Impulse (46 page)
Sometimes I would stop and rest, but as my blood was draining out of a tube at a controlled level, I went back to the vein when my body grew weak. Justus left the room, disgusted by the whole affair. Couldn’t say I blamed him. I thought I’d be spending my first birthday binging on alcohol, not O positive.
“Page?”
“Yes?”
I wiped my mouth on the towel draped across the pillows. “Justus—you think he’s a prick, don’t you?”
Her sigh was barely perceptible. “I’m a Relic and a professional healer. He’s overstepping his bounds when he interferes. I don’t like people telling me how to do my job when they don’t know a single thing about it. He’s an imperious jackass, and you have my sympathies.”
“Yeah, he’s like that.”
“I’m going to make some notes and do a little research, Silver. If you need anything, just yell.” When Page left the room, I made a small inquisitive sound. The kind you make when you’ve figured something out.
“You noticed that too, huh?” Christian asked with an amused voice.
“Hard not to. I’ve lived with Justus long enough that it caught my attention right away. It’s weird that he didn’t seem to notice.”
“Perhaps he was too distracted by his old guard tucked beside his precious Learner.”
“I could curl up with a teddy bear and he’d tear it a new stuffing.”
A shiver skated across my skin.
“Here, you need to start again,” he urged.
“Why don’t you just put a straw in there, Mr. Juicebox?”
“I don’t exactly like spending my evenings as a cocktail, so let’s get this over with, yeah?”
“Where’s my cat?”
“Clawing out Justus’s eyes, I hope.”
“He would do that, too.” I chuckled.
Christian coaxed my head to the wound and I drank.
“You know, you aren’t so bad when your mouth is full.”
“Do you say that to all the women?”
“A filthy mouth doesn’t become a lady. You should learn to hold that tongue of yours.”
“All you old immortals have a thing about how ladies should act. I can always have another Vampire delivered; I’m sure there’s a takeout service.”
He pulled my head back down, “Shut up and feed before I have to cut my throat again.”
After a minute, he groaned and I pulled away. “Is this hurting you? Maybe we should do it somewhere else.”
“Where would you suggest, lass? Because I have a lovely vein in my groin area that you could suck on.” He gave a satisfied laugh.
“So it’s okay for you to have a dirty mouth, but not a woman?” I flew on my back, staring into the dark void. “Maybe it’s working; my fingers aren’t burning anymore.”
“She said there’s a good chance you’ll regain your sight, so do exactly as you’re told.”
My mind raced. What if we never caught Nero? This could go on for infinity until he got what he wanted, so why didn’t I just give him the damn box? Would he leave me alone? Then there was Tarek. If he’d meant to kill me then he would have, but he wanted me to suffer. Even worse, he wanted Logan to watch. I closed my eyes.
So very tired.
Except Christian was shaking me. “Wake up! Fall asleep on me and I’ll shave your head. The blood loss is making you tired.”
He tugged on my neck and I pressed my lips shut. I was cognizant of the consequences of refusing to drink, but my state of mind was akin to a fever and I wasn’t thinking rationally. Christian was too strong for me to resist and he shoved my face against his wet neck. What was the point? I would always question if Logan had settled for me; Tarek would forever play his games; Nero would stop at nothing, and I could be permanently blind.
Christian hooked his finger in my mouth and I bit down on it. He rolled his heavy body over mine and forced my jaws open. Blood trickled in my throat and I choked.
“Just swallow it.”
My body submitted and I commenced drinking. His warm breath was rapid against my shoulder and I heard a low groan. I snapped out of my blood frenzy to see what was wrong.
“Is that hurting you?”
“
Jaysus wept
, you really think this is hurting me? This sounds like a conversation between two teens in the back of a Chevrolet. Don’t ask daft questions if you don’t know about Vampires.”
I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth. “How do you manage to follow me when I’m out?”
He rolled off and the bed lightly bounced as he settled to my left. “I’ve got a motorcycle, but I can stay behind a good distance and track where you’re going with my eyes and ears. No need for the headlamp. On foot, I shadow walk.” He shifted to his side. “Can I just say that you riding that Ducati the other night
seriously
hurt my feelings? It was enough to make a grown man weep. You should learn how to properly ride.”
“My options were limited and I wasn’t about to take the princess car out. Justus would kill me three times over.”
“I failed you as a guard,” he bit out.
“Do you think that I blame you for what happened? You were attacked.”
I belched and turned my head to my side. “I think I’m going to be sick,” I muttered.
“Definitely not the effect I usually have on women.”
The thought of what’d I’d been doing—drinking blood—coiled in my stomach. “No one’s perfect.”
“This is not just a job; it’s an obligation and an honor to protect a life. I’m not leaving you unless Zeus himself throws a lightning bolt into my arse, sending me across three counties, or I’m discharged. You hear?”
I not only understood him, but I was about to throw up on him.
He gripped my shoulders and slung me over his lap. I vomited something thick and acidic—listening to it splatter on the floor. God, the
floor
. I wanted to curl up and die because my room probably looked like a slaughterhouse.
“All better? I think we’ll leave that for Justus to tidy up,” he said with a dark laugh.
When the wave of nausea subsided, I sighed and fell on my back. “Justus is going to be so disgusted by this that we’ll probably move to a cave.”
“The man is all business, but he has a playful side.”
“Playful? That’s hardly a word I would associate with Justus. I doubt he’ll see the humor,” I said in a raspy voice.
“Inside joke. I’ve known the man a long time. Friends that old always have stories.”
That I understood. There were plenty of inside jokes with Sunny. Still, I didn’t see the humor in cleaning vomit.
Christian pushed my frown up with the pad of his thumb. “Justus was ill once from a concoction he was forced to drink. As his guard…,” he said with a sigh, “I had to keep him alive.”
“What was it?”
“Liquid fire. While it works its way out of your system, you’re extremely vulnerable. He was forced to throw it up and… Jaysus, I had to jam my finger down that wanker’s throat,” he grumbled.
“Who made him drink it? Is that something you can just slip in someone’s glass?” Wasn’t that a scary thought.
“Impossible. The moment it touches your tongue it’s like…” I heard his mouth smacking around, doing a mental recall. “Well, Justus could probably compare the flavor more than I could since I don’t eat much. It’s vile to be sure. As for who? Old enemies. He’s quite settled from when I knew him—less reckless, more stoic. Seems to work for him.”
Justus had progressively become the man he is; I always had the impression he was born arrogant. Probably came from a rich family with harems.
“Drink,” Christian coaxed.
“You need to shave your neck because I feel like I’m making out with a wild boar.”
He laughed. “Poor bastard.”
“Who are you calling a bastard?”
“The boar you made out with.”
“Is a five o’clock shadow on your
neck
a fashion statement?”
“Why mess with centuries of perfection? The ladies do like.”
Chapter 36
“No, that’s all she’ll need. I retested her blood and she’s clear of the venom. Let her sleep it off.”
“And her vision?” Justus asked. In my hazy state of consciousness, I heard the concern behind his clipped words.
There was a pause before she continued. “I don’t appreciate you turning away as if you have better ideas. Question my knowledge all you want, but don’t defy my orders. I’m here as a favor to Remi and if you have any respect for him then you’ll heed my advice. She’s
my
patient, do you understand me?” Her tone punctuated each word showing that Page was all business. I mentally snickered at the image I had of her: unsophisticated, dressed in discount clothes with her hair pulled up in a tight bun and holding a long, punishing ruler.
“Before you leave, can you remove him from that bed?”
Her laugh was soft and amused. “Is she your lover or your child? Because I see a woman in there who is capable of making her own decisions. Here’s my card. Call me immediately if her condition worsens and do me a favor—no more parties. I think she’ll feel better after a day, but no excitement. I’ll check back in after I see a few more clients. Goodbye, Mr. De Gradi.”
I curled up against my warm pillow, wishing the voices would drown out.
“Logan is on his way,” Justus warned.
“Is he now?” my pillow said. “Then maybe he can be the one to untangle her arms from my body. Worry not, Justus. I have no interest in your Learner.”
The door slammed shut.
“Wake up,” Christian said with a hard shake.
“Stop it,” I groaned, nudging my face against him.
“It’s been a lovely evening, Silver, but I need to find my list of ‘
things I wish I’d never done
’ and add this to it.”
He snapped the towel from beneath my head and smudged it over my mouth, muttering curses when he crossed the room.
During the last couple of drinking sessions, I felt remarkably strange—as if new feelings were flooding in me that weren’t my own. While a Mage could taste emotions from the light that came from another, I knew little about the complexity of Vampire blood. Perhaps it contained trace amounts of those feelings in addition to the information that transferred. I didn’t understand how a Vampire could read that language, but I knew that his blood was lifeless until he rolled on top of me. Only then did it swim with flavor.
“Why the hell are you so turned on?” I accused. But it was too late—Christian was gone.
I was thankful Vampires carried no personal scent. Otherwise, it would have been a fiasco. Logan slipped into my room while I slept and covered me protectively. I loved the way he held me fiercely; every woman should know what it’s like to be held by a man who would lay down his life for her. Logan Cross had proven it more than once.
His nose traced up my arm, my collarbone, and circled across my neck. Logan drew in a deep, soulful breath until his motor kicked in. Something stirred within me—a longing for his touch. I arched my back and he brushed his hands over my face.
“How’s my sumptuous Mage?” he asked, each word dripping from his tongue like sweet honey. “Why did you hide your sickness?”
“I didn’t want to ruin the party,” I said, kissing his pliant mouth, tasting the mint that clung to his breath.
“Forgiven,” he whispered against my lips. Our breathing grew heavy as I drew him in.
“Kiss me,” I beckoned. Desire stirred in me like tiny firecrackers going off.
My fingers tugged on his zipper while I slid my other hand between his stomach and his jeans. His breath hitched and it felt wonderful when his muscles locked tight as I curled my fingers.
“What are you doing?” he whispered in a dark and desperate voice. Logan’s excitement overwhelmed me and it was an incendiary awakening of touch and taste. I slowly pulled the zipper down and his lips grazed over mine. “We’re not doing this,” he said firmly.
Except we were. By the weight of his chest, the swell pressing between my legs, and the way he continually breathed in my scent—I knew Logan wanted me.
Logan’s scent changed and his body language was telling me “more” by the way he submitted. I bit his lower lip and the reaction was instantaneous. He snatched my wrists, pinned them against the pillow, and clamped his teeth on my shoulder. Not hard, but not soft. Something a mother cat would do to scold their overzealous kitten. It was raw and animalistic.