by amy o'connor
The beast whispered to him, tempting him. She’d be his for eternity. He’d bring her around…
Todd lowered his head over hers, inhaling the scent of her hair. She was perfect. Too perfect to lose.
He scooped her more securely into his arms, leaping skyward on that thought. Gwyneth’s arms and legs trailed limply as he sped back towards his apartment. Her hair billowed behind them in the wind. She was the most precious cargo he’d ever carry. He couldn’t bear to think of the future. If he had to, he’d let her go. He’d turn her, teach her how to survive, then let her go.
Or not…
Even as his feet touched the balcony, he was biting into her neck, drinking deeply as he strode across the living room and into his bedroom. He was still drinking as he lowered her onto his bed, gently straightening her broken limbs. When he could take no more he stroked her hair from her eyes, bent his teeth to his wrist and ripped into his own veins. He held his torn wrist to her mouth, forcing the gushing blood to flow into her mouth.
The leaden ball in the pit of his stomach tightened. She wasn’t responding. He was too late.
“Please.” He barely recognized his own voice, the single word catching on a sob. “Please Gwyneth. You must…” He swallowed jerkily, and lowered himself to the bed beside her.
Moisture welled up behind his eyes as he pulled her close. “I need you.”
* * * *
She really didn’t want to wake up. It was like one of those dreams, the sort where something terrible is going to happen if you don’t wake up but, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t force your eyes to open. It was that same horrible feeling — in reverse. Something was desperately trying to get her attention. It really wanted her to wake up. She couldn’t quite remember why, but was quite certain she didn’t want to face it. Whatever it was gave new meaning to the term ‘iron will’. Her own will was weak, slowly bending to the compulsion upon her.
She was hungry, and she hurt. Every bone in her body ached. Every beat of her heart throbbed into her brain, pummeling her into submission. Maybe if she gave in, floated into awareness just enough to see what it wanted, maybe then she’d be allowed to fall back into the darkness? It wasn’t like she had a choice anyway. Against her will, her eyelids creaked open.
“Hullo, sleeping beauty.” Todd’s melodious voice washed over her.
Gwyneth blinked up at him, her vision as bleary as her thoughts. Dark hair, beautiful eyes. Absolutely gorgeous. Yep, that was Todd. His hand engulfed hers, possessive yet gentle, and his fingers were playing on her skin in a soothing pattern. Dazed as she was, she could tell he was inordinately relieved to see her.
Why was she here again? Slowly, reality crept back in. First there’d been the auction, then the sex… more sex — it was amazing she wasn’t blushing at her thoughts! — then dinner and… more sex. They’d been at it like bunnies before…
She blinked as the thought eluded her. Tiny lines formed around Todd’s eyes, and she had to look away to avoid his gaze. It felt like he was trying to see straight through to her soul. A stupid idea, really, but… Uncomfortable, she tried to turn onto her side. Pain speared into her. For a few minutes the world went black.
When she opened her eyes, she was once again lying flat on her back, only this time Todd was leaning over her. His hands on her shoulders were light but she doubted she could have brushed away a mosquito, let alone him. It was hard to explain but there was something very determined about the grim expression on his face.
“What - “ Her voice petered out. She tried whispering instead, her throat too dry for anything else. “What happened?”
“Do you remember anything?” His voice was neutral.
She started to shake her head before remembering the last time she’d moved. “No.”
Emotion flitted across Todd’s face, so quickly she didn’t have time to identify it. Then he sighed. “Look into my eyes. I’ll show you.”
Without thinking about the weirdness of what he was saying, she lifted her gaze. As her eyes met his an image appeared in her head. The room — and Todd — was still blurrily visible but overriding it was… her. She was running from a room, fleeing whoever was looking at her. The scene shifted to the street outside her pharmacy. She knew she was inside. She was seeing it through Todd’s eyes. A flash of panic stabbed through her and she tried to pull away, only to find she was trapped in his memory. She watched in horror as Todd pushed his way into the back room, effortlessly tossing away her hasty barricade. Then she was running again, running out into the night with Todd somewhere behind her. The memory moved on. She couldn’t see herself, but she could hear every tiny sound in the night. She could hear herself gasping for breath as she ran, heard her heart beating from a street away. A shudder coursed through her. Or was it coursing through Todd in his memory? Before she could decide she heard the truck, heard the squeal of brakes, then the absolute silence as the truck raced away into the night. Once more the memory shifted. She caught a glimpse of herself lying in the street. Even from the distance she cold see the blood. Worse, she could smell it. An unfamiliar craving hit her.
“I’m sorry. I meant to stop before the end.”
Gwyneth blinked, and the world came back into focus. She was lying in a bed, Todd staring down at her. So, apparently she’d been hit by a truck. The way she felt right now she could believe it. But…she tried to clear her head. In the dream, if that’s what it had been, she’d been dead. Obviously, she wasn’t dead. Come to think of it, if she had been hit by a truck, what was she doing in Todd’s bed rather than in a hospital?
An odd clawing sensation gripped her stomach. There’d been something so real about the whole episode. She didn’t even want to think about how he’d projected his memories onto her — that was just too weird to think about — but it was real. She knew it was. But why had she been running? Had he purposely left that bit out?
She flinched as an unexpected ache wrenched through her abdomen. Her whole body was crying out for something. She had no idea what.
“Did you remember?” Todd sounded very calm.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Everything?”
She bit her lip as another fresh pain speared into her. With the pain came the missing memory. She’d been running away from Todd. No, not Todd. She’d been running away from a monster. She felt her eyes widen.
Todd gazed down at her. He seemed to fight some kind of inner battle before finally saying, “Good. It’s better that you know.”
Better that she know he was a vampire? Only the memory of her last movement kept her from trying to run again. She forced herself to speak, ignoring the raspy pain in her throat. “Why me?”
Apparently satisfied she wasn’t about to run, Todd pushed himself wearily upright. “There have been others, but you’re the first woman who’s ever known. I can’t control your mind.”
“Good!”
His lips quirked. “No, not really. If I’d been able to control your mind, you’d never have found out what I was. Come Monday you’d have toddled off to work, none the wiser that vampires existed.” He shrugged. “None of this would have happened.”
Before she could comment, another burst of pain exploded through her. It was accompanied by that strange longing, the one she’d felt when she was looking out through Todd’s eyes. She whimpered.
Todd’s eyes darkened. “Your body’s healing but it will be faster if you feed again.” He held his wrist down to her, his skin brushing lightly against her lips. His voice deepened. “Can you hear my heartbeat? Listen to my blood.”
Even injured as she was, a fresh surge of heat ran through her and gathered in her belly. The sound of his blood rushing through his veins surrounded her. The room seemed to retreat, his heartbeat and the flow of his blood taking over her thoughts. Her mouth watered. Simultaneously, something sharp pricked at her lower lip. Then Gwyneth horrified herself by biting deep into his arm.
* * * *
Todd groaned as h
er teeth pierced his skin and miniature lightning bolts rocketed through his system. When he’d forced her to feed in order for the change to occur, it hadn’t been like this. He’d not really been paying attention to how it felt, too worried about whether she’d survive, and Gwyneth hadn’t really been conscious either. This time, she hadn’t tried to glamour him — didn’t yet know she could — and, surprisingly, it didn’t hurt. He’d only shared blood with another vampire a few times before and never, never… So much for his prosaic attempt at feeding her from his wrist!
He shuddered as she unconsciously flicked her tongue over his sensitized skin. Without thought, he cradled her head in his other hand, his fingers tangled in her hair, holding her mouth firmly against his wrist when she started to pull away.
A tiny whimper of pain sighed into his head, so quiet he doubted she’d actually let the sound pass her lips. Gwyneth tried again to pull her head away. Her moan jerked him back to awareness. Although healing quickly because of her new vampire blood, her body was still a mess. He’d really only woken her to make her feed.
It took a moment to pull himself together. Certain he was once again in control he met her eyes then sent a sharp command whipping into her mind. Her eyes flared with awareness of what he’d done a moment before she fell helplessly under his thrall.
As she relaxed into unconsciousness he drew his wrist carefully away from her teeth. He licked the still-throbbing puncture wound thoughtfully. There was so much she had to learn about her new life, more than he’d realized. He looked down on her. She was battered yet, for the moment, at peace. His heart clenched. He couldn’t let her go. Not now. And he even had a good excuse.
* * * *
The solitary call of a night bird shattered the silence. Slowly, it trailed away to nothing. No other sound replaced it. Gwen strained her ears, expecting to hear traffic in the distance, or maybe the swish of a cars tires as it drove along the rain-damp street. Nothing. She couldn’t remember a time when it had been that quiet in her house.
She stared blankly up at the ceiling, still half asleep, wondering vaguely what time it was. There was no hint of dawn in the room, nothing but moonlight dapples on the bare white ceiling.
Her ceiling wasn’t white, and there was a dark timber beam directly above her bed. It wasn’t her bed. Even as she realized she didn’t know where she was, she remembered the blood. Just the memory was enough to stir a craving deep within her. She jerked upright, screeching when something sharp pierced her lower lip. She tasted blood.
“Try and avoid chewing on your lip.” Todd’s voice.
Todd’s hand reached out for her. Panicking, she twisted away from his touch, falling off the bed and landing on the floor with a thud that shook her to the bones.
She stared back up at the bed, only to find Todd had rolled onto his side and levered himself comfortably onto an elbow. He raised an interrogatory eyebrow. “I take it the pain’s mostly gone, then?”
Gwen nodded, too startled to answer. He sounded like it was the most normal thing in the world to wake up from dreaming of vampires and accidents to find a strange man in your bed. Well, someone’s bed…
“Where are we?”
He smiled, green eyes glimmering in the moonlight. “My sister’s place. She has a property in the mountains. It’s a little more private than my flat.”
“Oh.” Gwen’s mind raced. Why didn’t she remember getting here? She stared back at him, unable to stop her gaze fixing on a single lock of his hair that drooped over his eyebrow. It was such a rich shade of brown, impossible to imagine, yet it was the perfect frame for those vivid eyes. If she wasn’t careful she’d fall right into them and drown.
Memories started to rush back. Green eyes. Brown hair. Moonlight…
Todd grimaced. “I know I’m probably wasting my breath saying this but don’t — “
Gwen scrambled to her feet and fled across the room. She couldn’t see full color when it was pitch black. She couldn’t. she refused to believe it. Because if she could… She was…
She shook her head and yanked the door open. There was no way she was going there. She was not a vampire.
* * * *
“— panic.”
The slam of the bedroom door cut off the end of his sentence. So much for her not panicking. Once again she was running from him and, once again, the beast inside wasn’t happy. He could feel his eyes changing, feel the heat as the coal-black flames flickered to life. The beast lifted its head and roared in protest.
He heard her muffled squeak of fear. He hadn’t made a sound aloud, hadn’t moved a muscle, yet she’d heard and known. She knew…
If she’d heard the beast then there was no longer any question. She was his mate. The beast surged up, effortlessly breaking the restraints Todd had forced on it for so many years, blending their personalities together. She was his mate. She was running. And his primitive instincts were taking over. Todd leapt from the bed, fully clothed in a heartbeat.
When the prey ran, the predator chased.
He caught her struggling with the heavy old locks on the front door.
“You know, I like it when you run. The thrill of the chase…” He let the sentence trail off as he settled himself negligently against the wall, then he smiled, purposely revealing a hint of fang. He wanted her totally aware of just who was in the position of power — and of just what easy prey she was. His eyes remained steady on her, waiting for the moment she looked up and he could trap her in his gaze.
“You what?” Finally she looked up.
“I like it when you run,” he repeated smoothly.
Instead of the panic he’d been expecting Gwyneth was simply staring at him, her eyes wide. She lifted an eyebrow, copying his expression of a few minutes before. “Really?”
Todd glided closer, purposely intimidating. At least he tried to intimidate her but it seemed she was having none of it. He wouldn’t let her know it yet but he couldn’t help admiring her strength. She was well and truly cut out to be his mate.
As he stalked her, her hands dropped away from the door and she straightened her back, never breaking eye contact. Even her heart rate was almost back to normal, the frenzied pounding of her dash down the hall nothing but a memory.
Her acceptance of his darker side seemed to be soothing the beast and he stopped, unable to hide his grin. “Yeah. Really.”
“So you’re a vampire, huh?”
“Yep.” Maybe it was still a bit too soon to remind her that she was a vampire too. He pushed the thought away. It was something he’d worry about later. In the meantime it wouldn’t hurt to start springing a few facts on her. “Vampires are predators — of course we enjoy chasing our prey.” She blanched so he started talking faster. “We need blood to survive but we don’t need to kill. Usually, the prey doesn’t even know they’ve been…um…”
“Dinner?” she suggested.
Todd flushed. So much for him setting out to intimidate her. It appeared he couldn’t disconcert her even slightly. His grandmother was going to love Gwyneth. He nodded agreement.
“So I was just dinner?” she continued.
“Yes. No. I…” He shrugged helplessly. “Sort of?”
Gwyneth shifted impatiently, unaware her tiny change of angle allowed the light to flow through the lace of her nightgown, rendering it all but translucent. “Make up your mind.”
Todd’s gaze was caught on a pink nipple that threatened to break free of the low cut bodice. What had he been thinking, dressing her in that particular nightgown while he waited for her to regain consciousness? He would have left her in her own torn clothes if it wasn’t that the scent of her blood had teased him beyond reason. He’d had to change her clothes.
“Well?” she prompted.
Dragging his eyes away was almost painful but he managed it. Eventually. What he saw didn’t help his confusion. A tiny smile lurked around the corners of her mouth and the way the light caught her eyes… At any other time he would have sworn they were spark
ling with laughter.
It wasn’t possible though. He’d scared her silly once already tonight and letting the beast out a few minutes before couldn’t have helped his case. Still… He’d been stalking her in full vampire mode when she’d suddenly pulled herself together and stopped running. It was another thought he’d have to put aside for later.
Todd followed her lead and pulled his own thoughts together. “As soon as I saw you, I knew you were special. I can’t read your mind,” he explained, seeing her skeptical gaze. “Nor can I control you.”
“Obviously,” she agreed dryly.
“That’s rare. Really rare. The only time I managed was when you were half-dead. I just tried again just now and I can’t again. You fascinate me. And ever since I smelled you, the beast inside me has wanted you.” He shrugged. “I’m a vampire. I’m not fully human.”
That teasing smile was flirting with her lips again. “I noticed.”
“The human in me likes you.” It was too soon to think about words that were stronger than like. Other words that also started with ‘L’. “The vampire in me wants to claim you. it’s why I couldn’t just let you die. You’re mine.”
* * * *
His?
Gwen put her hand up, waving it around a bit to pull his attention back from her as-near-to-as-didn’t-matter-a-darn bare breasts. Only a vampire would have picked such a stereotypical nightgown. It was all too easy to imagine herself fleeing across moonlit lawns, a ghastly house as backdrop, and a too-gorgeous vampire hot on her heels. Sheesh.
Back to this ownership question…
“Modern, independent woman standing over here,” she told him. “No one owns me.”
“Very attractive female vampire standing over there,” he countered in a slow drawl. “Fledgling female vampire.”
“Uh uh.” Gwen shook her head. “I’m still me.”
