Blake's Pursuit

by Tina Folsom

“What is this?” She held up the USB stick, the same one she’d given to Officer Donnelly. “Why do you have this? What’s going on?”

  Blake stared at the memory stick in her hand, his eyes wide. “I’m sorry. I was gonna tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” In her own ears, her voice suddenly sounded shrill. He’d lied to her.

  “The truth.”

  22

  Blake had grabbed his clothes and gone downstairs to let Lilo get dressed in private.

  Now he was pacing in front of the fireplace in the living room, guilt blasting through him. He’d screwed up. Major. Why on earth had he not told her everything the moment Ryder had left with the hybrids? He knew exactly why: because his dick had done the thinking for him.

  “Fuck!” He slammed his fist against the mantle.

  By sleeping with Lilo he’d made things a hundred times worse. Not only would she feel betrayed, but he was also sure now that he couldn’t let her go. He’d never felt such ecstasy in his life as when he’d come inside her and felt her interior muscles clamp around him as if she’d wanted to imprison him. But the chances of ever holding her in his arms again had just dropped to zero.

  The hurt look she’d tossed him before he’d left the bedroom had said as much.

  Coming clean now, laying himself bare before her, was his only chance at redemption in her eyes. But even if he could make her understand why he’d had to keep secrets from her, there was no way of knowing how she would react to finding out that he was the very creature she found so disgusting.

  His ears perked up when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself. This was the moment of truth, and so much depended on how he handled the next few minutes.

  When he heard her at the open archway, he turned slowly. She stood there between the hallway and living room, fully dressed, her cheeks still flushed, her hair unruly.

  He motioned to the couch. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

  “I’d rather stand.”

  “Believe me, you’ll want to sit for this. What I’m going to tell you isn’t easy to swallow.”

  She lashed a glare at him. “Why? Because it’s another lie?”

  He flinched. “I deserved that. But what I’m going to tell you now is the truth.” He sighed. “I wanted to tell you earlier. That’s why I sent Ryder and the boys away, but things…” He cleared his throat. “…things happened. And I’m not proud of how I behaved.”

  He ran his eyes over her.

  “But I’m only a man. And it’s hard to resist something that you want so damn much.”

  She ignored his comment and walked to the sofa, sinking into one corner of it. He remained standing near the fireplace, sensing that she didn’t want him to come any closer.

  “Lilo, I want you to understand something. It wasn’t my intention to take advantage of you, but I never had a chance resisting you. You’re brave and smart. And so damn beautiful.”

  She didn’t buy it. Instead, she pressed her lips together.

  “You might not believe everything I’ve got to say. But there’s one thing that you have to believe: I will never hurt you. I will protect you with my life, if it comes to that.”

  She made an abrupt movement with her hand, cutting him off. “Get to the point.” She tossed the USB stick on the coffee table. “I gave this to the police. How did you get it?”

  He nodded, trying to find the right way to start. Maybe the easy things first. “What I told you about myself is true. I’m a bodyguard for Scanguards. But what I didn’t mention is that Scanguards has a consulting contract with the police department. They rely on us to solve cases they can’t.”

  She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He motioned to the stick. “The video that’s on there. It’s real. Vampires exist, and I’ve been aware of it for a long time. As is the police chief and a few select police officers who act as our liaisons.”

  “Like Donnelly?”

  “Yes. He’s one of the few who know what they’re dealing with, and whenever a case in which vampires appear to be involved crosses their desks, they contact Scanguards, and we take over.”

  He could see her mind processing the information he gave her. Her forehead furrowed. Suddenly she shook her head. “You pretended not to know Donnelly when you brought me to the police station that night. And he played along. I take it that it wasn’t a coincidence that you drove me to that particular station?”

  Blake shook his head. “You insisted on going to the police, and I couldn’t let you go to just anybody. Public knowledge about vampires has to be contained, or there will be panic everywhere. So I texted Donnelly.”

  “No, no, no! Don’t try to confuse me. You couldn’t have known back then that we were dealing with vampires. I found the video only today.”

  He took a few steps closer and lowered himself to sit on the coffee table a few feet away from her. “Lilo, I knew immediately that night that the man who attacked you was a vampire.”

  “How?”

  He shrugged, not ready to give away his secret yet. He needed to explain a lot more before she was ready to hear this. “I can identify vampires. But I couldn’t tell you. You were scared enough. I needed you to remain calm.”

  “So you lied to me?” Her lips quivered.

  “I didn’t lie. I just withheld things from you. I had to.” He shoved a hand through his hair and threw his head back. “But you’ve earned the right to hear the truth now. Without your help we wouldn’t know who your attacker was. But with the video we’ll be able to find him in the database, I’m certain.”

  “Database?”

  “Scanguards has built up a database of known vampires.”

  She shook her head again and again. “I can’t believe this. A company that consults with the city? That hunts vampires? This is crazy.”

  “I know it sounds like it at first. But that’s what Scanguards does.”

  “And the database? Why? I mean, if you know who’s a vampire, then why not kill them right away?”

  As if she’d physically driven a knife through his ribs, pain seared through him. “Lilo, it’s not all black and white.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Not all vampires are bad. In fact, most are upstanding citizens with families and—”

  “No, no, that’s not possible. They’re vile creatures. They suck humans dry. They kill them.”

  “No, the vampires I know are honorable people. They protect humans.”

  “They bite humans and drink their blood!”

  If only she knew what a euphoric feeling a vampire’s bite could cause. But the way things stood right now, she’d never find out for herself. “Please listen to me. I want to tell you about the vampires I know.”

  “How many do you know?” she spat.

  “Many. They have families, children, dogs…”

  “Children?”

  “Hybrids to be exact. Half-vampire, half-human.”

  He could see her mind working.

  “But that would mean…” she started, her eyes widening.

  This was his opportunity to tell her about his species, and that they needn’t be feared. “Yes. That’s exactly what that means. Vampires can bond with humans. For life.”

  “Why would a human agree to that?”

  “Many reasons: love being the strongest. And the advantages for the human are without equal: through their blood-bond the human feeds off the vampire’s immortality.”

  “The human becomes immortal? No. You mean the human is turned into a vampire.”

  “No. The human remains human. Who would the vampire feed off if he turned his human mate into a vampire? No, he needs her to remain human, because he can only take nourishment from his mate. He will only ever feed off his human mate.”

  “I don’t understand. He won’t bite another human?”

  “He couldn’t, even if he wanted to. The blood-bond is so strong that he would get sick from dri
nking another human’s blood.”

  “That still leaves all those other vampires.” She pointed toward the door indicating the world outside their four walls. “The ones who’re not that tame. Those who don’t have human mates.” She shivered visibly, as if the thought disgusted her. “Vampires like Ronny, and the one who attacked me.”

  Slowly Blake nodded. “Yes, there are those.” He looked at her, searching her eyes, making sure he had her full attention. “That’s why Scanguards came into existence. To protect humans from evil vampires.”

  She waved her hands nervously. “But how? I felt how strong that vampire was. How could a human possibly have a chance against something like that?”

  “A human wouldn’t.” He waited, letting the words sink in.

  “But if not a human then…” Her eyes moved, her irises widening, swallowing up most of the white in her eyes.

  “Scanguards was founded by a vampire named Samson Woodford. He still runs the company today, over two hundred years later. Many of the employees are vampires who’ve pledged their lives to protect the humans in their care.”

  Lilo’s head moved from side to side, her chin dropping. “No, no, I can’t hear anymore of this. This is crazy. This can’t be true. Please tell me none of this is true.”

  He met her pleading look. “I wish I could. But there’s one more thing. Something I wanted to tell you before we ended up in bed.” He hesitated, but there was no way back now. She deserved to know.

  “Lilo, I’m one of them. I’m a vampire.”

  23

  Lilo’s heart stopped. Her lungs stopped working. Her muscles froze. Paralyzed, she stared at Blake, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. His words still echoed in her ears, but they couldn’t be true.

  Her mouth could only form one word. “No.”

  Maybe if she said it enough, it would become true, and the nightmare she found herself in would end.

  “I’m sorry, Lilo, but it’s the truth. I became a vampire fourteen years ago.”

  She continued shaking her head, not wanting to believe his words. Because believing them would mean she’d have to admit that she’d kissed a vampire, touched him, slept with him.

  Blake leaned closer, and she involuntarily shrank back into her corner of the sofa. Immediately he made a calming gesture with his hand, easing back again. “I have no intention of frightening you or hurting you in any way. On the contrary. I want you to know everything about me. I want you to understand me, and why I had to keep this from you. I need you to trust me.”

  “Trust?” She laughed hysterically. “Trust a vampire? Like Hannah trusted Ronny?” She expelled an angry breath. “See where that got her! She’s probably dead already!” Tears welled up in her eyes now, but she forced them back. No, crying wouldn’t help now. She had to remain strong. “Hannah would have never gotten involved with a vampire, had she known what Ronny was. Never!”

  “Hannah met Ronny through her job. She knew what he was.”

  “No! He lied to her, just like you lied to me!”

  “Hannah works for Vüber. Scanguards created Vüber for the sole purpose of providing vampire-safe transportation during daylight hours. Every single client is a vampire. The human drivers know that. We retrofit their cars to make them vampire-safe. Hannah knew who she was transporting. She knew what Ronny was even before they started dating.”

  Lilo pressed her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

  “Hannah went into this relationship with her eyes open. Ronny didn’t lie to her.” He sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t claim the same for myself. But I knew, from your reaction when I picked you up from the police station, that you’d never let me make love to you if you knew what I was.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Hell, by telling you this I’m probably making things even worse for myself.” He shot her a pleading look. “But I can’t lie to you any longer. I want you, Lilo. The thought of never again touching you, kissing you, making love to you, is killing me.”

  “Like Ronny wanted Hannah?” she ground out. “As if I don’t know what that means. You know how many times Hannah complained about Ronny’s possessiveness? His demanding nature? His jealousy? It all makes sense now. He’s a vampire, an animal. Just like you.”

  He flinched, and quickly closed his eyes, but she’d seen it nevertheless: a red flickering in his irises, as if he was about to lose control.

  “You’re right, Lilo.” He rose and turned his back to her. “I’m an animal. And I’ll tell you why: I love my family, and I would do anything to protect them. That’s why I asked my fourth great-grandfather to turn me. So I could protect those I love. Scanguards is my family. The boys you met here—Sebastian, Adam, and Nicholas—they’re my charges. They’re hybrids. The sons of Scanguards’ senior management. Thirteen half-vampires, ten boys and three girls, rely on me for their security when their parents are otherwise occupied. Yes, I’m an animal, because I’ll protect them to the death.”

  The words shocked her to the core. Such passion. Such devotion. Such honor.

  Could a vampire really possess those traits? Could he really live by such a code?

  “I’m also an animal,” he continued, “because of my need for blood. I can’t deny that. But it doesn’t make me a beast, and it doesn’t make me evil. Because I can control that need. I did earlier.”

  Her breath hitched, and he slowly turned, looking at her.

  “When you were in my arms, I didn’t only want to make love to you, though, by God, that was my greatest desire. But I also wanted to taste your blood. I wanted to sink my fangs into your skin and drink from you.”

  His eyes suddenly began to shimmer golden, and she now realized that it was the same shimmer she’d seen earlier when he’d taken her against the wall.

  “Oh, God,” she whimpered.

  His gaze dropped to her chest. “Yes, I wanted to sink my fangs into your breast and drink from you there, while I brought us both to an earth-shattering climax. But I didn’t do it, because you didn’t give me permission. And I’d never violate anybody like that.”

  Her heart pounded up into her throat. “As if anybody would give a vampire permission to bite them! Why would anybody allow that?” she cried out. Only a crazy person would do that.

  “Once we find Hannah, you can ask her why.”

  “Hannah would never…”

  A slow shake of his head silenced her.

  “She’s been dating Ronny for several months. I can guarantee you that she allowed him to bite her. Maybe not right away, but eventually.” He paused for a moment. “A vampire’s bite is virtually painless. The host feels no more than a pinprick. But once a vampire draws on the human’s vein, the human will feel a sense of euphoria, of pleasure so intense it eclipses any orgasm. And if a vampire chooses to bite his lover during sex…”

  He didn’t finish the sentence, and he didn’t have to. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

  “That’s why a human will give her vampire lover permission to bite her,” he murmured. “So they can experience that ultimate ecstasy together. A special connection.”

  Lilo pressed her hand to her chest. This was all too much. She couldn’t process all the information he’d given her. How could she know what was true and what wasn’t? She had no proof of anything. Only his words.

  “I want to see.” The words were out before she realized she’d made the decision.

  “See what?”

  “You. I want to see the real you.” Then at least one question would be answered once and for all, and she could panic in earnest.

  “I guess you have a right to it after all that’s happened.” He stood up and put several feet of distance between them. “I don’t want you to be scared of what you’re about to see. I’ll be in control of myself the entire time. I could never hurt you.”

  Had Ronny said those words to Hannah, too? Had he, too, professed that he’d never hurt her, and then done i
t anyway?

  She swallowed, bracing herself for what was about to happen. Her palms felt sweaty, and she rubbed them on her pants. Her heart was beating out of control, but there was nothing she could do to calm it down.

  “I’m ready.”

  Her eyes were trained on Blake’s face. At first nothing happened, then his eyes started to shimmer golden. It took several seconds before the golden hue turned orange, and then red, until his irises were finally glowing scarlet, like two alarm beacons.

  She held her breath, as her gaze was drawn to his mouth. His lips parted slowly, revealing his pearly white teeth. He opened wider and exhaled visibly, while at the same time one canine to each side of his jaw lengthened into a razor-sharp fang.

  “Oh my God,” she murmured to herself, her hands holding onto her thighs as if her life depended on it.

  But evidently Blake wasn’t done, because he now lifted his arms and made her look at his hands, while his fingers turned into sharp claws, claws that could rip an elephant to shreds.

  She gasped. He’d touched her with those hands, when he could have easily ripped her throat out with one single swipe. There was no denying it any longer. Blake was a vampire.

  And she was caught in the middle of a battle in which the various sides hadn’t even been identified yet. She didn’t know who was good and who was bad. And she didn’t know whose side she would find herself on. If she lived long enough to take sides.

  “Lilo, it’s still me,” Blake said softly. “I’m still the man who made love to you. The man whose touch you enjoyed, whose kisses you responded to. I’m still that man.”

  She lifted her eyes to his face, and watched him turn back into a man. His eyes were of a vibrant blue again, and his teeth were a beautiful row of white perfection. Nothing gave away what lay hidden beneath that beautiful facade. Which made him even more dangerous.

  She scraped together all her courage and lifted her chin. “What are you planning to do with me, now that I know?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Do with you?”

  “Yes, now that I know your secret. Yours and Scanguards. How are you going to make sure I won’t talk?”