Cursed (9 page)

So, why wouldn’t he do it now?

“Knox, can I ask you something?”

The blonde nodded and waited with an air of expectation.

She wanted to ask him why Greyvian wouldn’t bite her, but she lost her nerve at the last minute. That would be too revealing.

“What do I smell like to you?” she asked instead.

He grinned knowingly and drew in a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he seemed to focus on the smell. She jumped slightly when his fangs shot out in length and wondered idly if that hurt at all.

“Sweet,” he told her. “A hint of chocolate, a smidge of rum. But mostly—something you can’t put a name to. In short—utterly delicious. Why do you ask?”

“Do you want a taste?”

His eyes opened, revealing light green irises and slightly enlarged pupils.

“Are you offering?” he asked, the tip of his pink tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip.

She shrugged a shoulder, unsure. Did she just want the experience itself, or was it just an excuse to get Greyvian close to her?

The blonde took a step towards her, then pulled himself up short and shook his head, his pupils contracting to a more normal size. “Tempting,” he told her, his easy grin stretching across his face. “But it’s better if I don’t. I have a feeling that one taste wouldn’t be enough, and we can’t really afford the distraction right now.”

Jacob. Shit.
She’d forgotten that he was about to transition and would need Greyvian’s blood. Was that why Greyvian had pulled back? Was he afraid that one taste would lead to too many distractions? It was hard to imagine coming from a male as seemingly controlled as he. Besides, wasn’t the desire to taste her already a distraction? Would actually tasting her really make it that much harder to resist?

“When did you feed last?” she asked Knox, mulling over a thought. The blonde hadn’t actually answered her the last time she’d asked him and she wondered if it might have something to do with the intensity of blood lust. Although, Greyvian did say that he’d fed on his little excursion outside, so maybe not?

“Just before coming here, actually. That little fight we had at the café was quite filling. Why?”

“I just wondered if maybe the desire to taste me was affected by how recently you had fed, how hungry you are. I figured maybe Grey reacted so strongly because he hadn’t fed as recently as you had.”

Knox’s expression seemed conflicted as he rubbed his jaw and thought about it until the silence grew so long she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“What? Tell me, please.”

Finally, the blonde sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, if you’re going to be like a dog with a bone about the whole thing. I don’t believe hunger has that much to do with it. Sure, I’d probably be more inclined to take you up on the offer of a taste if I were hungry, but with Grey…. I didn’t want to say this in front of Jacob, because frankly he has enough to deal with right now, but normally, vampires don’t drink human blood. It does nothing for us. We need to drink the blood of another vampire for our bodies to start cell reproduction.”

Huh, who’d have thought?

“Greyvian, on the other hand, is the only vampire in known existence, previous and present, that can’t digest vampire blood. It actually makes him feel sick. Human blood is the only type his body wants. To Lucas and I, your scent is a mere curiosity—a mild temptation, if you will. With Greyvian...” he left the rest up to her imagination.

Oh, wow. The only human-blood-drinking vampire in existence. That had to be a bit rough. She had an unsettling thought. “So, Jacob will more than likely need human blood?”

Knox nodded sadly.

“And, how do vampires view humans?”

Knox’s smile was more grimace than anything. “Well, for reasons I have yet to confirm, it’s pretty safe to say that most full-blooded vampires hate humans with a passion.”

Damn. Could her best friend not catch a break in life? Was he destined to be an outcast no matter what species he was a part of? Just when they’d thought he’d outgrown all of that High School Bullshit, she had the feeling he was about to be thrown back into it. Although, this time, it would probably be worse, if the little fight with Knox’s buddy earlier was anything to go by.

Is that what Greyvian’s world was like? All alone in a sea of prejudiced vampires with different dietary requirements to him? No wonder he was so withdrawn. She supposed being cool and controlled was better than the alternative.

She didn’t need to ask Knox how he felt about humans, seeing as he’d been one previously and had been perfectly nice to her, but she did have another question.

“What is your relationship with Greyvian?” she asked the blonde, wondering if Greyvian had at least one ally in the whole thing. “Are you friends, or am I right in thinking that you benefit somehow from his acquaintance?”

Knox regarded her for a long minute and then seemed to come to a decision. When he spoke, his voice was soft, compassionate, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was one hundred percent serious. “Greyvian is not a warm cuddly male, Sienna. He’s had a hard life—probably more so than even
 I
 can imagine—and it’s hardened him in return. I don’t think he’s ever been close to anyone and I doubt he even knows how. Before I walked into this apartment and saw him ready to go you, I’d never seen even a trace of emotion on his face or in his voice. Didn’t even think it possible, to tell you the truth.

“I have no idea what drives him and couldn’t tell you what he’s capable of, although, there are plenty of stories floating around. Personally, I couldn’t give a crap that he drinks human blood, but....” the blonde trailed off, looking as if he hadn’t meant to touch on the subject.

“But what?”

He shook his head. “Just try to keep your distance from him. If not for your sake, then try to see it from his point of view. Your scent is a distraction to me, but it has to be a torment to him. At the moment, he’s being more of a gentleman about it than I’d ever give him credit for, but don’t push him too far or you’re likely to get yourself hurt.”

Hurt, not killed. Had he made that distinction on purpose, or was he giving Greyvian the benefit of the doubt? And he hadn’t answered her question.

“Are you friends?” she asked again.

Knox smiled. “If Greyvian were the type of male to have friends, then, yes, I would be one to him.”

There was one more question she had to ask Knox, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to ask if her scent turned him on. Maybe she just didn’t want her bubble burst by finding out it was just her scent that did it for Greyvian. She was hoping it was something more.

“In fact,” Knox said, folding his arms in front of his chest and giving her a serious stare-down, “I think it might be best that you find somewhere else to stay until after Jacob’s transition. Take the temptation and torment away altogether.”

Sienna shook her head. “No way. Jacob needs me here.”

Knox raised an eyebrow. “Jacob is unconscious. He doesn’t even know that you’re here. You could be on Mars and he wouldn’t give a fuck.”

Stubbornly she shook her head again. “No. I want to be here when he transitions. I want to make sure he comes through okay.”

The blonde appraised her with a deep frown and then threw up his hands. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

*  *  *

The waiting was slowly driving Greyvian insane. It was a real effort of will to keep his body in the one spot, to not fidget, to not stand up and pace the room. Just that unfamiliar feeling alone was enough to drive him mad, but if that wasn’t enough, Sienna’s scent was added to the mix. It was an even greater effort of will to keep himself from launching his body at her, from taking her down onto the plush rug and sinking his fangs into her soft flesh; or, with the memory of that kiss they’d shared still fresh in his mind, a different part of his anatomy.

The incessant prattle of Knox and Lucas debating the merits of chocolate sauce on french fries was also slowly driving him insane. He wasn’t used to this much conversation happening around him and wanted to be able to sit in silence. Even if it was only for a minute.

He wanted this transition to be over with already. He wanted to be away from the constant temptation of blood he couldn’t drink, conversation he couldn’t escape, and emotions he wasn’t used to feeling. He was more than aware that his eyes were constantly black now, whether due to bloodlust or the emotional turmoil inside he knew not. The one thing he was certain of was that he was on edge and he didn’t like the feeling.

“Which part of the city do you live in?” Sienna asked, managing to draw his attention from his inner struggle long enough for him to notice that both Knox and Lucas were watching him carefully. Their concern ignited a fire of rage within him that added to his already volatile mood. Clenching his fists, he stared them down until they shrugged and looked away.

Only then did he turn to Sienna, a cold glare at the ready, yet when he looked into her lovely blue eyes, he couldn’t quite bring it to bear. “Northside,” he replied, amazed that his voice was steady, inflectionless.

“Do you have an apartment?”

“Yes.”

“Are you working anywhere at the moment?”

“No.”

She looked at him with those wide blue eyes of hers as if silently imploring him to be more open, to give back a little in the conversation, but he wasn’t used to conversing. It didn’t come naturally to him. He hadn’t a clue what she wanted him to say. Hadn’t a clue why she wanted him to say anything at all. He hadn’t exactly been the most approachable male since their first encounter.

The silence stretched until Knox, the easygoing son of a bitch, started to tell her a story about when he met Al Capone. She listened with rapt attention and Greyvian spent the entire time watching her face; mesmerised by the multitude of expressions that flitted across her features, the easy smile that lifted the corners of her mouth.

God, that mouth. The honeyed warmth inside. Her soft, soft lips. The ever so slight taste of her blood after she had cut her tongue on his teeth… An unwelcome erection stretched painfully against the tight enclosure of his leather pants and his incisors punched painfully into his lower lip. God, that taste… it had only been a hint, but it had almost been his undoing.

Anger followed desire. Damn her for making him feel this way.

Completely oblivious to the turmoil of his thoughts, Sienna yawned, looking utterly relaxed and sleepy. Looking at her watch, her eyes widened.

“Oh, God, no wonder I’m so tired,” she mused, looking at each of them. “Do vampires sleep?”

Knox laughed shortly; the sound grating on Greyvian’s already frayed nerves. “Yes, we sleep. And not in a coffin, during the day. I told you, we’re more like a human than not. But, perhaps we are a little cliché, as we do tend to prefer the night.”

Sienna shook her head in sleepy amusement and gave the blonde instructions on where he could find extra blankets, telling him that the couch he was sitting on converted into a bed if he was interested. With a final wave, she wandered off into the hallway and out of sight, taking the full strength of her scent with her.

Strangely, he felt bereft now that she was gone. It was as if she’d taken all the life out of the room with her. He drew in a deep breath, hoping to catch a stronger sense of her scent, but it was so weak now in comparison to when she’d been sitting next to him that it might as well have not existed.

In comparison, Knox breathed out a sigh of relief and seemed to visibly relax, melting down further on the couch into a boneless slouch.

“Is it just me, or does it seem easier to breathe now?” the blonde asked his son with a wry smile.

Lucas nodded in agreement and rubbed his mouth as if his teeth were aching. “I’m almost tempted to step out and visit Isabelle for a spell just to put my teeth to use, if nothing else.”

Knox grinned in concurrence. “Maybe you could invite her to the cafe downstairs and we could both have a bite to eat?”

Irritated beyond measure, Greyvian got to his feet and headed for the hallway. He could practically feel the blonde’s suspicious gaze boring a hole through the back of his head, but the male didn’t say anything as to his direction—after all, the bathroom was this way and vampires had to pee just as much as a human did.

In fact, it really was his intention to go straight to the lavatory, but as he passed a slightly open doorway Sienna’s scent hit him like the proverbial tonne of bricks, causing him to halt. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and revelled in the way his senses came alive in its presence. Every sound seemed clearer, every smell was crisper, the feel of his clothing against his skin almost painful. The throbbing erection in his pants was
definitely
painful, the flesh pulling sideways against the snug leather.

He let it stay that way as he turned his head to peer into Sienna’s room. The thin sliver of light filtering through her doorway was more than enough for him to see her lying soundly in her bed, her eyes closed, breathing steady. She looked so peaceful, so innocent. To think, he had come so close to ending her life. Twice.

He was so lost in the sight of her sleeping form that he didn’t hear Knox come into the hallway behind him until the blonde spoke.