Page 120 of Bound By Blood

With a sigh, she trailed her fingertips over his shoulders. “Next time,” she murmured, “I get to be on top.”

After the next time, they took another shower, then scurried back to bed and snuggled under the covers. Zack stroked Kaitlyn’s neck and shoulders. Her skin was soft and smooth, warm beneath his hand. Though she lay quietly beside him, her head pillowed on his chest, she was thinking so loudly, he had no trouble hearing her thoughts.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

She tilted her head back so she could see his face. “About what?”

“About your mother’s new lifestyle.”

“You must be reading my mind,” Kaitlyn remarked with a sigh.

“It isn’t necessary. I know you must be wondering about it.”

Kaitlyn turned onto her side, facing Zack. “Will she be the same? Will she still be my mother?”

“Pretty much. Of course, there’s no telling how she’ll react to her new life. I imagine it’s different when you’re born a vampire. You know what to expect, or at least you know what’s coming.”

“That’s true. I was nervous about the change, but I knew it was natural for us, so I wasn’t afraid. I’d seen it happen to others from time to time. Of course, with me, it wasn’t that big an adjustment. I could still eat and drink whatever I wanted. And my need for blood, after the first time, wasn’t overpowering.”

“You were lucky. It’s different with my kind. Once you’re turned, your whole life changes. Everything is different. Some people accept it without a problem. Some aren’t so lucky.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take my bartender, Scherry, for instance. She asked me to bring her across.”

“Really? Why?”

“She was dying. I’d never turned anyone before, and I was reluctant to do it, you know? I told her I was afraid I’d kill her.” He laughed at the memory. “She reminded me that she had nothing to lose but a few days.”

“How did she know you were a vampire?”

“I got careless one night. A customer came on to me and I kept her with me in the club after it closed. Scherry had a key and she came in while I was, ah, dining.” He shook his head with the memory. “Any other woman would have freaked out, but not Scherry.” He laughed. “Bold as brass, that girl. She asked me if I’d turn her when I finished eating.”

“Still, it must have taken a lot of nerve for her to ask you. I mean, she had no way of knowing what you’d do. You could have been some horrible monster parading as a nice guy. You could have killed her.”

“I tried to talk her out of it, but, like she said, she had nothing to lose.”

“At least it turned out all right,” Kaitlyn said.

“Yeah. But that first night, I thought I might have to destroy her.”

“Why?”

“She was blood crazy. I brought her three men to drink from and it wasn’t enough. I didn’t think that girl would ever get her fill, and then I realized it was probably because of her disease. She’d had leukemia. I guess it just took a lot to fill her up that first time. She was all right, after that.”

Kaitlyn stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what Zack had said. Would her mother be one of the lucky ones? Or would she be blood crazy, like Scherry?

There was a decided air of tension in the sitting room in Zack’s suite the following night. It danced over Kaitlyn’s skin like ants as she watched her father hover near her mother, his expression wary. Her mother was nervous and obviously on edge. Unable to sit still, she prowled back and forth between the sofa and the window. She paused now and then, shivering as if she were cold, and then she resumed pacing once again.

After watching her for almost an hour, Zack said, “Elena, you need to feed. The compulsion will only grow stronger. And the longer you put it off, the worse it will be for your chosen prey.”

“I can’t do that,” Elena said, her fingers twisting in the hem of her sweater. “I can’t …” She shook her head. “I can’t hunt someone like they were an animal.”

“Yes, you can,” Zack said, his voice quiet. “It will come to you naturally. All you have to do is follow your instincts.”

Elena bit down on her lower lip as she glanced at her husband and then back at Zack.

“I will take you,” Drake said.

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