She heard a noise from behind her and whirled around as if she were to face a threat. Wade lifted his hands, showing her they were empty, but that didn't mean he didn't have a dagger hidden on him somewhere. Heck, she would bet he did.
"I'm not going to dust you," he reassured her.
For now, she wanted to add, but bit her tongue. Wade didn't like her. Would probably never like her, but he did love his brother and sister. That's why this whole situation was so torturous for him. It was also why he was the perfect one for the task she was about to propose.
"Promise me something," she said to him.
This caught Wade's attention. He tilted his hat back on his head and met her gaze. His eyes were the same green shade as Derek and Cassandra's, catlike in their assessment of her. "And what may that be?"
"If something goes wrong… if I become dangerous…"
He lifted his brows. "You'll be a vamp," he said, which clearly told her his thoughts. She would be dangerous.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I suppose you're right, but if…" She took a ragged breath and let it out. "If I'm like Tim…" She held his stare. "Promise me you'll finish me off. Don't make Derek do it. I can't bear to hurt him. He's done so much to help me. He's risked so much… Staking me…ending my existence would be cruel."
For a moment, Wade's features softened and she could imagine his jovial personality Derek claimed he possessed. She was saddened to think she would never know that side of Wade's character.
"I'll take care of it," he finally said. "That's a promise."
She glanced at the coffee cup and reached for it. She didn't want to drink in front of Wade. He probably would appreciate the gesture, too. She turned on her heels and headed for the door.
"Sloane?"
It was the first time Wade had called her by her name. She glanced at him with an arched brow.
"I perhaps can see why my brother is taken with you. Well, besides the fact you're a looker." He gave her a lopsided grin, putting her off guard.
"Thank you," she said, not sure it was a compliment or not, but Wade nodded.
"You really do care for him, don't you?" Wade asked.
"I do. I know you won't believe this, but if we had time… If we had met again without all this… I could have easily fallen in love with Derek. He's one of the good ones."
"He is," Wade agreed and meant it. "But how do you know?"
Her brows furrowed. "Know what?"
"That you'd fall in love with him? How could you be so sure?"
She gave him a ghost of a smile. "Because I'm halfway there already." With that she left Wade standing on the porch, staring after her. She thought she heard him swear under his breath.
Yeah, she didn't like it any more than Wade did. Falling in love shouldn't have to be so difficult, but here it was all screwy and wrapped in a bow.
She spotted Derek standing in the hall with Tremayne. They were waiting for her.
She glanced at the contents in the coffee cup before lifting it to her lips. She gulped down the wine and blood still expecting it to taste like the worst kind of medicine, but it went down smooth like all the other times she'd indulged. The pain in her stomach lessened almost immediately.
She stared into the cup with a frown.
"It's what your body has been craving," Tremayne said as he gently took the cup from her hands.
Her gaze landed on Derek and he strode toward her, taking her into his embrace. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest. She could hear his heart thumping strong and sure. "I'll be right here," he kept telling her over and over again, but she wasn't sure if it was to comfort her or to convince him. When his arms were around her it felt like some of the burden had been lifted off her shoulders, making what she had to do a little easier.
She pushed away, wanting to look him in the eyes. She didn't worry about dying or about changing as much as she feared Derek would loathe her. In such a short time, she came to realize his opinion meant a lot to her. Her gaze shifted to his lips and he must have read her desires. He crushed her to him and pressed his mouth to hers. His kiss was divine, and for a moment she forgot the horrors that awaited her and let her heart ach with longing, but then the kiss ended all too soon. When he stepped away once more, she felt the loss instantly like he took part of her life force with him, leaving her drained.
"Are you ready, lass?" Tremayne asked in his soft Irish lilt.
She glanced his way. "No."
His lips curved in a sympathetic smile and offered her his hand. She took it and oddly felt comforted by his touch. She glanced at Derek over her shoulder as Tremayne led her into the bedroom.
Bottles of the synthetic blood were on ice, waiting for her transition to take place. Her gaze took in the bed, stripped with only the bottom sheet. She was thankful for that. It made it appear less intimate.
Her eyes met Tremayne's again. He didn't really want to do this, but he would because Cassandra asked him to and because Derek was her brother. She bravely strode to the bed and sat down on the edge.
Tremayne took a seat beside her and brushed the hair away from her neck. She glanced at him, her gaze drowning into his as he spoke. "Think of Derek and what you feel for him," he told her. "Reach for those thoughts and hold onto them. It will help you to awake."
She had a vague feeling his words were a command, but he didn't have to order her. Her thoughts were already flooded with her need to be with Derek.
Before she could respond, Tremayne had moved, his teeth sinking into her neck. Tremayne's bite was different than Tim's frenzy need to connect to her. After the initial strike, her body relaxed. Her gaze drifted to where Derek stood in the doorway, looking as if he wanted to come to her rescue, but was helpless to do so. She had believed his eyes were what she liked most about him, but she was wrong. His honor and his sense of chivalry were his best qualities. Those thoughts went with her when darkness became her world.
Chapter Nineteen
Derek backed away from his bedroom door and settled against the wall. His hands fisted at his side and it took all his control not to charge into the bedroom and throw Tremayne away from Sloane. Thoughts of pounding his fists into the vampire's face came to mind. He knew it was an irrational thought, but he felt so inept. He wanted to keep her safe, but it was so frustrating to think he'd been too late in that regard. Tim had taken her innocence before he could save her. He couldn't fix this and the solution didn't sit well.
To be fair, Tim hadn't asked for his fate either, but the wanker had embraced it with vengeance and that really pissed him off.
He looked up when Wade and Cassandra joined him. Cassandra stood on his right and Wade took his left. He felt comforted by their presence.
"Tremayne will take good care of her," Cassandra reassured him.
Wade thankfully kept his opinions to himself. Derek wasn't sure how he would respond if his brother made one wisecrack remark about vamps and slaying.
Time ticked away and with each passing moment, the heavy weight centered in his chest pressed down further, making his heart ache. This was a new sensation, this grief for what he and Sloane could have had, for the life she had to give up, and to the new life that would change everything.
He stood up straight when Tremayne strode out of the bedroom. The vampire met his gaze first with a nod before he glanced at his sister. Tremayne's face had aged in the last hour. He had not thought siring a person would affect the vampire in such a way, but Tremayne had used his blood, not the synthetic blood to help Sloane through the transformation. He was depleted and would need to rejuvenate.
Cassandra went to him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.
"Now what do we do?" Derek felt foolish for asking, but he didn't know about any of this. Stake, behead—the end, but turning someone on purpose? He'd never experience the event and hoped to never again.
"We wait," Tremayne said simply. "She may sleep for hours. It is not the same for everyone."
Cassandra and Tremayne strode away, their heads bent toward each other in conversation.
Derek took a step toward the bedroom.
"Do you want me to wait with you…in the room?" Wade's question halted his steps and he glanced over his shoulder to stare at him. "You know. Just in case…" His brother's words trailed off.
He knew what his brother meant and he was positive his glare spoke for itself. "No."
Wade looked like he wanted to argue the point, but instead, he pursed his lips together with 'it's your funeral expression' and leaned against the wall to wait. Wade wouldn't stop him, but if he needed to intervene, he'd be in the room with his dagger poised and ready.
Derek wanted to close the door behind him, lock the world away. Somehow it seemed like Sloane should have privacy when she turned, but he'd promised Tremayne he wouldn't be alone with her.
She lay as still as death and he supposed in a sense the statement was true. Her hands were shackled. The metal contained the slimmest amount of iron. It would not harm her for the short duration, but it would keep her from lunging for the first warm body she spotted once she awoke.
Five bottles of synthetic blood gleamed dark red, sitting nice and pretty next to the bed in an ice chest. When she awoke, she needed to feed immediately.
He scooted his chair closer to the bed and plopped down to wait no matter how long that would be. After a while, his eyelids grew heavy. He would just rest his eyes for a moment, but sleep claimed him.
He knew he dreamed and he welcomed it. It was more of a memory he'd tucked away, a time when he hoped to have a normal life.
He didn't want to be homeschooled like his siblings. He wanted to go to high school and experience what it felt like to be a teen. Of course he had to promise he would keep his distance. He could be friendly but he was not to form life-long friendships. He didn't see why he couldn't have a friend or two—at least for the duration he spent at high school. He was there for the full experience. If it involved singing kumbaya with the natives, he wanted to join in. He remained confident he could end the friendships when it came time to leave high school behind. Yeah, he'd been a fool. At the time, he hadn't realized that friends would leave tattoos imprinted on his heart. The memories shared were always there, inked into his subconscious, and no matter how he wanted to forget them they could not be scrubbed away.
He strode into biology class and spotted Sloane sitting near the window. Her dark hair glimmered like polished onyx in the sunlight and when she turned her gaze on him he thought his heart had stopped. His lungs refused to draw in air and his feet became glued to the floor. Her beauty captivated him like no other girl his age had.
"Move it, douche. You're blocking the doorway," one of the jocks said and pushed him into motion.
He headed for the only available chair in the room, which happened to be next to this beautiful girl. She moved her books to the side and allowed him to place his next to hers.
"Hi, my name is Sloane." Her voice was musical and sweet like he knew it would be.
And being the jerk he was he said, "Like I care." He turned away and swallowed the lump in his throat. He couldn't believe he said that when he wanted to know everything about her, but the thought of opening up to her couldn't happen. Not when she affected him in this way. Give him a three-eyed demon and he'd take it down. Let a were-creature try to take him out and he was ready to do some physical damage, but face a normal human girl and talk? Now that scared the hell out of him.
"You may care when we have to work together as lab partners." Her blue eyes could have frozen a fire demon cold, and he so did deserve the look.
He closed his eyes and against his better judgment he chanced a glance at her again. His stomach flip-flopped and his breath hitched. She was about to turn away from him, but his hand snaked out and he covered hers. Skin to skin contact only upped the attraction. "I'm sorry."
She stared at his hand, but she didn't pull hers away. "Having a bad day, are we?" She gave him a wink of a smile. "It's only the first day."
He chuckled. "Yeah well, it looks like it's about to get better." Before she could respond to his statement, he squeezed her hand before releasing his grip. She sucked in a breath as if she too had felt the connection and wished to have it back. "I'm Derek Hayes," he told her.
This time she gave him a dazzling smile and he knew it was all over for him. She'd captured his heart. "Derek Hayes, it's nice to meet you. I'm Sloane McBride."
Chains rattling like the ghost of Christmas past woke him with a start. The room was draped in dark shadows, indicating at least an hour or so had passed. Sloane stared at him. Her eyes gleamed red and she hissed, revealing fangs long, pointed, and protruding like daggers from her gums. She yanked at the chains and growled in frustration when she couldn't break free.
He reached for his dagger on instinct, but he never withdrew it. He flew to his feet. "She's awake," he called for Tremayne, but the vampire had already known. He flitted to the bed before Derek had finished his announcement.
"It is all right," Tremayne soothed her with words, his voice was like silken oak, firm and enduring, but it seemed to lull her into compliance.
"I have what you need." His fangs lengthened and he bit his wrist before pressing it to Sloane's mouth. She latched onto his flesh like a babe in need of nourishment. It was difficult to watch, the act too intimate for his liking.
Tremayne would always have this connection with Sloane, a connection he would never have. The vampire held her close, encouraging her, to take her fill, but finally he had to put a stop to her feeding or risk being drained. "That's enough, aye?" He gently pushed her away, but she wouldn't release her hold. "Open one of the bottles," Tremayne demanded and Derek hurried forward to do what he bid.
He opened it and held it out to Tremayne, who quickly exchanged his wrist for the bottle. Sloane gagged at first, spitting the blood out. Her gaze landed on Derek and her nostrils flared before she lunged toward him.
Tremayne glanced his way. "You're going to have to leave the room. You're a distraction."
As much as Derek wanted to argue, there was no room for negotiation. Blood dripped down the corners of Sloane's mouth and her eyes were not the cornflower blue, but a fiery red. A fiend's eyes not Sloane's.
"The blood is all she knows right now," Tremayne reminded him. "Go. Now!"
Tremayne's sharp tone propelled him into action. He fled the room where both his siblings stood in the hall waiting for him. Cassandra gave him a sympathetic look. Wade's gaze clashed with his and he was sure his brother had a smart remark waiting for him, but lucky for him, he had the good sense to stuff a sock in it for now.
Derek had been warned what would happen to Sloane. Hell, he wasn't a stranger to vampires becoming lost to their blood lust, but to witness the change, to see it happen to someone he cared about… Nothing could have prepared him for the pain weighing him down like an anchor, threatening to drown him in his fury. This shouldn't have happened to Sloane. The anger boiled and bubbled until he couldn't contain it. His bellow of frustration coincided with his fist slamming into the wall. He regretted the action immediately. Pain radiated from his fingers and up his arm to his shoulder. "Holy mother of …" He shook his hand and grimaced.
Cassandra just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Men. Don't you know the wall always wins? You'd think you'd get the hint after the first time you tried to take it down."
"Give it a rest," he growled and cradled his hand against his chest.
She pushed away from the wall. "Let me take a look at your hand, you big baby. We better make sure you didn't break anything."
Chapter Twenty
Derek usually didn't lose control in that way and he paid for his slipup with a sore hand and bruised ego. He had to get over his problem with Sloane being turned. This was not about him. Sloane had a long road ahead of her and she needed support, not a man who punched holes in walls because he couldn't deal.
Tremayne and the others were in the kitche
n hashing over their options to continue their hunt for Tim. They had to consider the possibility that Tim may call before Sloane was ready to face him. They needed a backup plan if that were to happen.
Wade wanted to face Tim with guns blaring. He didn't wear the cowboy hat and boots for nothing; he'd adopted a wild-west attitude to go with it.
Derek slipped away while Wade argued his point. He only wanted to check on Sloane, make sure she rested comfortably. She needed to feed one more time before they could even think of releasing her binds. Three humans in a house would prove too tempting to a newly turned vampire.
He grimaced at the sight of the hole in the wall as he passed by it. He'd have to patch that up sooner or later, but for now it would prove as a reminder why he shouldn't take out his frustrations on something that couldn't hit back.
He stood in the archway of the door. "Sloane?"
She turned toward him. Her eyes flared red and he feared she didn't recognize him.
"Sloane, it's Derek."
She tilted her head, her actions more birdlike than human. The fiery red cleared and the lovely blue shade he remembered took over. "Derek?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
He nodded and glanced down the hall to see if anyone noticed he was no longer sitting at the kitchen table. The hall remained empty. He quickly stepped inside the room and gently closed the door behind him. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel…" she closed her eyes as if she was still trying to assess her condition. "I feel stronger." Her gaze leveled on him again, wandering down his body, past the curve of his waist.
The way she peered at him made his breath catch on a surge of yearning so thick, it made drawing a breath painful.
Her eyes riveted to his. "You're so beautiful."
He couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of words when they mirrored his thoughts of her. "Thank you, I guess, but you are the one who is beautiful. Me? Not so much. Really, we need to come up with a better adjective for you to describe me. It's about as bad as calling me pretty." He grimaced.
Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) Page 11