Oliver's Hunger - By Tina Folsom Page 0,22

they still pretending to be concerned about her wellbeing? What difference did it make?

Maya raised an eyebrow. “First, please call me Maya, everybody does. And second, I do care, because Oliver put you into this situation.”

Ursula’s gaze drifted to Oliver, wondering what Maya meant with her comment. She noticed how his facial features tightened as he glared back at Maya.

“As I said before, I didn’t do it!”

“Didn’t do what?” Blake interrupted.

Oliver swiveled on his heels to face his half-brother. “Bite her.”

“Nearly drained her,” Maya added.

“You fucking asshole!” Blake yelled. “How could you? Look at her! How could you do that to a nice girl like her?”

Blake’s hands balled into fists and he swung. Oliver blocked his hit, but before he could land his own fist in Blake’s face, Ursula interrupted them. “He didn’t bite me.”

Instantly everyone went quiet and turned to look at her.

“It wasn’t him who bit me,” she repeated, unsure why she even bothered defending him.

“You remember!” Oliver’s voice was full of relief. Suddenly his face split into a huge smile and before she knew what he wanted to do, he approached her and reached for her hands. He squeezed them hard.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he said exuberantly, before he let go of her hands and turned to Maya, giving her a pointed look. “Well, Maya?”

Maya shrugged. “Well, the circumstances were . . . ” Then she stopped herself. “I’m glad I was wrong. I apologize for judging you wrongly.”

Ursula listened to the conversation, but nothing made sense. Why did it matter to any of them whether Oliver had bitten her or not? Why did they care?

“Since you remember, please tell us what happened.” Maya pointed to her neck. “I know you were bitten by a vampire. Who was it? We need to know so we can stop the bastard from doing it again. Obviously whoever did this was out of control, leaving you half-dead.”

Slowly Ursula shook her head, unable to trust her ears. Maya wanted to stop who’d done this to her? She must have heard wrong.

“You want to do what?”

Maya gave her a strange look. “Rein that bastard in. He can’t endanger humans like that. We’ll have to make sure of it.”

“But . . . ” Ursula swept her gaze to the others in the room, who seemed as concerned about the situation as Maya. “Why would you do that? You’re vampires too. You do the same.”

Oliver moved closer, crouching down before her so he was eyelevel with her and she wouldn’t have to crane her neck anymore. The gesture was kind, she realized, and wondered why he did it.

“We’re civilized. We’re all part of the same group. We work for a company called Scanguards. Most of us are bodyguards or security guards, and we’re sworn to protect humans. Even against our own race.”

She shook her head in disbelief. It was impossible. No, she had to be delirious to be hearing something so incredible. “No, that can’t be.”

“It’s true,” Blake chimed in. “As much as some have difficulty keeping their lust for blood under control—” He tossed a pointed look at Oliver. “—Scanguards’ men live by a strict code of ethics. Believe me, if that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t be alive today, nor be living among them without fear for my life.”

She shifted her gaze back to Oliver. “You mean you don’t bite people?”

A flash of guilt flared in his eyes before he dropped his lids to avoid her scrutiny. “Most of us drink blood from a bottle. It’s donated. We purchase it through a medical supply company.”

His careful phrasing hadn’t escaped her notice. “Most of you?”

His eyelids swung open fully, his long dark lashes almost touching his brows. The intense blue of his eyes mesmerized her, just like it had when she’d first met him in the dark street.

“Not all. Some of us still struggle to . . . adjust. But it’s not easy. The temptation is always there.”

She noticed his gaze drift to her neck and felt a tingling sensation race through her body. Fear clamped down her vocal cords, making her unable to speak. At the same time she was unable to tear her eyes away from his.

Fear and desire collided as he inched closer, reminding her of their kiss. He had been so warm, so tender. And now she knew also how deadly his kiss could be. He could have bitten her then and finished what the other vampire had started. Still, she couldn’t move, could only watch as

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