Page 37 of Vampire's Bite

I had no idea how long I'd been out, and probably wouldn't until I spoke with Cross and Ash. Cordie may have been out for a while with the transformation as well, so I had to rely on my friends to help me in that regard. I did hope that her transition hadn't been painful. There were some humans who experienced agony as their body died and came back to life, while others barely felt a thing.

"How are you feeling?" Her eyes filled with tears as she gently touched my face. I winced and closed my eyes, my skin feeling raw under her fingers.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and felt the singed tips. It would be back soon. It was growing. I could feel it. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me, Cordelia.” I paused because I was dealing with not only what had happened to me, but what I had done. To her. “I'm wondering if I made the right decision, turning you."

She paused and I held my breath. Her lips thinned into a line and she nodded seriously. "You did," she said firmly and probably would have squeezed my hand had I not been in such a fragile position.

I turned my head and breathed in her scent. I would never get enough of her natural perfume. "I never asked you if that's what you wanted, but when I saw the dagger sticking out of your chest, my instinct kicked in. I couldn't stand to lose you." Her eyes met mine and I brushed the hair from her face. "I'm sorry."

To my dismay, she began to cry. I couldn’t comfort her, not when I was the one responsible for this, but I wanted to, I wanted to pull her against me and hold her there. It had to be soon. I couldn’t take an eternity of being this close to her and not being able to touch her.

"Please forgive me, Cordelia," I begged. If she didn’t, I would understand, but I had to ask.

"It's not that I don’t forgive you.” She smiled softly then looked away. “I mean, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be turned into a vampire, but it's better than the alternative.” Fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “I love you, Rook, and I would've done the same thing if the tables were turned."

Her words were like honey, soothing the turmoil that stirred within me.

"There's something else, I can tell." Her pain went deeper than the loss of her former self. She was battling something, trying to keep herself in check. There was a storm inside her, but it wasn't just from being freshly turned. It wasn't just lust or blood lust for that matter. "What is it?"

Once she caught her breath, Cordelia answered quietly. "Milo killed Gran." She began to weep again and I held her close.

Those bastards had gone too far. If Cross hadn't taken care of them, I would go to the ends of the earth to destroy them. I no longer cared what the court thought of me.

What the hunters had done went against all of humanity's laws, not to mention the vampire's codes. The elderly, the infirm, the children, all of them were off limits. Anyone with any decency only fed from those willing, but even the ones that didn't care only fed from the young and healthy.

"My love, I promise that I will make them pay for what they've done. I'll find a way." As soon as I was completely healed, I would punish Milo and his crew and that bastard Jonathon and they would know they were being punished for hurting her and taking her grandmother away from her. "I'll take care of everything and you'll never have to be alone again. When I say thatI love you, it's eternal, my Blood Heart."

There was no doubt in my mind that Cordelia was truly my Blood Heart, especially seeing her as a vampire now. If something happened to her, I'd die right alongside her. No doubt that was why I was taking such a long time to recover from my injuries.

Our bond was unbreakable and she was my only hope for a life worth living. Every step I took, from this day forward, had to be calculated, measured, planned. Both of our lives depended on it.

Cordie straddled me and stared deeply into my eyes. “Thank you for turning me. I don’t want us to ever be separated, Rook. I love you.”

The weight of her body on my cock stirred longing from deep within me. Injuries or not, I wanted her. I ran my hands up her back and pulled her mouth down to meet mine. This was the woman I was meant to be with. Maybe I’d known it from the first moment we met.

Kissing her deeply, I recognized instantly that she was different. Energy flowed from her tongue and her movements were forceful. She was powerful, and that made me want her even more. The energy she was giving off was seeping into me and helping me heal in a way I never would have expected or experienced before.

Cordelia’s hand shifted down, slipping inside the waistband of the boxers I'd apparently been dressed in at some point, and when she curled her fingers around my shaft, all thoughts ceased. I moaned as she stroked me, instantly hard as a rock, and I wasted no time sliding my hands under that flimsy excuse of a t-shirt and finding her perfect breasts. I wanted to be inside her as soon as possible, to mark her as my own, especially when I could smell Cross and Ash all over her.

Fucking Cordelia now that she had turned would be otherworldly. Our energies combined would, no doubt, result in multiple orgasms, crashing over us as we bathed in ecstasy. Once I was fully healed we would stay in bed for a week at least, fucking and feeding until we were too exhausted to do either anymore. I'd make her come so hard and so often that she couldn't remember her own name.

The thought had my hips rocking up to meet her hand and the question of whether or not she wanted to have sex on my lips. A sudden knock at the door stopped us and she pulled her hand up and let it rest on her thigh as she moved off me and to the side.

Damnit.

“I don’t know where we are,” Cordie whispered. Her fear echoed through our bond. I knew that she was still scared of the hunters, afraid that they’d tracked her down. I could feel her trembling. There was no way they could know about Ash’s safe house, which I recognized instantly upon waking. Very few knew of its existence, so whomever was knocking must have a good reason for showing up, unannounced.

Reluctantly, I left the soft bed and the potential for earth-shattering sex behind and walked toward the door. Cautiously reaching for the door handle, I reminded myself of the many wards that had been placed on the house. Anyone whose truest desire it was to do me harm wouldn’t be allowed entry.

A pale figure, obviously a vampire, stood holding what appeared to be a scroll. “Good evening, sir. I’m sorry to disturb you.” He eyed me suspiciously, no doubt noticing my charred skin and the fact that I'd answered the door in just boxers, showing no fear of who could be on the other side, even as injured as I was. “My name is Vorigan Danag, and I am a representative of the royal council and the king of the vampire court.” He dipped his head and when he straightened he pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. His brown hair was cut short and pasted in place with wax or gel and his suit was just a bit too big for him, giving the impression of a young man trying to dress as an adult for the first time.

Shit. This couldn’t be good.

“You and your…mistress have been summoned to appear at court on the next full moon.” He handed me the scroll and took a step back.

“That’s only in a few days.” I had no choice but to acknowledge the summons, so I hastily grabbed the scroll, which would allow us passage into the vampire kingdom. Unrolling it and skimming over the contents, I realized that this was a serious matter.

“Yes, sir. That’s correct. Two days from now, to be exact.” Vorigan bowed. “Have a nice evening, sir.” As he turned to go, he eyed Cordelia. And did I see a smirk on his face? What the hell?

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