And, great, he’d called her a fool. Way to sweet-talk.
“Humans hunted you last night,” he said. “When humans realize what you are, they want you dead.”
“Everyone wants me dead.” Why did he think she’d been running for so long? “I’ve been running from shifters, demons, and hunters like you ever since I became one of the undead.” And she was tired.
If they’d just leave her alone …
But since she’d risen as a vampire, she seemed to have some kind of beacon on her back. They kept coming after her. Before she’d left New Orleans, a group of demons had broken into her house. Screaming, fighting, they’d tried to force her to leave with them.
They hadn’t expected her vampire strength. She hadn’t expected it either. But when she’d nearly ripped a demon’s arm from his body, the others had finally backed off.
“How long have you been a vampire?”
Not a growl now. A deep, rumbling question. His thumb still stroked her wrist.
Her br**sts tightened. “About six months.” She licked her lips. Thirsty. The sheet had dipped near his waist. She wouldn’t look down there, well, not again, anyway. “One day, I was your average almost thirty-year-old, walking in the sun, eating chocolate cake, drinking margaritas after work. Then …”
She shrugged. A careless move when she cared too much.
“Then one night, I became something else.” She wouldn’t talk about that night. The hunter wasn’t going to pity her and offer to let her walk away. Hunters had no pity.
“A vampire bit you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, that’s usually the way it works. He bit, I fought back and—”
“You had to ingest his blood in order to change.”
She drove the broken glass into his throat. Blood poured from the wound. On her hands. Her face. Her shirt. Nicole cleared her throat. “I guess I did.” She paused, and her hands clenched around the sheet. “His, but not the other bastard’s.”
“The other—”
“There were two of them there that night. One who attacked and one who just watched.” No matter how much she’d pleaded, he hadn’t helped her. “When I fought back, the other one got out of there fast enough. He ran, but one day I’ll find him.”
“Will you?”
Her head jerked in a nod. “Damn right. And he’ll pay for what he did.” No, what he hadn’t done.
Help me.
Keenan turned his hand over and offered his wrist. “Take the blood.”
Nicole blinked. “Why—”
“You can’t hunt. Those humans might have tracked us and if you go out to hunt, they’ll find you.” He paused, then said, “And if you don’t drink, you’ll just slow me down.”
“Uh, I don’t have to slow anything with you, we’re not—”
“Drink.”
Right, like she was going to refuse a buffet. She yanked his wrist toward her mouth. Her teeth scraped over his flesh. Her tongue tasted him and then she bit.
“Nicole.”
Her gaze flew to his face. His blue eyes glittered at her and, as she watched, a dark flush covered his cheeks.
So good. No taste had ever hit her like this, and with every delicious drop of his blood, strength seemed to pour back into her.
“Is it … supposed to feel like this?” His voice was gravel-rough.
Was she hurting him? Her fingers were curled tight around his wrist, but she’d tried to be careful when she bit.
His teeth ground together. “Your mouth …” His breath hissed out.
Her head lifted at once. “Pain? I’m sorry, I—”
Keenan gave a hard negative shake of his head. “Pleasure.”
Oh. She hadn’t felt pleasure when she’d been bitten. Only terror and agony. But the men she’d tasted over the last few months had seemed to enjoy the bite, and—
He pushed his wrist toward her mouth. “More.”
She wanted more, but … There was always a price. “Do you know what happens when I drink?”
His eyes narrowed.
The sheet had started to rise at his waist. Aroused. Oh, damn, she’d meant to keep her eyes up. She yanked her stare to his face. “When they drink, vampires link with their victims.” Another lesson she’d learned. “The more I drink, the more control I’ll have over you.” Maybe she should have just shut her mouth. Having control over a hunter could only be a good thing.
But … she remembered what it was like when someone else had the control. When someone else had been in her mind, forcing her actions, and yanking her around like a puppet on a string. I won’t do that to him. She dropped Keenan’s hand.