Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) (20 page)

He looked curiously over at her. “You’re having dreams?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He gave a small smile then answered. “Only you can answer that, Dahlia. You’re subconscious is talking to you. Listen to it. Perhaps then you’ll find those answers you’ve been looking for.”

Greyson got up unexpectedly as he walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, letting Dahlia ponder over his cryptic words. She knew he was referring to her unknown past, that part of her life that just seemed so untouchable.

“You want something to drink?”

His voice brought her out from her thoughts as she looked over at him. Greyson didn’t wait for her to answer as he took out a pitcher of water, setting it down on the counter. Opening up a cabinet, he took out two glasses and placed them beside the pitcher, pouring water into both. Dahlia tracked his movements, not commenting on his change in subject.

She stood up, making her way over to him as he offered her a glass. Their fingers accidentally brushed against one another as she took the glass and she bit her lip at the sudden contact. She was nervous at the way he gazed at her so intently with his emerald eyes so she gulped the water down quickly, thankful for the coolness as it ran down her throat. Setting the empty glass back down, she caught his eye then zeroed in on a drop of blood that was at the tip of his index finger.

“You’re bleeding,” she declared, stepping closer to him as she grabbed a hold of his right hand. She looked down, suddenly transfixed on the blood as she got a closer look, its scent filling her nostrils.

It was sweet, as if a flower garden suddenly surrounded her.

“It’s nothing—just a scratch. My cup was broken and I accidentally cut myself. No big deal.” He showed her the wound, oblivious to her change in demeanor.

Dahlia said nothing as she tightened her hold on his hand, her hazel eyes suddenly changing to pitch black as her pupils enlarged drastically. Her gaze focused on nothing but that tiny drop of blood on his finger. Like before, her canines started to throb.

Greyson, startled by her aggressiveness at first, stood frozen in shock as she eagerly brought her mouth toward his index finger. Her lips wrapped around the tip, surprising him even more. Then he relaxed as he felt her hesitantly lick at the drop of blood, then eventually more eagerly as Dahlia took pleasure in the taste, sucking forcefully. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. She was the most beautiful that he had ever seen, in this exact moment, his stomach clenching at the sight.

Realization hit her hard as Dahlia became conscious of what she was doing. She quickly dropped his hand, as if it were on fire, recoiling back. She turned away from him, shameful.

“Oh, God. What did I just do?” Appalled by her actions, she violently wiped her bloody mouth with the back of her hand until her lips felt raw, her eyes immediately changing back to hazel. She had never been so uncontrolled around blood that she failed to resist the urge and succumbed to its taste.

She was almost hyperventilating as Greyson attempted to calm her down. “Don’t worry,” he expressed, bringing his hands gingerly to her shoulders.

Dahlia wasn’t listening to him. She still focused on what had transpired between them, her eyes wild as they darted all over the room.

Anywhere but at Greyson.

Frustrated, he did the only thing he could think of to distract her. Grabbing her gently by the chin, he tilted her face toward him as his green eyes locked with hers. She instantly seemed to know what he would do next because her eyes widened in shock as he drew her nearer to him until their lips were only millimeters away from each other. Dahlia sighed against Greyson’s mouth, which caused him to finally bring his mouth to hers, all the while neither blinking as they kept their eyes on each other.

He only wanted to give her a light kiss but as soon as their lips contacted, he couldn’t get enough of her, his own eyes shutting as he moved closer. Grabbing her face, he devoured her mouth, causing Dahlia to moan at the sensation and press closer to Greyson as he tasted his own blood against her soft lips, licking them slowly. She couldn’t do anything but hold onto his shoulders and relish in the feeling of being this close to him.

His hands moved down to fist his fingers within her long hair as their lips continued to connect in their own dance, then lower as they clutched her tightly around her waist. Dahlia gasped in surprise when his hands unhurriedly slid up her sides, tingles shooting everywhere.

Greyson paused, as he broke away from her, both breathing heavily against each other. He rested his forehead against her own, the tips of their noses grazing.

After a moment of silence, he whispered huskily, “What am I going to do with you?”

Momentarily dazed, Dahlia finally looked up into his eyes, which glowed unnaturally bright as she bit her lip. “I’m sorry?” It was more of a question than a statement.

Greyson laughed and enveloped her in a hug. Frozen, Dahlia didn’t know what to do, but then relaxed comfortably in his embrace. Moving away from her, he had a serious look on his face as he stared down at her.

“Don’t apologize, Dahlia. Don’t ever apologize for who you are.”

“But—”

“I don’t want to hear it. You are who you are. It’s only natural for you to want to taste blood—it’s part of being lamia. I get that. Don’t be ashamed of it.”

Dahlia was quiet as she looked on at Greyson with doubtful eyes. She voiced the question she had wanted to ask since earlier.

“You don’t think I’m tainted?”
With vampire blood?

“Never,” Greyson brought his hand to the back of her neck and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “I wouldn’t be feeling this way if I thought you were.” He finally admitted to himself that he had feelings for her.

Real feelings.

Dahlia shyly glanced down as she peered up at him through her hair. “And what is it you’re feeling, Greyson?”

“I want you.” He didn’t hesitate as he spoke, the seriousness in his voice apparent. “In every sense of the word.”

She continued to look at him, feeling her face get hot. “What if I don’t want to be wanted?” She raised her chin, almost in defiance as she fought off her blush.

Greyson chuckled at her response, his green eyes twinkling. “Oh, you definitely do.”

Dahlia did, but refused to admit it. “How would you know anything about that?” she muttered.

He tapped the side of her head as he slightly grinned. “I can read your mind, remember?”

She had briefly forgotten about that so she frowned, hitting him roughly on the arm. “That’s not fair and you know it.”

Greyson glanced down to where Dahlia had just hit him then glanced back up at her. “You’re really violent, you know that? I see the way you’re always hitting your foster brother, and now you’ve just assaulted me too. It’s not my fault you didn’t block your thoughts from me just now. I can’t help it.”

“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” she muttered under her breath.

“No, you can’t.” His smile was apparent in his voice.

Her mind flicked back to their past encounters and his intensity toward her. “And
I’m
the violent one?” she asked with a raised brow.

If she didn’t know any better, she swore she saw a blush form under his golden skin tone. “You know I apologized for that already,” he mumbled lowly.

Dahlia snickered with a roll of her eyes then looked at him with a grin on her face “So what now?”

Greyson eyes briefly glanced at her lips which caused the smile to leave her face as she remembered their intimate moment just minutes before. Then he moved away from her as she exhaled, watching him pour out his unfinished water down the drain then placed both glasses in the sink.

“The reason you were so drawn to my blood is because you’re hungry.” He smiled slightly. “Sorry, but I don’t have much to offer you. Maddox tends to eat a lot. Go home and get something to eat and replenish your energy because you’re going to need it. And don’t mention any of this to Sam or his parents, or anyone else for that matter. The lapsus after you—they’re not going to stop until they get what they want and that’s you dead.”

Dahlia walked over to him, pressing her face into his chest as she looked up into his eyes. “And what do you want from me?”

Greyson caught her gaze as he took his hand and ran it through her long, flowing hair. “I want you safe. We’ll deal with the whole Merrick thing afterwards. I’ll figure something out. But no matter what, you’ll be safe.”

As he took her into another embrace, Dahlia could only wrap her arms around him as she closed her eyes and prayed that he was right.

That she’d be safe.

Because right now, enveloped in Greyson’s arms, she really did feel safe and secure for the first time in her life.

She desperately hoped the moment could last.

Chapter 18

“You okay?”

Dahlia looked up from staring at the ground to see Sam standing by her doorway. Entering her room, he sat down beside her at the edge of her bed as he grinned enormously at her. Fingering the ends of her hair, Dahlia said nothing, but she welcomed his presence. He must have noticed how quiet she had been since she returned from Greyson. She had quickly put some leftovers in the microwave then made her way upstairs to eat alone in her bedroom.

Since leaving Greyson, she no longer felt safe. She remembered all of the attacks on her life, and these new powers she seemed to be getting. Everything suddenly weighed heavily on her, every emotion piling on top of her all at once. Without warning, tears formed in her eyes as they streamed down her cheeks.

Sam’s smile quickly disappeared from his face as he took in her emotional state. He then bumped his shoulder against hers to perk her up.

“What’s wrong, sis?”

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Dahlia quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and ran her hands threw her hair, giving her head a shake. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just—a lot of things have been going on lately.”

Sam stayed quiet for a moment as he looked on at Dahlia, frowning grimly. “Care to share?”

Dahlia didn’t know if she should say anything, not wanting to involve him in her current dilemma. He must have seen her hesitation for he slid down and laid flat on the floor, staring up at her with knowing eyes. He motioned for her to follow his lead, so she reluctantly slid down until her bottom hit the floor. She spun around so she could rest her head against the ground, all the while staring up at the ceiling. They both remained like that, just silently looking up at the white ceiling, their heads slightly connecting.

“You know,” Sam began speaking, breaking the stillness in the room. His voice has a serious tone to it. “Totally off topic here, but I’ve always wanted to travel. I always felt that there was something more out there than just Cedar Oaks. You know what I mean?”

Dahlia was surprised at Sam’s words as they echoed her own past thoughts about wanting to break free. She said nothing as she let his words simmer in her mind.

“My goal in life is to live it to the fullest with no regrets. You should do the same. There’s no point in being sad about anything. And at least if I die, there’ll be no qualms about it.” He turned his head toward Dahlia who still stared up at the ceiling and said dreamily with a small smile on his face, “I’d want my ashes scattered across the ocean so the wind could do its thing and spread it wide and far. I’d get to be the eternal traveler. Morbid, but true.”

Dahlia smiled in return then turned so she caught Sam’s teasing eyes with hers. For some reason, his words brought peace to her and she desperately wanted to open up to him. Besides Greyson, he was the only person that she felt she could trust right now. She thought back to Greyson’s warning about her talking to anyone but decided Sam was the exception.

She got up to a sitting position as she loomed over Sam who was still lying on his back. “You have to promise not to tell anybody,” she started, pointing a finger at him for emphasis.

Sam frowned, realizing she was dead serious, and slowly nodded in understanding, a strand of brown hair falling into his eye, which he flicked away. “I promise.”

Getting up suddenly, Dahlia walked across her bedroom to shut the door. She turned the knob to lock it and quickly moved toward the windows to make sure they were all closed.

Sam stood up too, looking confused. “Okay, Winters. What’s going on, and what has you acting so paranoid? It’s not like there’s anyone here.”

“I guess I’ll have to show you.” She spoke more to herself than to Sam so she didn’t respond when he asked, “Show me what?”

Walking toward her desk drawer, Dahlia opened it, rummaging through. Finding what she needed, she closed the drawer shut and turned toward Sam, letter opener in hand. She took a step forward. “Do you trust me?”

“What’s going—?”

“Seriously.” She looked directly into his eyes. “Do you trust me, Sam?”

“Yeah, of course I do. What’s that got to do with the letter opener in your hand you’re brandishing like a weapon?”

“Just watch, okay?” Dahlia brought the tip of the letter opener to her hand and pierced her palm deeply, drawing blood. She winced slightly at the pain.

“What are you doing?” Sam exclaimed, moving to grab some tissue paper from a box on the dresser. He then attempted to take the letter opener from her grasp. However, she stepped back, preventing him from helping. She stood there holding the letter opener in one hand and with the other, tightly clenched into a bloody fist. Dahlia ignored the mess she was creating, a few drops of blood splattering on the hardwood floors as she tried to get him to focus.

“Wait, Sam. Just look.”
Please let this work again.
She opened her hand as he watched the gash in her palm close up before his very eyes.

“What the—” He stopped abruptly as he looked up at Dahlia with wide eyes then back down at her hand.

It completely healed.

Sam’s eyes darted back to her face, a look of hesitation apparent. “What’s going on here, Dahlia?”