Page 99 of Enchant the Dawn

“I needed blood because I’d let Claret drink from me. When I killed the Knight, the violence and the scent of his blood triggered my thirst. . . .” He paused, his gaze sliding away from hers. “I almost killed you.”

She stared at him, eyes wide.

“There are things I have to tell you.” He sat up, hands clenched at his sides.

Sitting up, she looked out the window, certain that she didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say.

“You were at the point of death,” he said, his voice flat. “I couldn’t let that happen. I gave you some of my blood.”

Fear danced in the depths of her eyes as she waited for him to go on.

“It’s going to change you.”

“You didn’t!” She shook her head in denial. “Tell me you didn’t turn me into a vampire!”

“No. Not quite.”

“Not quite?”

“Do you remember when I told you there were ways to extend human life?”

She didn’t answer, simply stared at him, her face pale, her eyes wide and afraid.

He took a deep breath and blew it out in a long sigh. “You’re still mostly human . . .”

“Mostly human? What does that mean?”

“A few times a year, you’ll have a sudden craving for blood and you’ll feel tired during the day. If you don’t drink a little blood when you feel the urge, you’ll age a little more quickly than normal. If you go without for an extended period of time, it could be fatal. When you turn thirty, you’ll stop aging naturally. You won’t get sick anymore, and you’ll be stronger physically. That’s about it, except for one thing.”

“I’m part vampire?”

He nodded. “You’ll get used to it, in time.”

She couldn’t believe what he had told her. How could she be part vampire? Either you were one, or you weren’t. It was impossible, and she refused to believe a word of it.

Until she doubled over with pain. Lord, she thought, I’m dying.

Dominic slipped his arm around her. “Try to relax.”

“What’s wrong with me?” she gasped.

“You need blood.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her gaze lingering on his throat.

“Any blood will do. You can drink from me, if you like. Or I can get a bag out of the refrigerator.”

Dominic’s blood. In the midst of pain and doubt, she remembered how pleasant it had been to taste him.

“From you,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

He bit into his wrist and held it out to her.

Maddy stared at the dark red blood oozing from the two tiny punctures and thought she’d never wanted anything more in her life. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, she lowered her head and lapped it up, felt it sizzle through her, instantly relieving the pain and filling her with a warm, sensual pleasure.

Dominic closed his eyes as she drank from him. Maybe she wouldn’t hate him after all.

That hope died when she lifted her head and he saw the expression on her face.

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