Bleed For Me (4 page)

He watched her with unblinking sky blue eyes. “I
liked seeing you that way. You looked sexy.”

Her mouth dropped open. Was the guy crazy? “Big teeth
and glowing eyes are so not sexy.”

His lips curved into a slow smile. Those come-get-me
dimples flashed. “They are on you.”

A little bubble of happiness filled her at his words.
“Um, thanks, I-I think.”

One golden brow lifted. “You’re welcome.” He cocked
his head to the side, studying her as she nosed around the room,
ducking her head under chairs and into his closet. “How long have
you been a vampire, Terese?”

“I don’t know—what day is it?” Where the hell was her
dress?

“How old are you?” he asked curiously.

She put her hands on her hips. “Thirty-one. How old
are you?”

Apollo snorted. “Older. A lot older.”

He couldn’t be
that
much older. The guy
didn’t have so much as a line on his face. His skin was so golden,
so bright and healthy. No, he couldn’t me much older,
unless—

Terese crept toward the bed, eyeing him cautiously as
alarm filled her. He’d never answered her question. She’d asked if
he was human, but he hadn’t told her, hadn’t said—

“My, my, what big eyes you have.” He leaned back
against the headboard, crossing his arms over his chest. “What new
worry are you obsessing over now?”

“Apollo…how did we get here?” She waved her hand to
indicate the bedroom.

“I brought us here.”

“How.” Not really a question. Terese was tired of
feeling like she was missing something very important in the
conversation.

“We jumped.”

“Jumped?” She did a quick bounce. “Like that?”

A deep chuckle rumbled in his throat. “No, we space
jumped.”

“Space jumped, right.” Okay, she wasn’t exactly sure
what space jumping was, but the idea of it scared the shit out of
her.

Before waking in Apollo’s bed, the last thing she
remembered was being in the parking lot Hades, feeling the
scorching burn of the sun’s rays on her skin, then—

“I space jump when I need to get from one place to
another in just a few seconds.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that like teleporting?” It
sounded
exactly
like teleporting.

Flash—
he was at the bar.

Flash—
he was back at his house.

The elders could do that. The dangerous, dark
elders.

“Yeah, like teleporting.”

Oh, God.
She inched back a step. Had she
just leapt from the frying pan into some seriously burning fire?
Was Apollo an—

“Now what are you thinking?” His lips twisted. “I
swear, you look like you’re about to bolt.”

Well, she was. Clothes or no clothes. If he was an
elder—

Apollo rose from the bed, stretching slowly, arching
his back and raising his arms over his head. His fingertips pressed
against the ceiling. His cock bobbed upward, shooting up from the
thatch of blond hair at the top if his thighs.

Oh, my
. She swallowed. The man sure was a
delicious site to see first thing in the evening.

She could still taste him in her mouth. Taste the
warm, strangely sweet flavor of his blood.

Her teeth clenched. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Though she’d played the game and answered his. “You aren’t human,
are you?” She’d bet her grandmother’s silver tea tray on that
one.

He stalked toward her, his cock stretching, hardening
even more. “No, I’m not.”

“Are you a vampire?” He hadn’t burned when they were
in the sunlight together. So, that should mean that he wasn’t like
her. But, maybe, if he was an elder—

Apollo shook his head. “Sorry, love, but I’m no
vampire.” A pause. “I’m a god.”

Her mouth dropped open. “
What
?”

He was right in front of her now. His hand lifted,
and he brushed back her hair, letting his fingers slide against the
sensitive flesh of her neck. A shiver shook her body and goosebumps
rose on her skin.

His head lowered toward hers. His lips hovered from
her mouth. “You heard me.” His breath blew over her. “I’m a god. An
immortal, all-powerful god.”

No,
no
freaking way. “Th-that’s not
possible.” His fingers were stroking her throat and his touch felt
so warm and good. And strangely
right
. But… “You can’t be
a—”

He laughed again, that same warm, deep chuckle.
“Love, you’re a vampire. If you can exist, then I can, too.”

She blinked. Well, yeah, that made sense. But,
still—a god? “What kind of god?”

He sighed, a long-suffering sound. “I told
you…immortal, all-powerful—”

“I heard that part,” she muttered as his fingers
stroked her flesh. “But you’re not like, you know,
the
God.”

A faint chuckle. “No, I’m not him.”

“So, what, you’re the god of—of—” Heck, what were
there gods of? “Um…rain? Or fire? Or war—”

“I’m the god of the sun.”

“
Oh.”
The sun.
Pain knifed through
her. He was the god of the sun. The sun she would never see again,
not if she wanted to keep living. Her gaze roved over him. It
figured he’d be the sun god with that thick blond mane of his and
all that perfect, golden skin.

Well, hell. She’d gone out, desperate to find prey,
hoping with all her being that she wouldn’t accidentally drink too
much and kill the human she selected, and she’d wound up with…a
god.

The sun god.

Fate could be such a cruel bitch sometimes. Swiping
at her eyes, at the stupid tears she could feel welling, Terese
pulled away from him and stumbled back a few steps. “Where’s my
dress? I…um…really need to be going.”

“So that’s it?” His hands fell to his sides. “You
screw me, you drink from me, then you walk away?”

She felt that hit straight in her heart. A heart she
was surprised she still had. Her chin lifted. “That was my general
plan, yes.” As tempting as Apollo was, she couldn’t stay with him.
It would be too dangerous, for both of them.

A muscle flexed along his iron-hard jaw. “Is that
what you do? You go out every night and find some guy to fuck and
suck?”

Fuck and suck.
She flinched. “N-no. Y-you
were the first.” Not the first guy she’d ever made love to, because
back when she’d been human, she’d had lovers. But since her change,
she hadn’t wanted to be with a man. Hadn’t wanted a lover to see
the monster she’d become.

And the idea of drinking from someone, of taking a
man’s blood…it had repelled her. Terrified her.
What if I lost
control? What if I took too much blood and accidentally killed my
prey?

She’d gone as long as she could without feeding. But
the hunger had burned her constantly and her body had trembled with
pain. When the red haze of bloodlust swam before her eyes, she’d
broken.

She’d gone to Hades and found Apollo.

Apollo moved in a blur. He grabbed her by the arms
and pinned her against the wall. The sheet caught between their
bodies. “Don’t lie to me,” he ordered. “You were no virgin. I
wasn’t the first you’d taken to your bed—”

“Since my change, you were,” she snapped right
back.

His eyes narrowed and his fingers bit into her flesh.
“You said you changed a month ago.”

She nodded. “I’ve had lovers but that was before—”
Before Eric. Before her life had turned into a waking nightmare of
blood and death.

She swallowed to clear the lump in her throat and
finished, “Before I turned into a vampire.” She closed her eyes to
shut out the sight of his angry eyes and tight features.
After-sex scenes sucked whether you were human or vamp.
“Now, can I just get my dress so that I can get the hell out of
here?”

His hand lifted and his fingers wrapped around her.
“No.”

Her eyes flew open. “Give. Me. My. Dress.” The guy
had sliced her apart with his questions and his asinine
accusations.
Suck and fuck.
Now she just wanted to get
away. She’d run back to her shabby little temporary home and lick
her wounds.

Apollo watched her with those enigmatic bright blue
eyes. Tension stretched between them. Angry, thick tension.

How had they gone from having great sex to—to
this?

Just when Terese thought she would scream, he
released her. Apollo stepped back and motioned toward a nearby
white door. “Your dress is in the bathroom.”

“Thank you.” The words snapped out.

His lips tightened, but he didn’t stop her when she
shoved past him.

And Terese fled into the bathroom, fled as if…well,
as if an angry god were on her trail.

* * *

He’d hurt her.

Apollo stared at the closed bathroom door and tried
to reign in his rioting emotions.

Dammit. He
knew
he’d hurt her. He’d seen the
shine of tears in her eyes.

He’d just gotten so angry—the thought of Terese with
other men, the thought of her drinking from them, having sex with
them—

A growl rumbled in his throat.

The image of her with another enraged him.

Terese was his.
His.
The perfect match for
him in bed. The only woman who’d ever equaled his passion. And the
thought of her with another was unacceptable.
Gods don’t
share.

She was dressing now and probably planning her
escape. He knew she wanted to leave him. Hadn’t she said as
much?

But he didn’t want to let her go.

He’d just found her, and he wanted to keep her.

Apollo paced toward the door. But if he wanted her to
stay, if he wanted to have another chance to touch that delectable
body of hers, well, then he’d have to swallow his pride…and
apologize.

Dammit.

Good thing his brother Ares wasn’t around. The war
god would laugh himself silly at the idea of Apollo apologizing to
anyone, especially a mortal.

Apollo’s knuckles tapped against the wooden door.
“Terese?” Better to just go ahead and get the whole apology thing
over with. Before he choked on the words.

No response. She was probably sulking or giving him
the silent treatment. Women, both immortal and mortal, seemed to
love the good old silent treatment.

He tapped again. “Terese, we need to talk.”
I
need to apologize for saying you fucked other men.
Oh, yes,
that would be a hard one to utter.

Still, no response.

He grabbed the doorknob and twisted with his hand,
but the knob didn’t turn. She’d locked him out. “Terese!” He yelled
her name this time. “Open the door!”

There was no sound from the bathroom. Not a gasp, not
a whisper. Nothing.

A cold knot of dread formed in his stomach. “If
you’re in there, get away from the door.” He paused a moment,
trying to give her time to obey.
Still no sound.
Lifting
his fist, he shattered the wooden door with one hard blow.

Terese wasn’t inside. Her dress was missing, and the
small window inside was open. Its curtains billowed in the
breeze.

Apollo lunged forward. Wrapping his fingers around
the window ledge, he stared out into the night. “Terese!” A strange
emptiness filled him.

She was gone.

Because he’d fucked up.

* * *

Using her vampire strength to go as fast and as far
as she could, Terese ran for five miles straight.

Apollo’s home was in the middle of the woods, far
away from any other houses or businesses. An old, two lane highway
cut through the trees, and she stuck to that bumpy road, praying
that she’d get lucky and someone would drive by. If she could just
see a car—

Yes.
Fate wasn’t spitting on her anymore. A
pickup truck rattled down the road with country music blaring from
its radio. The truck’s high beams shined in the night.

Terese stepped out into the middle of the road and
right into those beams of light.

The driver slammed on the brakes, and the squeal
broke the night as the truck screeched to a stop less than two feet
away from her.

My ride.

She stalked toward the vehicle.

“Lady, are you out of your damned mind?” A man’s
angry voice snarled. “I almost killed you!”

Terese stared up at the driver. The light from the
truck’s interior hit him, revealing young features and wide eyes. A
baseball cap covered his hair and sloped over his forehead.

She took a deep breath and said, “I need a ride.”

“You need a—” He broke off, shaking his head. Then he
shoved his door open. “You’re one crazy bit—Oh…” His eyes widened
and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I-is that leather?” His gaze drifted
over her body. Lingered on her breasts, her hips.

She gritted her teeth. Her hand caught his chin and
she forced him to look up, to gaze into her eyes and not at her
breasts. “Lookie here, dude.”

He blinked, but stared into her eyes.

Okay, I can do this.
Terese looked deep into
his puppy-like brown eyes and tried to summon her vampire powers.
She had to have them. According to Eric, all vamps had them.

Eric had originally lured her with his compulsions.
He’d stared at her, his green eyes shining, and he’d pitched his
voice seductively low. Before she’d even realized what she was
doing, she’d found herself in his arms, head tilted back, neck
arched, and all but begging him to bite her.

It was only when his teeth had plunged into her
throat that she’d come to her senses.
Too damn late.

Her fingers tightened around the guy’s chin. “I want
you to take me back to town.”

His eyes narrowed.

Shit.
Terese took a deep breath, and with
every bit of her will, she said,
“Take me back to town.
”
Her voice emerged as a soft, seductive purr, but the order was
unmistakable.

His pupils dilated as he stared at her. “Of-of
course.”