Fractured (Vampire Awakenings, Book 6)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Her bones dug into that floor. No matter how she moved, she couldn’t escape the cold permeating her flesh. She didn’t cry; she was too tired and too weak for tears as the vampires drained her of her blood over and over again. Their hands were on her, their laughter in her ears….

  She shoved herself away, reeling as the memories threatened to bury her.

  CHAPTER 10

  David slipped out of her as she swung her leg away from him and scooted to the other side of the bed. Closing her eyes, she battled against the waves of panic threatening to choke her as her breath came in rattling hitches.

  One, two, three, four, open your eyes and look at the floor.

  Her gaze focused on the rug, on their clothes lying scattered across it as she tried to bury the laughter and cold once more. She clasped her head in her hands and focused on her bra as her body instinctively rocked forward and back.

  “Easy, Mia,” David said. He didn’t dare release his hold on the headboard to comfort her. “I’m not going to touch you.”

  Mia inhaled a ragged breath and nearly choked on the lump of tears clogging her throat. What they’d just shared had been beyond anything she’d ever experienced before in her life, and now she was a freaking mess all over again.

  “What is wrong with me?” she cried. “Why are you so understanding when I’m so broken?”

  Her shoulders heaved as she turned tear-filled eyes to him. David’s fingers dug into the wood at the shattered look on her face. “You’re not broken,” he assured her.

  “Fractured, then?” she demanded, recalling what he’d said to her before. “I’d say I’m a whole lot more than fractured when I can screw you but I can’t let you hold me, or let myself touch you for too long without feeling as if I’m going to suffocate on my memories.”

  David sighed and released the headboard, holding his hands up when she edged farther away from him. Flexing his knuckles to get some blood flowing back into them, he lowered his hands to the bed. He understood her frustration; he felt it too, as he wanted nothing more than to cradle her close.

  “We didn’t screw,” he said and her eyebrows went up. “You know what just happened between us was different from any other experience you’ve ever had with a man. It was definitely far different from any of my experiences with other women.”

  Being with her had altered something within him. No matter what, he knew she would be his from here on out. The good, the bad, and the ugly—whatever life threw at them, they would be together, and he would do everything he could to keep her protected. He may not be able to hold her, yet, but there would never be another for either of them again.

  Mia’s shoulders hunched forward. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth as she recalled everything that had transpired between them. The sensation of being home had been so welcome and wonderful. The way he made her body come alive made her long to have him inside of her once more.

  “It was definitely different,” she admitted. “Far different, but can’t you see that only makes it worse? For a time, I felt different while I was with you. I felt powerful and in control again.” He’d given her that control, and she’d given him another meltdown afterward. “I felt as if I finally belonged, yet I’m still… I’m still… this!” she cried and ran a hand down the front of her body. She tried to fight it, but tremors shook her hand. “I’m still a fucking disaster!”

  “You’re being too hard on yourself again. The things you have endured will take time to get over,” he told her. “But look at how far you’ve already come. I bet when you woke up this morning, you never thought you’d be having the best sex of your life before nightfall.”

  Mia’s mouth fell open and, despite her disgust with herself, a short burst of laughter escaped her. The playful look on his face relaxed her shoulders. She found herself easing back on the bed to sit so that she could feel the heat of his thigh against her. “Who says it was the best sex of my life?”

  “Like you can honestly claim it wasn’t,” he replied, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement as a smile curved his mouth.

  “If it was the best sex of my life, it was definitely the best sex of yours.”

  “You’ll never hear me deny it.” He folded his hands in his lap. “And it will only get better from here on out.”

  “Who said I was going to have sex with you again?” she teased.

  His smile revealed all his perfect white teeth and the points of his fangs. “I can smell that you already want me again. Besides, there’s no way you’re not curious about all the things I’ll be able to do to you without my hands.”

  Her heart thudded against her ribs, her nipples hardening at his words. David’s smile slid away and he gripped the headboard again as a feral gleam shone in his eyes. His softening cock rose once more.

  “I’ll ease that curiosity for you,” he promised.

  Mia took a deep breath as a fresh wave of panic fell over her, but she still found herself unable to resist crawling toward him. His pull over her was greater than the moon’s on the tides. His eyes never left hers as she straddled him once more.

  ***

  “David?”

  “Yes,” he murmured as he ran his fingers over Mia’s hair, the only part of her he could touch for any length of time without causing her to stiffen against him. Over time, she would get better at allowing him to touch her more and more; he had complete faith in that. She didn’t see how much better she already was, how different she was from the skittish and beaten woman who had first stepped into this place. Some days she had setbacks, but almost every day was a new step forward for her. For them.

  “I’d like to go with you to your home,” she whispered.

  David’s fingers stilled as he lifted his head to prop it up on his hand. Mia continued to stare out the window while he gazed down at her. “If you don’t think you’re ready—”

  “I am.”

  She rolled over to face him. He’d found a new comforter for them in a hall closet, a deep blue one that brought out the color of her eyes. The moon spilling across her bare breasts and dusky nipples created an inviting trail he longed to follow with his tongue. One day. And he would patiently wait for that day to come.

  “I’d like to meet your family,” she said.

  “There are a lot of them,” he warned.

  “I know. I’ve heard the stories, but I am going to do this.”

  She gave a decisive nod as she said those last six words and her chin rose defiantly. He could sense her distress, but determination blazed in her eyes. He stroked her hair again and bent to tenderly kiss her lips. “Yes, you are,” he whispered when he pulled away from her.

  “And one of these days, I’m going to make you do all the work in bed.”

  Laughing loudly, he instinctively went to pull her into his arms, stopping himself in time. His arms dropped back to his sides, but she had caught the movement. Anger swirled in her eyes before they darted to the ceiling. That anger wasn’t for him, he knew, but for herself. No matter what he said to her, she would continue to beat herself up for what she saw as a failure and a weakness on her part. One day, she would realize how strong she was.

  “I look forward to it,” he told her.

  “I think….” Mia’s voice broke as she grappled to get her words out. “I think you could drink from me too. My wrist, maybe. I think I can do that.”

  His nostrils flared and red swirled around his eyes as his need for her blood blasted against her. She didn’t feel fear though, not like she’d felt when those other vampires had gazed at her before they’d taken her blood. David would be gentle. He wouldn’t take more than he needed. He would see to her welfare above his own, and looking at him she realized how badly he needed to taste her. How badly he needed her.

  “You have no idea how much I want to share blood with you, but I don’t want you to think you can do it. I want you to know. I won’t do anything to frighten you or risk pushing you away, Mia.”

  “But I can feel your thirst fo
r my blood and I’ve been inside your mind. I know what you want from me.”

  “And I can control myself until you’re ready.”

  “Even if we are mates? Will you be able to control it until I can be sure I can handle you feeding from me? What if that takes months?”

  He opened his mouth to say he could control it for as long as necessary. Then he recalled Liam nearly losing his mind before completing the bond with Sera. That had been over thirty years ago now, but the memory had been etched into his mind, as had the knowledge of what could happen to a vampire when the mating bond was incomplete.

  “Do you doubt we are mates?” he asked, because he certainly didn’t, not after what had transpired between them. Not with the possessive way he felt about her. He already wanted her again, and he knew he’d never get enough of being with her.

  Mia placed her hand over where his heart beat so solidly in his chest. “I think it’s all moving very fast, but I can’t deny I’ve never felt like this about someone before. I desire you in a way I’ve never desired another, but this is more than attraction between us. This is more like….”

  “Like what?” he prodded when her voice trailed off.

  “Like I belong.” Her sweeping black lashes fell to cover her eyes before she lifted them to look at him once more. “With you.”

  “You do belong with me.”

  The absolute assuredness of his voice lured her closer until she could feel the heat of him against her skin, but they didn’t touch. “Then you should feed from me too. If we’re mates, it will make you unsettled if the bond isn’t completed between us. I’ll feed from you again while you’re doing it.”

  David wanted nothing more than to sink his fangs into her, to taste her blood and bind them for eternity. To know what it was like to be a part of her in every way. He found himself lured toward her as his eyes latched onto the vein throbbing in her neck. Briskly shaking his head, he pulled away from her as he tried to rid himself of the drive to feed from her.

  “Not until you’re ready to be bound to me.” He had no idea where he garnered the strength to utter those words. “Not until you’re sure you are my mate and you’re sure I can drink from you without overwhelming you. You’ll have no doubts when the bond between us is completed.”

  “Are you so sure we’re mates?”

  “Yes.”

  His blunt answer startled her. She fumbled for a reply, then found herself simply saying, “Well then.”

  “And one day you will be too.”

  She loved his confidence, his arrogance. Any other man, she would have laughed in his face, but with David, she found it sexy as hell. She smiled at him and ran her fingers over the dark blond stubble lining his jaw.

  “What makes you so sure?” she asked.

  “Because you’ll never be able to get enough of me. I know it. However, I’ll gladly stay in this bed with you for as long as it takes to get you to agree with me.”

  She laughed as she leaned closer to him. “If that’s the case, I may deny it for the rest of my days.”

  He smiled at her as he gripped the end of her hair and gave it a playful tug. “Don’t tempt me, Mia.”

  She placed her head back on her pillow and gazed up at him. She couldn’t deny that being mated to this man sounded completely appealing and right. She’d never get enough of the sensation of coming home when she was around him, and she had a feeling it would only increase over time.

  But would she ever be able to give him everything he would need from her? Would she ever be what he deserved, someone who could love him openly and not be overwhelmed by fear when touched? There was only one way to find out, one step at a time. And she was determined to try.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll go to meet your family,” she said.

  “Mood killer,” he muttered, and she giggled. “You better get some sleep, then. You’re going to need plenty of rest to deal with that brood.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  It astonished her to realize she actually was.

  CHAPTER 11

  David glanced over at Mia as she sat silently beside him while the highway passed by in a blur of signs and cars outside the windows of the Camry. Aiden had blindfolded them and taken them out of the compound early that morning, after they’d all said their good-byes to each other. Vicky and Abby had given him smug smiles and called him Shemp as they hugged him, but he couldn’t deny he would miss them.

  Aiden had driven them to the nearest car rental place and removed their blindfolds. “I’ll be home for Christmas or at least Christmas Eve,” Aiden told him.

  “Your sisters?”

  “I don’t know. I know Abby plans to go home for Christmas Eve, but I’m not sure Vicky’s ready yet. Abby won’t leave her alone on Christmas if Vicky decides to stay behind.”

  “No, she won’t,” David agreed. “We’ll see you soon.”

  He’d closed the door on Aiden and walked inside to rent a car. Mia hadn’t spoken since they’d left New York behind, and they were nearly to the Maine border. A look of determination etched her features, but she had a white-knuckled grip on her legs as she stared out the window.

  They still had over four hours to go before they arrived at his home near the border of Canada, along the coast of Maine. It was a beautiful place, one he couldn’t wait to show her, but he would turn around if she asked him to. She had to be nervous about meeting everyone, and he couldn’t blame her. He would be overwhelmed if the situation were reversed, but he knew she’d grow to love it there, and that she would be welcomed with open arms.

  “You know,” she said when they crossed into Maine, “you’ve asked a lot about me, and you know a lot, but you never asked me how I ended up in that warehouse.”

  David’s hands clenched on the steering wheel, a sneer curving his lips as a snarl tore from him. Recalling her chained to the wall made his blood boil. The image of her with only her bra on and so many bites covering her that he couldn’t see her skin through the dirt and markings was something he would never forget.

  She’d been rank with terror and body odor, yet something about her had still captivated him when he’d first seen her. Even after they’d freed Vicky from the wall, he never would have left that building without Mia.

  Quaking with the fury racking him, David switched through the lanes of traffic before pulling to a stop on the shoulder. His shoulders heaved as he tried to regain control of himself.

  Mia leaned away from him, her back pressing against the door of the car as the waves of wrath emanating from him beat against her skin. He would never hurt her, she knew, but she’d never seen him like this. Controlled, teasing, self-assured—that was the David she knew. This David would slaughter anyone who made one wrong move toward either of them.

  “David,” she whispered.

  “It’s not that I didn’t want to know how you got there,” he bit out. “I didn’t think you were ready to talk about it.”

  “I wasn’t,” she admitted.

  Was she now? She had no idea, but she’d brought it up, and it had been for more of a reason than she was looking to pass the time with conversation. This wasn’t exactly her ideal topic. She could have spent hours, days even, discussing the stars. Instead, she’d gone with the ‘oh hey, you never asked how I came to be chained to a wall’ topic of conversation. There had been a reason for it. She suspected it was because she needed to talk about it, and he was so easy to talk to.

  Inhaling a shuddery breath, he lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were more vibrant than the purest of rubies. His fangs had sliced into his bottom lip, and two trickles of blood slid down his chin.

  Despite his obvious rage, she leaned forward and licked away the beads of blood. She sighed when the potent taste of it hit her tongue. His body relaxed somewhat against her, and when she pulled back, his red eyes held a bluish tint to them.

  “That’s better,” she murmured as she ran her hand over his bicep.

  “Would you like to talk abou
t how you ended up there now?”

  “I… I didn’t think it would upset you so much.”

  Before she could blink, he captured her hand. Instinctively, she tried to jerk away from the abrupt movement and the pressure of his hand around hers. He held on for the briefest of seconds before releasing her. Shoulders hunching forward, he ran a hand through his disordered hair and stared at the steering wheel.

  She’d heard vampires could become unstable if they discovered their mate and the mating bond wasn’t completed, but if they were mates, they were in the beginning stages of it. She’d never seen him like this though and she suspected there was more to his apparent instability than her mentioning her imprisonment.

  “Anything that hurts you upsets me, and they hurt you,” he said. “But I want to know everything about you.”

  Mia relaxed when he placed both hands on the steering wheel again and focused his gaze straight ahead. “Maybe another time,” she said.

  “No, tell me.”

  She stared at his chiseled, resolute profile before glancing at his white-knuckled grip on the wheel. He would deny it, but she knew if they’d discussed this before they’d had sex, he wouldn’t have reacted so explosively. His eyes had stopped flashing red and become entirely blue again when he turned to look at her.

  “Please, Mia.”

  The ‘please’ melted her reservations away, as did the need in his eyes.

  Taking a deep breath, she braced herself before plunging in. “I was closing the coffee shop where I worked down for the night. I’d been the one staying behind to close everything down a couple nights a week for the past year. I loved the quiet of the place after everyone else left. It was peaceful, a time for myself. During those times, I didn’t even mind the scent of coffee, donuts, and other human foods in the place.

  “When I was done cleaning everything and counting the drawer, I set the alarm and exited onto the sidewalk. My apartment was close by, and I walked there as I always did. I could have gone in the front door of the building, but every time I came and went, I took the fire escape. At the time, I told myself it was because I wanted to enjoy the fresh air a little longer, even when it was winter time. Looking back, I realize it was really because I felt a deep-seated need to know it worked, and that I would be able to use it to escape if I ever needed it.”