“Campbell saved my life this morning. Time for me to return the favor.”
“I think it’s a bit more than a favor,” Chloe said from where she’d seated herself on the countertop that lined the far wall. “I’ve never even heard of a vampire exposing himself like that for a human, for anyone.”
Olivia had known what Campbell had done for her was huge, but it hit her anew. She winced as Ethan inserted the needle into her vein and started the blood flowing through the tubing. The momentary pain was nothing compared to how it must feel to have your flesh burned as if you’d walked through a fire. Regardless of the fact that Campbell was a vampire, it had to be beyond painful.
“I admire your open-mindedness, but you need to be very careful,” Ethan said. “You’re now in more danger than you can even imagine.”
“Ethan!” Chloe said.
He glanced back at his sister. “It’s true, and you know it.” He returned his attention to Olivia. “You know it, too. The man Campbell is at his core might not want to hurt you, might even care for you a great deal, but he’s going to always be battling the vampire side of himself. We all do. Even if he’s not hungry, your blood will call to him. That’s never going away. Ever.”
Olivia swallowed hard at the thought of seeing Campbell in full bloodlust again. She didn’t want to think of him that way, but Ethan’s words kept echoing off the walls of her mind. Was her kindness and acceptance enough to change him, to keep the vampire at bay, or was she the world’s biggest fool? She shifted her gaze to the blood draining from her arm, blood that would feed the vampire who might end up killing her.
Chapter 15
Campbell’s mouth watered before Olivia even opened the door to the freezer. His fangs ached to descend but couldn’t. He needed to feed soon so he could get out of these cuffs. He was nearing the max time confined before the blessed silver started poisoning him.
When she opened the door, his nostrils flared at the scent of the blood. It was fresh, still faintly warm. And it was...hers. His gaze flew to hers.
“I had to,” she said, evidently reading his expression correctly. “They were running too low.”
He nodded and reached for the first bag. “Go outside. I don’t want you to see this.”
“No, I’ll stay.” She sat on a box of bacon, but she did avert her eyes.
He understood. After all his years of drinking blood, he could still remember his initial revulsion after being turned. It’d taken him a couple of years to get over it.
Unable to wait any longer, he drained all the bags she’d brought him, thankful that no fangs were required for the consumption of bagged blood. He felt his body start to heal as soon as he swallowed the first time.
“Is it helping?” she asked after he was finished drinking.
“Yes. Thank you.”
She looked at him then, and her mouth fell open. “I can see a difference already.”
“Hopefully I don’t look like charcoal anymore.”
She slipped off her box and moved closer. “Definitely not.”
There was that weird phantom heartbeat again, memories of how his human body would react to a beautiful woman. Truth be told, his vampire body reacted much the same way.
“I’ll leave as soon as it’s dark,” he said.
Her eyebrows scrunched. “There’s no rush. You need to heal more.”
He lifted his hands. “When the sun sets, I’ll need you to take these off. We can only wear them for a max of twelve hours before they begin to slowly kill us.”
Her eyes widened and she reached for the cuffs. He pulled them away. “Not yet. I want to make sure that I can leave as soon as you release me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. Chloe’s brother had on blessed bracelets, and he was fine.”
“He takes them off as soon as he leaves the blood bank. By the time he goes back to work, he’s healed of their effects and can put them on again.”
“Why don’t all vampires wear them?”
“Some of us need to be able to fang at a moment’s notice. The Soulless wouldn’t dream of it. The rest? They just don’t like how they make them feel, as though you’ve been sapped of all your energy. And as long as they feed regularly, it’s not a problem for the Souled. But they really can make you feel like crap.”
She wrapped her hand around his, now more healed than burned flesh. “I’m sorry you were hurt so badly because of me.”
He turned his hand over to clasp hers. “This was not your fault.”
“But if you’d never met me—”
“I would have missed out on knowing a remarkable woman.”
She smiled, and he was unable to believe they were touching each other, that she was close enough that he could feel her breath wafting across his cheeks, warmth against the constant cold. She moved closer and lifted her hand to his cheek. “You’re almost completely healed.”
“Thanks to you.”
“And Chloe and Ethan.”
“My trio of heroes,” he said. Then he sobered, remembering how close he’d come to losing her to the vampire underworld. “I’m sorry I was so harsh with you before. I thought I was doing the right thing, staying away.”
“I know.”
He saw a flash of the remembered hurt he’d caused her. It made him feel guilty and amazed at the same time, amazed that she could have even been hurt by his words and absence. What could she possibly see in him? The fact that she evidently did see something worthwhile made him want to give her everything. Of course, he couldn’t. Not anything near what she deserved.
Damn, he wanted her. But even though he was fully fed, he didn’t trust himself. He broke eye contact. “You should get back to your customers. You don’t want to draw unwanted attention.”
“Afraid it’s too late for that.” But she did stand and head for the freezer door. “I’ll be back when it clears out.”
He sat in the freezer listening to the various conversations in the restaurant. He heard many of the customers ask about the cops and the dead guys in the alley, how Olivia and Mindy did their best to shift those conversations without drawing suspicion. When he detected the last person leaving the dining area and the sun approaching the western horizon, he sat up straighter.
As soon as Olivia opened the freezer door, he said, “It’s time I leave.”
“Oh, okay.” She stopped for a moment as if she’d been surprised by his abrupt statement.
He needed to get away from her for a while, to clear his senses of her smell, the sound of her voice, the rhythm of her breathing. But when she moved close, he clasped her hand and brought it to his lips, kissed her fingers.
“Don’t think I don’t want to stay,” he said. “You have no idea how much.”
She met his gaze. “Then stay.”
His mouth stretched in a sad smile. “I can’t.”
“You’re not a danger to me, not now.”
“I’m always a danger to you. You have to accept that.”
“You won’t let anything happen.”
Her faith in him was almost his undoing, partly because he knew she didn’t come to it easily. Even now, some part of her probably struggled with doubt about him, about her safety around him. And still she voiced a confidence in him he didn’t deserve, that no vamp did. Maybe he’d allow himself just a little taste. He leaned forward and kissed her, fell into the sweet flavor of her lips, their warmth. It felt like coming home after a long trip away. What was meant to be a simple parting deepened the moment she opened to him. His tongue slid into her mouth and tangled with hers. She moaned and his entire body reacted with need. Not the need of a vampire but that of a man for a woman.