Ravaged (Vampire Awakenings, Book 7)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Red shaded Aiden’s vision.

  “The next day, I woke to find the mark from his slap gone, I felt healthy for the first time in my life, and I was sent back to live in a group home once more. After that, I started eating raw meat as often as I could get my hands on it, and the only time I saw a doctor was for my yearly physical. None of them could believe my turnaround, and I haven’t had so much as a cold since.”

  “The blood made you stronger.”

  It hadn’t been a question, but she answered anyway. “Yes. After that day, I also vowed that never again would I allow someone to abuse me. Like I said, most foster homes weren’t bad, but I was tired of being a pawn in this never-ending game of new homes, new people, and new possibilities that always fell through, so I became difficult to handle. Then, when I was twelve, I met A.J. His mother had overdosed the year before, and his father was never in the picture. The two of us bonded fast, and whenever we were sent out to live somewhere else, we did whatever we could to get back to each other.”

  Aiden ran a hand through his hair as he contemplated everything she’d revealed. “It seems there is no denying your heritage.”

  “I have to see my mother.”

  She’d never expected to say those words again in her lifetime. The first time she’d uttered them had been to A.J. who told her sometimes it was better not knowing. He’d been right, but he’d also known she had to satisfy her curiosity, and he’d gone with her to the institute.

  Now, she had to let her mother know she understood everything and believed her. Maybe her mother wouldn’t care, but Maggie felt compelled to tell her.

  “I don’t know what all of this means for me. The only thing it changes in my life is that I now better understand things I didn’t understand before and have answers for things I never expected answers for, but I have to prepare myself to see her again,” Maggie said.

  “When you’re ready, I’ll take you to her.”

  Maggie nodded and turned to stare at the curtain once more. She had to see the woman who had given birth to her again, but when would she ever be ready for that?

  CHAPTER 25

  Aiden had rented adjoining rooms for them, paying with cash and a fake ID. Soon after Maggie revealed parts of her childhood to him, she retreated to her room. She hadn’t bothered to lock the door between them. This wasn’t a home, he could come and go freely, but he wouldn’t walk in on her without knocking first.

  After taking a shower, and a little bit of time to get her tumult of emotions under control, Maggie pulled her new phone out of her duffel bag. She called the hospital and waited while they transferred her to Roger’s room.

  “Roger,” she breathed when she heard his brusque hello.

  “Maggie May, it’s so good to hear from you! How are you?”

  “I’m okay. How are you?”

  “Too much blood loss and a concussion have left me not quite as bright right now, but I’m still sexy as ever, and that’s all that counts, right?”

  “I’m sure you’re still sexy, but you were never very bright,” Maggie teased.

  Roger released one of his guffawing laughs. Her heart warmed, and her tensed muscles eased. He had to be okay if he could still laugh like that.

  “I don’t remember anything that happened,” Roger said. “It must have been a pretty bad wreck.”

  “Yeah, I think so. I don’t remember much either.” Maggie despised lying to him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth.

  “They said the ambulance was pretty banged up. Where are you? Where did you go?”

  She rose when a knock sounded on the door between their rooms. Walking over, she opened it to find Aiden standing on the other side. He frowned at the phone but didn’t comment as he leaned against the doorframe to watch her.

  “I, uh… I’m home. I must have wandered away,” she said to Roger. “I barely remember getting to my apartment.”

  “Did you get yourself checked out?” Roger demanded.

  “Yes, I'm all right.”

  “Are you going in to work tonight?”

  “No. Doctor’s orders are to rest for a bit. How long is the hospital keeping you?”

  “I think another night.”

  She didn’t ask him if anyone had told him about Glenn and Walt. They were probably waiting until he was out of the hospital or at least well enough to handle it. If he didn’t mention their deaths, then she wouldn’t either.

  “I’m going to come see you,” she said.

  “No,” Roger said. “I’d prefer you didn’t. Not in this place. I’ll see you at work.”

  “It might be a few days before we both get back to work.” She had no idea if she would ever make it back. Maggie sat on the edge of the bed and propped her elbows on her knees. “I’d like to see you before then.”

  “Nothing’s going to keep me down, Maggie May. You can come see me at home if we’re not back to work soon, but not here, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  “You sure you're all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she assured him.

  “Good. I gotta go, my nurse is here, and I see meds. This woman enjoys stabbing me.”

  “I’m sure she’s not the first,” Maggie quipped, and Roger laughed.

  “And she won’t be the last! Take care of yourself; I need my partner in tiptop shape. I’ll talk to you soon, love ya, kid,” he said gruffly.

  Before she could reply, he hung up. “Love you too,” she said anyway.

  Maggie closed the phone and set it on the stand next to her bed. She swallowed the lump in her throat as Roger’s last words ran through her head. It had been years since someone told her they loved her, not since A.J. And A.J. only said it once, after they broke up. It seemed he’d felt compelled to make it clear there was no change in his feelings for her, but she’d known that without words. She’d awkwardly said it back to him. Now, Roger was the second person, and only the second time she’d heard those words from another. She hadn’t gotten the chance to say them back to him, but he knew she loved him.

  “How is he?” Aiden inquired.

  “He has a concussion and doesn’t remember anything, but he thinks they’re sending him home tomorrow.”

  “It’s not just a concussion,” Aiden said. “I took the memory from him.”

  “I see. Will the Savages go after him again?”

  “There are already some trainees from Ronan’s men keeping watch over him.”

  “Is Ronan your vampire leader or boss or something?”

  “I guess you could call him my boss.” He couldn’t get into details with her about Ronan, not while she remained human and they were unmated.

  “How long will they watch over Roger?”

  “For a few weeks after he’s released. If any Savages go after him, they’ll be taken down. However, they’ll know we also won’t leave any loose ends and would have changed his memories. They won’t see him as a threat, and unlike you, his blood is not a big temptation.”

  He’d known the second her blood hit his tongue she was his mate, and he’d believed that was the reason her blood was potent. Now, he knew the truth. “You’re a powerful human with blood that any vampire who tastes it would crave more. The Savage who bit you won’t stop until he’s destroyed.”

  “You drank from me too. Will you be stopped? Will you take more; do you expect more? Is that why I’m here?”

  Aiden’s gut clenched. “No. I won’t take from you again without your permission. I have control over my baser instincts.” Barely.

  “And if I give permission?” Maggie didn’t miss the flash of red in his eyes or his glance at her neck. Her nipples puckered as anticipation clamored through her body. It hurt so bad when the Savage bit her, but it had been one of the greatest pleasures of her life when Aiden fed on her. God help her, she knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to experience that again, with him.

  “Then I would taste you over and over again.”

  Maggie’s breath caught as she str
uggled to suppress the rush of lust his words evoked in her. She had no idea what it was about him, but he could arouse her faster than any man she’d ever encountered.

  Get your libido in check. Getting involved with this vamp would be one of the worst decisions you ever made.

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I, uh… I need a shower,” she muttered and rose.

  She probably should have mentioned something that didn’t involve nudity, but it was the only thing she could think of for a quick escape. She didn’t look back at him as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. Leaning against the door, she took a deep breath and listened as he left the room.

  • • •

  Maggie didn’t see Aiden again until later that night when he knocked on the door. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself to face him before pulling it open to reveal him looking like a walking, talking temptation on the other side. He wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans; his forest green sweater brought out his eyes and enhanced the golden color of his skin.

  He could attract every woman in a hundred-mile radius, yet his eyes filled with yearning when they ran over her body. He didn’t look at her like he was stripping her bare as so many other men had over the years. No, he looked at her as if she were the most exquisite woman he’d ever seen.

  There was nothing special about the sweater and yoga pants she wore, but she suddenly felt like the sexiest woman in the world.

  “I thought you might be hungry,” he said.

  She was starved, but she didn’t know if it was for food or him. When her stomach rumbled, she had her answer. “I am.”

  “There’s a restaurant downstairs. We could go there for dinner.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll get changed.”

  Again, she had to mention nudity in front of him. When she felt a blush creeping up her neck, she closed the door. Hurrying to the dresser, she pulled out a black sweater and tugged a pair of jeans from a hanger in the closet. She dressed, ran a brush through her hair, and gave herself a critical inspection.

  She couldn’t recall the last time she’d cared about her looks, but now she found herself fluffing her hair. She picked at the small defect in the stitching of her sweater that enabled her to buy it at 60 percent off the regular price. The odd stitch was almost unnoticeable, but it became all she could see.

  Stop it!

  She released the sweater, slipped her feet into her sneakers, and hurried to the door. She knocked before stepping into Aiden’s room. He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped before him and his head bowed as if he were in pain or deep contemplation. When she entered, he looked up at her and froze.

  Aiden swore his heart stopped when Maggie stepped through the door. Her thick, auburn hair flowing around her face and down to the middle of her back emphasized the loveliness of her features. Her sweater and jeans hugged her slender waist, round hips, and full breasts. Feeling like an awkward teen again, he couldn’t stop staring at her while he rose.

  “You look beautiful,” he murmured.

  She glanced nervously away before meeting his eyes again. “You’re not so bad yourself, Nosferatu.”

  He smiled at her as he walked over and held his arm out to her. “I think that’s a high compliment coming from you.”

  “It is.”

  Leading her out of his room, he closed the door behind them and walked with her down the hall to the elevator. Maggie fixated on the numbers as they descended to the lobby and stepped out. Aiden escorted her into the dimly lit restaurant with a large, square-shaped, mahogany bar in the center. Glasses hung from racks above the bar. They had a good crowd for a weekday in March; she suspected many of those gathered within were locals and not guests.

  A young, pretty woman led them to a booth in the back and set their menus on the table. “Enjoy,” she said before walking away.

  Maggie lifted the menu, flipped through it, and set it down again. She already knew what she wanted. When the waiter came, she ordered her steak as rare as they would cook it and a whiskey on the rocks. Aiden also ordered a steak and whiskey.

  The waiter collected their menus and left them to sit, staring awkwardly at each other. Maggie swore her mind had abandoned her as she fumbled for something to say to him. “You told me you're one of ten,” she finally said and sipped her water. “Where do you fall into the ten? Are you the oldest, youngest, middle?”

  “I’m the fourth, so I guess I’m toward the middle,” Aiden replied.

  “What is it like to have so many siblings?”

  “Our house can get pretty hectic.”

  “It was probably more chaotic than some of the group homes I stayed in, and you couldn’t get away from your family. At least when someone pissed me off, I knew there was a chance one of us would be leaving soon.”

  “And they pissed me off often,” Aiden said with a chuckle.

  “I bet.”

  When the waiter came back with her whiskey, she gripped the glass but didn’t drink it. “Do you have any nieces and nephews?”

  “Six,” he replied, “and I’m sure my siblings will make more.”

  “Wow.”

  She had no idea what else to say, so she lifted her whiskey and downed it. “You have a high tolerance,” Aiden remarked when she set her glass down.

  “It’s something I’ve always had.”

  “So do I, so do all vampires.” He’d leaned across the table as he said the last word, but there was no one within earshot of them.

  “Another little piece of the Magdalene puzzle I didn’t know was missing,” she said.

  The waiter returned to ask if she would like a refill.

  “No need to ask, just keep them coming,” Maggie said with a smile as Aiden drank his whiskey and slid his empty glass next to hers.

  The waiter smiled at her as he collected the glasses. He didn’t acknowledge Aiden who scowled at his back when he turned away.

  “He’s very nice,” Maggie said with a teasing grin.

  Aiden leaned away from her and draped his arm across the back of the booth. “I think you might have a little bit of the devil in you after all, Magdalene.”

  She laughed. “I definitely do.”

  CHAPTER 26

  After the waiter left, they fell into an easy conversation about their completely different lives. Aiden regaled her with stories about how he and his siblings would all torture each other, the Stooges, and their parents. She told him about knocking out Ray Jessup and the couple of foster homes she’d actually liked, but she’d still acted horribly in them until they sent her back.

  “Looking back, I think I was scared I’d become attached to the people and get hurt by them,” she said as she cut up her bloody steak. Aiden sliced the meat in front of him too, but whereas she dug eagerly in, he picked at his and spent more time pushing it around his plate. “Sure, I wanted to get back to A.J. too, but now I realize there was more to it. I never would have admitted it to anyone else or even myself then. It totally would have ruined my wicked badass reputation.”

  “Totally,” Aiden agreed, and she laughed.

  “What about you? What did you do after high school? Did you go to college?”

  “I did, for a few semesters, but I left soon after.”

  “How come?”

  “It wasn’t for me.” He couldn’t tell her that even before he stopped aging, the urges he started having didn’t fit in well with the human world.

  “Didn’t know what you wanted to be when you grew up?”

  “I wanted to get into sports medicine or become a coach, something along those lines. I enjoyed sports, even if I had to keep myself in check around humans when I played and couldn’t go to a school where they did drug testing for athletes.”

  “Take a lot of drugs, did you?” she asked, her hands freezing on her utensils.

  “No drugs. Like alcohol, it would take a lot to affect me, and I don’t like being out of control.” For him, such a thing could prove lethal to anyone near him. “But my blood isn't
exactly human DNA compatible, and trying to keep up a front and change memories all the time wasn’t worth it.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Maggie wiped her mouth and placed the napkin on her plate. “They took a lot of my blood when I was a kid, and they never found anything unusual.”

  “Your human side must be stronger in that aspect,” he replied.

  “Interesting.”

  The waiter returned to remove their plates. “Would you like dessert?”

  “No, thank you,” Maggie replied, and Aiden shook his head. From somewhere out back, music started playing. “What’s that?”

  “The hotel also has a club; the doors open at eight,” the waiter replied.

  “Oh.”

  “Would you like to check it out?” Aiden asked when the waiter left again.

  “I’ve never been one for clubbing or that kind of music.”

  “And what kind of music are you into, Maggie May?” Aiden asked.

  “I’m a straight-up alternative, hard rock kind of girl,” she said with a smile. “I like my music angry.”

  “I see.”

  She wasn’t sure if it was the atmosphere, her increased energy from dinner, the whiskey, or Aiden, but she felt almost flirtatious as she leaned across the table toward him. “I’ll tell you a secret.”

  His eyebrow lifted as he sat forward. This close, she could see the emerald and forest flecks of green in his amazing eyes. A five o’clock shadow lined his jaw, and the clove scent of him enveloped her.

  “And I’ll keep it,” he replied.

  “Sometimes, when no one else is around, I secretly listen to eighties music. And I don’t mean like Megadeath or Slayer; I mean Tiffany and The Bangles.”

  “That’s not what I’d typically consider angry music.” Aiden held himself back from clasping her face and lifting her lips to his as her eyes twinkled with irresistible amusement.

  “It’s not,” she agreed, her voice breathier as her eyes dipped to his mouth. “Especially not Cyndi Lauper.”