Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (9 page)

She
obeyed, careful to keep the rest of herself covered as much as possible. Perhaps it was absurd to retain modesty in such a situation, but she was unwilling to let go of the little dignity she had left.

“
Thank you.” He pressed two fingers against the inside of her elbow, searching for a vein. Satisfied with his find, he attempted to mollify her with a charming smile. “Now I’ll need you to be very still for me. The less you move, the less it will hurt.”

Before the words had a chance to sink in,
his lips were pressed against her skin. There was a sharp stinging sensation, then only mild aching warmth. She rested her head against the headboard and closed her eyes, waiting. To her immense relief, it didn’t hurt as much as she’d feared. No worse than donating blood at the Red Cross, really.

She hardly
noticed when he pulled away and pressed a square piece of gauze inside the crook of her elbow. “Put your hand here and apply some pressure. Yes, that’s right. Just hold it there for a while.” His dark eyes were glistening with ecstasy. “That wasn’t so bad, was it now?”

“
I suppose not,” she admitted honestly. “Is...that it? You’re done?”

“That’s all there is to it. How do you feel?”

She was lightheaded, but otherwise fine. “Okay, I guess. Did you take a lot?”

“About
a pint and a half, I’d guess. Maybe two. Keep your hand on that.” He stood and watched her for a moment before walking away. “I’ll be right back. Don’t try to stand up.” Disappearing downstairs, he returned a couple of minutes later with a glass.

“Drink this,” he
instructed, handing it to her.

She sniffed it suspiciously. “What is it?”

“Just orange juice.” He seemed to find her mistrust quite comical.

She
reluctantly sipped the juice while he swabbed her arm with alcohol and applied a small bandage, glancing at her every now and then as if he half expected her to pass out. Closing the first aid kit and transferring it to the nightstand, he asked, “Do you feel any different, Eva?”

“Different how?” She eyed the orange juice, wondering if he’d spiked it with something.
It didn’t taste strange, but with him who knew?

“In any way at all.”

“Why the sudden concern for my well-being? Not long ago you found it entertaining to torture me.”

“Don’t be dramatic. Nobody’s torturing you.” He continued to watch her
with an intense gaze that made her nervous. “I asked Lainie to bring you a tray. Do you think you could eat something?”

“I
think so.” She took another sip of juice. “Can I ask you something and get a straight answer?”

“All right.”

“What are you planning to do with me?” She braced herself, not really wanting to hear whatever response he might give her. It was unlikely to be the one she wanted.

He didn’t answer right away. She was beginning to think he
intended to resume his torment of her, when he finally spoke. “I plan on keeping you here with me, Eva. As long as I have you, it won’t be necessary to kill.”

“But why was it necessary
in the first place? You didn’t kill me.”

“We’ll discuss that some other time.”

“How often do you plan on...doing this?”

“It’s required only about once a month.
Though I did consume less than usual, so perhaps I’ll need you again a bit sooner. We’ll see.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“Why me?”

“What?”

“You came all the way to
Nebraska specifically for me. You could have brought anyone here. So why me?”

“That is also something we’ll discuss at another time.”

Lainie appeared at that moment, cheerfully carrying a bed tray which she set before Eva. “Here we are, my bonnie lass! I told ye it wasn’t as bad as all that, didn’t I then? Old Lainie wouldn’t lie to ye.” She turned her attention to Julian. “She looks well and good. That’s a promising sign, isn’t it?”

“Mm. Thank you, Lainie. Would you mind leaving us alone now, please?”

“O’ course.” The woman patted Eva’s hand. “Do ye need anythin’ else, child?”

“No, thank you.” She couldn’t help but wonder how Lainie could
behave as if everything was perfectly normal. As if this sort of thing happened every day.

Once they were alone, Julian settled himself on the edge of the bed once again.
And then he did the strangest thing. He picked up her knife and fork and began to cut her steak into pieces. She watched his odd behavior, transfixed.

He lifted the fork to her lips. “I want you to finish all your meat. It
will help build up your blood.”

She compliantly
allowed him to feed her as if she were an invalid, or an ailing child. At this point, she supposed nothing should seem bizarre to her. In a matter of hours his disposition had transformed completely. He’d gone from taunting her to treating her with tender reverence. It was enough to make her consider the evil twin paradox.

“Tell me,” he suddenly said. “Wh
y were you walking home in the rain?”

She swallowed. “
You mean when you picked me up?”

“Yes.”

“My car was being repaired. And it wasn’t raining when I left work.” She accepted the bite of sweet potato that was offered her. “How did you know where to find me?”

“I was actually on my way to your house
when I happened upon you, out for a stroll in the middle of a storm. You certainly have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.”

“But you recognized me, and you haven’t seen me since I was a little girl.”

“I knew straightaway it was you.” He searched her eyes. “Are you still feeling well?”

“I feel fine. Why do you keep asking me that?”

“I wish I had a pint of AB-negative for every time you asked
why
.”

“How’d you know that was my blood type?” She was impressed, in spite of herself.

“I can smell it.”

“You can tell a person’s blood type by the
smell?
”

“Yes. I can also tell whether
or not it’s diseased.”

“
That
must come in handy.”

“Are you being sarcastic?” He smiled and held the fork to her lips again.

“Maybe just a little.” She chewed the piece of steak and studied his face. His eyes were more engaging now, less cruel and threatening. She wondered if it was because he’d just fed. He was so dreadfully alluring, this beautiful angel. But wasn’t Satan supposed to resemble an angel as well?

When she was done with her meal, he
handed her a tiny pill that was resting on the corner of the tray. “Swallow this for me, please.”

“What is it?”

“Something to help you sleep.”

“But
...what
is
it?”

“It’s just a mild sedative.”

“I really don’t think I need it.”

“Must you always argue with me? Trust me, I know what’s best for you.”

“
That
is highly debatable!” She took the pill anyway, knowing it would do no good to resist. Julian Winter would have his way, come hell or high water.

“I’m going to take your tray back down. Would you like anything else while I’m there?”

“No, thanks.” She yawned.

“Very well. Try and get some sleep.”

“Mph.” She waited until he was gone before shedding the bulky bathrobe and snuggling underneath the covers. That sedative was working
fast
. She was halfway gone already.

The sound of
the bedroom door opening snatched her rudely back into wakefulness however, and she lifted her head to see that he had returned. “What is it now?”

“
Nothing. Go back to sleep.” He made himself comfortable in a chair that was beside her bed, opposite the nightstand.

“What are you doing?” She
fervently hoped he didn’t notice the discarded robe on the floor.

“I’m
staying in here tonight.”

“
Why?
”

“Because I want to keep an eye on you.”

“What in the world for? There’s no place I can go.”

“Just in case.”

“In case
what
?” She didn’t like where this was going, not one little bit. Just what did he think might happen?

“
Nothing for you to worry about. Close your eyes now, little one.” His voice was soothing, and she struggled to stay awake.

“How am I supposed to sleep now? You’ve got me freaked out. You did only take two pints, right? It wasn’t more than that, was it?”

He sighed. “You were annoying as a child. As an adult, you are completely insufferable. Do you know that?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Possibly nothing. We should know by morning.”

“
Possibly
nothing? But you think something
could
happen. What?”

“What do you think,
Eva? You were bitten by a vampire, and survived. Surely you have some idea.”

And then the
horrible implication struck her like a fist in the gut. “Are you telling me...I could wind up like
you
?”

“I don’t know. It is
a possibility, yes. Now you see why I always killed my victims.”

She sat up in bed, clutching the covers to her chest. “But you don’t know for sure. Right? You can’t be sure.”

“No, I can’t be sure. The truth is, I can’t even account for how
I
became this way.”

“You weren’t bitten?”

“No. I died, and upon waking was as I am now.”

“You
...just died?” This whole situation kept spiraling to new depths of insanity. Would nothing in her world ever be rational again?

“
Not just. I was murdered. Stabbed in the chest by an assailant whose intent it was to rob me.”

“Was he a vampire
too?”

“No. Just your garden variety
criminal.”

“So let me get this straight. You
used to be a perfectly normal guy until you died and just
happened
to come back to life as a fictional being.”

“Not so fictional, it would seem.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know it doesn’t.”

Paranoid, Eva felt along the roof of her mouth with her tongue. Nothing seemed any different than usual. “Don’t you think I would have...um, changed or whatever by now?”

“I have no way of knowing. But yes, I would think so. Try not to worry.”

Try not to worry? Easy for him to say. Scenario one, I turn into a bloodsucking killer without a soul. Scenario two, I spend the rest of my life as lunch for one of them. Neither option is exactly appealing. How did I ever get myself into this situation? What did I do to deserve this?

The sedative was working to pull her under into oblivion. Though she tried, it was useless to fight it.

“Rest, Eva,” Julian said softly. “I’ll watch over you tonight. Sleep.”

Somehow, she did.

CHAPTER SIX

Nowhere to Run

Eva woke to find Julian’s eyes fixed on her bare shoulder with a most peculiar expression.

“What’s wrong?”
Scooting quickly into an upright position, she scanned the bedroom in alarm. Had something happened during the night? Everything looked exactly as it did before she fell asleep. Nothing seemed noticeably out of place.

He blinked
, pulling his gaze away from her to look at the floor instead. “Nothing’s wrong. How are you feeling?”

She immediately
investigated her teeth with an index finger and was immensely relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary. “Normal. That’s good, right? Does this mean I’m going to be okay?”

“My guess is you’re out of the woods.” He stood and
extended his long arms above his head, stretching leisurely like a contented feline. “I’ll be damned. I must admit, I expected the worst.”

“
Now
you tell me.” She pushed a handful of unruly curls away from her face and looked at him hopefully. “So...now you know, it’s all good and you can let me go, right? You don’t need
me
anymore. I won’t tell anyone about this, I swear. Our secret. Nobody has to know.”
Yeah, right.

“Not just yet, I’m afraid.” He strolled
towards the door in that infuriatingly aloof way of his. “I’ll have Lainie pick up some clothing for you today. I believe I’ll go to bed for a while. Didn’t sleep much last night, you know. Try to keep it down, won’t you?”