He hates me, I thought miserably. We don’t even know each other and he already hates me. God, I wish I didn’t need him. I wish I wasn’t so thirsty. His warm, animal scent was doing things to me, making my already dry throat feel like sandpaper. Giving me those strange feelings I’d been fighting almost from the moment I’d first drunk his blood from the Chalice of Union during our brief and perfunctory wedding ceremony.
I squeezed my thighs together tightly and tried to ignore both my growing thirst and the frightening needs stirring inside me.
Overhead, the full moon was rising, shedding pure silver light over my pale, white hands. I noticed they were trembling and folded them quickly in my lap. My stomach felt like it was gnawing a hole in itself and I was faint and dizzy. It had been well over a week since I’d last had any blood but so far Victor hadn’t offered me any. In fact, he’d done nothing but growl at me to get in the truck and those were the last words he had spoken. We had been riding for forty-five minutes in complete silence.
Maybe if I get him to talk, I thought. Maybe it won’t be so bad…we could even be friends. Or at least not enemies. After all, he went to Corbin to borrow money instead of to another were so maybe he doesn’t hate all vampires.
I cleared my throat nervously and cast a sidelong glance at the big werewolf. He was so huge he seemed to take up most of the truck. I was scrunched up in the corner, sitting as close to the window as possible to avoid touching him but I could still feel the furnace-like heat of his big body radiating against my cold skin. As intimidating as he was, though, I had to say something. Had to make the first move or nothing was ever going to get done.
“Um, it’s a beautiful night,” I ventured.
The big were was silent. I frowned—had he heard me at all?
“I said, it’s a beautiful night,” I said, raising my voice to be heard above the roar of the truck’s engine.
“Yeah. Really fucking gorgeous,” he growled, still staring straight ahead.
Instantly, I was tempted to shrink back into myself and shut up. But something told me that I couldn’t do that. Tonight would set the tone of our future relationship and I didn’t want the big were to think he could treat me like a doormat—just some stupid girl he could walk all over. I’d taken enough abuse from Celeste, had spent years walking on eggshells around my cruel mistress. I’m not going to live like that, I told myself, lifting my chin. Not anymore.
“Your property certainly is way out of Tampa,” I said, determined to make conversation.
Victor grunted, his golden eyes never leaving the road.
“Don’t you like the city?” I asked. “I always think the nice thing about Tampa is that it’s big enough to always have something going on without being so huge you can’t get around in it.”
Victor made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. “Do you always talk this much?”
“I’m sorry.” I crossed her arms over my breasts and frowned at him. “I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Well, don’t. And it’s not that I don’t like the city—I live in the country because I’m a fucking were. I need space to change, space to run and hunt.”
"Oh.” Abruptly, I felt stupid. “Of course. I guess I didn’t…didn’t think about that.”
“That’s because you’re a vamp. Your kind don’t need wide open spaces to let loose in—you’re monsters all the damn time, not just once a month like us.”
“We’re not monsters,” I said, stung. “At least, I’m not.”
“Oh no?” The glance he threw me was a lot less than friendly. “Last time I looked, vamps are undead and live on blood. That’s the fucking definition of monster if you ask me.”
“At least I look normal,” I snapped, losing my temper. “At least I don’t grow hair all over and…and turn into an animal.”
“At least an animal is alive,” he snarled. “More than I can say for you undead fangers.”
That was it—I had suddenly had enough. Years of repressed anger and hurt rose up inside me. I didn’t care what the consequences were for breaking the blood-bond between myself and the huge werewolf—I wasn’t going to take one more minute of this.
“That’s it,” I snapped. “Stop the truck.”
“What?” Victor gave me an incredulous look and kept driving. “Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because I’m leaving.” I fumbled for the handle on the unfamiliar door. “How do you open this damn thing, anyway?” Falling out of the speeding truck wouldn’t be a picnic but I was a vampire—I would heal. Of course, my body was in pretty bad shape because of the enforced starvation I’d endured recently so it might take a while. But even a slow and painful recovery was better than taking any more of the were’s abuse.
The handle clicked and suddenly the door flew open. The truck took a sharp curve and I felt myself slipping sideways at an alarming rate.
Oh my God! I braced for the fall but just as I started to slide out of the cab a big hand reached out and grabbed me by the arm.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Victor brought the truck to a screeching halt and dragged me back across the seat.
“I told you—leaving. So let me go.”
“I don’t think so,” he snarled. “We’re blood-bound—you’re not going anywhere.”
“So I’ll find a way to break the bond,” I snapped, yanking at his seemingly unbreakable grip. “Anything to get away from you.”
“You can’t break the bond unless you’re willing to go down some pretty dark roads and find a witch that deals in the Shadow Lands. You want that?” Victor demanded. “Because I sure as hell don’t. Like it or not, we’re stuck together, sweetheart.”
“Oh, no, we’re not.” I lifted my chin. “I spent the last six years of my life being stuck in an abusive relationship—one I couldn’t get out of no matter how hard I tried. I refuse to spend even one second more that way.”
Victor’s eyes got wide. “Abusive? What the hell are you talking about, abusive? How have I hurt you?”
“Abuse isn’t just physical or…or sexual, you know.” I felt my throat getting tight but I refused to let my pain show on my face. “There is such a thing as mental and emotional abuse too. Although when I think about it, you did promise not to lay a finger on me and you’re doing a hell of lot more than that right now.”
I glared at him and then looked pointedly at the big hand encircling my upper arm.
“Damn it!” Victor pulled his hand away as though he’d been stung. “I was just trying to keep you from killing yourself, lady.”
“My name is Taylor. Not lady, not sweetheart, and most certainly not “fanger”—it’s Taylor. And I wouldn’t have died—I couldn’t. I’m already dead, remember?”
“Oh, hell…” He ran a hand through his wild black hair and blew out a breath. “Look, I’m sorry, all right?” he said, apologizing much to my surprise. “This is just…such a bad fucking night for this. The moon is getting high and if I don’t get home soon…”
“Oh.” Understanding suddenly hit me. “You’re going to…what, change into a wolf?”
“If you’re lucky,” he said darkly. “And if you’re not…” He shook his head. “Let’s just say I really need to get home and I don’t have a lot of time for polite chit-chat right now.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, chastened. “I didn’t realize your problem was that, uh, urgent.”
“Well, it is. And it wouldn’t be good for you if I changed around you.”
My heart was suddenly in my throat. “Would you hurt me?”
“Not on purpose, no. But my wolf—the wolf inside me…” He thumped himself on the chest. “It would see you as a threat. It’s an instinctive thing—we don’t like vamps. And I don’t think too well in that form—I mostly feel.”
“So we’d better get to a place where you can, uh, change as far away from me as possible,” I said.
“Yeah.” He sighed again. “Look, I know I’m being an ass right
now and I’m sorry. It’s just…the moon.” He gestured at the full silver orb climbing higher in the sky above them and his voice dropped to an even deeper register, sounding almost like an animal’s growl. “She’s calling me. I’m strong but I can’t hold off my change forever.”
“Oh, right.” I nodded nervously. I had no wish to be caught in the cab of the truck with a huge, ravenous wolf who hated vampires. “Well…can you get us home? I mean, your home of course,” I added quickly.
“Yeah, if we go right now.” Victor started the truck’s engine and looked pointedly at my door, which was still swinging open, letting in the warm, humid Florida night air. “Could you close that? I don’t care if you’re undead or not, you don’t look like you’re in any kind of shape to survive being thrown from a truck doing sixty.”
“I’m stronger than I look,” I protested, but I closed the door as he had asked. “I heal fast.”
He snorted and put the truck in gear. “Yeah. Right.”
“It’s true,” I said, stung. “I’ve had every bone in my body broken multiple times and I healed every time.”
The look he cast from the other side of the truck was both incredulous and pitying. “You what? How the hell did you break all your bones? You into skydiving or something?”
I crossed my arms over my breasts and looked down. “I wasn’t the one who broke them. But that’s not the point—the point is that I can take a lot of abuse and still live.” I looked up at him. “But I won’t. Not anymore. Not from you or anyone else.”
He nodded thoughtfully and I thought I saw just a touch of respect creeping into his golden eyes.
“I got it. You’re tougher than you look. But you don’t mind me saying so—you don’t look too good.”
“Thanks a lot,” I snapped. “That makes me feel just great. Are you always this smooth?”
“No, damn it…” He slapped the steering wheel in frustration. “Look, it gets harder to talk when the moon is full. My wolf comes forward and that part of me…it doesn’t have words.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean you’re not pretty—you are. Fucking gorgeous. I’m just saying you look, I don’t know, sick or something. Kind of weak and frail.”
“You’d be weak and frail too if you hadn’t had any nourishment in almost two weeks,” I said tightly. “I’m just thirsty that’s all.”
“Oh, right. I, uh, guess that’s my fault.” He gave me a sidelong look as he turned the truck onto a smaller dirt road.
I said nothing. He could assign himself the blame if he wanted to but I wasn’t going to say anything else. I’m not going to beg, I told myself, even though his warm scent was making my thirst for blood worse and worse.
Victor cleared his throat and killed the truck’s motor.
“Well, here we are.”
I looked out of the window and saw a large clearing inside a dense thicket of woods. This being Florida, there were plenty of vines and creepers too, all of them dark greenish-black in the deepening night.
The house itself looked like an upscale log cabin—one of the two-story kind with high ceilings, hardwood floors and a fireplace in every room. The arched eves managed to look graceful and rustic at the same time and the windows sparkled silver in the moonlight.
“It’s lovely,” I said grudgingly. “I’ve always liked log cabins.”
“Designed and built it myself.” There was an unmistakable note of pride in the big were’s voice. “Wait ‘til you see it in the sunlight. It’s really, uh…” He trailed off, obviously realizing what he was saying. “I mean, never mind. Come on.”
I started to open my door but he was around the side of the truck in a flash. He offered me a hand to get down from the high cab. After a moment’s consideration, I took it and stepped down onto the sparse grass of the driveway. His skin was as hot as I had imagined and I took my hand out of his as soon as I could.
“Can I get your stuff?” Victor asked gruffly.
I felt some of my resentment melt a little. Clearly he was at least making an effort to be less of an ass.
“I don’t have any,” I reminded him gently. “You didn’t really give me time to pack anything.” In fact, he had dragged me away from Under the Fang with nothing but the clothes on my back—a simple black skirt and a white button-down silk blouse with black flats. It was one of the plainest outfits I owned, which was why I liked it. Celeste always liked to dress me up and show me off like a doll in expensive dresses with the most elaborate hair and makeup possible. I was glad to put that part of my life behind me.
“Oh, sorry.” Victor rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, let’s go in. I’ll show you around and then I really have to go.”
“Right. You have to, uh, change.” I nodded stiffly and followed him to the wooden doorframe. Victor produced a set of keys and unlocked the front door with a muted jingle. Then he stepped inside, clearly expecting me to follow.
“Okay, so this is the kitchen,” he remarked, flicking on the light switches so that the long room was flooded with light. “I don’t guess you’ll use it much but—hey…” He turned with a frown to see me still standing in the doorway. “Why are you still over there?”
“You didn’t invite me in.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m a vampire—I can’t enter the dwelling of a living person without an invitation.”
“Oh, right.” He cleared his throat. “Damn it, I’m making a fucking mess of this whole thing. Uh, Taylor, would you like to come in?”
Not really, I thought but was too polite to say out loud.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, stepping over the threshold and into the house that was going to be my home for the next three months. “I appreciate your invitation.”
“Sure.” Victor shrugged uneasily, his broad shoulders rolling under his plain white t-shirt. I had yet to see him in anything but t-shirts, jeans, and work boots. Except for the ill-fitting jacket he’d borrowed from Corbin for our “wedding,” that was.
“So, like I was saying, this is the kitchen,” he continued, once I had come forward to join him. “You can, um, make yourself at home and there’s plenty of stuff in the fridge—”
“I don’t eat,” I reminded him. I was hoping against hope that he would offer me some of his blood before he went, but I wasn’t going to ask. Not even if I starved to death.
“Yeah, of course not. You need…need blood. My blood.” He was looking more and more nervous.
“Only if you want to give it.” I looked down at my hands. My fingers were clenched together, the knuckles white. My throat felt like it was lined with barbed wire and my gut twisted with need. Please, I thought. Oh please…oh please…
“Fine.” Victor seemed to come to a sudden decision. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, both hands braced on the countertop, and turned his head, baring his neck for me.
I approached him slowly, my heart suddenly pounding. His big body was tense, the muscles standing out hard under his thin white shirt. Under his olive skin, I could see a steady pulse beating in the strong column of his throat.
The closer I got, the more intimidating I found him. He was so massive, so alive—his muscular body pulsing with animal energy. Even though as vampire, I’m supernaturally strong, I sensed he was stronger—much stronger. He could crush me in a heartbeat if he wanted to. I could feel his heat, could almost taste his wild scent on the tip of my tongue…
He’s so big…too big. I wanted his blood desperately—my fangs were fully extended and aching to pierce his warm olive skin. But to get close enough to feed, I would also have to be close enough for him to grab me—hurt me. My time with Roderick rose before my eyes and I pushed it back down again quickly.
That’s over now—I won’t think about it. And Victor promised not to hurt me. Corbin made him swear an oath. It’ll be okay. Everything is going to be fine…isn’t it?
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to go right up beside him. But even hunched down as he was, his throat was still far out of reach. I bega
n to wish I had worn heels instead of my sensible black flats—the four inch stilettos Celeste used to make me wear would have made getting to the tantalizing vein I saw in his neck a hell of a lot easier.
Standing on tiptoes, I touched his arm lightly to brace myself as I tried to reach him. His biceps tensed rock hard under my fingertips and he twitched, reminding me of a stray dog uncertain how it feels about being stroked by a stranger.
“Hurry the fuck up, will you?” he growled. “I never did like needles and this is a damn awkward position to be in.”
It was too much—he was too big, too threatening. I lost my nerve and stepped back.
“I can’t reach you. Maybe…maybe you should just go.”
“No, damn it.” He straightened up and shook his head fiercely. “Just look at you—now that I see you in the light I can tell you’re in a bad way.”
“I’m fine.” I drew myself up and crossed my arms over my chest protectively. “Just fine.”
“Hell no, you’re not,” he said, almost angrily. “You look like a stiff wind would blow you over. You need blood.”
He took a step toward me and I took a step back. I didn’t like the way he loomed over me—it made me feel small and trapped. It brought back memories I would rather forget.
“I can wait until you get back.” I swallowed and heard a dry click in my throat. “Honestly.”
“No, you can’t. You need to get some now—I’m going out tonight and I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He came toward me again—and again, I backed up.
“Why?” I made myself ask, though my heart was pounding and my lips felt numb. “Are you, uh, planning a trip?”
He barked a short laugh. “Something like that. Sometimes when the moon calls me like she is tonight, I…it takes me a little while to come…to come all the way back.” He scowled. “I really can’t explain it more than that.”
Born to Darkness Box Set Page 30
