Page 78 of Chain Me
By the time I returned to the foyer, it was well past five minutes. Regardless, Dublin waited for me at the bottom step. He was still wearing only the black pants. Nonetheless, he appeared as imposing as ever. His gaze roamed my body in silent scrutiny, tracing the contours of the robe. If he didn’t approve of the outfit choice, he didn’t say so. When I held my hand out, he took it, drawing me to his side.
As we advanced down the hall, his clenched jaw betrayed a warning.Be on your guard.
Dmitri was waiting in a small sitting room, holding court from a leather chair positioned near a curtained window. “Allow me to apologize, my dear,” he said to me. The amusement flicking in his eyes contradicted the contriteness of his tone. “I had no intention to startle you.”
“You didn’t?” I’d never known how disdainful I could sound. Not even Dublin had drawn that snarl out of me. “Then what was your intention?”
His smile widened. “To test a small theory.” Uninvited, his gaze cut down to my stomach and I found myself obstructing his view with the flat of my free hand.
“What theory?” How to drive a woman insane with as little effort as possible? Because as much as it confused me to admit it…
I’d gone insane. Only now could I climb out from the chaos of my own thoughts and see the smoldering ruins for myself. Days spent in bed clinging to a vampire for emotional support. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Cry perhaps?
Because those three days had been the first time in my life that I’d ever hadanyoneto drain for emotional support. Like a leech, all irony aside.
And more baffling, Dublin had let me take every last drop I’d needed.
Shame flooded my cheeks, setting them on fire as I glanced at him beside me while he glowered as stoically as ever.
“What theory did you want to test?” I finally demanded of Dmitri.
He raised a reddish eyebrow while stroking his hairless chin. “A hunch,” he said vaguely. “The truth is that your condition is rarer than you realize. There are only rumors, many of them…disturbing.” He smiled. “Though I am now positive that dear Dublin knows better than any of us—”
“Don’t,” the man beside me warned. “Peddle your lies again and I’ll rip your tongue from your mouth.”
“As you wish.” Dmitri nodded, lifting his arms in a gesture of surrender. “Frankly, I understand your skepticism. Such is the nature of hearsay, you see. More often than not, you’ll find it circulates merely to serve a certain advantage. Much like a rumor being murmured aboutyou,dear Eleanor.”
The line of my mouth tightened in foreboding anticipation. I had enough sense to recognize a dangling carrot when I saw one. No doubt, another “exaggeration” would serve as the punishing stick should I take the bait.
So I said nothing, yet his grin took on a more satisfied tilt.
“Some speculate that you might be in possession of something… Let’s just say somethingintangibleworth more than you can possibly imagine.”
An answer came to my mind instantly. A prize tempting enough to spark the greed even Dmitri’s cool grin couldn’t disguise.Ten years.
“Dmitri…” Dublin’s tone deepened well beyond a warning.
“Well, yes. Anyway, while the information is scarce, I’ve always had a fondness for tracking down the sources of any rumor to catch my ears.” He clasped his hands together, balancing them on his knee. “It just so happens that I stumbled across a few tidbits of information that might interest you about your current condition.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?” A better question might be why my voice broke over the thought of it. Answers, good or bad. Ignoring my “cancer” until now had been a foolish, childish whim. I could see that.
But could I stomach the truth?
Dmitri sighed and reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Easy,” he warned as Dublin stepped between us, shoving me behind him. “I bring gifts, as promised. A bit of light reading.”
When Dublin didn’t rush to disarm him, I assumed whatever he was holding must have posed some semblance of legitimacy. Skirting the formidable body before me, I observed his offerings.
Two slender leather-bound books. They looked old, more worn than Dublin’s mysterious Gray family tome. Yet as the light reflected off their stained covers, I couldn’t suppress a shiver.
“You sense it, don’t you,” Dmitri murmured smugly. “Knowledge that our beloved Raphael wouldn’t dare allow to circulate that Den of yours. I am more than willing to share of course.” He withdrew the books slightly beyond my reach. “For a price.”
“And now you can leave.” Dublin placed his hand over my spine. In that simple touch, I sensed a silent promise—This isn’t the end. I’ll find another way.
“So soon?” Dmitri chuckled. “Dare I say I’m not surprised. One could only expect you to be skeptical. Perhaps I can divulge a glimmer of what I’ve learned? Something tells me that you’ve already gleaned that small detail involving fresh blood?”
I flinched, betraying the truth, and he nodded. “Ah… There’s more, of course,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. Narrowed in thought, he flickered his gaze to Dublin. “But first, I have to ask. Very few events could trigger such an occurrence from what I’ve read. Dear Dublin, tell me that you didn’t try breaking your little rule for her, did you? Forget your little hang-up about feeding from a live host, but to go a step further—”
“I warned you once about your lies, did I not?” Dublin said so softly that I shuddered, fingering the edges of my robe.
