Page 25 of Reaper's Revenge
He nods, squeezing me affectionately. “Yes. As I was saying, my brothers and I were turned. Not at the same time, Bones, my club prez, is also my real father. He was turned by Veronica like I was. My other brothers have different sires. I’ve been hunting Veronica for years, looking for my pound of flesh.”
“Why?” I ask as he stops us at a bar. His hands land on my hips, then he’s easily lifting me to sit on a stool. He grabs a small, folded bar towel and gets it wet in the sink. He comes back and lifts it to my face, then his brow furrows.
“This won’t be enough,” he rationalizes, tossing the towel to the side, and then I’m in his arms. He carries me out of the room to a hallway, explaining, “Because she changed us against our will. We were human once, just like you were, and I was angry.”
“You didn’t want to be a vampire?”
He turns to the last door on the left, opening it and ushering us over the threshold. The door closes behind us with a quick kick, then he’s leading me through his room into a small bathroom. It’s surprisingly neat for a man, aside from the dirty clothes strewn about, but I can deal with that. It’s better than trash or women’s long-lost pairs of panties.
Reaper’s expression darkens, his eyes flashing with anger. “No, I was fine human. Happy, even. Maybe I’d have wanted to be a vampire eventually, but not like that,” he growls. “She was a menace, one who reveled in the kill, the bloodlust, foolishly thinking she was a God. Veronica wasn’t like us, Athena. She was a monster, changing as many men as she could without any of our consent. She had to die; she deserved it.”
I nod, my mind flashing back to the savagery flickering in her eyes and the twisted malice of her grin. I shiver, goosebumps gliding over my flesh even though I’m not cold. I’m not anything, just comfortable. Veronica was undoubtedly a monster. One who was hellbent on killing me, that didn’t get the chance, thank God.
“She was jealous I was with you,” he divulges, his hand rubbing circles on my back. “But it’s okay now, you’re safe with me. She’ll never touch you again.”
I want to believe him, I truly do. However, I can't help but wonder, what does this mean for us? What happens now?
Chapter Eighteen
Reaper
I carry Athena to my bathroom, wetting a washcloth to clean her before I realize her clothes are covered in blood as well. I slowly begin to strip them off, giving her time to protest should she not want to be naked with me after everything that has happened. Once she’s free of the blood-soaked clothing, I move to my own, peeling the layers off, and turn on the shower to warm up. Once the water temperature is comfortable, I shuffle us both under the warm rivets of water.
“I should have warned you at the café when Bones was checking you over,” I whisper against her wet hair, holding her body to mine. “We both noticed the signs and thought the same thing, but it didn’t seem feasible in the moment. There was the sensitivity to light, with your skin burning and peeling.” I attempt to explain.
I continue, stroking her skin lovingly. “How you stopped being so clumsy, able to balance all of our cups and plates without a second thought. Then there was the way you stared longingly at the rare steaks when you thought no one was paying attention. Oh, and the roof of your mouth was dry. It’s a sure sign of not drinking enough blood. Remember that for in the future, if the top of your mouth ever feels rigid, you need to drink as soon as possible.”
She doesn’t reply as Veronica’s blood swirls around our feet in pink spirals before disappearing down the drain. At this point, I can't tell if the trembling I’m feeling is coming from her or me. I will never be able to forgive myself for having done this to her. Not only did she incite the change, but she also put herself in such grave danger with my sire. Thank God Veronica’s dead now, and we no longer have to worry about her. There will be plenty of other threats, I’m certain, but she’s one less of them.
With a sigh, I rub my hand through her hair, making sure it’s soaked through enough, and then reach for my shampoo. I quietly admit, “I thought I was doing the right thing, keeping my thoughts to myself until we had more proof. Obviously, I was a fool.”
I gently apply the shampoo into her locks, rubbing her scalp until she moans. “I’ll never forgive myself; it was my fang that scratched you and started the transition.”
Her lids part then, revealing a set of irises that have changed from a rich chocolatey brown I’d fallen in love with to a startling swirl of crimson. They focus on me with so much emotion, it leaves me momentarily breathless. “What do you mean it was your fang that scratched me and started the change?”
Guilt crawls up my spine. She would be a normal, happy, healthy human if it weren’t for my greediness in having to taste her, and then finding myself too worked up, I nearly couldn’t stop from taking us a step further.
The memory flashes unbidden—Athena back on the porch, me on my knees before her as my mouth eagerly set to work between her thighs. God, her flavor was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, making me positively dizzy with hunger and lust. “When I went down on you, darling. I was so into it, my fang pricked your skin.”
“So that’s it? Just one little scratch and you turn me into a vampire? How did it not happen before then, from us kissing?”
“No, it’s not that simple. To turn someone into a vampire, you have to bite the person to make sure your venom is in their system, and then they have to drink at least a few drops of your blood to finish the change. What happened to you was a special circumstance. Not the ordinary in any way.”
“Of course,” she mutters dejectedly, and I squeeze her a bit, reminding her she’s not alone anymore.
I finish rinsing her hair, moving on to the body wash. I fill my palms with the soap and step away enough to put enough distance between us to gently rub the suds over her skin. I take my time, relishing in the way her flesh feels under my palms and fingertips. She’s my most sacred fantasy come to real life. A mate whom I absolutely adore, here with me, for eternity shall she have me. I can think of nothing I want more than to worship and care for her for the rest of our time on this planet.
The water continues to fall, the old blood covering us steadily disappearing for good. It may leave behind clean, unblemished skin in its wake, but it can't wash away what’s taken place today or with Athena’s half-blood status.
“I didn’t know your change would happen so fast. I thought we had more time.”
“You still haven’t told me why I’m different.”
I turn off the shower, grab for the towel hanging on my bathroom wall hook, and immediately begin drying her. “How well do you know your parents? I realize it’s a subject we haven’t broached in the past.”
She eventually takes the towel from me, wrapping her hair up in it to dry while I use another towel to dry myself off. “My mom raised me for the most part. I never met my father, though.”
“Did she show you pictures of him or tell you his name, by any chance?”
