Page 66 of Fanged Desire
The taste of her blood lingered on my tongue. I leaned against the wall, my breath shallow as I tried to wrap my head around what just happened. Addison hadn’t flinched. She hadn’t screamed. She’d looked me in the eye and offered herself to me, and somehow, despite the gnawing hunger threatening to consume me, I hadn’t hurt her.
For once, I felt in control. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt safe.
Not because of where we were – far from it – but because of her. The way she looked at me like I wasn’t a monster. Like I could be trusted, even when I was at my worst. It was a feeling I didn’t know how to name, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
Addison’s voice snapped me out of my spiral. “Are you done staring at the wall? Because we need to focus.”
I blinked, glancing her way. She was hovering at my elbow, arms loosely folded and a suspiciously determined look on herface. Her wrist bore those telltale puncture wounds, and I swallowed hard against the wave of guilt.
“Yep, just about finished.” I pushed off the wall, forcing my thoughts back to the present. “What’s the plan?”
Addison pointed to a small, blinking sensor on the ceiling. “We could trigger the fire suppression system.”
I tilted my head. “We’re locked in. How would that help?”
Addison smiled faintly, the corners of her mouth quirking. “If this place is as fancy as it looks, it’ll have an automated evacuation protocol. That’s our way out.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, staring at the ceiling. “Risky, but it’s not the worst idea you’ve had.”
Addison’s smile widened. “That’s practically a glowing endorsement coming from you.”
I rolled my eyes but felt the faintest smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “So how do we set it off?”
“Easy. We start a fire.”
I glanced around the sterile room. “Because there’s such an abundance of lighters and fire pits in here.”
Addison ignored my sarcasm, pacing the small space. “There’s got to be something. Electrical equipment, maybe? Something we can short-circuit.”
We simultaneously surveyed the room, both sets of eyes eventually trailing to the small, inconspicuous control panel embedded in the wall under a security camera.Bingo.
Addison moved to my side, already piecing together how to make it happen. “Do you think you could… punch it? Do your vampire thing and wreck shit?”
“Eloquent.” I strode to the wall and squinted up at the panel. “But yeah, I could probably take it out.” I glanced over my shoulder, offering her a half-hearted smirk. “The question is, can you handle what happens when the alarms start blaring?”
Addison straightened her shoulders, shooting me a pointed look. “I handled you, didn’t I?”
I had to laugh, but the sound came out way sharper than I intended. “Fair point.”
I stepped up to the wall and cracked my knuckles, then balled my hand into a fist and slammed it into the panel. Sparks erupted, and the casing crumpled under the force. Wires spilled out in a tangled mess and I yanked a handful free, the ends crackling with electricity.
“Your turn.” I stepped back, gesturing at the sparking mess I’d wrought.
Addison hovered in front of the broken panel, fingers working quickly to sort through the wires. I could hear her muttering under her breath as she worked, little snippets that almost made me smile despite the circumstances. When one of the live wires sparked in her fingers she cursed loudly, shoving the injured digit into her mouth.
“Is that part of the plan?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning back against the wall.
“Shut up,” Addison shot back, though her focus didn’t waver. “Just give me five seconds and a little faith.”
“You shocked yourself. My faith is waning.”
She rolled her eyes without looking up. “Then fake it for me, Hunter.”
I bit back a grin and watched as Addison finally managed to get a flickering spark of fire going. The small spark quickly grew into a bolder flame, and her eyes lit up with all the crazed triumph of a pyromaniac.
Without hesitation she yanked off her shirt, leaving her in just her bra. I blinked, momentarily stunned, before realizing she was using the shirt to stoke the flames.
“Uh… You could’ve used–”
