Page 23 of Angel Of Darkness

No, he didn’t. She wrenched away, keeping that sheet clutched to her as she rolled for the edge of the bed.

He grabbed her wrist in a lightning-fast move. Now it was her turn to freeze.

“Where are you going?” he demanded, but his hold wasn’t rough. His thumb was stroking her. Like he was enjoying the feel of her skin. Weird.

Sexy.

A shiver skated over her. “If I can’t take from you, then I have to find someone else.”

Now his hold tightened. “Going to seduce another human?”

Her head whipped back toward him. “Would you rather I ripped out their throats?”

“I’d rather you didn’t do anything with them. Humans are dangerous.”

She laughed. “Of all the monsters out there, I fear them the least.”

“Then you’re being a fool.” He still didn’t let her go.

And, great, he’d called her a fool. Way to sweet-talk.

“Humans hunted you last night,” he growled. “When humans realize what you are, they want you dead.”

“Everyone wants me dead.” Why did he think she’d been running for so long? “I’ve been running from shifters, demons, and hunters like you ever since I became one of the undead.” And she was tired.

If they’d just leave her alone, things would be so much better.

But since she’d risen as a vampire, she seemed to have some kind of beacon on her back. They kept coming after her. Before she’d left New Orleans, a group of demons had broken into her house. Screaming, fighting, they’d tried to force her to leave with them.

They hadn’t expected her vampire strength. She hadn’t expected it either. But when she’d nearly ripped a demon’s arm from his body, the others had finally backed off.

“How long have you been a vampire?”

Not a growl now. A deep, rumbling question. His thumb still stroked her wrist.

“About six months.” She licked her lips. Thirsty. The sheet had dipped near his waist. She wouldn’t look down there, well, not again, anyway. “One day, I was your average almost thirty-year-old. I was walking in the sun, eating chocolate cake, drinking margaritas after work. Then…” She shrugged. A careless move when she cared too much. “Then one night, I became something else.” She wouldn’t talk about that night. The hunter wasn’t going to pity her and offer to let her walk away. Hunters had no pity.

“A vampire bit you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, that’s usually the way it works. He bit, I fought back, and?—”

“You had to ingest his blood in order to change.”

I drove the broken glass into his throat. Blood poured from the wound. On my hands. My face. My shirt. Nicole cleared her throat. “I guess I did.” She paused, and her hands clenched around the sheet. “His, but not the other bastard’s.”

“The other?—”

“There were two of them there that night. One who attacked and one who just watched.” No matter how much she’d pleaded, he hadn’t helped her. “When I fought back, the other one got out of there fast enough. He ran, but one day I’ll find him.”

“Will you?”

Her head jerked in a nod. “Damn right. And he’ll pay for what he did.” No, what he hadn’t done.

Help me.

Keenan turned his hand over and offered his wrist. “Take the blood.”

Nicole blinked. “Why?—”

---