Page 16 of Every Bite You Take
As I sat beside her extended leg, she avoided looking in my direction. The scent and sight of her blood once more stirred a fierce wave of hunger and my fangs lengthened. The beast inside me clawed at the surface, urging me to bite and claim her. I fought against the primal urge and focused on what she trusted me to do. When I placed the wet washcloth on her cut, she winced.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded before she followed with a yes. Then she turned her head to look at me, and her eyes widened. “Are you?”
Aside from being surrounded by her intoxicating scent? By being hyper-aware of her stretched out on my bed? Being so drawn to every detail of her—from the sound of her voice to the thrum of her heartbeat?
“Yes,” I managed to reply despite the intense struggle.
After I cleaned her wound, I applied pressure. Endless seconds ticked by.
“I shouldn’t get so squeamish around blood. It’s a long story,” she said.
I gave her a gentle smile to encourage her. “We should sit here for a while anyway.”
She laughed, then shook her head. “True.” She exhaled. “I think I can tell a short version. It’s just something I don’t tell—well, anyone.”
And she was going to trust me with her secret? I was all ears. “I’ll keep what you tell me to myself.”
“I appreciate that.” Her lips turned downward and I wished I could undo whatever it was that made her feel that way. “So here goes.” She placed her hands on her thighs with an audible sound. “When I was nine, my parents split up. I didn’t know why at the time and blamed it on myself. Over the next year or two, I started to learn more. There was another woman. And she wasn’t just any woman, but a vampire. I found out in the most awful, terrifying, mortifying way.” Her gaze drifted off, as if she were picturing it.
I listened, enraptured to her story, and didn’t dare interrupt.
“I walked into the bedroom and found them in bed together. Naked. She was on top of him. When she turned to me, I saw it all—her red eyes, her fangs, the blood…” Kylie squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced. “And the bite marks on his neck with blood trickling down.”
I sucked in a breath involuntarily.
She slowly opened her eyes and found mine. “My dad left my mom—and me—to be with this vampire.” Kylie’s lips curled with distaste. “And when I was a teenager, she changed him into one.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry, Kylie. No wonder you feel the way you do.” I dropped my head an inch. “You must hate vampires now. Think we’re all monsters.” Including me.
She bit her lower lip. “No. How could I? My father’s one.” She paused. “Even if I hated them both—and vampires in general—for a very long time.” She shrugged one shoulder. “But he’s family. And she’s my stepmother. I had to get over it if I wanted to have a relationship with my dad.”
I nodded with relief, swallowing the lump in my throat. We sat for several seconds without saying anything.
“I’m going to check your leg now,” I told her.
She was still bleeding.
She sucked in a hiss. “Damn, it still stings.” She released a slow exhale. “Hope I don’t need to get stitches—or worse, end up dealing with this pain the entire trip.” She let out a mirthless chuckle. “Talk about bad timing.”
She wouldn’t, not if she let me take care of the wound. I didn’t dare bring it up, though, not with her revulsion to blood. Especially after the story she’d just confided in me. The very act would repulse her.
“It will stop—eventually,” I assured her. When I brought my gaze to meet hers, they locked. She searched my eyes.
Her lips parted. “You can do something, can’t you?”
I broke eye contact. Could she read my mind?
I counted.One one-thousand, two one-thousand—anything to avoid this uncomfortable conversation.
“Damien?” she prodded.
I couldn’t ignore her forever.
“Yesss,” I said, my voice trailing off. “My saliva will help you heal much faster than any stitches.”
I was sure that she’d have a look of disgust on her face, but what I saw surprised me—curiosity.
