Page 89 of Inception

“So this is about getting revenge on someone?” I scoffed, swatting his hand away from my hair. “Revenge on who?”

“Careful now,” he warned, though I wasn’t sure if he was referring to my probing question or the fact that I just swatted him away like a bothersome fly.

“I’m sorry,” I said, doing my best to sound it. “I’m just trying to understand what you want from me…so I can help you.” I forced myself to smile at him.

“You wish to help me?” he smiled back, sliding in closer. His eyes were glazed with a familiar look of want.

A look ofhunger.

“Not like that!” I dug myself deeper into the corner of the carriage, wishing I could disappear into the metal. “I swear to God, Dominic, if you try to bite me again I’m going to hurt you,” I warned. I had nothing to back it up with but he didn’t need to know that.

“If I bite you again, you’re going to enjoy every second of it,” he said and raised his hand to my cheek, gently caressing it with the back of his knuckles.

His cold touch sent a lingering shiver down my arms, a shiver that I was horrified to find wasn’t completely revolting.

“See how nice that feels?” he whispered.

I could feel my mouth losing moisture by the second. I swallowed hard, trying to loosen the knot in my throat.

“You shouldn’t fight it, angel. I’m a part of you now. Your skin hungers for my touch even when your mind tells it not to.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to listen to this—to hear it. Somewhere deep inside, I knew there was truth to what he was saying. I knew his bite had done something to me that night—changed something—and the thought of it petrified me.

The breeze picked up and ruffled my hair as the Ferris wheel came to another stop, holding us atop the world as though we had orbited into a different plane of existence.

“Why are you bringing me into this?” I asked, trying to take control of the conversation again, redirect it back to neutral grounds—back to his plans. “I’m not even from here. I don’t know anyone you know.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“Well, except for Gabriel.” A surge of panic pierced through the good vibrations. “Is this aboutGabriel?”

He pulled his hand away and casually sank back into his seat, and for the faintest of seconds, I felt the nick of guilt because I actually missed it.

“I won’t help you hurt him.”

He examined me with curious eyes. “And why is that?”

“Because he’s my friend,” I answered indignantly.

“Yourfriend?” he repeated, testing the word out in his mouth, swirling it around with his tongue. “So then he told you the truth? About how he came to be?” His smirk told me he already knew the answer. When I didn’t respond, he laughed and said, “I didn’t think so.”

“I never asked him to.”

“Then ask him, love. See if he opens up the vault.” He took up with my hair again. “I bet he won’t. I bet he’ll put her first. He always does.”

“Put who first?”

“Tessa, of course.”

“Tessa? What does my sister have to do with this?”

“See now, if Gabriel was a realfriend, he would have told you all of this already.” His mouth curved into a sly grin. “He wouldn’t have left you out here in the dark, angel, especially when there’s so much danger waiting for you here.”

“You’re just trying to scare me,” I said, doing my best to steady my voice though I was far too unsure of what the hell was going on to accomplish the feat.

“Maybe.” He caressed my cheek again. “But I’m telling you the truth. He’ll always protect her, and her little secrets too, even if that means putting you in danger.”

I glanced down at Gabriel who was watching the wheel make its way back around, his arms crossed rigidly across his chest. Gabriel who had done nothing but help me since the day I met him. I had no reason not to trust him.

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