Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,48
disheveled.
“I beg your pardon?” asked Gabriel, his eyes jumping from me to Trace and then back again.
Trace squeezed my hand in an attempt to calm my inner neurosis right the hell down. “What she means to say is, what happened to you? She was worried.”
“I apologize,” he said, dropping his eyes briefly. “That was far more difficult than I’d anticipated. I needed to… get away for a few minutes to bring myself back to reality.” Gabriel squared his shoulders though I could see the anguish and disdain in his eyes. It was written all over his face.
“You didn’t…do anything stupid, did you?” I asked, because, well I had to ask.
He shook his head. “No. Of course not. I made sure to keep myself very far from people.”
Of course, he did. Because he was Gabriel. Gabriel would never hurt anyone, especially not an innocent—intentional or otherwise. I don’t know why I ever doubted him in the first place.
Relief poured over me like the healing rain. “Are you okay now?” I asked, genuinely concerned for my friend.
He nodded. “Yes. I think I’ve managed to get it under control.”
More relief. He was going to be just fine.
“Great, so can we get on with phase two now?” asked Trace, looking as though he were ready to get this entire day over and done with.
“Yes. I’m ready when you are,” answered Gabriel, his eyes fixed on me now.
“And I’m super pumped for you all,” said Ben through a yawn as he plopped back onto the sofa. “I don’t know what phase two is but can you do it in the kitchen? My mother will murder me in my sleep if you get blood on her wool carpet.”
“Right. Going now,” I called out as we shuffled toward his kitchen. “And again, I’m really sorry about all this. I’m going to make it up to you!”
Either Ben hadn’t heard me, or he’d already drifted back to sleep.
Upon entering the gorgeous Victorian space, I let go of Trace’s hand and walked over to Gabriel as he stood beside the wooden kitchen table. Without the shackles on, the urge to turn on my heel and make a run for the door was still right there in the back of my mind, but luckily Trace was staying close enough to calm the itch I refused to scratch.
Gabriel’s gaze darted from me to Trace and then back again. “Same as last time?” he asked, a hint of nervousness still riding his voice.
I responded with a quick nod of my head and then watched as his fangs clicked out. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he bit down against the thin skin and pierced two small holes with his teeth before extending his wrist to me. My heart leapt up into my throat as my body readied itself for the thing it wanted most these days. The thing it craved.
Vampire blood.
Two plumes of red bloomed against his pale skin as I wrapped my fingers around his hand and pulled his wrist toward my mouth. The sound of Trace’s feet shuffling behind me barely registered as I closed my mouth around the wound and sucked. The throbbing, scratching pain inside my skull immediately began to ease as I swallowed my first mouth full. Excitement at the prospect of a cure from this horrible nightmare thrummed over my skin and I bit down harder.
The longer I drank from him, the more alive I felt inside. It was as though something magical was emanating through my pores, as though my lungs were breathing air for the first time. Every swallow made me feel stronger; made my heartbeat louder; made my ears hear better. And the pain. The pain was dissipating into nothingness…
“I think that’s more than enough,” said Trace from somewhere over my shoulder.
“Just give her another minute,” gritted Gabriel, my savior—my angel of mercy. His voice sounded off, like it was working hard not to quiver and shake. Like he was enjoying it almost as much as I was.
Gabriel plopped back onto the edge of the table, taking me with him as the wood protested from his sudden weight. I moved with him willingly, refusing to tear my mouth away from this magical fountain of life. With one hand still wrapped around his wrist, my fingernails dug into his flesh as my other hand moved to his chest, fisting his t-shirt as I tried to pull him closer to me.
A quiet rumble sounded at the back of Gabriel’s throat as his own hand came