and would have torn free of her, if Ian’s wrist hadn’tstill been pressed against her mouth. Hot pokers of fire pressedeverywhere over her flesh and dug into her sandpaper raw nerveendings. She bit down so vehemently on his wrist she drew bloodfrom the wound that had already healed. It was her human teethbiting at him, but the fresh wave of warm blood caused a feedingfrenzy within her body that reminded her of piranhas churning atthe top of the water in search of food.
She clawed at the arm pressed against her,needing more blood and more of him. Her feet kicked against the bedas misery and hunger drove her to the edge of madness. She’d beenwarned, but she hadn’t expected this animalistic need, thisinsatiablethirst. She wanted to tear the flesh away fromhim and drink every drop of sweet blood pulsing through hisveins.
The sensation of someone taking a knife toher back and slicing open her spine gripped her. Her back archedoff of the bed, and another scream strangled against Ian’s wrist.She tried to cry, but nothing filled her eyes. All she could do wasscream, and thrash, and fight against his imprisoning hold.
Ian clung to her as she battered moreviolently against his hold. Sorrow filled his heart; he pressed hislips against her temple to try and soothe her in some small way.Sweat coated her flushed skin; it stuck her hair to her foreheadand cheeks. “It’s almost over,” he whispered fervently in ear.“It’s almost over.”
He hoped those words were true. He knew thetransformation didn’t last long, but how long this would continue,he didn’t know. Cradling her against him, he winced as her humanteeth tore at the flesh of his wrist. She shredded through his skinand scraped against his bone as she eagerly gulped his blood. Hewould gladly open every vein in his body in order to ease afraction of what she was going through.
He gritted his teeth as her fingers tore athis arms, spilling more blood. The mingled scents of sex and bloodfilling the air would have excited him at any other point, now theonly thing he cared about was her. She bit down again, but thistime fangs pierced into him.
His eyes flew open, he inhaled sharply asthe strangest sensations of relief, possession, and then pleasureslid through him. Her fangs remained imbedded inside of him as shedrank from his vein in greedy pulls. Arousal slid through him, hisown fangs lengthened and pressed against her neck again, but hedidn’t bite down. This was about her and only her. Everything inhis life was about her now, he realized. It had been since he’dfirst met her, and it would be until the day he died.
She was still in pain, but it began to easeas she gulped his blood. Her pain pulled back from his mind,allowing him to slip inside to finally feel the pleasure buildingwithin her. Her love for him beat against his mind, it was nearlyoverwhelming in its intensity and more than matched what he feltfor her.
Beneath her love for him, he also felt herterror that something would happen to him because of her, or herfather. All of the horror she’d experienced throughout her lifeslipped past the steel walls she’d built around herself. For thefirst time he saw her vulnerability, her uncertainty, and theloneliness that had been her constant companion over the last fouryears.
“You’ll never have to go through anythinglike that again,” he promised her.
He said the words out loud, but there hadbeen no need for him to. She could sense all of his thoughts, hislove for her, his willingness to die in order to keep her alive asthe bond between them strengthened and grew. Through the connectionbetween them, he felt her uncertainty easing. Her happiness swelledup to beat against him.
“I love you,” he whispered into herhair.
Her fangs released their hold on him whenshe’d finally gotten her full. Her dazed eyes rolled up to meethis. “I love you too,” she whispered before her eyes closed, andshe passed out against him.
Ian listened to the beat of her heart andthe reassuring pulse of the blood in her veins. He couldn’t stopstaring at her, this woman he’d never expected to find in thislife. This woman who had turned him from a consistent one nightstand man into a one woman man. His desperate need to always bewithin someone, to always be moving had eased, and for the firsttime in months, he was finally able to justbe.
He’d never felt so at peace in his life, yethe couldn’t help but worry about what she would feel upon waking.He’d seen the fire in her eyes when she’d approached Ronan abouther father. Finding him wasn’t something she was willing to let goof, not yet anyway. Maybe not ever. The man had to be taken careof, and Ian had every intention of being the one who took thebastard down, but he’d wanted her out of it. He knew now that wouldbe impossible, and she would never forgive him if he tried to keepher from fulfilling her mission.
He had to keep her safe from the man who hadcreated her and from herself. He’d found his salvation in her; hecould only hope he’d be enough to help her find hers. Shifting hishold on her, he curled up beside her and drew her against his chestand heart, where she would always belong.
***
Ian picked the pad up from the bed; hefrowned at the face staring back at him. There was something aboutit…
His head shot up and turned toward thebathroom door. The beat of the running water drifted to him; heturned his attention back to the drawing in his hand. He couldn’tdeny who the man staring back at him was. A pit formed in hisstomach as he recognized the face of the vampire he’d fought in thealley. He’d gladly kill this man for what he’d done to Paige, buther life couldn’t revolve around death and revenge.
Ian turned toward the door before Ethancould knock on it. Ethan still had his hand raised in the air whenhe opened it. Aiden and David stood behind his shoulder. “At leastyou’re awake today,” Ethan commented.
“I am.”
“How did it go?” Aiden inquired, his eyesflickering behind him.
Ian glanced at the closed bathroom doorbefore stepping outside to join them. He shut the door behind him.“It went well enough, it was…”
“The best and worst experience of yourlife,” Ethan supplied.
“Exactly,” Ian replied. “I’d take it allaway from her if I could, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“You’ll never have to go through anythinglike that again, either of you.”
