Bite Me (23 page)

My first thought when I woke up was that it had happened again. I had passed out or been knocked out more in the last few weeks than I had my entire life. Hell, I’d never been rendered unconscious before I met Conner. Now, after less than two months with him, it had happened numerous times.

I tried not to whimper as a sharp pain shot through my skull. I wondered what the fuck Parker had hit me with. Whatever it was, I really wanted to turn it up on its highest setting, shove it up his ass, and let him have it. When I tried to put my hand to my head, it wouldn’t cooperate.

My eyelids felt like they were glued shut when I made the effort to open them. Finally I managed to lift them and I saw that I was in the conference room at the advertising agency where I had once worked. I also saw that the reason my hands wouldn’t move was that they were secured to the arms of the chair I was seated in. Not exactly the way I imagined being tied up that night.

Completely disoriented and feeling slightly sick, I glanced around the room. It was empty but my purse lay on its side on the conference table. Through the glass walls, I could see Parker near his office, facing a large man. The big guy had his back to me, but Parker seemed to be arguing with him about something.

I didn’t see anyone else around. I decided not to wait to find out what those two were arguing about. Looking down at my wrists, I noticed that whoever had taped me to the chair hadn’t done a very good job. Hell, the end of the tape was on top of my right wrist. I figured Parker had been the one to secure me because he tended to do things half-assed and without a lot of thought anyway. With another quick glance at Parker and the stranger to be sure they didn’t know I was awake, I leaned down and managed to get the end of the tape between my teeth. It took some doing but I was able to pull it free.

I couldn’t unwrap my wrist completely but I did manage to loosen the tape enough to yank my arm out. I barely managed to keep a scream inside. That hurt like a motherfucker. I looked back over and Parker and the man were gone. Wildly, I turned the chair to look for them but I didn’t see them anywhere. As fast as I could, I freed my left hand and jumped to my feet. My head swam and I had to swallow back the bile that rose in my throat but I wanted the hell out of there.

After I grabbed my purse, I removed my pumps. Heels were not the best footwear for stealth. Carrying my shoes and bag, I snuck out of the conference room as quietly as possible and ducked into the first cubicle I came to. I listened for a moment and didn’t hear anyone else in the office. Staying low, I peeked around the corner of the cubicle. The stairs were ten feet away. Satisfied there was no one close enough to see me, I dashed to the door and opened it carefully.

I slipped through and made sure the door shut silently behind me. Barefoot, I raced down the steps to the first floor. Thank God the advertising agency was only on the third floor. When I reached the bottom I had to squelch the urge to fly out of the stairwell and across the lobby. In case Parker and the man were still there, I nudged the door open. The lobby was deserted.

Desperate to get the hell out of that building, I threw open the stairwell door and ran flat out across the lobby. When I burst through the door into the cool night air, I took my first deep breath since I woke up in that chair. I remembered there was a convenience store two blocks away. I slid my feet into my heels, grateful that I had worn low pumps that day, and took off at a very brisk walk.

It took me almost ten minutes to reach the store and I felt like I had a huge target on my back the entire way. It took everything I had not to collapse when I entered the building. Plastering a fake smile on my face, I nodded to the clerk and headed straight to the women’s restroom. It wasn’t until I locked myself inside that I started to shake.

My hands were trembling so badly that I could barely open my bag. I managed to fish out my cell phone before I dropped the purse. I ignored all the stuff that spilled out when it hit the floor and focused on making the call I needed to make.

I hit the wrong icon on the touch screen three times before I was able to still my hands long enough to bring up my contact list. Seconds later I selected the name, and the line rang.

It wasn’t until I heard Conner’s voice say, “Donna. Thank God. Where are you?”, that I knew everything would be okay.

“Conner, I’m at the convenience store on the corner of Preston and Parker. Please, please come get me.” Tears ran down my face and I was sure he could hear them in my voice.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“No, just sore and feeling a little sick from whatever they used to knock me out.”

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “I’m only a short distance away. I will be there in less than five minutes. Will you be safe until I get there?”

My chest shuddered as I took my next breath. “I’m locked in the women’s restroom.”

“Good. Stay put until I get there. Do not open the door for anyone but me,” he commanded.

“Okay.” I cleared my throat. “Will you stay on the phone with me until you get here?” I asked.

“Of course.”

He sounded so calm, so strong that my heart rate finally began to slow down. I took one deep breath, then another.

“Are you still there?” he asked.

“Yes,” I croaked. My mouth felt as though I had gargled with sand. I went to the sink and ran cool water into my palm. I scooped the water up with my hand and drank several large sips. “Are you almost here?”

“Yes. I am just a couple of blocks away.”

Knowing that he was so close, I bent down and gathered up the things that had spilled out of my purse, shoving them back inside. I jumped up and squeaked when the door knob jiggled. There was a sharp knock on the door. I didn’t say anything. Then another knock only this time louder.

A female voice called, “Is there anyone in there?”

My voice was three octaves higher than usual when I answered, “Yes. Sorry. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

I heard the woman complaining under her breath but couldn’t understand what she was saying and then the door of the men’s room open and slam shut.

Conner’s voice was sharp in my ear. “Who was that?”

“A woman wanting to use the restroom. She went into the men’s room next door.”

He fell silent for a moment then I heard the ding and a slam and knew he had gotten out of his car.

“Are you here?” I asked eagerly.

“Yes. Do not open the door until I knock on it and you are sure it is me.”

“Okay.” I waited for several tense moments before I heard a soft rap on the door. “Is that you?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I threw open the door and practically fell into Conner’s arms. “Thank God you’re here. I was scared out of my mind.”

Without another word, he lifted me off my feet and carried me out to the car. I didn’t even complain about him carrying me. For the first time since I had woken up in my old office, I felt safe.

Once I was in the passenger seat and the car was on the road, I relaxed into the seat, letting the headrest cradle my skull. With the fear and adrenaline draining out of my body, I felt like I could sleep for a year. Then I remembered Carter and sat straight up in the seat.

“Carter. What happened to Carter?”

Conner’s grip tightened on the steering wheel but his voice was deceptively calm, “What makes you think something happened to Carter?”

I threw him a disgusted glance. “There is no way he would have abandoned me to that asshole Parker. Something bad must have happened to him if he didn’t come to my rescue.”

“He was severely injured,” Conner stated. “He should survive but even with his vampire healing it will be at least a week before he is back on his feet.”

My eyes widened. He must have been nearly killed if it was going to take that long for him to heal.

“Who is Parker?” Conner asked.

“My ex-boss. He called me earlier today to see if I wanted my old job back. I turned him down. I told him I was working for Savage Technology. When I saw him in the parking lot after work, I just thought he was being a douche. When he started to drag me toward his van and I fought back, he knocked me out with something.”

“Something?”

I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. “It was square, black, and had two silver prongs.”

Conner growled. “He hit you with a stun gun.”

“That would certainly explain why my head hurts, and my stomach feels like it’s been twisted in a ton of knots,” I commented as I leaned my head back on the seat once again.

He reached over and put his hand on mine but remained silent for the remainder of the drive home. When we pulled into the garage, he climbed out of the car, walked around to my side, and lifted me out without a word. I just rested my head in the crook of his neck and let me sweep me up the stairs to our bedroom.

Conner set me on the end of the bed. “Don’t move,” he admonished before he disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.

There was no chance of that. With all the adrenaline out of my body, I felt as though my limbs were boneless and out of my control.

I heard the water come on in the bathtub before a shirtless Conner appeared. After he clipped my hair to the top of my head, he helped me stand and proceeded to strip my clothes off until I stood before him naked and shaking just a little. He gathered me in his arms and took me into the bathroom. Gently he set me in the steaming water. It smelled like lavender and I realized he must have put some bath salts in the tub.

He rose. “Lean back and relax for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

I did as he said. A few seconds later I sighed as the trembling in my arms and legs began to subside and the heat seeped into my bones. My eyelids were getting heavy when he returned with a half-filled decanter and brandy glass in his hand. Conner splashed a little of the honey colored liquor into the glass and knelt by the tub. Carefully, he cupped the back of my head and brought the glass to my lips.

Obediently I took a sip, keeping my eyes on him. The liquid felt warm going down and the heat spread to my extremities as I took another drink.

I leaned back in the tub. “What is that?” I asked.

He set the glass on the table next to the tub. “Cognac. It will help with the shock.”

At his words, it struck me that the distant, shaky feeling I was experiencing actually was shock. I began to shiver again. Taking one of my cleansing wipes, he removed what was left of my make-up.

Conner gathered a washcloth and a bottle of bath gel. He wet the cloth, poured some gel into it, and worked it into lather. Leisurely he began to wash my arms and chest. He motioned for me to lean forward and then washed my back in long, relaxing strokes.

“I was kidnapped tonight,” I murmured, my fear beginning to build again.

“Shhh.” Conner’s voice was soothing as he continued to wash me. He moved from my back and shoulders to my chest and abdomen. “Stand up,” he said.

In smooth motions he washed my legs and even between them.

“Lie back in the water.”

I followed his terse instructions, allowing him to care for me as though I were a child. He made sure all the lather was rinsed from my skin. I rose from the water again with his help. Conner wrapped a huge bath sheet around me and began to dry my skin with soft strokes. Once I was almost dry, he draped the towel over my shoulders and brought the brandy glass to my lips again.

“Drink just a little more.”

I took the glass from his hands and drained the last bit of liquid from it. I felt the heat of the liquor spread across my chest as it went down. Once I finished, Conner put the glass on the counter and lifted me again. He set me next to the bed and removed the towel. He must have turned down the bed when he went to get the cognac because the duvet was at the foot of the mattress.

“Get in the center of the bed and lie on your stomach. I’m going to give you a rubdown,” he said.

I did as he said, more obedient than I had ever been in my life, and closed my eyes. I heard him go back into the bathroom. A few seconds later he returned and the mattress shifted as he climbed onto the bed. He straddled my buttocks and I realized he was no longer wearing his slacks, only his boxer briefs. I heard the click of a bottle top.

After a few moments Conner’s palms touched my back right over my shoulder blades. He must have warmed the oil up before putting his hands on me because it was almost hot. I sighed deeply as he gently caressed my skin. Then, as I relaxed more, he began to dig deeper into the muscle, working the knots with his fingers and thumbs. When he hit a particularly tight spot, I tensed a little and sucked in a breath.

The pressure lessened a little as his thumb continued to work the knot. “Just breathe slowly and deeply,” he instructed.

I did as he said and the muscle finally relaxed. After a while, he moved his attentions down to my legs. With long, sure strokes of his fingers, he worked the tightness out of my calves and hamstrings.

Once he finished with my legs he worked his way up my back, then outward to my arms and neck. I wasn’t sure how long he massaged me but by the time he was finished, I was boneless and felt as though I would just melt through the bed.

I hovered on the edge of sleep as Conner used something to wipe the excess oil off my skin. I heard the lamp click off before his body stretched out next to mine. Rolling me onto my side, he curved his body around me from behind. There was not one inch of me that wasn’t in contact with his skin. My shoulders against his chest, my lower back and buttocks against his pelvis, and the backs of my thighs and calves were curved around the front of his legs.

“Sleep,” he said. And like all his other commands that night, I obeyed. The darkness was welcome as it rose up to meet me.

Sometime later the darkness was no longer serene. Something was waiting for me in the black. I turned away, searching for even a pinprick of light to help me find escape. I heard the scrape of shoes behind me and immediately took flight. Panicked, I ran through the darkness, tripping and staggering as I brushed past objects. In horror I realized that I was passing bodies and arms and hands tried to snag my clothing and limbs, to capture me.