Page 133 of The Vampire's Thirst
“I need the words. You were a little girl, and I didn’t protect you from the monsters.” Dax’s fingers raked through his long, black hair. “Without your forgiveness, I can’t move on. I’m stuck in your father’s O blud den watching you cower in that bed after…”
She threw her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shirt, crying for a mother who never cared about her, a father who was evil, and a brother who carried too much responsibility on his shoulders. “Then I forgive you. I forgive you.”
Dax held her until she ran out of tears.
Drawing away, she cradled his jaw with both hands. “Now, shut the fuck up and move on. Stay out of the O blud den. Tell Chiara you love her.”
“I don’t…”
“Am I going to have to smack you again? Why can’t you be honest with yourself?”
“I am.”
“Tell it to somebody who doesn’t know you. I see you make puppy eyes at her.” Bounty glided toward her desk where she pulled out her office chair, wiped a Kleenex across her eyes, sat, and crossed her legs.
Dax growled. “I couldn’t make puppy eyes if I tried.”
“You’re right. It was a stretch. She’s a little crazy, you know, but maybe you need crazy. Someone to balance your brooding moods.” Bounty rested an elbow on her desk.
“I don’t know how to be what she needs, sis.”
“She needs you. Flaws and all. Someone who loves her and will protect her. Nothing more.”
Dax lowered his chin, his gaze cast toward the floor. “I’m a sonofabitch. I have no friends.”
“So? Smile more. As for friends, open your eyes. You have the Firebrands. Yourfrerons. You will never desert them, and they will always stand by you.”
“I’ve never been down this road.” Dax clasped his hands behind his back.
“You think Rein had? How about Kole?”
“They’re different. They’re good men.”
“Here we go again. I’m going to get up and slap you. If that doesn’t work, then I’m kicking your ass.”
“Hold on. Let me think.”
There went his fingers, brushing across his sinister barely-there mustache and goatee.
Bounty leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms on her chest. “No. You think too much. Before you snarl something stupid, listen to me. You deserve happiness.”
“What if I can’t be what Chiara wants?”
Bounty rose from the desk, walked to her brother, laughed, and mussed his hair. “Silly male. You already are what she wants.”
“The last time I saw her, I destroyed any chance to be with her. I told her about my trip to the O blud den. I lied to her, saying I fucked an O blud whore. I didn’t. I almost did, but I couldn’t. Didn’t want to.”
Dax threw his fang necklace into the trash as Bounty strolled to the fridge to snag a bottle of blood. She tossed it to Dax. “You need this.”
“It’s cold. I don’t like it cold.”
“Whine. Whine. Whine. Then find Chiara and take it from the neck. At the same time, you might want to own up to the falsehood.”
Dax popped the top and chugged. “Ew.”
“Not as good as the little witch, huh? It’s time for you to ball-up and do something for yourself. I could use a sister-in-law, someone with a sense of humor. You’re dour most of the time. All that noble angst which haunts most of the Firebrands. And some of you have it worse than others. You’re one.”
Dax raised his brows. “You gonna expect me to laugh more, tell jokes?”
