Page 30 of Bite of Passage
The small, urgent noises coming from her throat pushed him to claim her.To remove all distance between their bodies.
Moments later, to give each other a chance to breathe, he kissed along the graceful column of her neck.His teeth scraped over her jugular as his tongue measured the throbbing blood pulsing through the large vein.The smell of her blood became the focus of the predator in him.Need to taste.
Need to bite.
“Going to bite… Could kill you.”He growled deep in his throat and whispered hoarsely, putting a twinge of mental persuasion into the order.“Run.”
ChapterTwelve
Gemma landed on the floor.Her body no longer pulsated with arousal, instead breaking into tremors and a cold sweat.She hugged herself.One minute she’d been in the middle of a hot make out session and the next she was hauling ass for the mirror.
If he had bitten her, he would’ve shredded her neck.And she’d either be dead or a mindless slave.
A quick glance behind her found the show had faded to black as the episode ended.No more Skarde.
His teeth had scraped her skin.Had he broken the skin?Had he taken a sip?Terrified of turning into a mindless slave, she scrambled for the bathroom.An examination of her neck in front of the mirror found no bite marks.Her skin was red where his mouth had been.She palmed the crystal he’d given her to reassure herself it happened.
Her hands shook, her legs caving until she sat on the floor with her back to the vanity.
Skarde Blackmann had almost bitten her.Almost killed her.
He’d resisted.
Who would believe she went through her television into a TV show?Twice?Or that Dylan had tried to murder her but was then killed by a vampire?That was crazy-ville on steroids.
Val.
With a scramble, she retrieved her phone off the end table.Val didn’t answer.But moments later Val sent a text:Meet me at the shop at one.Bring the DVD.
Her heart jolted.Finally, she could hash out the past few days with someone who might believe her.
She bagged up all remnants of Dylan in her apartment and toted the trash bag to the dumpster.When she returned, she poured the black witches salt from Val’s shop into a few small containers, like the directions on the bottle indicated, and placed them around her apartment.Hopefully, it would draw out any negative energy from Dylan.
If there was an investigation into his disappearance, she hoped she wouldn’t give herself away as being involved in his murder.Who would’ve mourned her if Dylan had killed her?How long would it have been before anyone even thought to look for her?Val might have tried to find her after a few days.But who’d miss her other than Val?A few people from work might show up for her funeral.None of her various foster parents had kept up with her or cared once the government money stopped.
She’d almost died last night.Life was short, no matter how long you lived.Even for Skarde, things would eventually end.It made her wonder about what she was doing with the time she had.Her job gave her something to do and a way to make money, but it didn’t make her happy.She wanted something meaningful in her life, something permanent that made her feel alive.
Something like… Skarde’s endless blue-gray eyes flashed in her mind.She’d skipped right into insanity to even think he’d offer her more than a single night of great sex.Maybe she ought to take that one night.
Time to watch the episode again and see if it showed where Skarde had gone when he left her in his room.The camera showed her in profile.Someone who knew her might be suspicious, but they’d probably think it an actress who looked like her.No one who knew her would see it.With each episode she became more suspicious the disc was something magical, something cooked up by Val to…to what?Push her into Skarde’s world?
She perked up to pay attention to Skarde’s altercation with the other vampire.Skarde had an unfriendly vampire brother that was unsympathetic to the point of being chilling.Once the scene ended, she rewound to replay it.The fight demonstrated how vicious both of them could be, and yet they each showed restraint.Cade’s imprisoned witch had chanted:The human from another realm chooses her maker who will become a stake breaker.
A shiver went through her.Skarde said she belonged in his world more than she knew.
A woman from another realm.
That was her.
ChapterThirteen
Skarde rotatedthe ring she’d given him between his fingers in front of the fireplace.The modest blue stone glittered in the firelight, but he wasn’t paying attention to the ring.Sitting in the silence, surrounded by the light of the fire and the occasional pop of burning wood, the dead center of his chest ached.
He’d done a lot of foul things over the years.He’d set people up just to mess with them, whether they were assholes who didn’t treat a domestic servant right or jerks who messed with one of the Hunters.
He’d fucked for all the wrong reasons.
He’d injured, disfigured, and murdered.Most he hurt or killed were bad characters, but not all.If an idiot attacked him, he defended himself.
