Page 11 of Blood Submission

Those black eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his wide chest. She noticed then that he wasn’t, in fact, completely healed. His skin still hung a bit loose on his large frame, the color still a bit…off…and that was what gave his face such a rugged look. “You’re lying.”

“Yes,” she answered before she could stop herself, then she clamped her jaw shut before she could admit anything else. Of course he knew she had a car. She’d driven away in it the night before.

He cocked his head to the side and studied her, much as the dog had looked at him earlier, but without the adoration. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to drive you anywhere except back to the gates of hell.” This time, she needed no mental prodding from him to tell the truth. And then, as long as she was at it, “And then I want to kick your blood-sucking ass right throughthem.”

Something shimmered in those black eyes for just a fraction of a second, and then it was gone again. Was it anger? Amusement? Laney braced herself for his reaction to her reckless words. But he just headed back to the bedroom, taking her by the hand as he passed, and pulling her along with him. The animals plodded along behind.

Once in her room, he pointed to her bed. “Sit,” he commanded.

Laney sat. So did the dog. She scowled down at the ugly thing.

“Don’t move,” the vampire told her. She re-directed her scowl at him, but he had turned his muscular back on her and was rummaging through her small closet. After perusing her small selection of clothes, he sighed. “There’s nothing in here that will fitme.”

“No?” she replied sarcastically. “Imagine that. Maybe you should’ve picked on somebody more yoursize.”

He stiffened, and then his massive shoulders began to shake. Laney was certain that this time the end was nigh. Damn her big mouth. When the vampire turned around, he wasn’t laughing, but nor did he look like he was about to add her body to the pile he’d started in the livingroom.

“You might be right.” Planting his hands on his narrow hips, he looked around. “Do you have a washer and dryer?”

Laney shook her head. “There’s a laundry mat by the office.” She paused. “I don’t have any quarters, though.” Like that would stop him from hanging around, or convince him to leave herhere.

He shrugged. “I guess there’s no help for it.” Leaving the room, he was back in a few seconds time with his dirty clothes. Shaking the sand out all over her freshly vacuumed rug, he laid them on the blue comforter next to her, then he unfastened the towel from his waist and dropped it to the floor.

She tried not to look, really, she did. But he was right there. And her eyes were pulled in that direction by a force so strong it could not have been her own, and maybe it wasn’t. Either way, she couldn’t honestly say she was sorry.

The vampire’s hips were nearly at a level with her face, adjoined by rock hard abs and powerful thighs covered with just a light dusting of dark hair. That strange tattoo, she could now see, continued without a break from head to foot, but it was what was in the center of those hips that drew her attention the most. Even in its semi-hard state, his cock was impressive. Laney swallowed hard as her body reacted to his, a slow burning ache intensifying with each breath deep within her womb. Painfully aware that nothing but a thin nightshirt covered her naked body, she squeezed her thighs together and tore her eyes away to stare at the open bedroom door while he pulled on his pants. Clearing her throat, she managed to mumble, “I’d like to get dressed also.” She absolutely refused to say “please.”

She felt his eyes on her as he fastened his pants and reached for his shirt. “Go ahead. But be quick. And don’t try anything,” he added. “It won’t end well foryou.”

Jumping up from the bed and away from his imposing presence, she quickly found a pair of jeans and a green button-down shirt. Grabbing some underthings out of the drawer, she started heading towards the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

Laney stopped. “I’m going to the other room,” she said without looking athim.

“No.” His tone was final. “You’ll changehere.”

Laney gritted her teeth. Enough was enough. She spun around to face him. “I have to use the bathroom. There’s no window in there, as you well know, so you have nothing to worry about. And that’s where I’m going to change.” He lifted one dark eyebrow, but said nothing else, so she stomped into the bathroom, and shut and locked the door. Leaning against it, she released a shaky breath, her bravado swiftly leaving her now that she was alone.

“Don’t take too long, little mouse, or I’ll come in after you,” he said from right outside thedoor.

Jumping away from that coarse voice, Laney switched on the light and checked that she had locked the door. Not, she supposed, that it would keep out a vampire if he really wanted to come in. She wasn’t sure just how strong they were, but she had a feeling she didn’t want to findout.

Laney took care of her most pressing needs, brushed her hair and teeth, and had her clothes on in record time. Finding a hair band, she pulled the unruly mass back into a low ponytail. Her eyes immediately went to the exposed skin of her neck. He had removed her bandage from the first bite, and there was no evidence that she’d spent the day feeding the creature in the other room, and for that she was grateful. The thought made her rethink the ponytail, but in the end she decided to keep it. It would keep her hair out of her way when she escaped. He wanted her to drive him somewhere? Fine. She’d drive him right into the morning sun, and then she’d stake him for good measure. But in spite of her ballsy state of mind, her stomach clenched and her hands shook. She wiped her clammy palms on her jeans.

“Hickory dickory dock,” his singsong voice came through the closed door again. “The clock is ticking, little mouse.”

“I’m coming!” Taking a steadying breath, Laney opened thedoor.

The vampire stood just outside with the dog under one arm and the cat under the other. “Ready?” he asked, as if they were about to leave for a date night. His eyes roved over her from head to toe. When they reached her bare feet, he stated the obvious. “You need shoes. Go get them. And then we’re leaving.”

Laney’s eyes fell to the body of her dead roommate behind him. “What about Sasha?” she whispered.

He didn’t bother to look back to see what she was talking about. “Were you attached to the human?”

Laney was a little taken aback by his question. But then she thought about that. Was she attached? Not really. Sasha was a horrible roommate. She ate all of Laney’s food, never did her part of the chores, and stole money out of Laney’s secret savings jar to blow at the clubs and in the slot machines. No, she wasn’t attached. But Sasha was still a human being and deserved better than being left to rot in their apartment. In answer to his question, she only said, “I can’t just leave her here. It’s not right.”

---