Page 78 of A Bond Beyond Blood
I imagined fatherhood might be a lot like this, with its ups and downs and endless annoyance.Hundreds of years ago, I’d wondered, albeit fleetingly, about siring children of my own, and whether or not that was something I wanted to do—
Blood spurted in a sideways arc and I recoiled from the sight.With a swift snap of my fingers, Gannon froze.
“Again,” I said on a heavy sigh.“This time, try not to make such a mess.”I swiped a handkerchief over my mouth where a few wayward droplets had landed, then stepped farther away from the boy with a curl to my lip and a barely-controlled desire to disappear while he was distracted.
I’d been gone for the past year, but even before that, my interactions with others—human and vampire alike—had been limited to my monthly appointments with the butcher since we’d created our blood bond twenty-one years ago.
“Well?”I snapped.“We don’t have all day.Clean up your mess and start again.”
With a growl of frustration Gannon didn’t bother hiding from me, the boy licked the wounds on the girl’s neck, whispered something into her ear, then mopped up the mess he made as best he could while she leaned quietly against the exposed brick wall of the abandoned warehouse we’d brought her to.It was the same one where I’d found the lad a week ago, jumping off the rooftop repeatedly as if hoping to sprout wings.
When he’d finished tossing all of his dirty towels and the plastic we’d brought with us into a trash bag, he brought his mouth to her throat again and tried to feed with patience and composure.
Since the moment the treaty had been signed and vampires commingled with humans openly, there were food banks in place for us to feed from willing volunteers, but Gannon had not yet gotten a handle on his hunger and I found it best to guide the boy in private.
A willing participant had been easy enough to find in a local tavern.I hadn’t even finished debating whether or not it was safe for me to journey inside for a pint before he’d secured his meal and returned to the car with her in tow.One quick sweep and he had a young woman on his arm.Even I had to admit that what the boy lacked in charm and self-control, he more than made up for with boyishly handsome good looks.
He slurped and I rolled my eyes, though he’d been improving thanks to my guidance.At least, if I could help it, he wouldn’t leave a trail of bodies in his wake ever again, and when he drank his fill, he wouldn’t leave a crime scene behind or paint the town red.Quite literally.That poor Rockefeller Center security guard hadn’t stood a chance.
I watched patiently as he continued to feed, wrapping his arms around the girl and keeping her propped up as she fell deeper into the spell of his bite, a look of sheer satisfaction and joy on her otherwise unremarkable face.
When her eyes fluttered closed without opening again for some time, I cleared my throat.
Gannon didn’t act as though he’d heard the sound, so I said, “Enough.”
His body went stock still, but the sound of her blood leaving her veins remained until I snapped my fingers and intoned my voice with power as I repeated,“Enough!”
Gannon stopped sucking and I grunted with annoyance.“In the future, if I have to tell you twice, there will be punishment.”
He needed a strong hand, a task the vampire who sired him should be residing over, but alas, here I was.
I sighed and turned my back on the boy, striding outside to wait for him.That was his mess and his meal, and one thing he needed to learn quickly is that no matter how many people he once had in his corner, he was now alone in this world and therefore responsible for his own messes.
Returning to the sameestablishment where we’d picked up the girl earlier, Gannon parked the car, a China blue Mercedes AMG coupe that he’d helped me pick out following my decision to remain in the city—and a vehicle he found more joy in driving than I did.
Perhaps I’d keep him around as my chauffeur.
After a moment, when the girl hadn’t made a sound or any indication that she planned to exit the vehicle, I glanced back at her.
Bite-drunk and grinning at the boy in the driver’s seat, eyes still a bit glazed over and clearly still in the throes of his bite, she had no idea I was even present.Young vampires had that effect on their victims until they gained control of themselves.The venom in each bite would leave their meals sated and damn near orgasmic for hours.
If anyone noticed she’d been gone, one look at her and they’d easily assume she disappeared with another bar patron to sneak off for the shag of her life.
With a huff of annoyance, I shot Gannon a pointed glare.“Well then,” I said, motioning toward her, “I believe we best be on our way.”
With a quick nod, Gannon turned toward the girl and flashed a boyish grin.“Thanks for lunch, it was...uh...you were great, but...”He cleared his throat.“It’s time for you to go,”he said firmly.
When his persuasion didn’t work and she made no move to obey, he turned to me with a pleading pull to his eyebrows and I shook my head with a huff.
“What the boy means,” I said without looking back at her, “is that although I’m sure you were delightful company, he’s afraid he has a prior commitment and must be on his way.Get out of the car,”I intoned, lacing my voice with just enough power to persuade her.
She blinked, then did as I’d instructed.
“Nice!”Gannon jumped out and hurried around the car to open the door for her.Quite the gentleman.
When the door was closed and I was once again alone, I breathed deeply.I’d gone from constant, near-suffocating silence to a life filled with vampires and humans alike in a matter of days, all because Franco’s little surprise had caught me off guard—and what a surprise she was.
She’d intrigued me so much that I was loath to return to my solitary existence.
