Bound by Her Destiny

by Mara Leigh

  “On my way.”

  He doesn’t hang up, and I hear as he tells Kevin and Chelle that he has to leave. I also hear as he exits the bar and runs.

  Keeping the phone to my ear, I absorb the solid thump of his shoes as they hit pavement, evidence that he’s racing toward me, and it’s like I can feel the vibrations of his footfalls as he gets closer and closer, until finally the door to the house opens.

  I’m so dazed and weak, I’ve barely made it to a standing position when he pulls me into his arms, lifting my feet off the tiles of the kitchen floor.

  “Acushla. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  His arms cover so much area on my body and feel so warm and strong, but even his powerful, tender embrace can’t erase my fear and sadness—or my shame. Not tonight.

  He leads me to the sitting room and holds me in his arms, while I explain what happened.

  “This is a tricky situation,” he says once I’m finished. “We need to call Astrid.”

  “No!” I shout, then lower my voice. “If we call in FJS they’ll take his memories. Astrid will insist on it.”

  “They can wipe memories?” He tips his head to the side. “Really?”

  “Yes. The CEO can. She can transfer more venom than most vampires and steal long chunks of memory.” I hope this isn’t some vampire secret I shouldn’t have shared, but even if I knew that it was, I would have told Rock.

  Rock rubs my back. “Doesn’t that solve the problem? What am I missing?”

  I turn toward him. “To be safe, they’ll take huge chunks of his memories, probably weeks, maybe more. It’s not an exact science but they’ll definitely wipe his memory back to—”

  “Before Colton met you.”

  I nod. “I know it’s selfish, but the thought of that…” My chest implodes and Rock’s arm tightens around me as I regain my ability to speak through the pain.

  “And beyond my selfishness, I hate the idea of someone messing with Colton’s mind. What if something goes wrong? What if he’s not the same after? It’s not right.”

  I look into Rock’s eyes. “I only suspected it before, but how I feel now… Rock, I’m falling in love with Colton.”

  “I know, Acushla. I know.”

  I suck in a sharp breath. Rock knows me so well and that comforts me—a bit. “Colton told me he loves me too, and I can’t bear the thought of losing him. So, even if the CEO could target just the right memories, if we love each other…”

  “He needs to know the truth.”

  “Yes.” I snuggle into Rock’s chest, loving how his heat and the beating of his hearts soothe me.

  After a while, Rock says, “Colton needs to witness a vampire feeding. He needs to see for himself that it causes no harm.”

  I lift my head from his chest. “That’s a good idea. Should we go down now? See if he’s awake?” I lick my teeth as my fangs start to pulse.

  I’ve been longing to feed from Rock since we met. Colton will see Rock’s reaction to the feeding. He’ll see when Rock wakes unharmed.

  “I didn’t mean feeding from me, Acushla.”

  “Why not?”

  His eyes are full of desire. “It’s a bad idea. For one thing, you’re already aroused from taking Colton’s vein.”

  He looks down, and I realize I’ve been rubbing against his leg—almost humping him. Rock is solidly hard and I can’t begin to deny the wet heat pulsing inside me—my arousal that’s been overshadowed by my feelings of guilt, sadness and shock.

  “You’ve never taken my vein,” he continues, “and I don’t know how either of us might respond. That’s not true. I know how you’d respond.” He raises his eyebrows.

  He’s right. Feeding from Rock would take my sexual desire over the top.

  “I’ve never fed a vampire,” he says. “I don’t know if your venom would have the same numbing effect on my body as it does on a full-blooded human’s—or if either of us could control ourselves.”

  His voice grows deeper when he says this and I have to admire his self-restraint. Or maybe it’s driven by his fear that he’d finally give in and make love to me.

  “I get it. You’re right.” Although his words amplify my unsatisfied need, and it’s all I can do to keep from straddling Rock and rubbing his hardness against me until I come. In this heightened state, it wouldn’t take long for me to reach climax, but one orgasm would not be enough.

  “Then who do I feed from?” I ask.

  He pulls out his phone. “I’ll call Chelle.”

  “Chelle?”

  “Sure.” Rock shrugs. “She won’t be afraid to do it, and…you’re not sexually attracted to her—are you?”

  I shake my head.

  “Okay. It’s settled then. Kev can handle the bar for a while on his own.”

  He stands and walks to the other side of the room as he makes the call.

  When he returns I crawl into his lap. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too.” He kisses the top of my head, and I need Rock so badly right now. My insides throb with desire, my fangs tingle, and I long for the distraction and relief that I know his fingers or mouth on my sex would bring.

  “What’s the word on Gray?” he asks. “When is he going to be released?”

  “I don’t know.” My desire temporarily forgotten, I swallow more pain. “Before this happened, my plan was to visit him as soon as the sun went down.”

  He strokes my arm. “And Pike?”

  I shake my head against Rock’s chest. “No idea where he spent the day. He might be in FJS custody too.”

  The door to the basement shakes with a loud slam.

  I leap to my feet. “He’s awake.” My heart pounds like a jackhammer. “What do I do?” I close my eyes, memories of being held prisoner chilling my bones. I never thought I’d be capable of doing the same thing to another. To someone I love.

  The front doorbell chimes.

  “You let Chelle in,” Rock says. “I’ll talk to Colton.”

  I nod, but as I walk toward the foyer I feel like a coward for not insisting we exchange tasks—not that I have any idea what I could say to Colton to justify what I’ve done.

  Chelle whistles as she walks into the foyer. “Holy fuck, Gray is rich.”

  “I guess he is.” Fear that he’ll never be free again ices my veins.

  She runs her fingers over the table in the center of the room, then looks up to the chandelier and whistles softly.

  “So, Rock said you need to feed from me?” She puts her hands on the hips of her well-worn jeans. “I guess I should be flattered?” She rolls her eyes.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Does Rock always track down your meals?” She draws her dark hair all over to one side, exposing her throat. “Where do we do this?”

  “That’s not…Rock didn’t explain?”

  “Hey, Chelle.” Rock steps into the foyer. He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Colton’s calmed down, but he’s furious, terrified.”

  “The cop’s here?” Chelle backs up and bumps into the post at the bottom of the stairs.

  “He knows what I am,” I tell her.

  “It wasn’t me.” Chelle shakes her head. “I promise.” She looks terrified, but why?

  “I know it wasn’t you.” I reach out toward her, then drop my hand. “I told him.”

  “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  “We need to help him understand that we’re not a danger to him,” I tell her. “That most of what he believes about vampires isn’t true.”

  “And you think sucking on my neck will help?” Chelle frowns at me.

  “It was my idea.” Rock goes to her and rests his hand on her shoulder. “This would really help us, a lot. Help us convince Colton that vampires aren’t what he thinks.”

  “Why not you?” She shakes her head. “Okay. I get it. I know enough about vampire feedings to get why that might be a bad idea. Especially since Colton’s got a hard-on for her.” She points at me. “If he sees you and
Rock fucking—”

  I feel a flush rise on my cheeks. “Will you help us, or not?”

  “Sure. I guess I owe you guys.” She looks down. “And I’m up for trying anything—at least once. Are you going to…” She shoots me a lusty gaze. “Will we—”

  “No.” I shake my head. “I won’t touch you any more than I need to.”

  She shrugs then her eyes open wide. “Wait. If Colton isn’t convinced, will he arrest me after?”

  “What for?” I ask.

  “Offering sanctuary to vampires. Something like that?”

  “Chelle,” I step up beside her. “You don’t need to do this if you don’t want to.”

  “Yes she does,” Rock says gruffly. “She owes you after what she did. She’s the one who called the hot line.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t owe me a thing. But I won’t let you get arrested. I promise. Astrid, the tall, red-haired vampire—”

  “I know Astrid.” She sighs in annoyance.

  “Astrid knows someone who can take Colton’s memory if it comes to that. We’re trying to avoid it, but if we can’t change his mind, if you’re in any danger of getting arrested…”

  “Okay.” She nods. “Let’s get this over with.”

  We walk through the kitchen, and I knock softly on the basement door, sensing Colton right behind it. I can hear his breathing, his heartbeat. “Colton?”

  “Let me out.” His voice is strained.

  “We’re coming downstairs,” I tell him. “Rock and I—and Chelle, from the bar.”

  “You’re all vampires?” There’s fear in his voice.

  “I wish,” says Chelle. “Although, would’ve been better if I’d been turned when I was still in my twenties.” She looks at me and raises her eyebrows.

  “I’m not a vampire,” Rock says through the door. “And neither is Chelle.”

  “I’ve seen you both in sunlight,” Colton says, but he still sounds confused.

  “We’re opening the door now,” I tell him. “Will you step out of the way?”

  “Let me go first,” Rock whispers. “I’ll bring Chelle down. You come later.”

  I back away. This feels so strange, the three of us treating the door like there’s a wild animal behind it.

  Rock opens the door, and Colton tries to push through, but he’s no match for Rock large mass that fills the entire doorway.

  “Let’s be reasonable about this, okay?” he says to Colton, who I can’t even see. “Chelle and I will answer your questions. Explain that you’ve got nothing to fear from vampires.”

  “This is kidnapping!” Colton yells. “You don’t want to get mixed up in this, Rock. If you let me go now, I won’t arrest you.”

  “I’m not moving.” Rock’s voice is even and calm. “And you can’t get past me so… We just want to talk. Honest. Selina’s heartbroken. Don’t you want to at least give her a chance to explain?”

  Colton exhales hard, then I hear his footsteps as he heads down the stairs. Rock turns back and nods to me before he follows. Chelle goes behind him, and once they’re safely in the basement I start down, closing the door behind me.

  “Colton,” I say when I reach the gym.

  He keeps his eyes trained on the floor.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” he asks, his voice tight. “For lying? For sucking my blood?” His head snaps up, and his eyes are filled with so much pain and anger.

  “I’m sorry for it all. For so many things.” I take a step forward. “I panicked before. I shouldn’t have fed from you without your consent. It was wrong and I hope that some day you’ll forgive me.”

  He frowns.

  “And…” I swallow hard as my mouth goes dry. “That wasn’t the first time I fed from you.”

  Horror in his eyes, he staggers back. “When? Where? How many times? Have you been…the whole time?”

  “Just once before.” I walk slowly toward him. “You saved my life.”

  He cocks his head to the side. “What are you talking about? I never saved your life.”

  “Well…” I smile softly “…to be clear, first you almost killed me, but then your blood saved my life.”

  “What are you talking about?” He backs away, raking his hand through his hair. His back runs into a punching bag and he stumbles.

  “In the ravine, when you tried to kill Gray—”

  His eyes open wide. “It wasn’t a dream.”

  “What do you remember?” I ask softly, my heart thumping so hard I fear it might explode.

  “I shot you.” His legs collapse and he lands on the well-padded gym floor. “I shot you with a wooden stake. You were bleeding. You were dying.” He shakes his head. “Gray…he wouldn’t call an ambulance. He pulled the stake from your heart.” He looks up at me.

  “Not from my heart,” I say softly. “You missed that, by a fraction of an inch. But I lost a lot of blood and had a ton of internal damage, to my arteries, my ribs, my lungs…” I sit cross-legged in front of him. “I needed blood to help me heal. We needed to get out of that ravine before someone else came, and I was too weak.”

  Wide-eyed, he nods.

  “I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t see any other choice.” I shake my head. “That’s not entirely true. I did have a choice. I could have waited and healed on my own eventually, but you wanted to kill us.”

  His shoulders lift and I resist the urge to touch him.

  “And Colton, I can’t deny that in that moment, it was more than just needing to heal quickly. I wanted to feed from you. I wanted it so badly.”

  He shifts away from me. “Why?”

  “I could have used any human’s blood, but to drink yours…” I close my eyes and inhale a long breath to try to contain the need building inside me. “Your blood called to me. It still does.”

  “Why?” His voice is husky.

  “Because of how I feel about you.” Reaching toward him, I drop my hand before making contact.

  His chest expands and his gaze meets mine. His heart is beating fast and hard, pushing delicious blood through his veins.

  Looking into his eyes, I struggle to read his expression. While I’m not certain what he’s feeling, it’s not hatred, not for the moment, and I feel the chemistry between us return. I hope that’s not my imagination.

  “We thought a demonstration might be a good idea,” Rock interrupts what feels like a long, intimate moment between Colton and me, but I actually have no idea how much time passed while I was lost in Colton’s eyes, lost in my hope.

  “What kind of demonstration?” Colton leans back into the punching bag, his posture showing a hint of fear. One hand rises to his throat.

  “Relax, handsome.” Chelle steps forward. “She’s gonna drink from me.” She crouches down and touches Colton’s shoulder. “That way you can see how it works.”

  “Have you…” He hesitates. “Are you her blood slave or something?”

  Chelle laughs. “Is there such a thing?” Shrugging, she looks up at me, then back to Colton. “Based on everything I know, vampires don’t have blood slaves,” she tells him. “They don’t need them. It’s not that hard for them to find a vein to suck on whenever they need to. And to answer your other question—no, I’ve never fed a vampire before. Not that I know of.”

  “That you know of?”

  “Let’s go over to the sitting area.” Rock offers his hand to help Colton rise, but Colton gets up on his own and the four of us walk across the room.

  “Vampires have venom,” Rock says to Colton. “It dulls the pain of the puncture, heals the wound once the feeding is over, and confuses the human’s memory so they forget they’ve been bitten.”

  Colton rubs his hand over his neck, then drops down onto the sofa. “That’s why I can’t remember.”

  “Yes.” I step forward. “That night in the ravine, we didn’t know how much you’d forget. Whether you’d remember that Gray was a vampire, or that you’d shot me. Plus, you probably heard G
ray and I talking about what to do before I fed. You probably figured out what I was too.”

  He shakes his head. “Last thing I remember was seeing the stake enter your chest.” His eyes close and he bends forward as if he’s in pain. “But I thought that was a dream, a false memory from when I was unconscious from hitting my head on the rock.”

  “You did hit your head,” I tell him, “but it was my venom that knocked you out.”

  He shakes his head, looking down, and I hope that it’s just his struggle to process all this information.

  “Okay,” Chelle says. “Are we doing this, or what?” She plops down at the opposite end of the sofa from Colton and pulls her hair back. “Right side? Left? How does this work?”

  “How can you be so casual about this?” Colton asks her.

  “Look.” Chelle stretches her black-manicured fingers along the back of the sofa. “I’ve known vampires for years. They’re some of our best customers. Everyone of them is different—just like humans—but I’d say that on average vampires are some of the kindest, most respectful dudes I’ve ever met.” She shrugs. “Maybe because they’re more mature?”

  “You’re not afraid?” Colton asks her, glancing quickly toward me before returning his questioning gaze to her.

  “Selina won’t hurt me,” Chelle says. “I haven’t known her long, but I know her well enough to know that. Plus, Rock wouldn’t have asked me to do this if he didn’t trust her one-hundred.”

  Colton nods.

  I walk around the end of the sofa and lean one hand on the arm next to Chelle. If I feed from her like this, I’ll be able to see Colton at the same time, gauge his reaction.

  She shifts and tips her head to the side. “This good?”

  “It’s perfect. You’re sure you’re okay with this?”

  Chelle shrugs. “Rock’s right. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me,” I say. “I don’t want you to do this out of some kind of obligation.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Just fucking do it already. I’m actually super curious.”

  I nod, then I reach around, touching her chin and gently guiding her head toward the back of the sofa to expose her vein. I glance up at Colton.

  He’s stiff and wide-eyed, and looking at Chelle, not me.

  Rock comes behind me and places his hand on my shoulder. A show of solidarity? Or protection? I’m not sure of his motivation but I like that he’s there.