Bite Me (3 page)

The pills I had taken were starting to kick in. I still hurt but I could deal with the pain. I rolled over and let myself drift into sleep. Then I dreamed about bright blue eyes and a beautiful vampire who held me as though I were made of glass.

I pried my eyes open. Something was making a horrible racket, and all I really wanted to do was sleep. I finally realized that the noise was my phone. I rolled over and groaned. My whole body was hurting again, which meant I had been asleep for a while. The phone finally stopped ringing for a bit, only to start up again seconds later. As quickly as I dared, I reached for it.

“Hello?” I cleared my throat because my voice sounded very rough.

“Donna?”

It was Ivie. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. It was almost three in the afternoon. I had slept the day away.

“Hi, Ivie.” I sounded a little better, but I really needed water. Moving like an old woman, I stood up and headed toward the kitchen.

“What the hell, girl? Are you okay? You sound awful!”

I hated to do it, but I was going to lie like hell. The girls would take one look at my face and the inquisition would begin.

“I’m really sick, sweetie. I know I’m supposed to meet y’all for dinner tonight, but I’m not going to make it.”

Ivie, being the great friend she was, immediately said, “I can come by before. Do you need medicine or ice cream or something else?”

I walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet for a glass. “No, Ivie. I appreciate it, but I’m going to drink some water and go back to bed. I just need sleep. Okay?”

“Are you sure, Donna? You sound really bad. It could be serious.”

I filled my glass with water while she spoke and gulped half of it down before I answered. “I’m not running a fever Ivie, just have a sore throat and a lot of body aches. I’ll call you next week when I’m better. We can get together then.”

She sighed. “Fine but I expect you to call me if you aren’t better by tomorrow and I can swing by and take you to the doctor.”

“I’m sure I’ll be better by tomorrow, Ivie. I’ve been sleeping most of the day, and I’ll probably sleep the rest of tonight too.”

Apparently, I was convincing enough because she relented. “Okay. Feel better soon.”

There was one more thing I needed to tell her. “Oh and Ivie, please don’t let the other girls call me tonight. I really am going to try and sleep so I’ll probably turn off my phone.”

Ivie was silent. I began to worry she was going to show up at my door later when she finally spoke again. “Okay, Donna. I mean it though, you call me if you get worse or you need anything.”

Trying to hide my relief, I kept my voice even. “Thanks, Ivie. I will. Have fun with the naughty posse tonight. I’ll talk to you soon.”

We said goodbye and I drank the rest of my water. I filled up my glass again and looked around for something to eat. Finally, I decided on one of the three containers of yogurt in my fridge. It was one of the few things I had that wouldn’t kill my throat when I ate it.

I took my water and yogurt into the living room and settled on the couch. A little reality television would help me feel better. Now that I was out of bed and had been moving for a few minutes, my body didn’t feel so stiff and sore. After I ate my snack I would take some more over-the-counter meds for the pain and maybe drink some herbal tea. I normally couldn’t stomach the stuff, but it sounded perfect for some reason.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing, watching brain rot on television, and icing my bruises. I hoped the ice would help them fade faster though I knew I probably waited too long. If I hadn’t wanted the bruises to show so badly, I should have iced them immediately after. Too damn bad the gorgeous yet batshit crazy man who rescued me had knocked me out before I could do so. The girls texted me several times, even included several pictures of themselves engaging in questionable activities, but that was nothing new. They had a tendency to get a little crazy when they drank. I wished I could have gone out with them, but there was no way to disguise my injuries or the pain.

By bedtime, the muscle aches and bruises actually did seem better. I examined my face and torso in the mirror after I took a shower. The bruises on my face seemed lighter. A good coat of concealer and foundation would cover that, especially in the dim light of the bar. The scratches and marks on my body were still angry looking. I would have to wear a turtleneck to hide them at work the next day. My tips would be shit, but I wouldn’t have to deal with questions.

Despite all the rest I had gotten that day, I had no trouble going to sleep that night and woke up feeling refreshed. I was a little surprised. Didn’t people usually have nightmares after they had been attacked by three men? I guess my past doubts about my mental health and resilience had been unfounded.

When I walked into work that night, I was covered from the chin down with a tight black turtleneck, though I was wearing a short black skirt. I had to do something to keep my tips up, so it was a black miniskirt and lace-patterned black tights with the highest heels I owned. I hated to abuse my poor feet that way, but it was necessary for my financial well-being.

By eleven, the place was nearly dead. It was a Thursday night and usually the bar was packed. Tonight was eerily quiet. Eduardo, one of the assistant managers, sent Jenna home early because there were only a few tables of people drinking and she was whining about her tips. I liked Jenna a lot, but she did tend to whine a bit too much when she wasn’t getting her way, so I didn’t mind becoming the only waitress on duty. As the few tables emptied out, I concentrated on cleaning up for closing.

I was putting empty glasses and bottles on the bar when Lauren came to stand in front of me, polishing the bar top with a clean white towel.

“Hey Donna, isn’t that Jenna’s hottie from last night?” she asked.

I blinked at her for a moment. “What?”

No way could he be here. After last night, I never thought I would see him again. I did my best to act casually when I leaned against the bar.

“Where?”

Lauren looked at me closely. “Are you okay, Donna?”

I nodded. “Where is he sitting?”

She tilted her head toward the corner. “Corner table.”

I didn’t look even though I really, really wanted to. I was tempted to sneak out and call the police to report him, but I wasn’t sure how I would explain the fact that I hadn’t done so before. I really didn’t want to end up getting hauled down to the station and questioned half the night. Besides, a very small part of me thought those fuckers got what they deserved.

I left my empties sitting on the bar for Lauren to deal with and headed for the ladies’ room. I could literally feel Conner’s eyes on me. My palms suddenly grew clammy, and my heart started to pound. Now that I knew he was there, his presence seemed to follow me like a shadow. Trying not to look as though I was running away, though really I was, I hustled into the hallway that led to the restrooms. Just as I entered the ladies room, two large hands grasped my waist. I didn’t even have time to struggle as I was lifted and carried inside.

I kicked my legs and flailed but couldn’t escape. I heard the lock on the door click and my blood froze in my veins. I was locked in a room with a man strong enough to lift me like I was weightless. I began to struggle harder, but it was futile. Somehow he managed to turn me and my back was pressed against the locked door. I looked up into my attacker’s face, ready to spit, scream, bite, or do whatever else it might take to get the hell away. After last night, I was already on edge and I didn’t want to go through that again. It was Conner. I went limp. Though I was freaked out to see him again, I didn’t think he would hurt me. Which freaked me out even more.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered.

Conner used his hand to tip up my chin but he didn’t answer. Instead he studied my face intently. I tried to pull away but only succeeded in bumping my head against the door. He released my face but didn’t step away.

Scowling, I rubbed the back of my head. “What are you doing?”

His hand dropped to my neck. He tried to pull my turtleneck away from the skin. I started smacking at his hands.

“Stop! Seriously, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Finally, he answered me. “I’m looking at your injuries. The bruise on your face looks better than when I left you.”

His words reminded me of something very important.

“Speaking of when you left me, how the hell did you know where I lived?”

“I looked at your driver’s license, Donna.”

Goose bumps broke out on my skin when he said my name in that beautiful, accented voice. I suppressed a shiver. “And my clothes? I don’t remember taking them off.”

He smiled slightly. “I wanted to be sure you were comfortable.”

I frowned at him and shook my head. Forget it. I didn’t want to think about him handling my partially naked, unconscious body. It made me uncomfortable and turned me on at the same time. I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I let it go for now. I was sure I would brood over it later.

“What are you doing here tonight?” I asked again.

I met his eyes and felt my stomach drop. His eyes really were as blue as I remembered. A few strands of long dark hair framed his face.

“I wanted to see for myself that you were well. When you weren’t here last night, I worried until the young blonde woman told me it was your night off. Otherwise, I would have gone back to your apartment.”

I gaped at him. Why would he come to my apartment? The blonde woman he mentioned had to be Jenna. I was going to have to speak to Eduardo about her. She shouldn’t talk to patrons about the rest of us. It wasn’t right and could put one of us in danger.

“I’m fine, Conner. Why would you have come to my apartment?” Something else crossed my mind. “And what the hell did you do with those men that night? I know one of them was…” I swallowed hard, “dead but did you really kill the other two?”

I could tell by the way his body suddenly stilled that he didn’t want to answer. That alone was enough to tell me what I needed to know.

“They’re all dead, aren’t they?” I asked.

He sighed. “Yes. They are all dead. I was almost too late to help you. Judging by the equipment they had in their vehicle, I do not think it was their intention to leave you alive. They deserved what came to them.”

I wanted to be upset that he had killed men, but I remembered how terrified I had been and the pain of being hit and thrown around. With those memories flying through my head, I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt. I decided I would think about it later. Much, much later.

There was also another question bugging me.

“What exactly did you do to me that made me pass out?”

Again, he stilled completely. I wasn’t sure if he was even breathing. It was becoming annoying. By his very lack of response he was telling me exactly what I wanted to know.

“Will you stop doing that?” I snapped.

He blinked. “Doing what?”

“The whole I-am-a-snake-in-the-grass thing! It’s annoying. You get so still. I mean, are you even breathing?!”

He sucked in a deep breath immediately. “I do breathe. Sometimes I just don’t breathe as deeply or as often as you.” Conner studied me. “You can really feel that, when I go still?”

I nodded. “It’s a little freaky, and it makes you as easy to read. I can tell when you don’t want to answer my questions.”

“That’s because of you,” he murmured, leaning closer.

I tilted my head a bit to keep some space between us. I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight with his face hovering so close to mine.

“What’s because of me?” God, he smelled good. I could barely remember why I needed to keep my distance. Oh yeah, lunatic who murdered three men. Still my hormones made it hard to remember that when they were screeching about jumping his bones.

He came closer still until we were eye to eye and I could swear the blue of his irises began to glow. “Only you think I’m easy to read. And with you, I am. You make me feel human for the first time in a long time.”

The sinking sensation in my stomach disappeared immediately. What the hell did he mean, I made him feel human? I jerked my head back before I could think and cracked the back of my skull against the door. Shit, I had forgotten the main reason I needed to stay away from this beautiful man. He wasn’t just a lunatic, he actually thought he was a vampire.

Conner’s large hand cupped the back of my head. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Conner, I need to get to back to work.”

His hand didn’t leave my hair. “In just a moment. First, you need to agree to see me again.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I replied immediately.

Conner wrapped my hair around his hand and gently tugged my head back. “It is. Whatever you like, dinner, drinks, coffee. I want to see you again.”

I swallowed hard. “Um, I thought people like, uh, you didn’t eat or drink.”

This could blow up in my face. I didn’t want to feed his delusion, but I was also sure I didn’t want to go out on a date with a lunatic, no matter how pretty he was.

I felt Conner’s breath on my neck as his face dipped. “People like me? Do you mean vampires?”