Page 53 of A Vampire Bewitched
Turning his hands, he carefully gripped her small fingers in his. “You don’t get it. I would rather die, than hurt you.”
“You’re not listening! I coulddonate, like blood donors. That would work, right?”
Neither of them noticed Aiden quietly slip away and leave the cave.
“You drink out of those gross bags, anyway. It could work!” Why was he still arguing with her?
“No, sweetheart, it wouldn’t. Your blood weakens once it’s left your body. It would be nearly the same as drinking the stuff I do now, only lacking what I need to survive. You wouldn’t be able to give enough. It would barely prolong the inevitable, and in the end would have the same result as not drinking it. Please, just let it be,” he begged.
But Emma wasn’t finished yet. “Well, so, what if you did the same thing then? Would that help? We can swap blood without ever having to be anywhere near each other. I can…I don’t know, put it in a smoothie or something.” She grimaced at the thought, but if it would keep him alive, she would do it.
“No, Emma.”
“Yes! I’d be able to give more. It would work.”
Sadly, insistently, he shook his head. “No.”
“Would youpleasestop being so damn stubborn, and—”
“Emma, I saidno.”
“Why the hell not, Nikulas!” Yanking her hands from his, she stomped a few feet away from him, swiping at the angry tears on her cheeks.
Chapter 28
The cave rumbled, and Nik glanced around with a frown. But this was no earthquake.
Large rocks and hunks of wood vibrated throughout the cavern. Some were even hovering a few inches above the floor. His little witch was losing her temper, and was probably about to bash him in the head with it all. The air was heavy with magic. It filled the room until he felt it crawl across his skin like it was alive.
Now would probably be a good time to try to calm her down. “Em…sweetheart…”
“No! No, Nik!” She swiped at her face before she turned around, but he could still see the moisture from her tears. “How can you ask me to just walk away from this? Do you thinkIwould be able to live with myself, knowing I was the cause of your death? You’re being an obstinate ass!”
She threw her arms up in the air. “There! I said it. You’re being an ass, Nikulas! I actually agree with Aiden on this one point.” A rock the size of a soccer ball hit the opposite wall with a crash, and her head whipped around to stare at the smashed pieces in shock.
Nik ignored it, all of his attention on Emma. “Emma, listen to me. Please.”
She turned back to him, and opened her mouth to yell at him some more. The physical display of her rage hovered higher off the ground now. The objects buzzed with so much power, it sounded like a large swarm of bees.
Nik fought his way through her magic, reaching out to her with his ravaged emotions. He understood her frustration. But if she thought this was easy for him, she was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
She must have felt him, for the cavern became quiet as her temper—and her weapons—settled down. “Fine,” she snapped at him. “Talk.”
Now that he had her undivided attention, Nik found himself at a loss for words. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked around for some help from Aiden. Where the hell was that loud-mouthed Brit when he needed him?
“Well?” Emma’s voice brought him back to her.
Nik took a deep inhale and braced himself. It scared the hell out of him to open up to her, but she had the right to know. “It won’t work because…because I’m fucking crazy about you Emma. I was crazy about you from the first moment I saw you, puttering around your house in that hideous, blue robe.”
Her forehead scrunched up and she rubbed at her temples. “Then what’s the problem? I don’t understand.”
“I can’t do that to you, Em. I can’t ask you to rearrange your life for me. I won’t. I won’t use you like that.”
Both hands yanked at his hair as he paced back and forth, trying to think of something that would convince her to see things his way. But he instinctively knew she wouldn’t believe anything but raw honesty from him. So, that’s exactly what he would give her.
Nik became perfectly still, strong in his resolve. “To me, you are the most utterly perfect female I’ve ever seen, or talked to, or touched. The things you’ve been through, your bravery, your attitude in spite of it all…they leave me in awe of you. I’m not worthy of a female such as you.”
