Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (17 page)

Carrying the blade, alcohol, and a towel into the bedroom, she wondered the best way to do this. Matthias groaned and moved his head.

She sat on the bed next to him, trying to make herself do it before she lost her nerve. In the movies it was always the neck, but she didn’t feel like slicing through her jugular or carotid artery and bleeding to death in minutes in case she was wrong. The wrist would be safer. With the towel in her lap, she splashed alcohol on her left wrist and tried to keep herself steady.

“Matthias,” she whispered. His eyes fluttered open and tried to focus on her before closing again. She pressed the blade against her wrist and gritted her teeth. This wasn’t going to be easy. She made a lengthwise cut along her arm inside the wrist, about two inches long, trying not to cut through the tendons and hoping it was enough.

It hurt like hell. Blood immediately oozed from the wound, and she fought the urge to throw up. She put the alcohol and blade on the bedside table. Unable to believe she was doing it, she pressed her wrist to his mouth, cupping the back of his head with her other hand.

“Come on, you son of a bitch,” she urged, gently shaking him when he didn’t do anything. “Come on, damn it. Drink. Do it. You have to do this before they get back.” She thought she heard voices at the bottom of the stairs.

Then his mouth opened. His tongue swiped across her flesh, and he latched on.

It felt like a shock wave rocked her. As his efforts grew in intensity, so did the feeling. Her wrist didn’t hurt anymore, even though she could now feel his teeth working on her skin. If he’d been latched onto her breast it couldn’t have felt any better. In fact, it felt a lot like sex.

She felt connected to him in a way she couldn’t comprehend, something she’d never experienced before. She also realized she didn’t want him to stop.

At least the movies got that part right.

Taz fought to ignore the pleasant, tingling ache between her legs as Matthias’ lips and tongue worked at the wound. The room spun, vertigo threatening to make her sick in a good way. He grabbed her wrist, pressing it firmly to his mouth, taking what he needed. From somewhere in the distance she was aware of loud, desperate voices, the doorknob rattling. Her world seemed to shrink, closing out everyone and everything except the feel of Matthias’ hot mouth against her flesh.

“Taz, open up!” Roberson yelled. “You can’t do this!” Fists pounded on the door. Robertson and Albert were both yelling. “Let us in, Taz. You’ve got to let us in!”

They’d break through soon.

Matthias’ open eyes filled with awareness and surprise as he focused on her, but he clutched her wrist, still sucking, drinking deeply. She looked at his chest and knew it had to be her imagination, but one of the shallower gashes had already healed, now just a pink scar. Two of the deeper ones were healing before her eyes.

He can suck me dry as long as this feeling doesn’t stop.
Even her nipples tightened, her entire body feeling like one supercharged erogenous zone.

“Let us in! Taz, you’ve got to let us in!”

The pounding grew louder. As the door crashed inward, Matthias sat up and put his other arm protectively around her. She sank against him and let darkness fall, knowing this was the best feeling in the world, losing herself to him.

Chapter Fourteen

Voices drifted to her out of the darkness.

“Is she…?” She knew that voice, but it didn’t sound right.

“She’s just unconscious.” Albert.

Taz felt a sharp prick in her right arm, a cold sensation, then someone tugging on it.

She forced her eyes open. Someone had started an IV in her right arm. She closed her eyes again.

Someone took her left hand, holding it, squeezing it.

Then the familiar but ragged voice. “Come back to me, Anastazia. Please, don’t leave me. Not like this. I can’t lose you.”

She wanted to open her eyes again but couldn’t. She felt so tired.

“Will she make it?” Damn, that voice sounded familiar, but so strange, so hoarse.

“Yes.” That was Robertson. “The IV will boost her blood pressure until she can…”

Everything faded to black.

Again.

* * * *

Taz willed her eyes open. The room looked dim. She still had the IV in her arm. The room snapped into focus. Someone still held her left hand.

Matthias’ head rested on the bed next to her, his hand clutching hers. There was a thin, pale line in her flesh where she’d sliced her wrist open.

That happened, right?

No bandage necessary because the wound had already healed.

Her tongue felt huge and dry in her mouth. She struggled to speak. “You big faker. They said you were dying.” It came out a lot weaker than it sounded in her mind.

Matthias’ head shot up, his eyes red. Had he been crying? There was still dried blood on his forehead, but it looked like he was healed, the worst gashes on his chest reduced to angry pink welts.

“Anastazia!” He called for the others.

The men raced into the room. Robertson and Albert checked her IV and vital signs.

Albert nodded at Matthias. “Her BP is up. She’ll be okay.”

Matthias looked relieved then angry. “You could have died!”

“You
would
have died.”

He gently touched his forehead to hers. “Don’t ever put yourself at risk like that again.”

“You’re welcome, big guy.”

He smiled.

I’d die a thousand deaths for that smile
.

“Thank you,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. She realized she didn’t mind. “Thank you from the bottom of my soul, Anastazia,” he murmured against her flesh.

“What happened?” she hoarsely asked.

“By the time we got the door open,” Robertson said, looking queasy, “we couldn’t stop you. He’d already started to feed. To pull you apart could have killed one or both of you. We just hoped he still had enough self-control to stop in time. Fortunately for you, young lady, he did.”

She tried to sit up, but Matthias gently put a hand on her shoulder. “No, don’t. Just relax. You’ve already received two pints.”

“How many quarts low was I?”

He chuckled. “We’ll rotate your tires next.”

“Don’t forget to check the wiper fluid.” She was too tired to be mad at him. That could wait. He was alive. That was all that mattered to her.

“Can I please talk you out of quitting?” he asked.

Her eyes focused on his, and she nodded. “I expect a raise. This wasn’t in my job description.”

Matthias laughed. Was there a better sound in the world? “Well, you are a ‘fixer.’ I could make a joke about a raise, but I’m afraid you’d slap me with a sexual harassment suit.”

Taz managed a smile. It was like he read her mind. She was sure she could get a “raise” out of him, and she didn’t mean her paycheck.

She closed her eyes. The feeling—God, the feeling had been incredible! Better than sex, nearly orgasmic, enveloping her entire body.

Maybe this was why they chose not to feed. They’d always be in bed if they did.
Damn
, that was
good
!

But what
had
happened?

I need to talk to him alone.

“Would you please excuse us?” Matthias asked the other men.

Her eyes flew open. Matthias looked at her and shook his head, just a little.

“We’ll be outside,” Robertson said. They left, pulling the door shut behind them. That’s when Taz finally noticed they’d moved her to a different room.

Matthias brought her left hand up to his mouth and kissed the pale thin scar on her wrist. She shivered with anticipation, closing her eyes, wanting a hell of a lot more than that.

Take me, right now. I want to feel it again.

“No, Anastazia,” he whispered, kissing her wrist again. “I’m not going to do that.”

I want you to
.
Please, take me.

“I can’t.”

Her eyes flew open when she realized he was responding to her silent comments. He smiled in answer to her unspoken question.

“But—how?” she managed to say out loud.

Matthias stroked her arm with his fingers, using the lightest of touches and making her shiver. “There’s a lot you don’t know about us. About what we are and what we can do. We haven’t had time for an in-depth discussion.”

“Does this mean I’ll become like you?”

“It doesn’t work like that. You can’t make someone into a vampire. You’re born that way. Besides, you’re already like me. Perhaps much stronger, from how fast I healed.”

“What about my thoughts? Why can’t I read yours?”

“By feed—” He paused, rephrasing his answer. “By you helping me, it’s attuned me to you. And it was a one-way street.”

“What if I—”

Yum! I mean, yergh!

“—drank your blood?”

“You don’t need to.”

“But what if I did?”

“There are a lot of variables. I can’t guarantee you can ever read my thoughts.”

She closed her eyes again. “Was I better than your cousin would have been?”

He laughed, loud and hearty. “For someone who didn’t believe in what we were yesterday, you sure changed your mind rather quickly. No, it wouldn’t have worked like that with him. For one thing, he would have known what to do. And he wouldn’t have his heart invested in it like you did.”

“Then what would he—what? What do you mean, my heart?”

“If I say anything else, I’m going to stick my foot in my mouth. Let’s just say for now, until we can discuss this, he would not have gotten the…sensations you did.” His smile faded. “You saved me, Anastazia. He would not have arrived in time. And to be honest, even then he might not have been able to revive me.”

“Then how did I manage it?”

He stroked her arm again.

God, that feels so good!
It was hard to be mad at him when he touched her like that.

“Because of your power. Because of your heart. And because I cannot refuse you.”

Taz puzzled over his last comment, but before she could ask, he leaned over and tenderly kissed her forehead.

“Go to sleep. You need it. I can get cleaned up now that I know you’ll be okay. We’ll talk later, I promise. You did good, Anastazia. You saved my life. For that I owe you everything.”

She nodded. Matthias let go of her hand after one final, gentle squeeze. She realized he was wearing a pair of shorts, but he was still covered with dried blood. She closed her eyes and sent him a thought.

“Please be here when I wake up.”

He turned. “I will. I promise.”