Page 87 of A Vampire Bewitched
Nik probed her mind, and found it open to him completely. “I’m going to give you directions and send you home in the SUV. Everything you need to get a flight home is in the center console. You’ll remember meeting me, will remember our time together, and you’ll remember coming here with me, but that’s all. We didn’t find your sister. No one was here when we arrived. It was a dead end.”
He took a deep breath. “You’re going to go home, and go back to your life. You’ll go on as you did before you met me. You won’t remember the intimacy between us. You won’t remember how I drank from you, or our bond. You won’t remember my feelings for you.” His voice broke, and he had to pause. “You’ll be happy, Emma.”
If he cared for her at all, he would make her forget him entirely. But he was too damn selfish. He wanted her to remember him. If only a little.
He broke the contact, and stepped back, wiping at the moisture in his eyes with the heel of his hand.
Emma came out of her daze, blinking up at him. She glanced around at the trees. “Well, I guess this was all for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.” He cleared his throat. “At least we know they’re not here. And we’ll keep looking.”
She glanced up at him. “Thank you for trying. And you’ll call me if you find anything? Anything at all?”
“I promise.” The words were sour on his tongue. Taking her by the elbow, he said, “Come on, let’s get back to the car. It’s time for you to go so you don’t miss your flight.”
She looked around and frowned, like she was trying to remember something. But in the end, she just sighed and allowed him to lead her away.
His heart chipped away more with every step she took until he didn’t think there was anything left by the time they reached the hideout.
But as she started the car and pulled away, he knew he was wrong as it shattered all over again.
Chapter 48
Emma pulled into her driveway in the deepening twilight. Grabbing her gym bag, she got out and locked her car. Two long weeks had passed since the long flight home from Seattle, and she’d heard nothing more from Nikulas. Not a phone call. Not an email. Nothing.
Apparently, the attraction she felt was one-sided. But what did she expect? He’s a vampire. A predator, made to be attractive to humans. It wasn’t his fault he’d crawled under her skin during the time they’d spent together.
Emma swallowed the pain of his rejection. She could’ve sworn he’d felt something for her, too. But, apparently, she’d been wrong. He was handsome, and charming, and masculine, and there were probably a few dozen women out there who felt the same way she did about him.
But it was more than disappointment he hadn’t pursued their relationship. For some reason, she worried about him, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on the reason why. Something was wrong, though. Her intuition never steered her wrong. She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t concentrate, and when she could bring herself to eat, she had to force the food past the anxiety in her stomach.
At work, her co-workers watched her with concern. They still didn’t know everything that had happened while she was gone. Emma had only told them she’d followed up a lead on her sister, but it had turned out to be nothing. She didn’t tell them about Nik and Aiden. And she most certainly didn’t tell anyone they were vampires.
Or that she and her sister were witches.
Exhausted, she climbed the front steps, trudged across the porch and pulled open her screen door, holding it with her foot while she unlocked her storm door.
Once inside, she flicked on the lights and went into the kitchen, dropping her purse and her gym bag on the counter. Her lunchtime runs on the treadmill were the only thing helping her to keep her sanity, although she had no idea where she was finding the energy to do it every day.
Grabbing a clean glass from the dishwasher, she filled it with water and gulped it down. She was so thirsty all the time, and the more water she drank, the worse the thirst became. It must be dehydration from the trip.
She was very careful not to look around too much. Whenever she did, she would end up standing in the middle of her kitchen, staring around the room with the feeling she’d come in there for something and now couldn’t remember what it was. Like she was forgetting something.
Or maybe someone.
Setting the empty glass on the counter, she left her stuff in the kitchen and went to shower. Upstairs, she stripped off her work attire and padded barefoot into the bathroom.
She paused as she passed the mirror. Slowly, she turned until she faced her reflection. Lifting her heavy eyelids, she gazed fully upon her nude form for the first time in seven years. Her fingertips traced the scars that marred her skin, following the path of her eyes. Her body was far from beautiful, covered as it was by the remnants of the attack, yet the repulsion she normally felt wasn’t there.
Something teased at the edge of her mind—Nik’s voice telling her…something. A memory, perhaps. But it was there and gone before she could grasp it.
With a sigh, she turned away and yanked on the shower, getting in before the water had a chance to heat up. Perhaps she was only imagining it.
I won’t think about him. I won’t. I’m fine. He doesn’t deserve my concern, and I don’t need him.
She’d been repeating that mantra to herself every day since she’d gotten home. But as the days passed, it became harder and harder to believe it.
She did need him. He just didn’t need her.
