Page 7 of Love Heals
"You weren't responsive for much of that time," Jared informed me while I was still trying to make sense of his words. "We were wondering if it was smoke inhalation or something else, but we don't have access to a doctor who specializes in the care of vampires."
Smoke inhalation... No, it hadn't been that. "It's..." I started trying to put what I'd been feeling into words, but quickly gave up. How would a mortal even begin to understand the pain of losing your sire?
Especially knowing that you were responsible for it?
"Give it time," Jared said. "You're recovering well."
Was I? I looked down at my hands. What was I doing here? Letting myself be pampered by these mortals as if I deserved to be fussed over after what I'd done. As if I'd truly changed sides.
That prickling sensation ghosted along my skin again, gone almost as soon as it set in. I glanced at Jared. If he was so attracted to me, why did he keep denying it to himself? What was he ashamed of? The fact that I was a man or the fact that I was a vampire?
If I even counted as a vampire anymore…
If I were a proper vampire, I wouldn't be wasting my time here. I'd draw blood from the mortals, rip myself free of my chains, and return to my coven. Where I belonged. My brows furrowed as my gaze darted to Jared again and my mind came up with a plan.
I might not have been much of a vampire, but I still had some tricks up my sleeve.
"Is it just me or is it really warm in here?" I asked, all while pulling my shirt up to expose the naked skin of my upper body. I felt more than saw Jared's eyes on me. And there it was—that short burst of electricity again. This time, I grabbed on to the sensation, wrapping my own invisible fingers around it. Drawing in a shaky breath, I strengthened my focus. Normally I could wield this power like a third arm, without a second thought, but I wasn't in the best condition, to put it mildly.
Still, it was working. I could see it in the way Jared's pupils dilated as I fixed my gaze on him.
Come closer,I beckoned him in with my mind.You know you want to.
Now that I had my grip on this pulse of attraction he emitted, he couldn't eliminate it again. Gathering my magic, I sent it into the ethereal strings that bound him to me. Even if the attraction he felt for me wasn't irresistible under normal circumstances, I could make it so. At least for a little while. Long enough. I only needed to get him a tiny bit closer. My eyes almost darted to his neck, but I didn't want to give my game away. Not while I couldn't afford losing.
Poor Jared. He'd never know what had come over him. Even now as he rose from the chair and stepped up to the bed, he had to be thinking that he was acting of his own volition. He couldn't see the strings I pulled on as I pulled him toward me.
Slowly, as if some part of him was fighting my influence, he sat on the edge of the bed, his body angled to face me. His mouth opened, but no words came out, as if he had no idea what to make of this situation, as if he couldn’t think clearly. Good. That was exactly how I wanted him.
I let go of my shirt, but not of the magically enhanced grip I had on Jared. Looking into his eyes, I smiled my brightest smile—the one that had made even Nicolai smile back at me every now and then. Its power wasn’t lost on Jared. He leaned closer. His eyes traced my lips, and I knew exactly what he had in mind.
“If you want to kiss me, go ahead,” I said, as if I wasn’t orchestrating his actions in any way. As if I actually wanted to be kissed.
Jared tipped my chin up with two fingers, so gently it almost startled me. His touch was nothing like my sire’s. Nicolai had been gentle on occasion—when he wanted to be—but his touch never lacked a certain firmness, never let me forget my place. Jared wasn’t like that. Of course not. He wasn’t a vampire lord, and he wasn’t my sire. And I really shouldn’t be losing myself in the depth of Jared’s dark eyes as he looked at me. His lips were so close now, I could feel his breath on mine. It raised goosebumps on my skin.
What would it be like to kiss this mortal?
I hadn’t kissed anyone but my sire in so long, even my imagination was limited. I used my powers to draw people in, to make them easy targets, but I never let their lips actually touch mine, because that would be unforgiveable.
When Jared moved in for the kiss, though, at least twenty percent of me—maybe thirty—wanted to let it happen. I couldn’t explain it to myself, but chalked it up to all the chaos of the recent days messing with my mind. I was in a vulnerable position, and this was my chance to get out of it. It couldn’t be wasted.
Before Jared could press our lips together, my eyes darted to his neck, where his artery would be, and then, with vampire-fast reflexes, my mouth followed. My fangs extended and sank into his skin. Immediately, I knew that I had made the right choice. Biting him was so much better than being kissed could ever be. A million times better.
Jared wasn’t the first mortal I’d ever drawn blood from. Far from it. I knew what to expect when I bit someone. And yet, everything about this experience simultaneously stunned and overwhelmed me. Normally, there wasn’t a lot of variety in blood. Four different types, that was all. Sometimes the rhesus factor added a little spice, but other than that? People pretty much all tasted the same.
Jared didn’t taste like any mortal I’d bitten before, though. The flavor of his blood exploded on my tongue and sang to my taste buds like liquid heroin. I drank like a vampire who was both starved and fresh from the grave, even though I was neither. Jared didn’t budge. Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t have. I might not have been much of a hunter, but my bite carried the same effect as that of my brethren. Our prey could never escape. Drinking from Jared was almost too easy.
I should have known that it was too good to be true.
Nothing was that addictive without major drawbacks. I’d only taken a few gulps of Jared’s blood when images started to appear before my mind’s eye. His memories, I thought, only they weren’t. Other people’s memories felt distant while I was viewing them, but these didn’t. They were right inside my head. There was a man, with his hands around my neck. His grip tightened, choking me. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. My throat was too tight. I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“That’s what you get for trying to squeeze more money out of me,” the man’s voice echoed in my ears. I used to hear that voice a lot.
A repeat customer.
“Silas!” Jared’s voice cut through the chaos in my head. My vision cleared and my eyes snapped to him. I must have let him go—in favor of clutching my own throat. Quickly, I dropped my hands. Air filled my lungs. Everything was okay.
Or was it? I’d just shot my chance at getting out of here. It would be a lot harder to manipulate Jared into coming that close to me a second time.
