Page 98 of Chain Me
His gruff tone conveyed just how elaborate a scheme the level of planning revealed. Someone cunning enough to outsmart even his best efforts.
All part of a systematic scheme meant to infect me.
“Anyway, I’m not offering youhumanblood this time.” As he spoke, he withdrew something from his pocket. A small, thin blade—small enough, I realized, that should I grab it, I wouldn’t be able to do much damage to myself. “Do be a good girl,” he said as he slashed the blade across his wrist, drawing a line of blood. “You’ve bittenmewith every attempt before now. Admittedly, it wasn’t very pleasant.”
“I did?” My skull throbbed. “I can’t remember.”
He stroked my cheek. “Drink.”
A million questions bubbled beneath the surface as I eyed the smooth skin of his wrist. Like how did he know if his blood alone would even sustain me? What happened if he was carrying the poison as well? And most importantly, was there some proper etiquette to follow while feeding from a vampire?
In the end, his free hand caught the back of my neck, guiding me forward.
My lips parted, allowing a sliver of liquid between them. The moment his taste registered, I no longer required coaxing. I lunged, gripping his arm to keep it in place as deep, ravenous pulls racked my body. Perhaps the fact that I was starving was the catalyst, but he tasted better than good. Better than sin. I drowned in his flavor, craving more…and more…more…
It was like surfacing from an eternity spent submerged beneath water when I finally came up for air, unbearably full. Regardless, my tongue was already chasing what few drops I hadn’t managed to swallow.
Fully prepared, Dublin brought a wet cloth to my chin and dabbed it along my bottom lip. “Already, you look better,” he murmured, a rare hint of praise.
I glanced at the mirror, which seconded his claim. Color gradually returned to my skin. The pain lessened. I didn’t feel quite as dizzy, and my thoughts felt easier to grasp and decipher.
Like the threat still looming above our heads, for instance.
“What about you?” I eyed him over my shoulder. “What if the poison is in your system—”
“It doesn’t affect me, which is why I didn’t sense its corruption until it was too late. No matter… From now on, I will take the necessary precautions.”
What they might be? He didn’t explain, leaving it at that.
By then, the water had reached a comfortable height, and he set about washing me thoroughly from head to toe. My body sang beneath the ministrations, and once again, I wondered just how long I’d been strapped to the bed.
Which brought up an even bigger question.
“Where are we?” I supposed deep down I knew at least part of the answer—nowhere good. Much like the bedroom, a decidedly ‘serpentine’ theme continued even in here. The water fixture on the bathtub was in the shape of a snake, spitting water in the place of venom through golden fangs.
Dublin ran a cloth across my shoulders, seemingly too intent on his task to respond.
I tried again. “Dmitri said something about an enclave—”
“You’re safe,” he said, parting my hair with his fingers.
A moan caught in my throat. I arched into his touch before I could help it, relishing the surprisingly pleasurable sensation of his chill on my scalp.
“You no longer seem determined to harm yourself, at least.”
I shivered, glancing at my bandaged arm. There was no use in avoiding it any longer. Gritting my teeth, I fingered the end of the strip and began to unwind it as Dublin’s hands stilled.
Once the entire length had come undone, pale, untouched flesh was revealed underneath. The properties of Dublin’s blood never ceased to leave me speechless. A few sips of it and I was already healing. Yet I had no trouble imagining the carnage that had marred the limb just minutes before. DamageIhad done. The crumpled bandage conveyed as much, splattered with alarming amounts of scarlet liquid.
“It felt so real,” I whispered in horror. “All of it.”
“Even the doubts?” He sounded unusually calm as he continued to detangle my matted curls. “That I didn’t care about you? That I couldn’t love you?”
“Yes.” I hunched over myself, drawing my knees to my chest. I eyed the mirror across from us, marveling at the scene it showed. Dublin Helos, crouched in the water behind me, studiously arranging my damp curls. “It doesn’t matter. I know that—”
“Should I say it now?” His mouth lingered over my shoulder as he moved his attention to washing my back. “To counter him should he ever steal inside your mind again? At least then you’d have heard it once.”
I couldn’t breathe—equally alarmedandfearful. Even now, doubt festered somewhere inside me, fighting to resurface. Once acknowledged, it gleefully feasted on my unease.His love would be a lie. A lie…
