Page 7 of Taken By the Vampires
There was a timeless moment when I thought he might agree. That he would help me up off this bed and find Gary’s truck. Maybe even offer to drive me back into town, but then he said, “You’re not going anywhere, Tu Ena. We are all bound, you and us, and now that we’ve finally found you, you’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter Five
My breath came up short as I panicked. I pushed his hand away and surprisingly, he let me. “You don’t have any say in what I do. I’m going, and that’s all there is to it.”
I tried to sit up, my bones and muscles groaning. I gasped as the world spun, cursing my inability to even manage the simple task of getting out of this bed.
“You will do as we say. First of all, you will eat then bathe, and then you will get more rest. We need you restored to health if we are to enjoy the greatest gift we have ever been given,” Xander said.
I brushed the sheet aside, too exhausted to understand the undertone of what had just happened between us. Cool air brushed my skin and I glanced down my body to see I was naked. Trembling, I tugged the sheet back, feeling more exposed than ever, “Where are my clothes?”
“Tu Ena, your clothing was ruined when you fell down the mountainside.” Davon placed his palm over mine and cursed. “She is freezing. Most probably in shock. We should have waited.”
“You were just as desperate as I to find out!” Xander exploded.
“We should have respected her. She’s our…”
“Enough bickering. She is in need.” Davon wrapped me in the sheet, whipped me off the bed and strode across the room.
“Fix her something to eat by the time I’m finished,” Davon said over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” My teeth chattered and however hard I clenched my jaw, I couldn’t stop. Ice seemed to have replaced my blood and all warmth had fled from my body.
“I’m going to warm you up.” He kicked open a door and we strode into a huge bathroom. Reaching into a shower stall that would easily fit four people, he turned the knobs. Water fell from the ceiling. He adjusted the controls and then when satisfied with the temperature, whipped the sheet from my body and stood with me under the water, fully clothed. I gasped, trying to cover myself with trembling limbs.
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Hush, Tu Ena. You are ill. I would not take advantage of a woman in need.”
The heat from the water started to warm my freezing skin. I wanted to get free from his hold, but as the water cascaded over me and steam rose around me, my limbs were no more than wet noodles. Being held in his strong arms against his solid chest, his soothing heartbeat strangely eased my tension. My muscles relaxed and I rested my heat against his chest, comforted.
I could no more stand than run or escape. I had to get better, obviously, before I attempted to leave. I didn’t fully understand what was going on, and I wasn’t going to stay long enough to find out.
“I’m not precious to anyone.” Why did I say that, and then why did my throat thicken with pent-up emotion? I was the daughter of a sick mother. A keeper of farm animals. A cleaner, cook, a care-giver. A vessel to do what was required. There was nothing left over for me. I had never expected life to be any different, but here, now, for the first time, I questioned there wasn’t more I wanted from life.
But why here? Why now? It made no sense.
Davon bent close. “You’re more precious than you could ever know.” His voice was low and coarse and washed through me like spiced whiskey. No one had ever spoken like that to me, but more than words, I felt his truth.
I shivered for an altogether different reason as an unexplained languidness swept through me. I tangled my fingers in his wet shirt, finding comfort in his strength. “I’m not this Tu Ena person you keep calling me. My name is Ella.”
He chuckled, the wicked sound echoing off the ceramic tile. His lips, sensuous now that I was properly looking at them, lifted at the ends. I had a glimpse of some very white teeth, and the ends of his canines glistened. “You are very much this person, but if it makes you more comfortable I will call you by your name, Ella.”
I couldn’t keep my attention from those brilliant eyes, that smooth mocha skin, those sumptuous lips. I reached to cup his cheek, his dark stubble rough against my palm, tracing the pad of my thumb along his cheek. “And if I’m so precious, you’ll let me go?”
Fine lines crinkled at the edge of his eyes and he shook his head. “I will do my best to always keep you at my side.”
His lips brushed against mine, a gentle, leisurely glide, before he captured my mouth and gently suckled. His tongue swept along the seam of my mouth and his flavor exploded in my mouth like the finest of liqueurs with the same amount of kick.
My hand slid over his shoulder, around his neck to tangle in the dreaded tufts of his hair. I clawed my fingers, as though to keep him right where he was.
His mouth opened with a groan and my lips parted to let his tongue sweep against mine. I was intoxicated with the way he moved against me, his unique flavor, the way even half-alive as I was, intense desire sparked.
He held me as though I were weightless, his arms bands of steel supporting me. He lifted me, crushing me against his chest as I clung to him and kissed him. A part of me, a distant part, knew how strange this was. That this complete stranger under these circumstances was making me feel likethis, but I wanted –needed– him.
A sharp prick on my lip allowed some sense to chip into the fog of desire. I flinched back to see a drop of my blood in the corner of his mouth. I felt a little nick on my bottom lip.
The tip of his tongue slid along his lower lip and collected the drop. “Hmmm. Delicious. Although I am very happy to keep kissing you, Ella, it would be remiss of me if I did not provide the care that you need.”
He let my legs slide down his body, keeping me upright with his other arm at my waist. My legs trembled, too weak to support my body. I was never this fragile, even when I did get sick. “How long..?”
