Torn Page 0,74

it, Ivy. Do it."

He watched me fight, trying to resist the need that he made me have. Looking up into his eyes, I took a deep breath, and turned away. It felt like someone ripped my arms off. I wanted the drop of blood. I wanted it so badly, but my mind kept telling me not to take it - run. When I felt him press himself to my back, I sucked in a shocked gasp. I was so close to giving in. His left hand slid around my waist and under the hem of my shirt. His warm hand pressed into my skin, pulling me closer to him.

Trembling started to make it impossible to hold body still, and when he spoke softly in my right ear it sent a shiver down my spine. "Drink it," he purred. "You know you want it, Ivy. Drink it, and be in bliss... I'll give you anything you want. Anything..."

His lips pressed against my neck and an explosion of butterflies erupted in my stomach. A moan escaped me as his fingers lifted and touched the tiny drop of blood to my lips. I closed my eyes, fighting it. The blood was right there. It was all I wanted. That tiny drop contained instant bliss. All I had to do was open my mouth and taste it.

Heart racing wildly, part of me wanted me to break free of his hold and run. That part recognized how dangerous Eric was. In in the back of my mind, I was screaming, terrified. But somewhere else, I realized what had drawn me to Eric; why I stayed when I could have left, why I was thrilled when he touched me, and why I was having so much trouble fighting him off - I liked him. On some level, I always have. And now, he was impossible to resist with his hands stretched across on my stomach, his lips pressed to my neck, and his blood so close to my mouth.

Turning slowly in his arms, I looked up at him. My lips parted as I whispered, "No."

CHAPTER THIRTY

I expect him to scream, but he just smiled at me. His fingers slid off my waist and he wiped his hand off on his dark jeans, before walking over to Shannon's closet to lock her back inside. My heart was racing as he walked away. Staring at his back, I wondered what was wrong with me. Did I really like him? How could that happen? I loved Collin. Convinced that it must be something that Eric was doing to me, I didn't worry about it too much. For some reason, Eric didn't force me to take his blood.

Before we left the room, he gave the old man food and put a drop of his blood on the man's cup. He picked up the glass and obediently licked it clean. I cringed inside. Watching someone else take what I wanted was unnerving. I looked over at Eric. "What are you doing with them? Are they part of your collection or something? I thought you were going to kill Shannon," I asked. "Why did you lock her up?" I wrapped my arms around my middle to ward off the cold.

Eric's gaze cut back to me unconcerned, "They wronged me. This is their punishment."

I swallowed hard, knowing I'd been lumped in with them. "When you left me in Hell, you said you were going to kill whoever did this to you. Why are they still alive?"

Eric rounded on me outside the door. "You'd be dead now if I did what I'd originally planned." He turned away from me, "Besides," he smiled over his shoulder, "there's more than one way to destroy a person."

My throat constricted as I watched the evil smile fade off his face. I decided it was time to leave; time for me to leave and face whatever was coming next. Losing Al and Collin's trust wasn't something I wanted, but I thought I had to tell them. No matter what I felt about Eric, aligning myself with him would be insane. He was collecting people and feeding them blood. Shannon was happily living in a closet. I wondered who else he had trapped in this big old house. No, it was time to go, but I had to find out what I'd originally wanted to know.

I followed him back to the white room, where he closed the door behind me. His voice was strange, "I didn't think you could