“I love you, Erin. So much.”
A dazzling smile split her beautiful face, but a second later it had morphed into a frown. “You don’t have to say that just because I—”
I placed my fingers over her lips. “I’m not. I wouldn’t do that. I love you. I feel like I’ve always loved you, though I know that doesn’t make any sense.”
Her smile returned. “It does. It makes perfect sense.”
“You’re all I think about,” I said.
“Ditto. You’re never out of my mind. It’s like I’m being pulled to you. And no matter what, I have to be with you. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s so…powerful.”
“There’s so much you don’t know.”
This time she placed her fingers over my mouth. “I know that. There’s a lot you don’t know about me too. But this feels so…right. Just so right.”
“It does.” I knew why.
But she didn’t.
The blood bond. Somehow, I had to make her understand.
“Are you feeling okay, Erin?”
“Are you kidding? I feel better than I ever have before. Amazing sex can do that to a person. And being in love.” She walked into my arms. “It’s the best.”
She was right about that. I’d never felt so at peace.
Yet so at war.
I couldn’t lose this. Couldn’t lose her.
Somehow, I had to make her understand what she must do.
My fangs itched to descend.
No.
First, I’d get tested. I’d make sure I could keep her safe.
Lord, what if I couldn’t? What if she had diseased me somehow? What if…
You’re mine, Dante. Always and for eternity. I’ve made sure of it.
No!
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t make love to Erin again. Not until I could do it without a condom.
“Baby,” I said, “I don’t want to use condoms with you.”
“I’m on the pill and I’m clean. We’re encouraged to get tested regularly at work,” she said. “And if you say you’re fine, I trust you.”
“I’m sure I am,” I said, though I wasn’t sure at all. “But I want to be positive. I’ll get tested first thing tomorrow.”
“In the meantime,” she said, “I have a drawer full of condoms.”
No. Couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to keep my teeth from descending. Not now. Not when I knew she loved me.
I needed to be with her without a barrier. I’d get tested. If the test found something, I’d find a way to counteract whatever she had done to me. I had to. Erin’s life depended on it.
But no more lovemaking tonight.
I had no more self-control left. I had to get out of here now. I needed some blood.
I needed Erin’s blood, but that would have to wait until the next time we were together. I would find a way to make her understand…without Bill’s interference.
I kissed her lightly on the lips. Any more than that, and I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
“No. Please stay. If we love each other, we should sleep together. Wake up together.”
“I want that more than you know, but I can’t tonight. Next time.” I cupped her cheek. “I promise.”
It was a promise I hoped I could keep.
I barged into Bill’s office when I got home. “How dare you?”
He stood. “Excuse me?”
“You were at Erin’s apartment. You fucking glamoured her again!” I raced forward and grabbed him by the collar.
With seemingly little effort, he broke my hold and then pushed me against the wall, grabbing me by the throat. “You don’t walk in here and talk to me like that, boy. We’ve had this discussion.”
This was the first time Bill had used his considerable strength against me. I gritted my teeth. “You’re not denying it.”
“I shouldn’t have to. I’d glamour the whole damned world if I thought it would help you. I’d do it gladly. But I didn’t glamour her again. I only did it once after the ‘dog bite’ issue.”
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice hoarse from his hold.
He let me go. I steadied myself.
“I’m not lying. I would never lie to you.”
I would never lie to you. The words seemed false to me. The Bill before I’d been taken wouldn’t have lied to me. This one? I wasn’t sure. “Somehow you got into her townhome tonight and glamoured her after she saw my teeth.”
“I swear to you. I did not. Now get the hell out of my office.”
Could he be telling the truth? River couldn’t have done it. He was still at the hospital. And Emilia was at work. Or so I’d assumed. She probably didn’t even know I was at Erin’s. Would my grandfather really break into Erin’s apartment and hang out like a creep while we were making love?
I stood my ground. No way was he chasing me out of his office again. “Someone did. I was with her, and my fangs…” I shook my head. “She screamed, and then about fifteen minutes later, she returned and didn’t seem to remember what had happened.”
“I won’t deny the strangeness of what you’re saying, but I’ve been here all evening,” Bill said. “And I’m done tolerating this volatility. Get a grip on yourself, Dante. You can’t use what happened to you as an excuse for acting out. You’re a grown man. It’s beneath you.”
“Beneath me? I’ve lost ten years of my life. I’ve lost my father. My uncle. I’ve met a woman who has consumed me so much that I haven’t been able to deal with anything else.”
“Yes, beneath you. If you need to mourn Julian and Braedon, do so. Deal with what happened to you. I will find someone to help you, because I have obviously failed. But stop using it all as an excuse.”
Darkness settled over me. He was right. I hadn’t yet mourned my father and my uncle—two men who had meant everything to me. I hadn’t dealt with my time in captivity, only with fragmented memories that came to me at the worst possible times.
I would mourn my father and uncle…and then I would avenge them.
But before I could do either of those things, I had to somehow complete the blood bond with Erin. I’d go mad if I didn’t.
“If you didn’t glamour Erin, who did?” I asked, forcefully unclenching my teeth.
“Maybe it has something to do with the blood bond. I need to do more research. Though there’s precious little information about the phenomenon.”
Only that I’d go mad if I didn’t take her blood. Perhaps madness was my destiny. Maybe it would help me avenge my father and uncle. Maybe it would draw me back to her so I could inflict punishment for my own redemption.
I closed my eyes. I could not let myself descend into hysteria. Erin was my priority. I couldn’t protect her if I wasn’t in my right mind. I drew in what I hoped would be three calming breaths and then opened my eyes and faced my grandfather.
“What if you’re wrong about the bond, Bill? Erin looks fine. She’s perfectly healthy. What if nothing will happen to her if she doesn’t feed me? What if I bring her into my fucked-up life for no reason at all? I can’t live with that. I can’t.”
“You have feelings for her,” he said.
I had to force myself not to grab two fistfuls of my hair and yank them out of my scalp. “Of course I have feelings for her! I’ve told you about the pull I feel when I’m near her. Even when I’m not near her.”
“Those are physical feelings. But you’re concerned for her well-being. Your emotions have gotten involved.” He paced around the office. “It’s all part of the bond. It happens on every level.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. He was right. I was in love with her. Completely and hopelessly in love with her.
“You’re in love with her,” he said.
Damn! Reading my mind again.
“I don’t have to read your mind to know that, Dante.”
Bill was slowly making me crazy. His statement could have been purely intuitive. Hell, I had no idea. Besides, I had other t
hings to worry about. “I need to have a blood test.”
“What for?”
“To make sure I don’t have any diseases.”
“How could you—”
“She made me take her blood into my body. I have no idea what it could have done to me. A lot of horrific diseases are passed through blood.”
Bill cleared his throat. “Dante, blood doesn’t harm a vampire. It’s our sustenance.”
“But it was her blood. Vampire blood. We’re not supposed to…” I sighed. No use spelling it all out again. “I can’t take the chance of harming Erin with anything she might have put into me with her blood.”
“All right. You’re most likely fine, but I understand your concern. You can see the doctor who is taking care of Emilia. He’s an old friend. He delivered you, River, and Emilia. You might have seen him when you were a kid.”
“Would he be able to expedite the exam and any tests?”
“Probably. He runs his own lab and has techs working all the time. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting a twenty-four-hour turnaround.” He handed me a business card. “Give him a call.”
“Thank you.” I left Bill’s office.
I’d get a physical. Blood tests if I had to. I was probably fine, but I didn’t feel any better.
I still didn’t know who had glamoured Erin.
Chapter Thirteen
Erin
I awoke with a huge smile on my face.
I was in love!
Better yet…he loved me back!
I lay in bed for a few precious moments, reliving my amazing time with Dante. How our bodies had fit together like perfect puzzle pieces, how he’d filled me so completely that I hadn’t realized how empty I’d been, how we’d professed our love for each other, and the warmth I still felt remembering his words.
I love you, Erin. So much.
I hugged myself, imagining his arms wrapped around me, his lips at my ear, whispering.
I love you, Erin. So much.
By the time I got into work, River had been discharged. I checked his chart. The CAT indicated no internal bleeding, thank goodness. Lucy rushed in a few minutes later.
“Hey,” I said. “You look a little…ragged.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “I didn’t get any sleep. I was here with River most of the time.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I mean, I didn’t want him to be alone. Especially since— I just didn’t want him to be alone.”
“I didn’t realize the two of you had gotten that close. Didn’t you only have the one date?”
“Yeah. But it was a great date.”
“But you didn’t…”
“Fuck him?” She laughed nervously. “No. I know. That’s not like me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You were thinking it.”
I was. But I still didn’t say it. “Did the date not go well?”
“It went great. I am actually capable of having a good time and not winding up in a man’s bed, Er.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Yeah, you did. But it’s okay. I am who I am. A horny little bitch.” She laughed.
There went the epithet again. It was kind of Lucy’s lingo, but today for some reason it bothered me more than usual. Lucy was a great person and an amazing nurse. “You shouldn’t think of yourself that way, Luce.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“Having a healthy sex drive doesn’t make you a bitch. You’re my best friend. I don’t like you putting yourself down.”
“Who says I’m putting myself down?”
“I do. You’re not a—”
“Incoming!” Steve rushed past us as the sirens wailed.
Time to go to work.
“Tell me about your date with River,” I said to Lucy the next morning over breakfast.
She reddened a little, which wasn’t like Lucy at all. Usually she couldn’t wait to spill all the gory details.
“It was nice. We went to dinner and then went dancing. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for anything more.”
Something didn’t add up. Lucy was always in the mood. Except with Logan Crown, and he didn’t inspire the mood in me either. But River Gabriel? He could inspire lust in the most frigid woman on the planet.
“Is this your way of saying you don’t want to talk about it?” I took a sip of my OJ.
She sighed. “It’s not that. It just…didn’t go the way I expected.”
“You just said it was great.”
“It was. I know this isn’t making sense.”
“It’s okay. If you weren’t feeling it, you weren’t feeling it.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just wasn’t feeling it.”
Still, I didn’t buy it. If she hadn’t felt anything, she wouldn’t have stayed by River’s side at the hospital. I’d get her to spill her guts eventually. Maybe I was just so enfolded in a thick cloak of love that I wanted everyone else to be feeling such wonderment too.
I signaled for the check, and we counted out money on the table.
“Do you think you’ll see River again?” That was an innocuous enough question.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I think that’s up to him.”
Again, totally weird. If Lucy wanted a guy, she normally went after him, and there wasn’t a man alive who could resist Lucy’s charms. At least not that I’d seen, Logan Crown excepted, though I’d always assumed that had been Lucy’s decision, not his.
My phone buzzed on the table.
A text.
From Dr. Bonneville?
I need to see you right away. Meet me at the ER.
Chapter Fourteen
Dante
Dr. Jacques Hebert was nearly as old as Bill and had been practicing medicine for fifty years. Or so he told me.
“I see human patients as well,” he said. “There aren’t enough vampires around for me to make a living solely in vampire medicine. It’s amazing how similar our physiology is. Our DNA is nearly indistinguishable. Most human scientists call the deviations ‘anomalous DNA.’”
“Anomalous DNA?”
“Anomalies are found all the time in science. Certain anomalies are found in Native American DNA, for example.” He laughed. “That’s science for you. When they can’t explain something, they call it an anomaly.”
“But aren’t you a scientist? As a medical doctor, I mean?”
He nodded. “But I know that the slight differences in vampire DNA aren’t anomalies. I just can’t tell any of my human colleagues.”
“I used to want to be a doctor,” I said.
“Really? We could use another vampire doctor. I’m not going to be around forever, and I’m the only one in Louisiana. Most vampires go to regular human doctors.”
“It’s no longer in the cards for me.”
“Why not? It’s never too late. You can still go to med school.”
But I never graduated from high school.
I’d have to get a GED and then an undergrad degree. Med school was definitely off the table. I did, though, need to find some way to make a living. I couldn’t live off Bill forever, especially when I’d been getting really strange vibes from him since I’d returned.
“I’m taking a different path now,” I said.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Let me know if you change your mind. I have a lot of connections in the medical field.” He checked my chart. “So you’re in today for a physical and possible blood work.”
“Yeah, I…” Hell, what could I say?
“I’m not here to judge you, but I do need to know what your concerns are if I’m going to help you.”
“You won’t tell anyone what I tell you?”
“Of course not. I take doctor/patient confidentiality very seriously, as do most physicians.”
I looked at the ceiling. “I was held against my will for ten years. By a female vampire.” I reluctantly returned my gaze to Dr. Hebert.
He widened his eyes until they w
ere nearly circular. I had to give him credit, though. He didn’t gasp or say anything.
“She made me drink her…blood. That’s why she kept me.”
He cleared his throat. “I see. Any side effects?”
“No. She said she’d found a way to treat them.”
“Any side effects for her?”
Really? “How the hell should I know? Or care? I hope my blood killed her.”
“I’m sorry. Of course. It’s just that…as you said, I’m a scientist, and it would be fascinating… Never mind.”
He wanted to study me. And he wanted all the information I had on her. I couldn’t blame him for being curious, but I wasn’t going to be anyone’s lab rat. Not today. Or any day, for that matter.
“It’s unlikely that her blood infected you with anything, but I can run some labs just in case.”
“Just run everything,” I said dryly. “I need to know I’m clean.”
“I see. You’re in a relationship then?”
“The beginning of one, yes. In fact…” He wanted a study? I’d give him a study.
“What?”
“This is going to sound ridiculous to you, but have you ever heard of a human forming a blood bond with a vampire? Meaning a human develops a need to feed a particular vampire?”
“No, I have— Wait a minute.” He rubbed his chin. “About fifteen years ago, I attended a seminar on vampire medicine. We had to keep it very quiet, of course, but something about what you’re describing sounds vaguely familiar. Tell me what you know.”
He listened intently as I told him everything that had happened between Erin and me and explained the research Bill had done.
“Doc, I need to know. How do I deal with this? Will she really die if she doesn’t give me her blood?”
“I don’t know, honestly. This is mostly new to me. Does she seem okay to you?”
“She seems fine. Not ill at all.”
“Then perhaps she won’t die, but can you live without taking her blood?”
God, no. She was all I thought about. All I could smell. All I wanted. My need for her went so far beyond the need for her blood. “I can try.”
Unchained: Blood Bond Saga: Volume One Page 24