8. Temptation
Iwanted to take a bath and hide from the world, but I didn’t dare go back to our suite when Julian needed space. I wandered instead, eventually strolling outside to the gardens. Circling to the back of the mansion, I tried to suppress the memory of Carmichael, the previous vampire sect leader, blackmailing me with the hopes of making me his pledge in exchange for protecting my sister’s secret portal powers. He’d ended up dead, possibly because of me and my mind-bending abilities. Somehow, I could no longer bring myself to feel much about it, I realized as I reached the tree where the body of his previous pledge had hung as a visible threat.
As I set a palm against the trunk, my stomach grumbled, reminding me that I had to feed soon or risk losing control. I had the passing thought that should I kill someone accidentally—no one would care much about it, other than perhaps Julian’s concern for my own trauma. A hollow laugh worked its way from my throat. How ironic that I should be the only one worried for my potential victims.
“What’s so funny?” Lydia asked from behind.
I spun around to find her with her hands on her leather clad hips and her signature Doc Martins planted shoulder width apart. A spiked choker surrounded her neck.
“You gave my father the formula,” I said with no real malice behind the words. I just felt…tired.
She joined me beneath the tree, staring up at its branches from below as the sun sank into the horizon, painting the sky several shades of pink and purple. She stood on tiptoe to grab a low hanging branch and let it spring back up, watching it bounce.
“I used previous studies to send him in the right direction,” she said, staring me in the eyes. “It’s painful to watch the old man struggle through the same calculations over and over that are so far off track. I figured he’s your father, so he can’t be that bad. I guess I screwed up.”
I smiled sympathetically and shrugged. “I don’t blame you. You did your job, and as far as my father goes, I stretched my trust way too far. Turns out he only cares about the work, not whether it’s used for good or bad or who it effects, even his own family.”
“He’s an asshole.” Lydia opened her arms, and I returned the hug, appreciative of her support. I didn’t know what I’d do without my friends. “From now on, I’m exclusively your lab assistant again. If you want me.”
“Always,” I said with a grin as we released each other.
“Ah, there you are!” Merl’s commanding voice had us both turning toward the wizard’s unexpected presence. He clapped his hands together and bounced on his toes. “I thought you may need some company after the stressful morning you had, but I see you already found a lovely friend.”
The scent of his blood had me shifting my body in an attempt to find a comfortable stance that didn’t appear desperate. I really needed to find a donor, the sooner the better.
Lydia narrowed her eyes at me, reading me like I had a sign on my forehead that said Starving Vampire. “I’d try another time if I were you,” she said to Merl, “we’re about to look for dinner.”
“Of course,” Merl nodded with a wink and started backing away.
I almost yelled out a warning but trusted he wouldn’t be stupid enough to stumble into the rosebushes. Clearly, I was wrong. He tripped on a stone and threw out his hands to catch himself, succeeding in pricking his hand. When he raised it in the air in front of his face, the glistening scarlet droplets sent my stomach clenching and fangs extending in anticipation.
The scent, now fresh on the breeze, settled over me like a siren call, impossible to ignore, as I found myself stalking toward him, eyes fixed on the five separate punctures in his palm and pads of his fingertips. When I reached him, I had to clench my thighs together in an attempt to staunch the hunger that bloomed throughout my body. I stared at the precious blood, held before me like a sample in a bakery window. I knew that if I gave in, it would be impossible to stop. But I was so hungry, and his blood sang. The veins in my body seemed to stretch toward the feast offered to me, dry and starving to be bathed in the glorious satisfaction it would bring.
“I won’t tell,” he whispered directly in my ear, his warm breath tickling the hairs on my neck as he leaned, his own throbbing pulse so close that I let out an audible moan.
Still, I knew enough to fight it, and I tried, going stock still like I’d thought I was incapable of as I resisted the urge to sink into him. I stopped breathing, trying to avoid the intoxicating scent, but it stayed in my mind and body like I’d been programmed to crave what he offered. I was afraid if I moved a millimeter, it would be to give in. Where was Lydia?
Then his wounded index finger was on my lips, slowly drawing a line of crimson like strawberry jam. My tongue darted out to taste it before I could think, and I was gone. There was only the blood and my desire to sate the need within me.
Sinking my fangs into his throat, I pulled him into me with too much strength. The nectar I’d craved flowed over my teeth and into my mouth like warm honey as I squeezed his biceps to hold him still. My only thought, so good. He didn’t fight. Instead, I became aware of him, long and hard even through our clothing, grinding against my throbbing core. Oh gods, I wanted to push him away and draw him inside of myself at the same moment. I focused on the blood now warming my body and filling my veins with the buzz of what I now understood was magic and ignored the way my hips thrust in time to his, searching for the pressure I needed.
“If you want to fuck on the grass, I’m good with it,” he croaked beside my ear.
I released him immediately, shoving him away from me hard enough to send him back onto his ass as I wiped at my mouth with the back of my hand then licked it clean.
“You forgot to close it,” he said, slapping pressure on his own wound.
“You did that on purpose,” I accused, breathing heavy and staring at him. “Close it yourself.”
He tapped the fang marks, and they closed immediately. Then he stood, brushing himself off.
“I’m not paying for that,” I said.
His expression turned sympathetic. “Oh, but I think we both know you will. Because Julian will smell me on you.”
“You’re the one who’s risking his life if Julian can tell,” I said, though his words stabbed my heart with guilt. It was yet another thing I’d done that I wanted to cover up but knew I couldn’t.
It was then that I looked over at Lydia, who lay curled on the ground beneath the tree, unmoving. He’d made sure there were no witnesses.
“She’s just sleeping,” he assured me. “It’s easy to do with young vamps. Clearly, I needed you alert. Let’s try to focus on what’s important here, Charlotte,” he stepped right up to me, pressing his body along mine and turning my face toward his, “You’re going to want more when this wears off. And though I’m happy to oblige, the next one isn’t free.” He cupped my sex and squeezed before letting go.
Immediately I hissed, aiming to tear his arm off but found myself unable to move.
“More than half a millennium. I’m not going to fall at the hands of a new vampire, even one as special as you.” He winked then turned around and strolled away, whistling as he went.
As soon as he’d disappeared around the side of the mansion, his spell released me, and I stumbled forward. He’d been working up to this all along, I realized. The coffee, the sweets, they’d been addictive too. Visions of him pricking his finger and adding a drop of blood to them flashed through my head. If Pythia were still speaking to me, she might have warned me. But I hadn’t heard from her since she begged me to stop Julian from turning me. Now that I knew I’d retained my abilities, I wondered if that meant I’d severed our connection as assumed, or whether she was that angry. Thanks to Tabitha, I understood that, while Pythia may have been my guide and a powerful psychic herself, she did things the way she wanted, based on her own personality and ideas. Unfortunately, those didn’t always coordinate with my own.
I fisted my hands and screamed to the treetops. Lydia still lay sleeping, and I wondered if he meant to release her. Crouching over her, I shook her shoulder first lightly then harder. But she remained blissfully unmoving, eyelids closed, but eyes moving beneath like she was dreaming.
“Wake up,” I whispered. My hand on her shoulder glowed gold, and a shock left my fingertips, startling her eyes open with a gasp.
“I’m sorry!” I cried, stepping away as she climbed to her feet. I stared at my hands like they were foreign objects as the realization dawned. I’d absorbed his power along with his blood because of my demon DNA. Elsa’s hypothesis was accurate. I’d just never tried before, and until now, I hadn’t taken enough from a strong enough witch to do it accidentally.
“What happened?” She looked around as though the surroundings were unfamiliar then settled her gaze on me. “Doc?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I offered a hand up, which she accepted without question.
“I saw you and wanted to make sure you were doing okay. What happened?”
Debating, I stared at her a moment. Then with a shake of my head I called up my power, simmering beneath the surface in readiness. “You won’t question it. We talked. We’re good.”
Lydia shivered slightly then smiled, relaxing her stance. “Good talking to you, doc.”
I watched her retreat to the mansion then stared down at my hands, body and veins still buzzing with Merlin’s power.