“What happened?” he asked.
“Oh, Eric, you don’t think I did that, do you?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. Where is he? Did you kill him?”
“No, he’s locked in the other room. I did shoot him in the leg, though.”
He smiled when he heard that. “Are you hurt, Angela? Your eyes look strange.”
“Yeah, well, you look strange yourself. Both of you.”
“You have a head injury?”
I nodded very slightly. I had found it was less painful to keep my head stationary.
“Do you have the key? I need to go in and get some clothes.”
“What about Barry?”
“I shall take care of him. Then we’ll get you to a hospital.”
“What about you? You need medical attention too.”
Eric delicately probed the wound on his chest with one finger. “Hmm,” he said. “Yes, it appears so. I know of a physician who can help me. But first things first.”
He took the key from me and disappeared into the hallway.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, tucked into stiff sheets on a narrow bed. It was dark, and quiet but for the beeps and drones that emanated from somewhere behind my head. There was a tube snaking out of a bandage on top of my left hand. I would have been concerned, but Eric’s aroma floated around the bed in a luscious miasma, inducing such feelings of euphoria and well-being that it was impossible to be worried. After a moment I remembered that I had been admitted to California General Hospital for treatment of my concussion.
“Eric?”
He was sitting in the far corner of the room, looking out the window at the winking lights of the city. A neon sign gave a crimson cast to his pale face. He stood up and walked over to the bed. He was dressed in slacks and a dark V-neck sweater. His short hair was neatly combed back from his high forehead. He smiled at me.
“I believe I owe you my thanks. More than that, I owe you my life.”
Even in the dim light I could see his smile fade and a deep sadness settle onto his features.
“Would you rather I let you die?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. How dare he look like that when I had risked my life for him?
He sat down, careful not to disturb my IV tube, and stroked my cheek. “No, of course not. I am grateful to you, truly grateful. And also truly ashamed that I could not come to your defense as I should have.”
“How’s your chest?” I asked.
He lifted his sweater, revealing those chiseled muscles I loved so much. The long red slash of the knife wound was now crisscrossed with dozens of bristly black stitches.
“You had to get stitches?” I ran my finger across the smaller, older scar, remembering the smoke rising from it, and my fear of losing Eric forever.
He laughed ruefully. “There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.”
“Will these scars ever go away?”
He shook his head. “Not from that knife, no. I shall bear them forever.”
“What happened to Barry?”
His eyes drifted to the machines on the wall behind me. “He was, uh, very useful in my healing.”
“I see.”
“It wasn’t the end I planned for him, but he won’t be doing any more damage to anyone.”
“What about Tangento?”
Eric smiled enigmatically. “The proper documents have been sent to the proper people. I have faith that they will receive their just deserts.”
“So what happens now?” I rubbed my wrists, which were bruised and chafed from the ropes, and tried not to look at Eric.
“It’s over now, Angela. You can go home, live as a normal person.”
I took a deep breath. “What if I don’t want to go home? What if I don’t want to be normal?”
He shook his head, pushing my words away. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
I sat up and put my arms around his neck. “But I want to be with you! You said you loved me, did you mean it?”
He stroked my hair, tucking a curl behind my ear. “With all my heart.”
“So bring me over. We can be together forever. I could cure my mother of her cancer.” Tears welled in my eyes and threatened to spill over.
“Angela, you and I both know that the burden of living this life is too great a price to pay for any love.”
“No, you’re wrong!” I started to cry in earnest.
“Look at me, Angela.” He held my chin so that I was forced to gaze into his fathomless blue eyes.
“Tell me the truth, from your heart. I know you love me, but do you want to be me, to live as I live?”
“Yes!”
He gave his head a tiny shake. “You can’t lie to me, Angela. I can see into your heart.”
He was right. I couldn’t take just the advantages that being a vampire offered—the ability to heal, the chance to be with Eric forever—without taking on the burdens. Eric was strong, as strong as anyone I’d ever met, and the affliction of living the shadow-filled, guilt-ridden existence of a predator was almost too much for him to bear. Certainly it would be too much for me.
“Okay, you’re right. I can’t imagine being a vampire. But I can’t imagine living without you, either.”
“Nor I you.” He placed a light kiss on my forehead. “I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.”
“Wow, that’s saying a lot.”
He laughed. “Yes, I suppose it is.” He squeezed onto the narrow bed with me and picked up the hand that wasn’t attached to an IV. I turned so that our faces were inches from each other. I still couldn’t get used to the clarity of Eric’s skin, free of every bump and blemish that marred human flesh.
“I honestly don’t know what I can offer you, Angela,” he said sadly. “I cannot marry you, I cannot give you children. I shall not grow old with you.”
“I can think of one thing you could do for me.”
“What’s that?”
I traced the outline of his lips with my finger, and then kissed him slowly, sensuously, until I almost forgot what I was going to say.
“You could make me rich.”
“What?”
“Just kidding.” I laughed. “But not really. It would be for a good cause. Steve and I have wanted to start our own company for ages. We even have the name already: M&B Public Relations. We would only handle small nonprofits who are doing important work in the community and need help getting the word out. We could do great things if we had some money to get started.”
Eric nodded thoughtfully. “Well, that’s easy enough. And I can think of something else I could do for you.”
I was going to quip that I could think of a few things he could start doing right now, but I sensed the seriousness of his intent, so I just waited for him to continue.
“I could heal your mother.”
I was silent for a minute, contemplating his offer. I didn’t have to ask him how he would do it, I had witnessed his healing abilities firsthand. But I did wonder about one thing.
“But you’d have to bite her.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“And then she’d know what you are.”
“I could arrange it so that she would think that it was a dream. She might have some guilty feelings about me afterward, but she would probably keep them to herself. It’s not something you would mention at a family dinner.” He smiled slightly.
“You’re going to be at my family dinners?”
“If you allow me, yes. As long as they’re after dark.”
We kissed again. A heady swirl of sensation and emotion took me over. The machine behind me began to beep more rapidly. I pulled away before my accelerated heartbeat brought a nurse running.
“I must tell you something, though,” Eric said, his voice hesitant.
“Go ahead. I’m feeling strong.”
“At some point, I will have to leave.” As if to emphasize the point he got out of bed and walked over to the window. He spoke without looking at me.
“I work with a loose network of colleagues, people who feel as I do.”
“You mean vampires?”
He nodded. “When we find someone like Barry, an evildoer who must be stopped, the network moves into action. Someone is selected to follow up on the case. It could be anywhere in the world, as we have people on every continent, watching. If I am chosen I must go.”
I smoothed the sheets down over my lap. “Fine. When they call, we’ll go.”
He turned around when he heard that statement. “We?”
“Did I help you with Barry or not?”
“Of course, but…”
“No buts, you’d be dead if it wasn’t for me. And vice versa. We can help each other. You can make me strong without making me into a vampire, and keep me strong.”
The red neon light glinted in his eyes, and I could have sworn I saw tears.
“Are you crying?” I asked.
He smiled. “I have never had a partner before.”
“Do you want one?”
“Yes, of course, if it’s you.” In a movement so fast that my eyes couldn’t capture it, Eric crossed the room and was back at my bed.
“Good, then it’s settled. Now cure me of this concussion, so I can get out of here. We’ve got work to do.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Eric bent over me. At that point I stopped reasoning and let pure feeling take over.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2009 by Clare Willis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-1370-9
Once Bitten Page 24