Page 48 of A Vampire Bewitched
Emma jumped away and slapped a hand over her eyes. “No! Would you please just answer my question? And keep your pants on!”
“First time I’ve heardthatparticular statement come out of a female’s mouth,” he remarked.
“Aiden!!”
“All right, all right, don’t get your knickers in a twist. Obviously, yes, I have been in some really gnarly fights.”
She took a quick peek through her fingers to make sure his pants were, indeed, still on, before lowering her hand. “As a vampire, I would imagine all the blood and fighting really gets to you. Makes you really…um…excited?”
He cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes with suspicion. “What are you getting at, Emma?”
“Um. I was just curious, for no particular reason, how much all of that affects you? Would you say you completely lose control from the blood lust? Wouldeveryonearound you be in danger? Even after the fight is over?”
“Why ever would you be concerned about that?”
Thinking quickly, she tried to come up with a feasible reason. “I was just, um, thinking about what we’re going to be doing tonight. There will probably be a lot of fighting, and the other vampires who are meeting us there don’t know me. I was just wondering if I should be worried? For my own safety, I mean, from you guys.”
She cut off her nervous babbling, hiding her eyes behind lowered lids as he studied her with sharp eyes that saw way too much, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t help. She was a terrible liar, and vampires were entirely too attentive to detail.
Aiden stared at her for so long she started to fidget under his rapt attention. She could almost feel him silently probing around in her head for the truth…and maybe he was. Emma made a mental note to find out more about vampire abilities.
“Come on, love, don’t play coy with me,” he finally said. “That’s not what you’re fretting about.” Checking the clock, he continued, “We don’t have a lot of time before we need to leave. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? What are you really wanting to know? Spit it out. I won’t judge, I promise.”
“All right, fine.” Dropping the act, she hesitated briefly as she wondered if she would be betraying Nik’s confidence by speaking about this. However, if the two of them have been friends as long as they say, Aiden probably already knew all about it.
She shoved her hands in her pockets to keep herself from fidgeting, and tried to sound blasé. “Last night, Nik came in here and told me a story about something he did. An accident—” That was as far as she got.
Jumping up off of the bed, Aiden smacked his forehead with his palm. “That’swhat he did to you! He told you about Eliana! Sneaky bastard.” Clasping his hands behind his back, he paced a few steps away, then abruptly turned and came to stand directly in front of her. “Emma, I’ve decided there are some things we need to discuss. Nik will want to kill me when he finds out I’ve spoken with you about it, but I would hope you would prevent him from doing that.”
Emma shook her head in bewilderment. “I don’t see how you think I could keep Nik from doing anything! I have no control over him.”
“Ah, but you do. Much more than you know.” Gesturing toward the couch, he suggested they sit down.
“We need to make this short and sweet, so I’m just going to lay it on you, all right?” When she eagerly nodded her agreement, he continued, “I don’t know if Nik has mentioned this to you, but the signs are all there that you are his mate, chosen by the gods to be his one and only for as long as you both shall live.”
“Actually, he did mention something about that,” she hedged.
“Did he mention that once he’s had your blood, he will slowly fade away until there is nothing left of him if he doesn’t continue to have it?”
Emma fought down a rush of alarm. “No. He, uh, didn’t mention that. We were interrupted in the midst of that discussion by the plane landing in Seattle.”
Muttering under his breath, “Stupid, stubborn Estonian,” Aiden kindly filled her in. “Neither of us have actually ever seen or heard of this happening, but according to the stories passed down through the ages, vampires will know when they’ve met their mate after they’ve had a taste of their blood. That this will happen is inevitable, as upon first seeing them, the vampire is drawn to said mate to the point of obsession, even before they’ve fed from them. I have to ask, has Nik fed from you yet?”
Heat flooded her face and neck. “Just one time, and just a little. He, uh, he kissed me and his fangs are so sharp—”
Aiden cut her off. “I don’t need the gory details. Mostly because I’m envious.” He gazed longingly at her lips for a moment before he suddenly slapped his hands together, startling her. “Okay! So, this is where we’re at. Now that Nik has fed from you, he needs to continue feeding from you, or he will die, Emma. Simple as that. Die the true death. It will take a while, but it will happen. I’m not certain why this is so, but it’s the one detail that is bashed into our brains from day one of becoming a vampire.”
She tried to imagine Nik “feeding” from her, his fangs latched onto her neck. But far from being repulsed at the thought, she felt a rush of desire so strong she was glad she was sitting down.
Embarrassed, because she knew Aiden would know what she was feeling, she cleared her throat and asked, “How long is ‘a while’?”
He lifted one eyebrow, but said nothing about her reaction. “I’m not sure, exactly. This kind of thing is pretty rare. We’re just going by what the elders have told us. However,” He sighed. “I’ve already noticed a few things amiss with him. He’d never admit it, of course, but they’re there. He’s already starting to weaken, starting to reject that nasty bagged blood. Thank the gods.”
Nik was weakening? Emma’s heart clenched in her chest. “So, next question. Let’s be realistic here. What if he doesn’t want me?” She’d already made a fool of herself over this guy; she was not about to continue doing so. But there was also no way in hell she was going to let him die. Not if there was anything she could do about it.
Aiden grinned at her. “Oh, he wants you. Have no worries there, love. Why do you think he’s been such a bloody arse since you’ve come around?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Although, I guess you wouldn’t know, since that’s the only way you’ve ever seen him.” Then he added, “I’m also going to assume you’re not opposed to the idea of being with him? Even though he’s a vampire? You two are practically shagging every time I leave you alone.”
She surprised both of them by confessing honestly, “I’ve never been more attracted to anyone in my life, in spite of everything that’s happened to me. But what do we do now? He believes he’ll kill me if he’s with me.”
