Page 14 of Eternally Yours

“You drank from me,” he said, his voice low as if trying to calm the anxiety percolating inside me. “We’re now linked at a level that goes far beyond the earthly realm.”

Still in a mental fog, I glanced at his wrist, remembering how I’d latched on, drinking his blood as if it was my only connection to life. I’d savored it, gulping it in a fervor, yet it hadn’t filled me. My stomach twisted. The need for blood clawed at me, making me inch closer to the man who’d taken everything from me and given me this wretched hunger. A hunger I wantedhimto fulfill.

Peering into his eyes, I lost myself, unable to find the words to express how I felt. I wanted to hate him for turning me into this. For taking away my choice. For not giving me a chance to understand what this all meant. But deep down I also knew he’d tried to save me, just like I’d tried to save him, with the only skills he had at his disposal.

Still, every cognizant neuron in my brain told me I should be afraid of him. Of all the unknowns. Of the draw he had. Of the yearning for his blood. Yet, I couldn’t break his gaze.

His eyes stilled over me. “I know what you’re feeling,” he uttered, his rumbling voice touching a part of me so deep I didn’t even know it existed. “It’s a hunger that mauls all your other senses. You’re thirsty for blood. Human blood. And nothing else will be able to satisfy that hunger. Not even my blood.” He paused, but his silence told me everything he was trying not to utter, knowing I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“I need to go back,” I said, my voice cracking with the onset of tears. “My father needs me.”

His chest heaved and the pained expression on his face confirmed he wasn’t about to change his mind. “I can’t let you go back to your world, Loren. You’ll be a danger to those you care about.”

His words cleaved my heart in two. Turning from him, I failed to hold back my tears. “Are you saying I can never see my father again? But who will care for him? I’m all he’s got.”

Nicholas reached for my hand, bringing me close to him, his touch igniting my skin. “You can’t see your father, Loren. The instant you’re in the room with him, he’ll cease being your father. The only thing that will matter to you is feeding. And the vampire in you will take over. You’ll be insatiable.”

Placing a palm against his chest, I pushed back from him, needing space to think. Blood wasn’t the only thing I hungered for and being that near to his hard body and heady scent clouded my thoughts. My gaze lifted, meeting his. His green eyes shimmered with understanding. He felt it too—the sexual energy vibrating between us. And the thought catapulted me back into the dream I’d had only moments before.

Was this pull toward him because of the bond we shared?

I forced myself to look away. What I was feeling was unnatural and I wouldn’t allow myself to be hypnotized by some fairytale monster. Let him believe he could keep me trapped in his lair, but there was no way I would abandon my father. There was no way I’d allow myself to be lulled by his penetrating gaze, his beckoning mouth, the smell of his skin, or the feel of his hands.

I wasn’t like him. I could control it. My humanity wasn’t lost. I would never hurt my father.

“Perhaps one day you’ll be able to see him again, but not now.”

I turned back around, offering him a gentle smile. I needed him to believe I would stay. To trust me so I could plan my escape. “Thank you,” I said. “For saving my life. I know what I said before, about you being selfish…”

“It was the truth.”

“I was angry. And I took it out on you.”

“You have every right to feel as you do.”

“You gave me a second chance. I should be thankful. In time, I’ll learn to appreciate that. Right now, it’s just… a lot.”

He approached, and I took a few steps back, silently letting him know I needed that space. He paused and nodded. “Loren,” he started. “I understand how you feel right now. I lost everything once, too.”

I knew he was trying to be helpful, but his words cut through me like a jagged knife. “You know nothing about me, how could you possibly understand? If this is true… that I’m a vampire, you will have taken everything from me. My career. But most importantly, my father.” I shook my head, biting my bottom lip in the hopes it would keep my tears at bay. I hated crying. Hated that somehow this new body I was trapped in made me feel everything with such intensity I wanted to rip out of my own skin.

His lips pressed into a tight line as his jaw muscles clenched. It was evident there was so much more he wanted to say, but he must’ve realized there was nothing he could say to me right now that could make me feel any better. “You need time to process.”

I turned from him, crossing my arms, trying to protect myself from the pain colliding inside. “What I need is for you to leave me alone.” The words came out bitter. But that was all I had.

“Not before I show you what I was trying to protect you from.”

Pivoting, I watched as he walked to the window and slid his hand through the curtains. Upon contact with the sun, his hand began to sizzle, the sound and smell far worse than anything I’d experienced at the hospital. He pulled his hand back after a couple of seconds, gripping his wrist as his lips tightened and his nostrils flared. “That,” he gritted, “is nothing compared to what will happen to you if you expose yourself to the sun. Don’t try to escape.”

I gasped, the indescribable smell burning into my nostrils. Fear burrowed into my flesh. As much as I wanted to leave his blasted room, I wouldn’t be able to. At least not in daylight.

Too stunned to move, I stared at his seared hand. “What now?"

“I’m going to leave you alone. As you asked. And I'm trusting that you won't do anything stupid.”

“I’m angry, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll be in the next room. Healing… this,” he said, holding up his blistering hand.

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