Page 35 of Love Bites
“Katheryn.” He reached out to touch her, but she cringed back. That alone was enough to slice his heart. “Katheryn, I can explain.”
“You’re a vampire?” Her voice shook, on the verge of tears. The blood from her neck stained her white robe.
“Yes,” he answered shamefully. “I’m a vampire.”
“You bastard!” Katheryn shrieked.
Suddenly, she began grabbing things, whatever was in reach, pelting them at him. He didn’t bother to dodge anything, didn’t move aside when she grabbed the telephone and the lamp from the nightstand and threw them at him.
The lamp broke against his face, cutting his skin. As soon as it did, the flesh began to heal. The sight of it stopped Katheryn in her tracks. She stared at him in awed disgust.
“You lying bastard! You’re a vampire! You just used me for blood! For blood and sex! You’re no better than Hunter! How dare you?” She began throwing things at him again.
“Katheryn, let me explain, please. I wanted to tell you, but after your dream, I thought you’d be afraid.”
She stopped, a shoe raised above her head, ready to be thrown.
“What dream?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
He sighed.
“Remember the dream you had the first night you were here in Spain?” When she didn’t respond, he took it as a yes. “I had the same dream. And it made me afraid to tell you the truth. I was afraid of how you’d react.”
She had to believe him. Shehadto. He was desperate for her approval, desperate for her to see and to accept.
Katheryn’s eyes narrowed in confusion then she hissed through her teeth and pelted him with her shoe. “You’re a liar! You’re a lying vampire. You probably hypnotized me and then used me to drink from!”
She was about to throw something else when she suddenly swayed in place. The blood from her wound flowed rapidly now. The whole front of her robe was stained with it. She’d lost a lot already, along with what he’d drunk.
“Katheryn let me seal your wound. You’ve lost a lot of blood. If you keep straining, you’ll be hurt.” He stepped toward her, but she cringed back.
“No! Don’t come near...” Her voice faded just as she fell.
Ignacio grabbed her before she hit the floor. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. She’d just passed out. Quickly, Ignacio ran his tongue over the wound he’d inflicted and watched as it sealed closed.
There was still the matter of her blood loss. How much blood could a human lose before dying or going into shock? He didn’t know any of those things. Worry clutched his chest, threatening the life from him. It would have been a small price to pay, his life for Katheryn’s. But he wouldn’t let his Soul Mate die. He wouldn’t.
He lifted her in his arms and ran.
* * *
Ignacio burstthrough the door of his house with Katheryn in his arms. She seemed to be getting paler by the minute. She was as white as a sheet by the time he hauled her up to his bedroom and placed her gently on his bed.
Fear had him calling for his mother. She was human. She would know what to do.
“What’s wrong,hijo?”
His mother came into his room. Seeing Katheryn lying on his bed unconscious, she gasped and rushed over, pressing her palm against Katheryn’s forehead.
“Dios mio.What has happened?”
Ignacio stared with blank horror, tears building behind his eyelids. “I drank from her.”
His mother gave him a shocked, disappointed glance but wasted no time. Expertly, she ordered him to gather plenty of towels, warm water and orange juice.
As soon as he had gotten everything into the room, his mother ordered him out and to bed, for the sun would soon rise. He was to use one of the spare bedrooms or the attic if he wished, but she didn’t want him anywhere near Katheryn, especially when she woke.
His mother slammed the door in his face, but Ignacio stood there for several minutes, leaning his forehead against the door. Never before had he lost control that way. Never before had that happened to him. Every girl he ever drunk from knew he was a vampire, had consented to it. But Katheryn hadn’t known, and he had taken without question.
