Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,46
what I need to do? I think you’re forgetting who I am, Gabriel and what I’ve already done,” I answered, trying to gently remind him of what happened with the last boy I loved without having to say it aloud.
“Yes, but this is different. You’re bloodbonded with Dominic. You will not be able to get within two feet of him without tipping him off. Furthermore, how are you going to launch an attack against him in this state? Do you plan on waltzing in there holding hands with Trace the entire time? Because you might find it hard to yield your weapon.”
“Very funny,” I deadpanned. But he had a point there. I wasn’t exactly at my shining best right now. Frankly, I wasn’t even able to hold a conversation without physically hanging on to Trace and his good vibrations. I’d be useless against Dominic like this. “Point taken. But…it is a good idea, right?”
It may not have been a long-term solution, but it was something. We couldn’t just continue to leave Dominic to his own device, stalking the streets of Hollow Hills and draining god knows how many humans. Not to mention torturing me. He needed to be put on ice, at least until we could figure out how to bring back his humanity.
Gabriel gave a circular nod, absorbing it. “Let’s take care of one thing at a time,” he said and then swirled the blood around in the glass as though trying to work up the courage to drink it—to abandon all his morals and do the one thing he’d promised himself he’d never do.
His expression changed into one of scorn, his fangs clicking out abruptly as his pupils dilated. His body was reacting to my blood despite the stringent control he had constantly maintained over himself.
With a heavy breath of surrender, he brought the glass to his lips and then tipped his head back. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed my blood, his pupils exploding outward as they wiped out any semblance of his moss-green eyes. The glass shattered in his hands as he took a predatory step toward me for more.
Trace pushed me backward as he stepped in front of me, blocking Gabriel’s view. “Take a breath, man. You don’t want to do anything stupid.”
Gabriel’s bloody hand was opening and closing beside him as though trying to control whatever primal urge had risen to the surface. “I. Need. A. Minute,” he said, a terrifying growl sounding deep in his chest as he zipped out of the cellar and disappeared, leaving barely a blur of his shadow behind.
“Well, that went well,” I mumbled bitterly, feeling the sickening ping of guilt in my gut.
“He’ll be fine,” answered Trace with his back still pressed to my chest and my arms wound tightly around him like a security blanket. It took him a moment to relax his stance and turn around to face me again. “He just needs a minute,” he said softly, repeating Gabriel’s parting words as he rubbed small circles against my lower back.
“He’s going to need a lot more than that,” I said as the worry and guilt churned in my stomach, evolving into something entirely bigger. “He doesn’t drink human blood, Trace, and definitely not Slayer blood.” I shook my head as a sinking feeling pressed over my heart. “What was I even thinking? What if this completely messes him up? What if he ends up with uncontrollable bloodlust?” Just the thought of hurting Gabriel sent my stomach into a plummeting nosedive.
“He’s strong, Jemma. He’s been able to resist his bloodlust for years. That kind of self-control doesn’t just disappear because of one taste.”
I silently prayed he was right, I did, but I couldn’t help but remember what Dominic had said about Slayer blood. It was the filet mignon of meat, the cream of the crop, an elixir of the finest, most decadent blood there was, and it was enough to drive a low-level vampire absolutely mad in the hopes of getting just one taste of it.
In fact, I’d seen it more times than I could count while I hunted over the summer with Tessa. One whiff of my blood was all they needed to come running like a bunch of brainless moths to a flame. Even Dominic who had years of experience feeding off humans had a hard time controlling himself in the beginning. What kind of chance did Gabriel have when all he’d allowed himself was animal blood, and only enough to get by?