Her eyes blazed at the sight of the flowing blood, and she dove towards the puncture wounds. Her lips suctioned against his skin as she drank greedily from him, and her body slowly relaxed at the steady stream.
The pleasure Taven was waiting for crashed over him, buffeting him with waves of euphoria. His body went limp as it washed out into a sea of sensation.
After a while, Ivy’s drinking slowed till it was just a gentle suckle, and eventually she pulled her mouth away and nuzzled his neck, purring. “Oh God, Taven. That was incredible. Did you just… change me?”
Taven stiffened, his mind and body jolting back to reality at her words. Holy shit. What was he thinking? Drinking from humans outside the clinic was bad enough, but changing one? If anyone found out, he’d be kicked off the force, or worse yet, prosecuted. He could be sentenced to death!
And the shame he’d bring on his family — he couldn’t imagine what his father would do when he found out how Taven had ruined the family name. They were practically royalty among their kind. His father would disown him, just to save face.
“Ivy, I didn’t mean to, I just… you were… I’m so sorry! Oh God!” He rolled off her and buried his face in his hands, his body shaking.
“Taven, Taven, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I wanted it.” She bent over him and stroked his hand, his arm, and down his chest. Her soothing words finally broke through, and he pulled his hands from his face.
“What?”
She smiled at him, a beautiful, radiant display of blood-tinged teeth. “I’m not mad, Taven. I wasn’t an unwilling victim. I wanted this, and it was even more amazing than I imagined.”
Thank God she wasn’t angry. But still, the threat of discovery loomed over him like a vulture circling a half-dead animal. “Ivy, even if you wanted it, I still shouldn’t have done it. It’s against the law.”
“I know you could get in trouble for this. That’s the last thing I want. I won’t tell on you. I promise.”
Relief washed over him almost as intense as the pleasure had been, and his body shuddered as the tension started to dissipate. He grabbed her and pulled her onto his chest, stroking his hands down her warm, soft skin, letting his shaking hands massage her.
After a long moment, she propped her elbows on his chest and cupped her chin in her hands, grinning. “So, does this mean we’re mated then? I heard that vampires mate by drinking from each other while they’re having sex.”
His body immediately tensed again, and he clamped his hands around her upper arms with a sudden urge to throw her off of him. “No, we’re not mated. There’s more to it than that.”
His voice was gruffer than he intended, and her face crumpled like she’d been slapped. He didn’t want to hurt her, especially not since she had the power to destroy him, but he couldn’t get that close to her. Or to anyone. Not after what happened with Talia. No, mating was the last thing he wanted to do.
His phone rang before she had a chance to ask him any more about it, and he jumped from the bed, eager to get away from her.
Chapter 9
“You’re a VEA agent?” Caroline stared at the large letters emblazoned on the door of his unit then turned in his arms to gawk at him.
Roric cringed as he opened the passenger door and lowered her into the seat. “Yeah.”
He knew what she was thinking. He was the last guy in the world who should’ve been changing humans against their will. And she was totally right. What he’d done was crazy, stupid, reckless. And the repercussions could mean the end of his job, not to mention how bad it would make the Agency look if humans found out its leader acted so inappropriately.
But he still couldn’t bring himself to regret the decision he’d made. Caroline was alive, even if she was horrified to be a vampire. And the thought of feeding her again now that she was awake and responsive had his dick hard as steel. God, he never knew it felt that incredible to have someone feed from him.
Sure, he donated to the blood bank regularly like he was supposed to, but he’d never had anyone drink from him directly. That was usually saved for couples who were more serious than he’d ever wanted to get with any of the females he’d dated in the last few years. Geez, he was hitting all his firsts in one night. What was next?
Maybe it was the fact that she was turned, not born. That got him wondering what her blood would taste like now. It couldn’t possibly be as delicious as it was before she was changed, but what if her human DNA made it better than the blood of born vampires, somehow? That might explain why some vampires were so willing to change humans. Maybe they knew something he didn’t.
Roric groaned and adjusted his too-tight pants before he climbed into the car. This was insane. Why was he thinking about them feeding each other like mates? He couldn’t mate her! He needed to make her disappear before anyone found out about her.
He’d take her to the clinic, get her some blood bags, teach her what she needed to know about vampire life, then wring a promise from her to stay quiet and send her home. That would be best for everyone. She didn’t want to drink from him, anyway. She was disgusted by the whole idea.
Caroline’s eyes drooped closed, and her body went limp in the seat next to him. She had to be exhausted from the stress, and she desperately needed to drink. She looked so weak and fragile. How could he abandon her? She needed someone to look after her, not just feed her and send her away. God, his head ached just thinking about the conflict of interest.
His compassion for her, or maybe his lust, got the upper hand, and the next thing he knew he was pulling into his driveway and punching in the code to open the gate. A car he didn’t recognize sat in the back parking area. Probably another one of Taven’s dates.
Roric lifted a barely-awake Caroline out of the passenger seat and nudged the door shut with his hip then carried her inside and up the stairs to his wing. He laid her out on his bed, and she murmured and stretched her arms and legs, snuggling into the thick comforter. Was she cold? Should he cover her with a blanket? He grabbed a throw off the couch and draped it over her.
Then he pulled off his boots, unclipped his holster, and dropped it and his keys on the dresser. But the urge to lay down next to her and offer her a vein sent him scurrying away from her. What was he thinking, bringing this woman to his home? Having her in his bed was definitely not helping his resolve to resist her.
“Caroline, I’m gonna go get some blood bags from the fridge. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” She murmured a response, only half awake.
Roric went downstairs to the kitchen and pulled open the door to the giant fridge. Thankfully, Imelda kept it stocked with plenty of blood as well as regular food. He grabbed a couple blood bags, then, on second thought, a half dozen more. Caroline would need a lot to get through the change. He couldn’t risk her getting hungry.
He picked out a variety of blood types. Plenty of O and A positives, of course, since those were always in ready supply, but he tossed in a few of the rarer types, as well, including his favorite, AB negs. It probably wasn’t a good idea to get her hooked on the rare types; she wasn’t going to have easy access to it like he did. Unless she stayed with him, of course. But he was having a hard enough time persuading her to drink, he wanted to make sure she had something she liked.
He scrounged through the cupboards till he found a big, metal bowl and dumped them in. Hopefully, the housekeeper wouldn’t miss it. Then he headed back upstairs as quietly as he could, hoping no one crossed his path while he was carrying a huge bowl full of blood bags. But of course, he wasn’t that lucky. He was almost home free when he turned the corner and collided with Taven. He jerked to a stop, jostling the bowl, and the blood bag on top flopped out onto the hardwood floors with a glug.
Taven’s eyes followed it as it plopped on the ground next to Roric’s feet, then his gaze shifted to the bowl of jiggling blood bags in Roric’s hands. “Midnight snack, bro?”
Roric bent down and picked up the blood bag then slapped it back on the pile. He closed
his eyes for a second while he tried to figure out what he should tell Taven. On one hand, he could really use an ally right about now, and if anybody knew how to get away with breaking the rules, it was Taven. But on the other hand, Taven was an asswipe who’d probably love to see his brother get in trouble for once. It was no secret that Taven saw Roric as his biggest competition, no matter what the challenge.
But that meant that if he didn’t come clean to Taven, his brother was likely to dig till he uncovered the truth. Then he’d be all too happy to rub it in Roric’s face, or worse yet, turn him in. No, Roric needed to keep Taven on his side if he had any chance of getting out of this without ruining everything.
“They’re for the girl. From the cemetery.”
Taven dug through the bowl of blood, making curious faces at the number of rare types mixed in. “You brought her here?”
Roric gritted his teeth and screwed his face up. “I felt… responsible for her.”
Taven quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you said she was injured? Shouldn’t you have taken her to the hospital?”
“The rogue started to change her, but he took off when he saw me. She ran and hit her head. She was unconscious and bleeding to death.”
“So instead of calling an ambulance you…”
Roric closed his eyes again. It was easier to admit what he’d done when his brother wasn’t staring at him like he’d gone crazy. “Gave her my blood.”
He couldn’t resist peeking through his scrunched eyes to see what Taven’s reaction was. It was pretty much what he expected. Taven’s eyes bulged out, and he wheezed out a sound halfway between a gasp and a laugh. “Holy hell, bro! You changed her? What were you thinking?”
Of course, that was the question he’d been asking himself all night and still didn’t have a good answer to.
Because she was hurt and needed him and he couldn’t resist saving her. Because she was strong and beautiful and vibrant, and her blood called to him like a siren. Because he wanted her like he’d never wanted anything in his whole life. He couldn’t admit to any of those things, though. Not to his brother.
“She didn’t deserve to die like that when I could save her.”
“So you decided to risk your name, your career, our family, hell, the whole VEA, just so you could play Superman to this girl?”
Roric cringed. That was exactly what he would’ve said if the roles had been reversed, and Taven seemed to take extreme pleasure in mimicking him. Did he sound that condescending when he said stuff like that?
“I know, it was stupid and reckless. I wasn’t thinking straight. But what’s done is done, and I need to make sure she gets through the change without killing anyone.”
“Or worse, turning you in to the police.”
“I know, I know. If she spills, it could ruin everything. I was thinking maybe I could bribe her.” Why not? His name was going to be dragged through the mud if word of this got out. What did it matter if he played dirty trying to fix it?
Taven gawked at him like an alien had taken over Roric’s body. “I take it she’s not real happy about her new status.”
Roric gave a terse shake of his head and started pacing. “She hates vampires. Thinks we’re evil monsters. She begged me to stake her so she didn’t have to live like this.”
“So why don’t you? Problem solved. Nobody’d ever have to know you changed her.” Taven shrugged like it was no big deal, a logical solution, and Roric had to resist the urge to pound his brother’s face in.
“Yeah, maybe I will,” he said, just to get Taven off his case. Obviously, telling his brother was a bad idea. He should’ve kept his mouth shut and dealt with it himself. But he thought Taven would understand since he had a tendency to do whatever felt good, regardless of the consequences. Is that how Taven handled all his mistakes, by doing something even worse to cover it up?
He decided to shift the attention to Taven, instead. “So, what happened with the rogue? Did you catch him?”
Taven made a face. “Ahh, no. He got in his car, and I lost him.”
That meant the vamp was still out there. Would he come looking for Caroline again? Her car was still at the cemetery. What if he found her address on her registration and went to her home to finish the job? Shit, Roric couldn’t let her go back there. If the vampire found out that Caroline was already changed, there was no telling what he might do. He obviously wanted her for himself, and he’d be happy to ruin Roric’s life in retribution.
“So you just gave up and decided to take the rest of the night off? I saw that car out back. I know you brought a woman here.” Roric took out his frustration on his brother, even though his offense was a lot less damaging. It always disgusted him that his brother was an agent for the VEA but he took it as a license to go around breaking every rule in the book whenever he felt like it. Except he’d never broken the biggest one — he’d never turned a human. Nope, he’d saved that one for Roric.
Taven snarled at him, no doubt infuriated that Roric dared to reprimand him for his behavior after what he’d done. “I was hurt, and I needed to drink. At least I don’t take advantage of comatose women. My meals are all alive enough to give consent.”
“You shouldn’t have brought her here, though.” He knew the words were a mistake as soon as he said them.
Taven grabbed him by the shirt and shoved his face in Roric’s, pushing him up against the wall. “You got no room to talk, bro. That chick in there has the power to bring everything crashing down on you, and me by association! You turned her, brought her home, and put her in your bed, and now you want to send her off with a threat and a couple bags of AB negative like that’ll keep her from talking? You made this mess, Roric; you sure as hell better fix it.”
Taven stomped off back to his room, and Roric slumped to the ground. Taven was right. He had to fix this, and pushing Caroline away wasn’t going to help matters. The part of him that wanted her rejoiced at that conclusion, and his mouth and groin instantly roared to life at the thought of feeding her, or better yet, feeding each other.
He climbed to his feet and headed back down to the kitchen to put the blood bags back.
Chapter 10
Caroline jerked awake at the sound of voices arguing in the hallway — the vampire who had changed her and another one who wasn’t too happy with him. She knew she needed to hear what he was saying about her, and surprisingly the voices were very clear, even though a long room and a wall stood between her and them.
She didn’t want to miss anything, though, so she forced her lethargic body up and out of the large, soft, bed cocooning her and padded over to the door to listen. She pressed a hand to the gold and navy striped wall. Her eyes landed on his keys and weapons, laying on the antique mahogany dresser.
“I know, it was stupid and reckless. I wasn’t thinking straight. But what’s done is done, and I need to make sure she gets through the change without killing anyone.”
Caroline shivered at the thought of herself losing control like that. Was she really dangerous to humans now?
“Or worse, turning you in to the police.” The other voice — a family member, maybe? She hadn’t given it much thought, but what he’d done was illegal. She had every right to press charges. Did she want to?
“I know, I know. If she spills, it could ruin everything. I was thinking maybe I could bribe her.”
She scowled at Roric’s proposed solution. He thought he could buy her off, throw money at the problem and make it disappear? He’d ruined her life! A few dollars couldn’t fix that.
“I take it she’s not real happy about her new status.”
“She hates vampires. Thinks we’re evil monsters. She begged me to stake her so she didn’t have to live like this.”
At least he got that part right.
“So why don’t you? Problem solved. Nobody’d ever have to know you changed her.”
“Yeah, maybe I will.”
Caroline threw a protective hand to her chest. It was true, she’d asked
him to stake her, but that was just a moment of weakness, and self-preservation was a strong instinct. Would he really stake her to keep her from turning him in? He was the first vampire she’d ever met that she thought might be something other than a vicious animal, but obviously she was wrong.
“So, what happened with the rogue? Did you catch him?”
“Ahh, no. He got in his car, and I lost him.”
Caroline’s breath caught in her throat, and her body stiffened as her pulse started racing. Would her attacker come after her again? He said he wanted her as his mate. What would he do when he found out another vamp had finished the job for him? Would he try to kidnap her, keep her as a blood slave? Or would he be so enraged that he would kill her instead?
Her pounding heart and her worries distracted her from hearing the next bit of conversation, but when she tuned back in, the other vampire was still berating Roric for what he’d done.
“You made this mess, Roric, you sure as hell better fix it.”
Heavy footsteps pounded her way, and Caroline raced towards the bed. She didn’t think it would be a good thing if they knew she’d been listening. But the footsteps kept going past her room and down the hallway. Something slid down the wall and thunked to the ground outside the door. Was that Roric? A few seconds later, it sounded like he pulled himself up and stalked off down a stairwell.
She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t trust him, even though he spoke softly, and stroked her hair, and promised to take care of her. She didn’t understand why he’d changed her, but he was obviously looking out for his best interests now, not hers.
With her heart pounding so loud she was sure he could hear it, she turned the doorknob as quietly as she could and opened the door a tiny crack so she could peek out into the hallway. No one was out there. She didn’t know where Roric had gone, but she might only have moments before he returned. This could be her last chance to get away from him.
She glanced at the keys and holster on the dresser. Should she take them? She didn’t know how to use a gun, and she didn’t think she’d have the guts to stake anyone, but if Roric didn’t have his keys, he couldn’t chase after her as easily. On a whim, she grabbed them and shoved them in her pocket. Then she slipped out the door and pulled it closed behind her. If Roric thought she was still in there, it might give her a few extra seconds.
Compelled by the Vampire: Vampire Enforcement Agency Series Book 1 Page 6
