Bleed For Me (8 page)

And she made him happy. He put her hand on his chest,
right over his heart. “I’d like to see some of your work.”

She stilled.

“Terese?”

“My home burned. The paintings, everything. When I
escaped from Eric, I went there first and it was…destroyed.”

He’d bet that ass Eric had done it. Oh, but he
couldn’t wait to get his hands on that jerk.

Soon.

Terese turned her head and gazed at the shuttered
window. “You know, I should be sleepy by now. Usually, I can barely
keep my eyes open when the sun rises.” She glanced back at him.
“But today, I don’t feel as tired.”

He cocked a brow. “Well, then maybe I can help you to
expend some of that energy you have.”

A full smile slipped over her lips. “Just what did
you have in mind?”

Apollo didn’t tell her, but he did show her, and soon
her sweet moans filled his ears.

* * *

When she slept, Apollo space jumped to Olympus.
Terese had stayed awake for half the day, and he knew that he would
have to hurry so he’d be able to return before darkness fell.

He wasted little time in traveling to Olympus. Filled
with sparkling gold streets, elaborate temples and glistening
fountains, Olympus was truly a paradise for the gods.

He wondered if Terese would like it there.

“Hello, Apollo.”

At the deep, rumbling voice, he spun around to find
Poseidon, the god of the sea, strolling slowly toward him.

He tensed at the sight of the other god. Second only
to Zeus, Poseidon was known to be damn strong, and the guy was
almost as unpredictable as Ares.

Apollo nodded cautiously. “Poseidon.” It took a lot
to get Poseidon out of his watery realm.

A muscle jerked in Poseidon’s jaw. “Have you seen the
Fates?”

Not lately, thank Zeus. Though he was sure they were
off someplace laughing at hm. Apollo shook his head.

“Dammit!” The ground beneath them began to tremble. A
sure sign that Poseidon was royally pissed. The guy had been known
to start more than a few earthquakes.

“I’m tired of waiting,” he snarled. “They promised
her to me, they promised! I should have found her by now.” His eyes
reflected a stark hunger, and lines of pain were etched onto his
face.

Apollo suddenly understood what, or who, had brought
Poseidon to Olympus.

His mate.
Apollo had heard the stories, of
course. All the gods and goddesses had. One woman, a daughter of
the land, was destined to be the sea god’s queen.

The Fates had foretold their bond centuries
before.

Centuries…

No wonder the guy was pissed.

Poseidon’s hands clenched into fists. “I
need
her.”

Yeah, Apollo could understand that. But as bad as he
felt for the other god, he didn’t have time for this drama. He had
his own woman to worry about. “Look, I need to find Zeus. Do you
know where he is?” The sooner he found his old man, the sooner he’d
be able to permanently eliminate Eric from Terese’s life.

“No, I haven’t seen my brother. He’s probably off
somewhere with Hera.” Then Poseidon muttered something, something
that sounded like
lucky bastard.

That wasn’t helpful—

“Apollo!”

He turned at the shout and found his twin sister
Artemis running toward him and waving happily. She threw herself
into his arms, and he grunted under the impact. “Uh, hi, sis.”

Artemis pushed back, and gazed at him with merry
light blue eyes, eyes exactly like his. “I didn’t know you were
coming home.”

A snarl broke the air behind them. They both glanced
back to see Poseidon shimmer out of sight. He was off, no doubt, to
continue hunting for the Fates. And his mate.

“Apollo?” Artemis stroked his cheek. “Why didn’t you
let me know you were coming back to Olympus?”

“Because I’m not here to stay.”

Disappointment clouded her lovely features. “But I’ve
missed you so.”

And he’d missed her, but Terese needed him. He didn’t
want her to wake alone. “Someone’s waiting for me,” he told her
softly. “I have to go back to her.”

“
To her
?” Her jaw dropped.

The last thing he wanted to do was sit through one of
his sister’s grillings. “Look, I don’t have much time. Where’s
Zeus?” The sooner he got his answers, the sooner he could get back
to his vampiress.

Artemis shrugged. “I don’t know. He and that bitch
Hera disappeared somewhere.” Artemis hated,
hated
Hera.
Artemis had despised Hera since she’d just been a small girl and
she’d learned the truth about what the goddess had done to their
mother.

Apollo didn’t exactly feel all warm and tingly toward
her. If Hera had gotten her way, he and Artemis never would have
been born.

When Hera had learned that Zeus’s lover was pregnant,
she’d used her power to prevent the mortal from giving birth
anywhere within the world. She’d thought that if Leto couldn’t find
a place to birth her children, then both Leto and the offspring she
carried would all die.
Talk about your wicked bitch.

Luckily for Apollo and his family, the island of
Delos had disobeyed Hera. His mother had received refuge there. And
he and Artemis had been given life.

Delos. His beautiful island. So gorgeous in the
sunlight.

The sunlight Terese would never get to see again.

Artemis touched his cheek. “Why are you sad,
brother?”

Trust Artemis to read him so easily. “I have someone
I care about, back in New Olympus. She’s in danger.”

“Bring her here,” she said, nodding firmly. “She’ll
be safe here—”

“It’s not that simple.” He sighed. “She’s a
vampire.”

“A vampire?”

Apollo nodded.

Delighted laughter burst past her lips. “Oh, that’s
too good. The sun god and a vampire, how insane is—”

He began walking away from her. “If Zeus isn’t here,
then—”

“Wait!” She grabbed his arm. “Why—why do you have to
talk to Zeus?”

“Because another vampire is after Terese, the vampire
who transformed her, and I need to know how strong that asshole
is.”

The laughter slipped away from her expression. “Did
you say
Terese
?” For a moment, her face glowed with power.
“Terese Lafitte, converted by Eric Montraine?”

How the hell did she know that? He gave a quick
nod.

Artemis swallowed. “Eric’s strong. Very strong. He’s
been running under my moon for nearly a millennium.”

Running under her moon? “What are you talking
about?”

Her lips curved into a half-smile. “Apollo, you never
really understood about us, did you? You are the sun, all that
should be good and strong, but I—I am the moon, the guardian of the
dark night, and of all those who dwell within that darkness.”

He grabbed her arms. “Tell me what you know of
Eric.”

Her eyes changed, the blue fading. “He hunts her.
Stalks her.”

Yeah, yeah, he already knew that. He fought the urge
to shake Artemis.

“He took her blood, so he can track her and find her
anywhere.”

His heart seemed to freeze. “Anywhere?”

Her gaze lightened as the bright blue returned to her
eyes. “He knows where she is. He seeks her…
now
.”

Terese awoke with the setting of the sun. She sat up
in the bed, pushed the covers back and stretched slowly.

Apollo wasn’t in the bed with her. But a small white
note lay folded on his pillow. She picked up the note and unfolded
it carefully.

Go into the den. I have a surprise for
you.

Terese climbed from the bed and belted her robe.
A surprise
? Her lips curved as excitement filled her. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten a surprise. Not
anything that she
wanted
to be surprised with, anyway.

Being turned into a vamp hadn’t exactly been her idea
of a “good” surprise.

She pushed open the bedroom door and hurried down the
hallway. She rounded the corner, headed into the den, and
froze.

Oh, my God.
Her gaze locked on the canvases.
On the easels. On the paints.

Terese ran across the room. She stroked the soft tips
of the paint brushes. And there were dozens of brushes. All sizes.
And the paint…so much paint. Every shade imaginable.

A bubble of laughter escaped her.

Apollo had given art back to her. He’d given her—

A floorboard squeaked behind her. Terese turned, her
arms open, a smile on her lips. “Apollo, thank you—”

Apollo wasn’t standing behind her.

Terese’s smile disappeared as terror filled her.

No, it wasn’t Apollo. The man standing there, less
than two feet away…was Eric.

“Hello, my dear,” he purred silkily. Then he lunged
for her, claws outstretched, fangs bared.

She screamed.

* * *

The air shimmered, and Apollo appeared back in the
cabin’s bedroom. “Terese!”

The bed was empty.

He ran into the den, screaming her name.

And he froze at the sight before him.

The art supplies, the supplies he’d painstakingly
gathered for her before jumping to Olympus, were destroyed. The
canvases were slashed. Brushes were thrown across the room. Paint
stained the floor, a hideous splash of red and black.

In the middle of the chaos, lying abandoned in a
puddle of paint…was Terese’s robe.

“No!” He grabbed the robe, clutching the soft fabric,
his fingers staining red. “Artemis!” he screamed. “Artemis, I need
you!”

His sister flashed into the room. Her face blanched
when she saw the destruction surrounding Apollo.

“Where is he?” he snarled.

She shook her head. “I-I don’t know.”

Apollo stalked toward her with the robe still
clenched in his fingers. “You knew he was after her. You knew who
he was, knew how long he’d been a vampire.”

Artemis stared at him, her lips trembling.

“Now tell me where the dick is so that I can kill
him!”

“I-I don’t know where he is. I can’t feel him right
now.”

Fury blasted through him.

“But…I sense her.”

He stilled, desperate hope filling him. “Terese?”

She nodded.

“Then she’s still alive.”
Thank Zeus.
He’d
go after her, bring her back, make certain she was safe and—

“For the moment,” his sister whispered sadly.

* * *

When Terese opened her eyes, every part of her body
ached.

She’d fought with Eric. She’d clawed. She’d bit.
She’d kicked.

But, in the end, she’d been no match for him.

Apollo.
She hated to think of Apollo going
back to the cabin and finding the destruction that had been left
behind.

He’d tried so hard to protect her, but Eric had still
taken her away.

And, now—now he was going to kill her.

“Hello, again,” Eric’s taunting voice floated from
the darkness. “I see you’re back with me.”

Terese tried to rise, tried to jerk up and run—

But she couldn’t move. Her wrists were chained,
stretched out high above her head. And her legs were manacled,
spread-eagled on the ground and locked to thick stone chains that
had been driven deep into the earth.

Eric’s face appeared before her. His pale, handsome
face. The face of an angel, cloaking the devil. “Terese, it seems
I’ve finally got you where I want you.”

No, no—

His claws stroked her cheek. Slid down and scraped
her throat. “Guess what’s going to happen to you, sweet
Terese?”

Bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t stand for him
to touch her. Could. Not. Stand. It.

And she was naked. He’d stripped the robe from her at
the cabin and left it behind for Apollo.
“So he’d know I have
his whore.”

“After I first gifted you…”

Gifted her?
“You mean when you cursed me,”
she snarled, her wrists straining against the chains.

The tips of his claws bit into her skin. She felt
blood trickle down her neck.

“After I
gifted
you, all you could talk
about was seeing the sun again. How you wanted to walk in the
daylight, wanted to feel the warmth on your skin.”

Yes, yes, she’d talked about the sun. She’d cried.
Begged to see it again.

But Eric had told her the sun would be her death, and
she’d soon learned that he was right. The touch of sunlight on her
flesh was a burning agony. No longer the sweet, soothing glow she
remembered as a human.

“I’ve decided to grant your wish, my Terese.” His
breath, cold, rancid, blew across her cheek. “You want the sun, so
I’m going to give it to you.”

Oh, no.
Horror filled her. “You can’t—”

His teeth sank into her throat, ripping, tearing.

She screamed and struggled to get away from him.
Twisting, squirming—

But she couldn’t get away. The chains held her
prisoner. Held her trapped between his piercing fangs and the hard
ground.

* * *

The night was ebbing. Apollo had been searching for
Terese for hours, but he still hadn’t found her. Soon, very soon,
dawn would arrive.

Artemis had told him that Eric had taken Terese back
to Louisiana, but she couldn’t tell him
exactly
where in
Louisiana the bastard was.

He turned on her, body tense with fury and fear. “I
need
more
, Artemis.” He’d gone to Baton Rouge, thinking
that maybe Eric had returned to Terese’s home. But he’d searched
and searched, and he still couldn’t sense her.

And his sister couldn’t hone in on the vampire.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I-I’m sorry, I
can’t—”

The sky lightened. A pink hue appeared on the
horizon.

Dawn.

* * *

She couldn’t move.

Terese lay on the ground as blood trickled from her
throat. Her hands were limp in the chains.