“Phillip.” I’m briefly caught off guard when he uses my alias. “I noticed the way you looked at my Avery.” He places two fingers under her chin, lifts her face upward, and strokes her carotid. “You noticed too didn’t you my sweet angel?”
She makes no reply before she lowers her eyes. “Don’t you smell her fear and hear her fluttering heart, Phillip? It’s been months since this happened. She might as well have been dead to the world until she saw you in the crowd and then her pathetic little human heart began to race. Now, adrenalin is coursing in her blood and seeping from her skin. Isn’t it magnificent?”
I knew the scent of adrenalin well but that was not the fragrance tickling my sense of smell. It was something entirely new and different. And I liked it a lot more than I should. “She is a splendid creature and you are very lucky to have such a rare commodity.”
“Come closer to her, Phillip.” Why does he continue saying my alias and where is he going with this? It can’t be good wherever it is.
I’m cautious again as I take a single step toward her and stop. I don’t want to make any aggressive moves that could trigger one–or all–of her guards to charge me. When Vincent sees that I have no intention of coming closer, he motions with his hand. “Closer, I want you to touch her, Phillip.”
Is he setting me up? Is it his plan to have the guards attack me? Perhaps as an example of what not to do with his property? “Okay, this is getting a little too weird.”
Vincent rises from the armrest and there’s venom seething in his voice. “I said for you to touch her and you are a guest in my home so please show some respect for your generous host that shared her blood with you tonight.”
Two words. Arrogant. Asshole.
I’m furious as I move closer to Avery but then I look at her and all of my anger dissipates the moment I press the back of my hand to her face and slowly stroke her soft cheek. Human touch. It’s something I haven’t felt in decades and I bask in the feel of her warm skin against my cool hand. But that isn’t what feels so amazing. It’s the nearly electrical-like current I feel creeping beneath my skin. It’s almost as if the point where I stop and she begins no longer exists.
It’s easy to imagine us as the only two people in the room–maybe even the earth–but then Vincent ruins the moment when he opens his mouth. “It is glorious what your touch does to her.”
He finds pleasure in this girl’s fear. That’s when I decipher what I’m doing to Avery and why he made me touch her. I’m unintentionally terrorizing her because she doesn’t understand that I’m here to save her and not join in with these sick bastards. “I’m glad you are pleased.” I turn to walk away–attempting to hide my disgust–but he isn’t finished with me.
“Stop, we’re not done here.” I cringe inwardly before I turn back because I don’t know what to expect next from this psychopath. “You’ve accomplished what no one else could and I need to reward you for your achievement.”
I don’t want to know what constitutes his idea of contribution. “I need no reward.”
Vincent motions again for my return while stretching out his words in a threatening tone. “Phillip … come … back.”
I want no part of this game he’s playing but I don’t have a choice if I wish to maintain my cover so I return to stand before him. “I have just one more request.” It comes out as a whisper and his tone is even more devious when he lowers his voice.
I don’t want to ask what it is he wants from me but I do because I have no choice. “What do you want?”
An evil grin spreads across his face. “Bite her.” He watches me while waiting for my reaction. “I see you are questioning my sincerity but I am quite serious.” Vincent reaches for Avery’s carotid and caresses it with his thumb. “Bite her now.”
Every vampire in this place–with the exception of me and Curry–would kill for this opportunity yet he chooses me to drink directly from the blood jewel. What are the odds?
My mind races to think of an alternative. I’m desperate to come up with anything but it becomes more and more clear as the moment passes. I have no choice. Our cover will be blown if I don’t do as he commands.
I bring her wrist to my mouth and I’m sickened by what I’m about to do. I’m going to bite a human and drink directly from the vein for the first time in more than two hundred years. As much as I hate doing this, I find comfort in knowing I’m sacrificing myself–and every part of who I’ve become–so this girl may be saved. If I never accomplish another thing in my existence, her life is worth everything I’m giving up.
The moment before my incisors pierce her skin, Vincent stops me. “No, not like that. Stand up, Avery.”
Vincent takes her hand and leads her to a huge gothic framed mirror hanging on the wall. He stops and places his hands on Avery’s shoulders, turning her to face her reflection. “Come join us, Phillip.”
What kind of game is this madman playing? Is this all part of the show to heighten this girl’s fear? “I don’t know what it is you want from me.”
He moves away from Avery. “Stand here behind her.”
Avery’s eyes never leave mine while I do as he commands. Once I’m standing in my designated spot I await further instructions. “I want her to watch you in the mirror as you drink from her neck.”
My fate is sealed. There’s no way to avoid drinking from her now.
She doesn’t appear the least bit fearful–which makes no sense at all. For a reason I can’t explain, I think she wants me to bite her. And I don’t understand why.
We’re standing close but we don’t have to be for me to smell how much stronger her scent is becoming. Her fragrance is like nothing I’ve ever encountered. I want to be engulfed by it so I move closer than necessary because I want to drown in it.
I place my hand on the blond curls cascading down her shoulders and push them aside. My incisors lengthen as I watch the pulsation in her neck. A low groan escapes her mouth as I quickly pierce her flesh but it doesn’t feel like a response to pain. It seems more like she’s enjoying what I’m doing to her.
I suck gently because I fear she has already lost more blood than her small body can withstand. I’m surprised when her blood hits my tongue. I can’t find the words to describe the flavor in my mouth because I’m far more concerned about the way my lips feel against the skin of her body.