“You bit me?”
“We…bonded.”
I turned to him. “You turned me into one of you?” I cried.
He touched my cheek. “I had no other choice. You lost too much blood.”
My eyes widened. “Three times? We had sex when I was unconscious, three times?”
He smiled. “Believe me; you weren’t unconscious when we made love.”
“But, I don’t remember. I…oh, my God,” I choked. “I’m not human anymore?”
He took me into his arms. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
I stared up at him in horror. “But, do I have to drink human blood to survive now?”
He nodded. “You have to, but I guarantee, it will be much more enjoyable than you think.”
I stepped away from him and shook my head. “No, I can’t. There’s no way I can do that.”
He sighed. “You have to, or you’ll die.”
I started to cry. “No…”
“Nikki, it’s not that bad. Once you feed, you’ll be stronger and feel more alive than you’ve ever felt in your life. I swear to you.”
“There is no way,” I cried, “that I’m going to drink someone’s blood.”
He looked at me incredulously. “Would you rather die?”
“Maybe,” I sobbed.
He frowned and pulled me into his arms. “I won’t ever let that happen. I love you.”
I tried to pull away but he held me firm.
“Please,” I begged. “Just leave me alone.”
“Never,” he said huskily, tightening his hold.
“Ethan,” I pleaded, trying to pull away. I couldn’t deal with this news now. It was bad enough that my brother and mom were missing. “Ethan, please leave me alone.”
He ignored me and sought out my mouth instead. As his lips captured mine, I moaned in protest. “Stop,” I breathed, as his mouth moved towards my neck. “Please.”
“You’ll be so much stronger,” he whispered. “You can help save your family. We’ll do it together.”
My heart ached as images of my mother flashed through my head, along with Faye’s cold, cruel stare. I closed my eyes as my body began to betray me and eventually, I gave in and met his kisses with my own.
“Ethan,” I breathed against his lips, pulling him closer to me. I just wanted to forget everything but the taste and smell of his mouth and tongue mixing with mine. Quickly my kisses became more demanding, almost savage, surprising the both of us.
He groaned against my mouth and then pulled his lips away to stare into my eyes.
“Please,” I whimpered, pulling him back towards me. He’d started a fire so hot I just couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Every cell in my body screamed for his touch.
“Wait,” he whispered, pulling back. When he bit his thumb and blood began to flow, I stared at it in wonder, unable to pull my gaze away.
“Drink from me,” he whispered. “Live.”
As I watched the red stream begin to slowly trickle down his hand, it seemed to call out to me, like an old friend. I licked my lips in anticipation of catching it on my tongue.
He kissed me again, but this time, all I could concentrate on was the smell of his blood. It was intoxicating and sweet.
“Butterscotch,” I whispered as he pulled away and raised his hand to my lips.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said.
“Ethan,” I moaned, feeling the heat build between my legs as the smell of his blood consumed me.
He rubbed his finger over my lips and sucked in his breath as I took it into my mouth.
“Oh…” I breathed, reveling in the sweet coppery taste. My legs began to tremble and the hunger inside of the pit of my stomach screamed for more.
“That’s it,” smiled Ethan as I began to suck greedily on his thumb. But it wasn’t nearly enough and he knew it. The next thing I knew he held me down on the bed and placed his wrist over my mouth. “Do it,” he demanded. “Break the skin. I’ll be fine.”
I closed my eyes and gave in to the ravenous hunger he’d created. Opening my mouth, I sunk my teeth into his skin until the blood began to spill, covering my lips and tongue. I lapped at the warm fluid and felt it go down my throat. I moaned against his wrist as a new kind of heat began to spread, from my face all the way down to the tips of my toes. With it grew a pleasure so intense, I wrapped my legs around him and pressed into his lap, this time wanting more than just blood.
“Nikki,” he groaned, removing his wrist. He then tore my shirt away, exposing my naked body. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, staring down at my nudity.
“Your wrist,” I whispered, as he began to lower his mouth to my breasts. “It’s flowing much too freely.”
He reached over and tore off a piece of the abandoned shirt and then wrapped it around the wound, stopping the blood.
“Now, it’s your turn to be devoured,” he said, his eyes full of flames.
I licked my lips, traces of his blood still lingering there. I wanted more, God did I want more of his blood, but I also wanted to feel his mouth all over my body again, like the other night.
As if he could read my thoughts, he began to touch me everywhere.
“Yes,” I whimpered, as he cupped my breasts and began licking my nipples with his tongue, making me squirm.
“Say my name,” he whispered, moving his fingers between my legs.
“Ethan…”
Soon, both of his hands and mouth were moving across my body, caressing and teasing my most sensitive spots, until I shuddered in ecstasy. Then he removed his own clothing and grasped my hand. “Touch me,” he whispered, placing my hand on his chest.
His entire body was hard and muscular. When I reached down below and touched between his legs, he let out a strangled growl.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as he pushed me away.
He shook his head and then spread my legs open. “I have to have you… right now,” he said, pushing inside of me.
I wrapped my hips around his and moaned as he took me over the edge once more.
“May I?” he asked as he kissed the junction just above my shoulder.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He opened his mouth and sunk his teeth into my neck, but there was no pain. For some reason, it only added to the ecstasy of his lovemaking, and soon he was unable to hold back.
“Nikki,” he groaned, shuddering in pleasure inside of me. “God, I love you.”
I stared up into his smoldering eyes and smiled. “I love you, too.”
Just then, the bedroom door burst open and I heard a loud blast. Before I knew what was happening, Ethan’s body slumped on top of me, pinning me underneath.
“Ethan!” I screamed, overwhelmed by the smell of blood and the fact he wasn’t moving. Not at all.
“Got one of them,” cackled an old man holding a shot gun. “Teach ‘em for breaking in and sinning in our house.”
In a flash, I shot out of bed and held the stranger up in the air by his throat. “What have you done?” I growled in rage.
The old man stared at me in horror, his watery brown eyes bulging out of his head as I began to squeeze the arteries in his neck.
“Let him go!” Hollered another man, standing in the doorway, his eyes full of shock. “Or I’ll shoot!”
I glared at the guy, who looked like a younger version of the one I was choking. “I don’t think so.”
“Bitch, leave him be.”
Something inside of me snapped as my eyes jumped back to Ethan’s body. I wanted both men to pay.
“Killers,” I choked, flinging the old man at his son. They both fell backwards to the floor and I advanced towards them.
“Shoot her,” hollered the old man, trying to scramble away.
Before they could even blink, I had both of their guns and they were staring at me in horror.
“Run, Gabriel,” barked the old man.
I grabbed the old man and surprising even myself, snapped his neck li
ke a twig.
“Dad!” screamed the younger man, rushing towards us as I dropped his father.
“Stop!” I demanded, still stunned that I’d actually killed another human being so efforetlessly.
But Gabriel grabbed me and punched me in the face, knocking me to the ground. “Demon!” he yelled. “I’m going to send you back to hell!”
“No!” I choked, standing up as he grabbed for his gun. I was faster, however, and seconds later, I had him down on the bed.
He screamed and tried pushing me away as I lowered my mouth to his neck. I sunk my teeth into his skin and began to drain the life out of him. Soon, he lay limp and I was able to finally relax my hold, savoring the sweet, tangy flavor of his blood. I felt the familiar heat spreading throughout my body and my thoughts returned, once again, to Ethan.
Ethan.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye and I began to choke on the other man’s blood. I pushed him away and moved closer to Ethan.
“No,” I moaned, staring in horror at the damage the bullet had inflicted on his head. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I studied him. I knew he could recover from wounds, but this seemed beyond any kind of resurrection. I held his face to my chest and sobbed, hoping beyond hope for some kind of a miracle.
We stayed that way for a long time and his skin grew so cool that I tried wrapping my body around him to offer heat. When that didn’t work, I tore open my wrist and pushed it towards his mouth, hoping it would somehow draw him out and that maybe he’d miraculously wake up. But he didn’t respond to that, either.
“Come back to me,” I wept, touching his face with my fingertips. “Please come back to me.”
I held him in my arms for what seemed like hours. When the sun went down and he still didn’t wake up, I realized in horror that he really wasn’t coming back.
Releasing a ragged sigh, I went into the closet and found a large pair of overalls and a white T-shirt. They practically fell off of my small frame, but I had no other choice.
“I will always love you, Ethan,” I whispered somberly, kissing his cheek, wishing he’d suddenly raise his head and give me one of his sexy little smiles. But he didn’t even twitch.
As a last resort, I ripped a piece of fabric from his shirt, tore open the old man’s throat and dipped it inside, smothering it with blood. I then pushed part of the wet fabric into Ethan’s mouth and let it rest there. It was a hopeless gesture, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I walked to the door and turned back to look at him, one last time. “Goodbye,” I whispered, before I eventually walked out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-nine
After cleaning some of the blood from my face and hair in the bathroom, I went outside and found an old truck parked next to the cabin, with the keys still in the ignition. I hopped inside and started the engine.
“Where the hell am I?” I mumbled, trying to find a way out.
The woods were dark but my eyes now seemed to adjust very well to nightfall. I quickly found the road and began driving, although I wasn’t sure where in the hell I was even going. After driving north for a good forty-five minutes, I found a gas station and went inside. The moment I entered, the smell of pot and bubblegum engulfed my senses.
“Can I help you?” asked the stoned cashier who looked at me like I was some kind of freak.
I touched my face, wondering if I’d missed any blood. “Um, where am I?”
She smacked her gum and smiled. “You lost?”
I nodded.
She sighed and pushed a road map across the counter. “You’re in Wolf Creek.”
“Can I have this?” I asked, holding the map up.
She nodded. “Yeah, for five dollars.”
“Well, can I at least just take a look at it?”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
I moved away from the counter and began studying the map. When I noticed I was only two hundred miles south of Shore Lake, I sighed in relief. I’d be home in less than three hours.
“Thanks,” I told the girl, handing her back the map.
“Um, just keep it,” she replied with a grimace, pushing it back towards me.
It was then I noticed the blood smudged on the paper. “Oh, sorry,” I laughed weakly. “I… um hit a deer and had to push it off my vehicle. It was pretty gross.”
“Bummer,” she said, smacking her gum again. She then returned to some fashion magazine she was reading.
When I got back into the truck, I looked at myself in the mirror and winced. I’d missed wiping the blood from my neck. I sighed and started driving.
***
When I finally made it back to Shore Lake, I went straight to the cabin, which had first appeared breathtakingly beautiful and serene but now appeared dangerously ominous. As I climbed out of the truck and approached the front porch, my stomach knotted up. My brother’s car was now, surprisingly, parked outside of the cabin and I had no idea what was waiting for me inside. The realization that he might already be dead wasn’t new to me, but it definitely was hard to swallow. I said a silent prayer and made my way up to the porch, trembling the whole way. As I got closer to the front door, I noticed it was slightly open.
Crap.
I placed my hand on the knob and took a couple of deep breaths before I finally had the courage to push it open. Of course it made a small creaking noise that seemed to echo more loudly than any gunshot I’d heard the past few days.
I stood in the entryway and was immediately met with an entourage of magnified smells – cedar, Pine Sol, and stale fruit. Fortunately, I didn’t smell anything else, including blood.
I let out a sigh of relief and began searching the house. When I found nothing in the lower level, I walked upstairs to search the bedrooms and started with Nathan’s, which was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over the place, someone had emptied out most of his drawers, and his model cars were broken and scattered. Someone had clearly done this in spite and anger. Seeing this mess added to my own rage.
I left his bedroom and searched my mother’s, but didn’t find anything unusual. My room was still a horrific mess, but I didn’t seem to care about it anymore.
As I walked by my dresser mirror, I was again surprised to find an actual reflection, which looked pretty horrible at the moment. I seriously needed to get out of the dreadful clothes and clean up. I decided to risk a quick shower and then head over to Caleb’s to see if I could find something that would lead me to my mother or Nathan.
I grabbed a towel and then jumped into the shower, washing my body as quickly as possible. As I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, I thought of Ethan and my eyes welled up again. I still couldn’t believe he was gone, killed by a simple shot to the head. I forced the image from my mind and finished up in the shower. When I was done, I wrapped the towel around my body and went back into my room.
“You’re alive.”
“Duncan!” I gasped, tightening my towel. “I thought you were dead!”
“Surprise, I’m not.” He moved towards me and grabbed my arm. “Where is he?”
I shrugged him off. “Ethan?”
“Yeah, Ethan. Where’s that bastard?”
I glared at him. “He’s dead.”
He laughed. “Right.”
“He is dead!”
Duncan’s eyes softened a little as he stared into my eyes. “I really thought you were dead, too,” he murmured. “God, I was so worried about you.”
I raised my chin. “Well, I almost died, no thanks to you.”
He frowned. “I had nothing to do with you getting shot. In fact, Ethan is the one who put you in danger, so don’t blame me.”
“Ethan is the one who saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
His eyes moved to my neck and his face fell. “No… he turned you?”
I looked away and nodded. I was still having trouble accepting the fact that I was now one of them. I hadn’t really wanted it, even if it had saved me from death.
>
He cleared his throat. “Have you fed yet?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. But don’t you see? These Roamers are the ones who’ve messed up all of our lives. Ethan dying is probably the best thing that could have happened.”
I pushed him backwards. “Don’t say that!”
He scowled. “He killed my father.”
I shook my head. “No, they were lying to you, Duncan. It was either Caleb or Faye. I swear to God.”
“But you don’t know for sure,” he said.
“I know that Faye is an evil, maniacal woman who will say or do anything to get her way.”
He turned around and walked over to the balcony. “I guess I can’t really argue that.”
“Look,” I said. “I need to get dressed and look for my family. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. Do you happen to know anything?”
Duncan turned around. “I think they’re all in Vegas.”
My eyes widened. “Alive?”
“I hope.”
“And Nathan, too?”
He nodded. “Celeste came for him.”
I released a sigh of relief. “Was he doing okay when she took him?”
“I think so.”
I sat down on the edge of my bed and put my head in my hands. It was the first good news I’d had in a while. “Thank God.”
“You have to get out of here, Nikki,” he said. “Faye is still looking for you. If she finds you, she’ll kill you.”
I nodded. “Will you come with me to Vegas?”
He blew out a long breath and sat next to me on the bed. “I suppose. Someone’s got to take care of you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Wait for me downstairs?”
His eyes moved to my towel. “Are you sure you don’t need help getting dressed?”
I sighed. “Duncan...”
His lips tightened. “You know, you should have been mine. We had something good going, and Ethan fucked it all up. Frankly, I’m glad he’s dead.”
“Duncan,” I repeated, putting my hand on his forearm. Part of me still had feelings for him, but I wasn’t ready to forget about Ethan. My blood still burned for him, even if he was gone. I couldn’t just bury those feelings and move on. “We’re good friends. Let’s just keep it that way. I mean, I’m just so confused about everything right now.”
Shiver (Night Roamers) Page 16