Bite Me (29 page)

I gaped as Conner threw his head back and literally roared with laughter. “The only reason we ‘you know’ when I bite you is because we’re already doing ‘you know’. The bite enhances the pleasure you are already experiencing. It takes a great deal of talent and power to enter a human’s mind enough to force an orgasm from just a bite. And very few vampires can do it to other vampires.”

“Good to know,” I said. Reality intruded when I remembered how it was I came to be a vampire. “Please tell me you caught the fucking bitch who tried to have me killed.”

“We did,” he answered.

“What about Ivie?” I asked, afraid of his answer.

Conner shifted on the bed, and an unhappy look crossed his face. “She will be okay physically. We’re not sure what Otto did to her, but she’s traumatized. We kept her here so that you could speak with her when you woke up.”

I nodded. “Okay. Let me get cleaned up. I need to do one thing before I go to my friend.”

“What’s that?” Conner asked.

“I need to bitch slap Vanessa and tell you what I heard.” I rolled out of bed and onto my feet. My body felt light and limber. And strong. “I’ll tell you about it while I take a shower.”

Thirty minutes later I had shared everything I overheard Vanessa tell Weasel Face and washed my body. I noticed how clean I was considering I had been unconscious two days. At least Conner said it was two days. When I mentioned it, he said he had given me a sponge bath. The look on his face when he said it frightened me.

“There was a great deal of blood, Donna. When I turned you the cuts healed, but it was difficult to see what he had done to you.”

“What happened to Parker?”

Conner just looked at me and I knew what had happened to Parker. I was torn. Part of me hoped that his death was at least quick. The rest of me remembered the horrible things he had done to me at Vanessa’s direction, voluntary or not. I wondered if what Vanessa had told me about his journals was true. If it was, then maybe it wasn’t so bad that he was dead.

I decided to think about it later, like in fifty years or so. Maybe a hundred.

“I want to see Vanessa,” I said.

After I dressed, Conner took me to the room where they were keeping her. When he opened the door, Vanessa gaped at me in shock. “You’re dead,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I’m just the ghost of Christmas Past,” I quipped.

“I watched him cut your throat. You’re dead,” she repeated.

I didn’t bother with a verbal response. I went to the bench that she was chained to and hauled off and punched her in the face. I put everything I had into it, and her body flew sideways to hit the wall. Her chains pulled taut and jerked her to the ground. She sprawled on the floor, looking incredibly undignified. I’m sure that it was horrible of me, but I felt a great deal of satisfaction in seeing her like that.

“No, bitch, I’m a vampire. Now that I’m your equal, do you want to continue the little chat we had two days ago?”

Her eyes burned as she stared at me but she didn’t answer. I leaned down and got right in her face. “I remember everything you said to me and to Weasel Face and you can bet your ass the Council knows now too. Whatever you and your friends are planning, they will be expecting it and they will be ready for it.”

Vanessa’s eyes focused over my shoulder at Conner and she smiled humorlessly. “You have no idea what you’re facing.”

I stood and walked back to my man. He stared at Vanessa with cold eyes. “No, but you’re going to tell me.”

She laughed.

Conner crossed is arms and leaned against the doorjamb, looking as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “Well you may not tell me but you will tell Alexander.”

If it was possible, her face paled. “No.”

Whoever Alexander was he must be a scary motherfucker because I saw real fear in her face and eyes. Not fear. Terror. She was more than afraid of Alexander. I decided then and there that I would be on my best behavior when I met him.

Conner leaned forward slightly and hissed, “Yes.”

With that, we left Vanessa to consider, or fear, her future. Conner took me down several hallways, holding my hand in silence. I was grateful that he didn’t speak because I wouldn’t know what to say. When we reached the room where Ivie had been staying the last few days, Conner stopped me.

“I’m not sure if I should let you anywhere near her right now, Donna,” he said for the five hundredth time since I had insisted I see her.

I looked at him impatiently. “I know, I know. I’m too young to be around a human alone.” I sighed. “I know I’m new to this whole vampire business, but you have to understand that Ivie is like a sister to me. She’s my family and she needs me.”

“I know. That’s why I’m allowing you to talk to her before one of my men wipes her memory.”

This was news to me. “What? Why are you wiping her memory? Ivie won’t tell anyone. She can keep a secret.”

Conner eyed me because he had heard some of the stories Ivie told at the pool party that seemed like it was two years ago rather than the same night I was kidnapped. They were things that she probably should have kept to herself, but they were too juicy not to share.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, so she will share with us girls sometimes but, if I asked her to, she would keep it quiet because she’s my friend, she loves me, and she wants me to be happy and safe.”

He sighed. “Alright but I will be listening outside the door in case you start to have issues. We will discuss wiping her memories after you come out.” He put a hand on my arm. “It might be the best for her, Donna. She had a very traumatic experience. Some scars are not physical.”

I started to argue but he held up a hand. “What would be worse? Me listening at the door, or you not being able to control your blood lust and ripping out your friend’s throat?”

I shut my mouth with a snap. “Fine. You have a point.”

He didn’t gloat, only nodded. I forgot about being annoyed with him when I approached Ivie’s door. I knocked softly. Silence from within.

I knocked again. “Ivie, it’s Donna. Can I come in?”

I heard some rustling before the door cracked open. “Donna?” Suddenly her arm shot out, and she dragged me into the room. She slammed the door shut behind us.

“Are you okay?” she asked, tears streaming down her face.

I don’t think I had ever seen Ivie cry, so I just looked at her a second before I responded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

She threw her arms around me. “Thank God. When Conner carried you out of the building you were covered in blood. For days they kept me in here, no one would tell me anything, they wouldn’t let me go. I’ve been going out of my mind.” Ivie leaned closer, her eyes widening. “I know this is going to be difficult for you to believe, but, Donna, these people are
vampires
. Even Conner. It isn’t safe here. We have to get out. I don’t know how, but we need to get out of here before they decide to get kill us.”

I was distracted from her babbling when I breathed in. God, she smelled even better than Conner. I could hear her heart beating loud and fast. Shit. This wasn’t going to be easy. For a moment I thought Conner might be right in thinking I couldn’t be around a human yet. Then I looked at the healing bruises and scrapes on her face and arms and knowing there were more I couldn’t see and I immediately calmed down. I would not hurt my friend.

I put a hand on her arm. “They won’t kill us. I promise. You’re safe here. I’m safe here.”

Her eyes wheeled around in her head. “You don’t understand. You can’t understand what happened.”

I realized that she was headed toward a panic attack and knew I needed to derail her fast. “Ivie, look at me.” She was muttering under her breath so I decided to use my ‘serious’ voice. “
Look at me.
”

She immediately fell quiet and looked at me with a serene expression on her face. I realized then that I had controlled her mind without meaning to. That wasn’t good. Afraid that Conner would come in and intervene I touched Ivie’s hand and somehow that broke the connection. I was going to have to get a handle on these new powers of mine pretty damn quick.

“I have something to tell you and I’m asking, no I’m begging you, to keep an open mind.” I sucked in a deep breath. Bad idea because all I could smell was Ivie’s blood. I forged ahead. “I died two nights ago, Ivie.”

“Of course you didn’t,” she argued. Then she stopped and stared at me in bewilderment. “What’s wrong with your eyes, Donna?” Then I knew she noticed my fangs. A look of horror spread across her face, and she tore herself away from me and ran across the room to huddle in the corner. “Oh God, you’re one of them. Please don’t hurt me. Donna, if you’re in there somewhere, don’t hurt me. I love you, you love me. Don’t hurt me.”

It broke my heart to see my friend so terrified, begging me not to hurt her. I closed my eyes and took slow deep breaths, focusing on how much I loved my friend and wanted to help her rather than the smell of her blood. It worked. I felt my fangs recede, and I was sure that my eyes returned to normal.

When I opened my eyes again, she was still huddled in the corner staring at me.

“Ivie,” I said, “I will never, ever hurt you. I do love you and I know you love me. It is true. I am a vampire now. Conner turned me Friday night.” I went slowly to the chair by the desk in her room and sat. It kept me a good six feet from her. “You know all that blood you saw on me?”

She nodded.

“All that blood was on me because Parker Hanes cut me to pieces with a razor blade.” I paused when she gasped but still went on. “When he realized that the cavalry had arrived, he slit my throat.”

Her own hands went to her throat, and tears continued to trickle down her face. “No,” she whispered.

“Yes,” I said. “I wouldn’t be here unless Conner had turned me. But I’m still me. I think the same and feel the same. I even eat regular food. It’s just now I need blood to continue to survive.”

“But….but,” she began.

“I know. Otto, Vanessa, and that weasel faced motherfucker whose name I don’t know. They were all vampires. But vampires are like humans, Ivie. Some are good, some are bad. Please don’t judge all of them based on the actions of three.” I took a breath and realized I was getting somewhere but I needed to keep going. So I did. “Remember the first night you met Conner. What did you think of him?”

She looked at me with huge, dark eyes. “I thought he was perfect for you. He was sweet without being a sap, strong enough to stand up to you when you get carried away, and he seemed to get off on the way you like to bicker.”

I could have argued the point about the bickering but it wasn’t important right now. What was important, was that my best friend understood that she had nothing to fear from me or Conner.

“Exactly,” I said softly. “He is perfect for me and now I’m perfect for him. We can be together for as long as we live, which will be a pretty damn long time.”

“So you don’t want to suck all my blood out of my body?” she asked.

I wanted to laugh because that question was pure Ivie. I shook my head. “No. You’re my friend. You’re like a sister to me.” I tried for some levity. “Though I wouldn’t say no to a little snack.”

Thankfully Ivie’s sense of humor was a twisted as mine, and she laughed.

“Are we going to be okay?” I asked her.

She shrugged a little, her smile disappearing. “I don’t know.” She looked hard at me. “I think you and I will but I don’t know about the rest. I won’t be able to trust them. The only reason I can trust you is because I’ve known you forever. I’m lost here, Donna.”

I took a step but stopped when Ivie stiffened. It made my heart sink to think that she wouldn’t want to be too close to me anymore. But my friend surprised the hell out of me. Instead of apologizing and letting me come to her, she came to me and put her arms around me again. I hugged her tightly in return.

“Uh, Donna,” she said, her voice rough with emotion.

“Yeah.”

“I think you’re about to break all my ribs.”

I quickly released her. Apparently I didn’t understand how strong I was. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled at me. “It’s okay. Vampire or not, I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“Me too,” I whispered. “Me too.”

As I held her close, Ivie finally broke down and sobbed like a child.

The engagement party was incredibly crowded. How Conner managed to get all the guests to come on such short notice was beyond his comprehension. Alexander Dimitriades leaned against the wall in the shadows and sipped his scotch as he watched the insane crush of people. This was not the way he wanted to spend his evening. He just wanted a warm, willing woman to drink from and possibly spend a few hours at bed play. Unfortunately, since he saw her, no other woman held any interest for him.

He cursed under his breath and tossed back the last of the liquor in his glass. In his mind he saw the long, curling dark hair, gorgeous dark eyes, and that smile that could light up the darkest night. As though she were conjured from his thoughts, the woman he pictured appeared across the room. She was all he remembered and more. Wearing a black dress that showed her lush figure without being lewd, Ivie Lang was everything he ever wanted. That in itself was amazing because he had lived for nearly a millennia and he had never been so taken with a woman.