Bound By Blood. Elizabeth Valentino
foreign stuck inside.
“Do you want to take your pants off? Or do you want me to cut a hole in them?” Bryce is starting to look a tad uncomfortable with the situation.
“Would you mind helping me get them off? I don’t have any others and I need to preserve these as much as possible.”
“Are you sure you don’t just want me to cut a hole?”
“What, are you afraid to see a naked vampire? I assure you, I look the same as a human female.”
“Jesus, all right. Unsnap them and slide them down as far as you can get them.” Bryce clenches his hands into fists a few times before kneeling in front of me and pulling my leather pants down to the tops of my boots. He hesitates briefly before placing his hands on my thigh. He carefully avoids brushing my violet boy-shorts with his knuckles. “Okay, now answer the question about my brother.”
“Steele injected him with a disease. His intention was to wipe his memory and send him back to your clan. He wanted to wipe you out. Your clan is the largest, and the greatest threat to him.” I groan as the phone’s obnoxious ring interrupts the night’s serenity. That would be Steele.
“I’m not convinced you aren’t working for him.”
Men. I push Bryce’s hand off my thigh the moment he gets the bullet out, and limp toward the cave and my jacket.
“Where are you going?” Gun drawn, Bryce quickly catches up with me.
“You can listen in on my conversation with Steele and see how much we’re in on this together.” My gag reflex kicks in as I approach the open mouth of the cave. “Don’t you just love the smell of garlic and blood in the evening?” The phone stops ringing, only to start up again immediately. Steele is a persistent fucker, I’ll give him that.
“Jesus, you’re pouring blood everywhere. Sit your ass back down. I’ll get your damn phone,” Bryce grumbles, before sloshing through the various vampire bits decorating the cave’s floor.
“Aren’t you the gentleman,” I call after him. This whole night has gone screwy. First the embarrassment of a lycan sneaking up on me, then fighting off a horde of vicious vampires, thus further pissing off Steele. Now I’m sitting out here practically naked, with a grumpy wolf man who thinks I killed his brother. This is so inconvenient; I just want to find a way to save my sister. I’m so close I can taste it. Once I locate that book, I can plead to whichever god or goddess is listening. Now that I’m a vampire I have something they want. I guess that’s one thing I can thank Steele for.
In an effort to stem the flow of blood I stick my finger in the bullet hole. This does nothing but hurt like hell. The world begins to tilt and fade to black around the edges.
“Hold on there, princess.” Bryce’s hand slips behind my head and shoves me back into a sitting position. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
“I’ve lost too much blood. Just tie off the wound on my leg. I’ll sleep this off and be fine in a few hours.” Keeping my eyes open and focused is proving too difficult, so I let them flutter closed.
“God damn it, I’m not waiting for you to heal for my answers. Fuck me,” Bryce swears.
With a whole lot of effort on my part I peel first one eye open and then the other. I can’t tell for sure, but I think despite all his swearing he’s at least a little concerned for me. I can literally watch the conflict in his eyes as he accepts the only way to get his answers. A shudder of disgust reverberates through his entire body as he lowers his neck toward my mouth.
Unable to control myself, I open my mouth. With my last ounce of strength, I sink my fangs into the delicious juncture between his neck and shoulder. As the first mouthful of warm blood coats my lips and flows down my throat, my strength renews. An unexpected sensuality wraps around me, rocking me all the way down to my toes. With my face buried against his warm skin I feel safe, which is something I haven’t felt for a very long time. Bryce’s blood is like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Its intense power hums through my veins like electricity. My whole body begins to respond, heating and tingling in more places than my veins.
It takes every ounce of willpower I possess to pull myself away from his intoxicating elixir. Even more difficult is pulling away from the warmth of his body. Carefully removing my fangs, I sweep my tongue over the puncture wounds in a reverent caress. The shudder flowing through him doesn’t feel like disgust to me, but perhaps it’s just wishful thinking. Meeting his dark, dangerous gaze, I whisper “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Now about my brother...”
Chapter 4
Bryce seems less than pleased with the story of his brother’s demise. He has, however, conceded to travel with me in hopes of also bartering with the deities.
With a snap I settle my goggles tightly over my eyes before buttoning up my jacket. It’ll be a long and draining flight into Venice, especially since I have to haul Bryce’s ass there as well. I just hope we can make it before sunrise.
“Nice fashion statement, princess,” Bryce quips dryly.
“Stop trying to be a jerk. They’re not for fashion, they’re for function. Trust me, you’ll appreciate it when I can actually see where I’m going without flying us into a tree.”
“Are you sure you’re strong enough to carry me all the way to Venice?” Bryce looks me over with an eyebrow arched.
“Is it going to hurt your manly ego to be carried by a girl? I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Not wanting to push our tentative truce, I hold out my arms. “Come here, sweetie.” Unable to resist, I add, “I promise I won’t bite.”
“Liar. I still have fang marks in my neck from the last time you bit me.” Bryce absently rubs his hand over the faint mark I left on his neck.
“Stop your whining, you know you liked it. Now get over here. We have a long way to go, and not much time to make it.”
“If you drop me, Mila, I will not be happy.”
Laughing, I consider dropping him just because he deserves it. “I’m scared of the big wolf man making threats against poor innocent girls.”
“You are no innocent girl, princess, and you should be scared.” Bryce growls low in his throat.
“I’m scared, I assure you. Now be quiet. I need to concentrate.” Closing my eyes, I draw on the power that flows through me in a constant stream. I let it pool deep within me as it gathers momentum. The sparks of energy begin inside at first. As the vortex of power increases my skin starts to send showers of sparks fluttering over us. My long black hair takes on a life of its own as sparks run the lengths of the strands. As the change spreads through my body my magic surges forth in a steady stream, wrapping around my bone structure and forcing the bones composing my shoulder blades to lengthen and grow.
Vampire myths say we can turn into bats. It’s not true in the least; my wings aren’t even leathery like a bat’s. They are covered with shiny black feathers, and are beautiful in an odd way. I have no idea where my ability to grow wings came from. I’m the only vampire I know of with the gift of flight. It’s very useful.
The only thing that sucks is how much it hurts to get the things out of my back, and how long it takes for them to retract. This is why I don’t use my wings unless absolutely necessary. They aren’t particularly discreet either, and would probably garner some strange looks in public. Although probably not any more, since much of the city has been looted and deserted. It’s a strange time. The rich seem largely unaffected, but from the middle class down debilitating poverty has taken hold.
Grinding my teeth practically down to nubs, I try not to cry out as the ripping, searing pain tears through my whole back. It feels as if my skin is peeling off and the flesh beneath is on fire, punctuated with sharp stabs of pain. Bryce looks slightly alarmed at the sharp cracking and popping noises my bones make as their