Quinn tilted her head. “Are you mad that I’m fated to be with a dragon?”
James sighed, his body going limp again.
“James, don’t fight. You’re weak.” Her fingers went to her neck. “Weak. You should feed off me. How long has it been since you had blood?”
“I won’t,” he breathed.
“You have to. James, how am I supposed to get you out of here?”
“You’re not. You were never supposed to find me alive.” His breath was staggeringly shallow.
“James…” she murmured weakly. “I’m not leaving without you. I don’t care.” She reached into her cleavage and pulled out the small vial. “I have no idea if this will help at all, but I brought this.”
James struggled to open his eyes again, but when he finally did, they zeroed in on the little bottle. “I never got around to showing you how to use any of that stuff.”
She shrugged. “The bottle of sunshine worked like a charm.”
His eyes widened. “You used that?”
She nodded with a sly smile. “You would’ve been so proud.”
“I bet. I’m always proud of you, Q.”
She glowed under his praise. “Great. Now tell me what this does after you drink some blood.”
James groaned and went slack in his restraints again. “Q, please.”
“I’m not leaving you. You would never leave me.”
“Not true,” he grunted. “I’d leave you so fast there would be a cartoon cut-out of me in the wall.”
She rolled her eyes. “No one believes you.”
James huffed and hung there for a few minutes while Quinn moved around the room trying to figure out if there was another way out. They were most likely going to have to wait for the door to be opened again before they got out of there unless James felt like kicking in the door.
Quinn moved back to James.
“All right, it’s time for you to drink some blood. You need your strength.”
“Quinn, so help me…”
She’d found a nail on the floor. She would need to remember to get a tetanus shot later. She jabbed the sharp end into her wrist and dragged it toward her body, opening a good-sized gash. She clenched her teeth, her eyes watered up, and she let out her breath after the worst of the pain faded. She held her arm up to his mouth.
James tried to jerk away, but he was too weak and too tired. She held it there knowing eventually his vampire instincts would have to kick in.
She waited, and just when she thought she might have to give up, she felt the tip of his tongue touch her wound. She pressed it closer to him and then felt the familiar slice of his fangs into her flesh. She jumped but steadied herself. He was drinking slowly, hardly putting any effort into it.
Quinn couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. She knew James didn’t want this, but she didn’t care. She was determined to save him. She had to save him.
He snarled and tore into her arm more roughly. Quinn squeaked and jerked her arm back.
James was looking back at her with bright violet eyes that had a wild glaze to them, and blood smeared over his lips and teeth. This is when they looked like monsters, she realized.
Quinn reached up and wiped the evidence off his face. James slowly came back to himself. His eyes focused, more lively, not drooping.
“Holy fuck, Quinn, what did you do? Why did you do that? Grey will know.”
“I don’t care. I’m sure he was counting on me to do it.”