While she couldn"t bring herself to feel pity for the vampire that had violated her on so many levels, there were times where she admitted enough empathy to agree with Brian"s decision—though a hard-fought one with Daegan—to spare Barnabus for the time being. He"d been put in a temporary holding facility of Daegan"s design so they had access to her
“biological sire"s” blood as long as they needed it. Once Brian had arrived, he"d agreed to take on custody of the vamp, employing some of his vampire and scientific contacts in the States to take over Barnabus"s care from Daegan. Periodically he sent Debra to that undisclosed location to get more blood, Anwyn"s anonymity carefully protected from Barnabus"s new wardens.
Brian had explained he wanted to study the way schizophrenia interacted with Barnabus"s vampire nature, and assured Daegan he"d call him in for termination when those experiments were completed, unless he could rescue the vamp"s mind.
She doubted that was possible. Just as a symptom of her turning, the voices were so integrated in her head. She hadn"t been born with it in her genetic makeup, like Barnabus. Of all of them, Gideon understood those voices the best, because he"d stood in her mind, listening to them, watching them. But he could get in a car, drive out of range of her mind in a few hundred miles, and he wouldn"t hear them anymore. The only thing that seemed to make them still and quiet for her was his presence in her head, or Daegan"s, but the voices were always there.
Turning away from the mirror that showed no image of her, she left the bathroom. She knew she looked pale, strained, but before anyone could offer empty platitudes, she sat down in the chair Brian had positioned near the equipment for her.
“Just do what you need to do,” she said.
The scientist nodded, began to attach sensors to her skin. Fortunately they were wireless, the equipment sensitive enough to pick up the necessary readings as long as she was within a few feet of it. Though his touch was relaxed and impersonal, it still made her tense. She didn"t care for people touching her without permission. Even less these days, since it often felt like there were things crawling under her skin that jumped at outside contact.
Once again, though, Gideon and Daegan were different. They seemed to make that reaction lessen, instead of increase. Picking up on her needs, Gideon ran a hand down her arm, on the opposite side from Brian. “I"d have brought you one of mine,” he said, nodding to the shirt.
“But—”
“But you only have the shirt you"re wearing.” She tried to keep her tone light. “I guess one of these days we should go out and get you more than one change of clothes.” He grunted. “Not ready to be a kept man yet, thanks. I"ll just grab one of Daegan"s overpriced shirts if I anticipate ruining my T-shirt.”
“I didn"t realize he"d left that much behind,” she said nastily. Debra glanced at her, but said nothing.
“He"s coming back, Anwyn,” Gideon said. “He doesn"t know how to stay away from you.” Neither do I.
He said that in her head, a quick voice caress, but she wasn"t ready to be soothed. “You don"t like vampires. You don"t even want him to come back.”
“I like you. And you do want him to come back. That"s what matters.”
“If you don"t stop being so agreeable, I will punch you in the face. It"s entirely unlike you.” He gave her his faint smile, a hint of the breathtaking appeal it gave his rugged features.