I thought back to the night I’d escaped. I’d kept my sanity enough not to kill that night. I’d needed every ounce of strength and self-control I possessed, but I’d managed. If I’d been able to do it then—when I was starving and crazy—why not now?
The blood bond.
It wasn’t just affecting Erin, it was affecting me. I needed her blood. Without it, would I go insane?
Damn.
There was no way to know.
Bill pulled into the hospital parking lot. I inhaled. Erin.
She was here.
In the midst of a hospital full of people and full of blood, all I could smell was Erin.
My dick hardened.
Not now.
My gums itched.
Not fucking now.
“How do you do it, Bill?”
“Do what?”
“I can’t smell anything but Erin, but what do you smell right now? All the people inside? All the bags of blood from others? Each bag has a scent to you. Some good, some bad. But you must be starving. How do you control yourself here?”
That night flashed in my memory. The moment I’d picked up the scents of the blood bank. How I could barely distinguish one scent from another. How I ran toward those scents, toward sustenance, how my mind had fixated on getting there no matter what the cost.
Then I’d gone into the hospital, had sneaked past the front desk. It had been the middle of the night, so it hadn’t been difficult to whisk past the few unsuspecting people I encountered. Wearing the homeless man’s clothes, I’d followed my nose to the large refrigeration unit. No one was there.
I yanked the door open and inhaled.
I closed my eyes and reached for the first blood bag I could find. I ripped it open with my teeth and poured it into my mouth.
Yes. Sustenance.
Another bag, and then another.
Images catapulted into my mind—a young blond woman who had never had children, an older bald man whose testosterone was waning, a younger man, probably an athlete, his blood full of oxygen…
The scents overwhelmed me, and I grabbed for bag after bag after bag of the red nourishment.
For years, I’d known only her blood. It had burned my tongue, clogging my throat and leaving a caustic trail. It gurgled in my stomach.
I never got used to it.
I ripped open one more bag, pouring the liquid down my throat, letting it trickle over my lips, down my cheeks and neck.
Then…Erin.
Her scream. My hand clamped over her mouth.
And…I inhaled.
All the other scents had ceased to exist, though I hadn’t realized that at the time. Her fragrance overwhelmed me, made my dick harden, made my full stomach cry out for more.
“How do you do it, Bill?” I asked again.
“Through self-control,” he said. “There’s no magical formula, Dante. During young adulthood, vampires learn to control themselves when their senses of smell increase. They have guidance. You didn’t have that guidance, and I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s all so overwhelming.”
“I know it is.”
“I mean… It was.” I said. “I know there are thousands of scents here. But all I smell is her.”
Bill inhaled. “Yes, she’s here.”
I stiffened. Bill had no interest in Erin, but I didn’t want him smelling her. I didn’t want anyone smelling her—no one but me.
“What am I going to tell her?”
“I don’t know, son. We’ll figure it out.”
“I need you to promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t ever glamour her again.”
“That was for her own good, Dante. You know that. I would never use glamouring as a weapon.”
The Bill I’d known for the first eighteen years of my life would never use glamouring as a weapon. This Bill? I was no longer sure. Perhaps I was reading too much into the situation. Overanalyzing. Maybe Bill was the same as he’d always been.
But something inside me said he wasn’t.
I couldn’t help but feel something sinister lurking around Bill. Nothing I could put my finger on, but something wasn’t right.
I inhaled. Erin’s scent was growing stronger.
She walked toward us. “You can see River now. He’s conscious, and he’s doing well. He’s got some lacerations on his face, and we’re still waiting to get x-rays and a CAT scan, but the doctor doesn’t think he has any broken bones or internal bleeding.”
Bill and I stood and followed Erin back to an examination room. River was lying down, his face patched up with a few bandages. His eyes were heavy-lidded, but he was awake. Erin’s friend Lucy Cyrus sat next to him. I quickly introduced her to Bill and then turned to River.
“Hey, Riv.”
“Hey yourself.”
“I can’t lie. I’ve seen you looking better.”
River chuckled. “Damn you, Dante. It hurts to laugh.”
“What happened?” Bill asked.
“Car accident. I wasn’t drunk or anything. I’d never do that. The other driver came out of nowhere.”
“Erin says you’re going to be fine,” I said.
“Yeah, looks like you’re stuck with me.”
He turned to Lucy. “I can’t remember taking you home.”
“Retrograde amnesia,” Lucy said. “It’s very common with a concussion, especially if you lose consciousness.”
“That’s what I told him,” Erin said.
“But it’s weird. I don’t remember taking you home, but I remember the accident.”
Erin arched her eyebrows. “Really? That is odd.”
“Oh, no, I’ve heard of that,” Lucy said. “Sometimes the amnesia is fragmented. Anyway, the important thing is that you’re okay.”
“That’s the truth of it,” Bill said. “When can we take him home?” he asked Erin.
“He’ll probably need to stay the rest of the night. He still needs the CAT and x-rays. He can probably go home sometime in the afternoon, though sometimes they keep concussions for a full twenty-four hours.” She smiled. “If you all will excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
A sense of profound loss enveloped me when she left the exam room.
“You two don’t have to stay,” I said. “I’ll stay with him.”
“All right,” Bill said. “I’ll go ahead home. Can I drop you off anywhere?” he asked Lucy.
“No, I have a car, but thank you.” She touched River’s face gently. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”
Bill and Lucy left, but before I could say anything to River, Jay Hamilton walked in.
Ice chilled the back of my neck. This was Erin’s brother, the man who had gotten Em pregnant, if River was right, and I had no reason to believe he wasn’t. Had River said anything to him yet? Probably not. How would he be able to explain knowing?
“Hey, partner,” Jay said. “I just heard. How are you doing?”
“Been better,” River said.
“Looked better too.” Jay chuckled.
This time, River didn’t laugh. Because it hurt? No. More likely he was pissed at Jay for fucking my sister.
I wasn’t real thrilled with him either.
“Hey, I’ve been talking to the cop who took the report, and a witness said there was a big dog running away right after the accident. Looked like a German Shepherd or a Malamute. Do you remember that? Seeing a dog in the street? Maybe that’s what caused the accident.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t remember. All I remember is the crash. The other car came out of nowhere.”
“They both survived, and from what we can tell so far, he’ll be getting the blame for this one. You’ll most likely be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
“That’s good, Riv,” I said.
“Yeah, great. While I lie here in pain.”
“You’ll be up in no time,” Jay said. “I talked to Erin on the way in. T
hey’re only keeping you to get a CAT scan and to observe the concussion. You’ll be out of here soon.”
“I wish I hadn’t taken those couple days off now.”
“Take more sick days if you need them. The boss is cool. You know that.”
“Yeah,” River said, wincing. “I’d rather be working than laid up though.”
“You should rest,” I said.
“I’ll leave you alone,” Jay said. “By the way, I got the information on where your car was towed. The department will pay for a rental until it’s fixed. Get better soon, buddy.” He left.
“Hey,” I said when we were alone. “Did you know that Bill glamoured Erin? She thinks I got cut with a bread knife, not bitten by a dog.” Just saying the words made me angry all over again.
“Oh?”
“I’m pissed as hell, but I wanted to let you know so you don’t mention a dog bite to Erin.”
“Okay. Though I’ve got to tell you, I may not remember any of this. My mind is totally fucked up right now.”
“Try to get some sleep,” I said. “I’ll stay for a while.”
I’d stay until morning. Until Erin got off her shift.
Chapter Seven
Erin
My heart sped up as I walked toward my car after work. Dante stood, leaning against it. Beautiful as ever, but his hair was mussed and he had bags under his eyes. He looked tired. Of course he was. He’d been up all night with River.
I’d checked on River before I left. He was getting wheeled away to a regular hospital room, and Bill had come back and was going with him.
That left Dante…here, propped up against my car.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hi, Erin.”
“What are you doing here?” Dumbass question, but I had to ask.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
He showed me his bandaged forearm. “Do you remember this?”
Had he gone bonkers? “Of course I remember that. You cut yourself with a bread knife. Are you okay? Do you want me to take a look?”
“No. And I’m fine.”
I stared into his eyes. My heart sped up just looking at him. And not just my heart. My libido was doing a happy dance.
“What did you want to ask me?” I said.
“Do you want to have breakfast with me?”
“Uh…sure. I’d love that. But I look like shit.”
“Are you kidding? You’re beautiful. You’re always beautiful, Erin.”
My cheeks warmed. So are you. I didn’t say the words, though.
“Sure. Let’s have breakfast. Where do you want to go?”
“Wherever you usually go is fine.”
“All right. Where are you parked?”
“I’m not. I drove with my grandfather.”
“Then I’m driving, I guess.” I unlocked the car. “Get in.”
“Is your brother dating anyone?” Dante asked me after we’d ordered our meals.
My brow flew up. “What? Why do you care? Oh God.” We’d been together how many times now and never consummated anything? “Please don’t tell me you’re gay.”
He laughed loudly. “After everything, you can’t possibly think that.”
“We’ve never actually finished, Dante.”
“That last time was your call. I wanted to ignore my text, remember?”
“Touché. And no, I don’t think Jay is seeing anyone. Why do you care?”
“Just wondering.”
Really? He was going to leave it at that? As much as I loved this man, I would never understand him.
“Why are you wondering?”
“What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
“You’re really asking me that? You think I’d have done all we’ve done together if I were seeing someone?”
“I did find you with that other guy, Erin.”
“Oh.” My cheeks warmed. I never had explained that. “And you’ve waited until now to ask me about it?”
He didn’t respond.
“That was a onetime thing that didn’t happen. I wasn’t even that interested. I just wanted to…”
“Just wanted to what?”
I put down the bite of egg that was halfway to my mouth. “Honestly? I wanted to get you out of my mind. I don’t really know you, and you don’t know me either.”
“No, I really don’t,” he agreed.
“Okay.” I knew where this was headed, and I didn’t like it one bit. “Logan was—”
“So that’s his name? Logan?” Dante furrowed his brow and took a rather indignant bite of toast.
Thank God he and Logan hadn’t crossed paths at the hospital earlier.
“Yeah. Would you please let me finish? What I was going to say is that Logan was a mistake. It’s just as well that you interrupted us. I probably wouldn’t have gone through with it anyway, but if I had, I know I’d be regretting it.” I took a sip of decaf, gathering my courage. “I don’t want to stop seeing you, Dante.”
There, I’d said it. Put myself out there. I steeled myself for rejection, even though the thought of never seeing Dante again made me sick to my stomach. That pull, that desire—how would I get over it?
“I’d like to get to know you, Erin.”
Thank God. I stifled my sigh of relief.
He continued, “I want to take you out. On a date.”
A date! What a novel concept. Odd that it hadn’t occurred to me. For some weird reason, what Dante and I had shared so far seemed almost…normal to me. Seemed like what I’d been put on the planet for—to be with him.
“Sure,” I said. “I’d love to go out with you.”
“Are you sure?”
Seriously? “I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m attracted to you. But you’re right. We don’t really know each other. So let’s get to know each other. A date would be a good start.”
“What do you like to do?”
“All kinds of things. I love going to a nice dinner. A movie. A show. Live music. Dancing. What do you like to do?”
He arched his eyebrows, his forehead creasing. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what you like to do?”
He cleared his throat quickly. “I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve dated.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“How about dinner?” he said. “We both have to eat. When is your next night off?”
“Tonight, actually.” God bless the luck!
“Okay, great. Tonight it is, then. I’ll pick you up around seven.”
“Perfect.” I couldn’t stop smiling.
After I’d driven Dante to Bill’s, I stopped for a few groceries. When I got back out to my car, it wouldn’t start.
“Damn!” I said aloud.
“Anything wrong?” A handsome older man wearing jeans and a T-shirt approached me. He had dark hair with some silver at the temples.
“The engine won’t start,” I said.
“You want me to take a look?”
“Do you know anything about cars?”
“A few things.”
He smiled, and I was automatically at ease. A nice man who meant no harm.
He got in the driver’s seat and tried the ignition. “It could be the battery or the alternator. I’ll check it out.” He popped the hood button.
I followed him to look at the engine even though I had no idea what I was looking at.
“Let’s see.” He poked around a little. “Does your husband know anything about cars?”
“I’m not married.”
“Oh. Dating anyone?”
Was he really going to try to pick me up? “Yes.” I cleared my throat. “I have a date tonight.”
“That’s nice. Have a wonderful time.” He fiddled with a few wires. “May I make a suggestion?”
“Well…I guess so.”
“Keep an open mind. A very open mind.”
“Oh, I thought you were going to suggest something about my car.”
&nbs
p; “Try it now.” He smiled.
I got in the driver’s seat and turned the key. Sure enough, the engine started. I got out of the car to thank him, but he was gone.
Chapter Eight
Dante
Nerves.
Nerves in a different way than I thought possible.
Tonight was the night. I’d finally make love with Erin. And after that…
The truth.
River wasn’t here. Bill was, but I didn’t want to talk to him. Not since he’d glamoured Erin.
I couldn’t shake the fear that Bill might be wrong. What if someone else had already formed a blood bond with Erin, was feeding from her, and she’d die if I stopped it?
I couldn’t be responsible for Erin’s demise.
My skin tightened around me like cellophane as rage filled me. No one will feed from her but me, damn it!
I’d find whoever was doing it, and I’d destroy him.
She was mine. All mine. Body, heart, soul, blood.
Mine.
My gums itched and prickled.
I went to the kitchen and downed a pint of blood. I had to keep myself under control tonight, at least until…
What if she ran from me screaming?
Who wouldn’t? Any sane person would get as far away from me as she possibly could.
I had to try, though.
Had to try to find life and happiness for us both.
That meant I needed a contingency plan. I didn’t want to glamour her, and I wasn’t even sure I could. So if she screamed… What could I do? Tie her down to make her stay and listen to me?
Tie her down.
The thought both disgusted and aroused me. How could I even think of binding someone, when I’d been held captive for a decade? But a beautiful image emerged in my mind—Erin, a feast on a platter, bound, ready and willing for me to take whatever I wanted, whatever I needed…
I showered and got ready to shave but then decided to keep the couple days’ worth of stubble. She seemed to like it. I dressed quickly and ran a comb loosely through my hair. Maybe time for a haircut? The waves hit my shoulders. River wore his shorter.
No. This was me. The me I’d only seen so recently. I was still getting used to the mature face in the mirror. I couldn’t change anything. Not yet.
Unchained: Blood Bond Saga: Volume One Page 21
