Blood and Wine - Margot Scott Page 0,32
from her face.
“I just needed some time, and a little space to think.” Time to face my own delusions and mourn the loss of hope. Space to embrace the inevitable: that I will never escape the prison her father has trapped me in.
“Space?” Her body tenses. “In the movies, when guys say they need space, they mean they want to date other girls.”
I curse myself for staying away for as long as I did. Time flows differently on this side of the coin. Three days in the physical world can pass like an hour in the twilight realm. I kiss her cheeks.
“There are no other girls, Mariah. I’m sorry I disappeared on you. It won’t happen again.” It’s a promise I feel comfortable making, because unless Edward kills me, I literally cannot break it.
She releases her hold on my hips, sliding both feet to the ground. “What happened to you? Where’d you go?”
I press my forehead to hers, trying to recall the memory of her taste on my tongue, without also summoning the awful visions that haunted me.
“I remembered something that upset me very much,” I tell her.
“What did you remember?”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
I kiss her again. Normally, she wouldn’t let me get away with dodging her questions, but she’s enjoying the kiss too much to make me stop.
Her hand brushes my cock. I inhale sharply and force myself to back off. It’s a gargantuan effort that I didn’t know I was capable of.
“Easy, tiger,” I say. “I saw what happened to you in the wine cellar. Are you all right? Do you want to talk about it?”
She frowns like I’ve just dumped water all over her campfire.
“Do I look like I want to talk about it?”
Her eyes glimmer with unshed tears. I pull her close as they start to fall.
“I tried to push him off me,” she whispers. “He was so strong.”
“So were you,” I say. “What you did to those wine bottles was incredible.”
“I don’t know how I did it.” She takes a shuddering breath. “All that glass, the wasted wine. I didn’t mean to make a mess.”
“Don’t give it a second thought.” I meet her gaze. “You were defending yourself.”
She nods. “What’s happening to me, Will?”
“I don’t know.” But I do know someone who could help guide her through it.
I kiss her again and then take her by the hand. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.”
“Who?” she asks. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere I should’ve brought you a long time ago.”
I’ve been avoiding taking Mariah to the guesthouse where Katherine and John spend most of their time, helping Isabel come to terms with her death. It’s also the place where Chastity stores large quantities of my blood, before she and Edward slip it into the wine after the workers clock out.
Unlike human blood, vampire blood doesn’t separate, and it stays fresh a great deal longer if kept cold. Chastity keeps the guesthouse locked down like Fort Knox. But here in the twilight realm, Katherine could, in theory, open one of the refrigerator doors and show Mariah the stores of my blood.
Mariah remains convinced that I’m a ghost. Once she learns the truth about what I am and what Edward intends to do to her, there’s a good chance she’ll run screaming. Best case scenario, Mariah runs as far away from this place as she can, tonight. Before it’s too late.
I’ve accepted the inevitability of her loss, as I’ve accepted the fact that I cannot consciously sacrifice her to free myself. Driving her away is the only option, because even if I do nothing, I will end up killing her regardless.
Edward was supposed to feed me yesterday. He never showed. I am weak and famished, which means by the time he drags Mariah down to the cellar, I will have no control over my impulses.
There is still time to save her, but I have to act fast.
I guide her down the winding dirt drive that leads through a patch of woods on the edge of the estate. It’s dark within the trees, and she squeezes my hand as we move deeper into the forest. I kiss her knuckles. As we round the bend, we come upon the guesthouse, its windows glowing with lamplight. Having been built in the late fifties, the architecture is modern compared to that of the main house.
The front door opens at our approach, and Isabella steps out. Mariah gasps. They run toward each other, pulling one another into a tight