Page 32 of Bleeding Love

I caught it with a small frown, rising to my shaky feet before sliding it on. He stepped behind me without a word, giving the ties a sharp tug.

“We need to figure out what we’ll do from here on. Where we’ll go and…” I said after another few tugs.

“No need,” Roman interrupted me, and I glared at him over my shoulder. “I already have a plan.”

I rested my hands on my hips, raising an eyebrow in expectation. A dark smile blossomed on his face as he slid an arm around my waist and drew me to him. He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the edge of my mouth before continuing along my jaw. When he reached my ear, I wasn’t breathing anymore.

“We are going back to kill every single hunter in that town and destroy their church,” he said quietly, his cool breath making me press harder against him in search of warmth. “And if anyone else gets in our way, we kill them, too.”

Chapter 15

Roman

Igavetheremnantsof the burned house one last glance before I walked away. The ward had disintegrated after the scroll that was used as its tether had burned in the fire. Not that it mattered, there was barely anything but ash left and the townsfolk had already marred the place with their scents. Even if a vampire came to investigate, they wouldn’t find anything with all the mixing smells and destruction.

I took a turn and stopped, sinking into the shadows as I watched two hunters stride down the street with their hands hidden in their cloaks, no doubt gripping a weapon. One of them was a witch hunter, judging by the runes on his neck and hands; the other one walked with sharp, quick movements, eyes vigilantly studying his surroundings—a vampire hunter, perhaps, or maybe a shifter one. His calm and his swift reactions to the smallest noise told me he was used to an enemy faster and deadlier than him.

My thoughts flew to Celeste and what she was doing. Letting her venture into the town alone had been a struggle, but I knew it had to be done. She had to show her face, get people’s attention, and draw the hunters to her. She had her magic, so she wasn’t defenseless, but she was still healing, and there were more witch hunters in this forsaken place than I had seen anywhere else before. And since we made a deal, it was in my…best interest to keep her alive.

Or so I continued to tell myself as I tried to keep the memory of her warm skin, her racing heart, and her soft moans of pleasure locked up. Her eyes changed when she was happy, I had noticed, from the deep green of the forest at dusk, to the soft emerald of the grass early in the morning when the first rays of sunshine touched it. Or at least from what I could remember. It had been so long since I had seen the sunrise, but looking at her bright eyes, I could almost imagine what it was like as it reflected in them.

The sound of voices made me jump, landing on the rooftop right before three more hunters came rushing in. Two of them continued down the street leading to the church, but one stopped, looking around with wary eyes. He stared at the space where I had stood a moment ago before grumbling and following the others.

That had been close, too close. I had grown distracted again. No matter how hard I tried, my mind kept going to her. If she had just left last night, I might have been able to go back to the life I had before. But now…I couldn’t imagine forgetting that vow; I couldn’t fathom giving up her taste or her warmth. I had killed for her and I was going to kill again. There was no going back.

If she hadn’t been so weak and with so many enemies closing in on her, I would have fucked her on every surface in that cottage. I wouldn’t have stopped until I had ruined her for any other man. Until she begged me never to leave her. A low groan tore from my lips when I imagined her saying the words.

But first…we needed to take care of those hunters. Of anyone who was after her. Once I was sure she was safe, I could have her.

The wind changed direction, carrying a familiar smell. I gasped in surprise, my body moving instinctively as I jumped off the roof, rushing toward the source. The scent brought me to a dark alley behind one of the town inns. Usually loud and full of people, the place now stood quiet, with just a few murmuring voices coming from inside.

I stopped next to the body that was lying abandoned in a heap on the ground. The corpse was still warm, and the scent clung to its neck like an invitation.

“Lovely night, isn’t it?” a low, painfully familiar voice spoke from behind me, and every hair on my body rose on its end. I hadn’t heard her move or sensed her watching me. And for the first time since she made me a vampire, I felt dread fill my chest while I listened to her approach.

Turning slowly, I watched my Maker stride to my side, stopping a few steps away and smiling. Her black hair was falling heavily around her narrow shoulders; her lips, red as blood—or maybe from it—pulled into a smile only a creature of her age could make look good. Her fangs jutted over her lower lip, not in challenge but in delight, and her red eyes studied me from head to toe like she was looking for something. When her observation was over, she raised a hand and touched my cheek like she always did.

“It’s good seeing you again, amor. I missed you,” she said in a sweet voice that could have frozen a lake. It was always like that with her. Her eyes, her touch, her love—they were cold, chilling me to the bone and reminding me of what I was, what I had become.

“Maria,” I whispered, standing perfectly still as she rose to her toes and kissed my cheek. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.”

She chuckled softly but said nothing. Instead, she distanced herself, surveying me again before turning toward the street. The sound of running feet was hard to ignore, but we were deep enough into the shadows not to be noticed even as the hunters ran past. Their excitement, however, meant that Celeste’s plan was working, and they were closing in on her.

Celeste. Fuck! With Maria here, the entire play could go up in flames.

“You seem distracted, amor. What have you been up to while I was gone?” Maria asked, turning to look at me over her shoulder. Her long dress brushed the wet ground, but as usual, she didn’t seem to care even when the edges soaked the blood pooling there.

“Nothing of note,” I replied, watching her take a handkerchief out of a hidden pocket and wipe the red stains from her fingers. She made a small noise that could have been an agreement or quite the opposite, but her expression didn’t change even for a second.

“Did Vincent find you?”

If my heart still beat, it would have probably betrayed my surprise. But my chest was quiet, and so was my mouth until I calmed my mind enough to reply.

“No.”

Maria stopped cleaning her hands and stuffed her handkerchief back into her pocket. When she turned to face me, her smile was sharp.

“Really? That’s funny, considering I told him exactly where to find you,” she said, gliding toward me. Her long nails tapped against my chest before she made a slow circle around me, trailing her fingers over. “But I guess you might have missed each other with the whole house being now ash and all. Tell me, did the witch do it? Or did you, boys, get carried away? Fire can be dangerous, you know. It can destroy even a vampire’s body.”

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