Blood had soaked her pants and covered her belly. How the hell was she still alive? Or even conscious? Something didn’t look right, though. Where was Ray’s bite mark? Where was the cut Ray had made?
“I think I’m okay,” she said.
“The hell you are.” Gently, he ran his hands over her stomach, and then licked the wound. His tongue created a link to his conflicted emotions. While he enjoyed the taste, he hated himself for doing so and feared for her life. Getting a powerful rush from her blood only compounded his issues.
He’d had a similar reaction when he fed with that stake in him. Something had changed between them. Something good.
He closed her coat. “I don’t understand. There’s more blood here than from the little cut I found. Are you hurt somewhere else?”
Sarah shook her head. Little cut? Danielle had sliced her open. And how had Ray’s cut healed so quickly and not even left a scar? Could it be? “John, could taking your blood heal me? I also had this cut—”
“What are you talking about? I never gave you my blood.”
“No, but I took it.” She pointed to the smudges on her coat where she had sucked it off. “And since then we were able to talk though our touch.” She took his hand. “Like now, right?”
“Right…” He furrowed his forehead as if he was trying to make sense of it all. She was trying to do the same.
“I’m healing fast. Does that mean I’m a vampire now?”
He shook his head. “You’re not a vampire. Your blood is too strong.”
“But I’m…different.”
“That you are, Sweetie.” He kissed her long and deep. “That you are.”
Chapter 37
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” John stared at his sleeping beauty as she lay upon the bed in his Urbana house, and laid another kiss on those luscious lips of hers.
Sarah stretched her arms out over her head. “Valentine’s Day is February fourteenth, not March fourteenth.”
“Says the calendar, not what’s in my heart. Besides, we didn’t get to celebrate it properly.”
It had been a busy month. After Danielle’s staking, her hold over Steven had severed and the police found and arrested one confused man. Sarah didn’t have to worry about her ex any longer.
Ray’s picture had ended up on TV when his body was found in the remnants of an accidental house fire. Sarah had done her part and contacted the police, informing them that he had been the one who had tried to abduct her. The police had announced that Ray was the serial killer they’d been searching for, giving the families of the murdered women closure.
John had been tempted to leave Danielle in the basement with Ray when they torched the house, but Barnet wouldn’t hear of it. He wanted the Committee to deal with her, to make sure her death was witnessed by a panel. Last John heard, she’d been beheaded and burned. Every one of the Committee members, plus Perry and a few other vampires, watched the event. John would have attended, but Sarah would have wanted to go, too, and he refused to have her in the vicinity of the one person who’d nearly taken her away.
“You ready for breakfast?” Sarah brushed her hair back.
He kissed her neck. Who knew a bond could be so freeing?
When she had taken his blood, her cravings went away and her allure to other vampires disappeared. And then there was her miraculous healing. Sure, she’d slept for a good long while after being stabbed, but she was alive. He shuddered thinking what would have happened if she hadn’t had the foresight to take action.
They had relayed the information to Barnet. That was the part Barnet failed to mention in that Perfect Mate story, a story the Committee was beginning to think wasn’t just a story: So in love they share and forever be together. It wasn’t enough they shared love, they needed to share blood, too. Had the author meant to be vague? Barnet would most likely find the answer to that. But if John had only heard the story before, he might have figured it out sooner. Or better yet, Sarah would have.
Her act of desperation to become a vampire had sealed their bond and changed her forever. Not that they could read each other’s mind—they were closed to one another that way—but even after a month without another drop of his blood in her system, they could still communicate telepathically.
In Atlanta, Justin eagerly took Katarina’s blood, thus ending months of unrest. The Committee was still debating on whether or not to announce the discovery of Perfect Mates. Barnet was sure it would cause an upheaval, with every vampire bent on finding their own. Maybe that would occur, maybe it wouldn’t. But John was fairly certain it took more than just a blood exchange to be bonded.
While Sarah and Justin were not vampires, it appeared they were immortal. Whether they aged, only time would tell, but John suspected they wouldn’t. And while they still ate regular food and could go out into the sun, they healed quickly and never seemed to be drained from feeding, not that John needed much from Sarah—one draw could sustain him for days. And wasn’t that what the Perfect Mate was all about? The story, or documentary, wouldn’t make sense otherwise. Regardless, she was stuck with him. Not because of their bond or her blood, but because he couldn’t see loving anyone like he loved her.
He took in her wonderful scent and licked her neck. Making love to her now was tempting, but he had other plans. “Not yet. I have a present for you.”
“A present?” She sat up holding her out her hand. “Ooh, ooh, hand it over.”
“I’m sorry, it’s not that kind of present.”
She frowned. “What kind of present is it, then?”
“A good one, I hope.” Grinning, he climbed off the bed and offered his hand. When she took it, he led her out to the hallway and down to his old room.
“What are we doing here?”
“You’ll see.” He opened the door and ushered her inside the darkened room. Circular in shape, his childhood bedroom was the upper part of the turret over the dining room. He walked over to the curtains on the east side and slowly pulled the cord to open them, welcoming the morning sunshine.
“John, what are you doing? The sun’s out.” She tugged on his arm to get him out of what she thought were harmful rays. “John, what kind of present is this? Are you trying to kill yourself?”
“Surprise!” he said, laughing.
She stared at him. “Surprise? What do you mean, surprise?”
“I got those UV windows Perry told me about. Isn’t it amazing? They work. I don’t feel anything.” He squinted out over the lit up yard and continued, “It’s been over fifty years since I could enjoy the daylight. I forgot how beautiful it could be.”
She stood beside him and took his hand. Fear trickled over through their touch.
He turned toward her to appease her worries and instead nearly lost it. He caressed her face. “I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re more beautiful in the sunlight.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.
“This is my present?”
“Well, yeah. I don’t want you to have to spend the rest of your life in the dark.” He picked up a little box from the sill and got down on one knee. “Sarah, I know it’s backward since we’re bonded, but I promise to love you and cherish you forever. Will you marry me?”
He opened the box. The marquis-cut diamond ring sparkled in the sunlight.
She gasped and put her hand up to her mouth. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Vampires can get married?”
“Well, yeah. What do you say?”
The smile slowly spread across her face. “Yes, John. Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said, nodding her head silly.
He slipped the ring on her finger, then lifted her and twirled her around. “Thank you, Sarah Daugherty. I’ll do right by you, I promise.”
And he had forever to show her, too.
Stacy McKitrick
Stacy McKitrick always had stories in her head; she just never knew what to do with them. Then one day she decided to give writing a try and discov
ered the passion she’d been looking for all her life. Her stories contain paranormal characters, but her practical nature needs to make their existence plausible, as well as give them that happy ending (because it’s all about the love). Living in her own happy ending, she resides in Ohio with her husband, Jim and their two grown children. You can find her at www.stacymckitrick.com.
Also by Stacy McKitrick
Bitten By Love Series
My Sunny Vampire
Lyrical Press books are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 Stacy McKitrick
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.
Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.
First Electronic Edition: September 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-581-3
Bite Me I'm Yours Page 29