Angel of Darkness (The Fallen #1)(15)

It was the thirst that woke her. The pain of her parched throat and the grumble of her stomach trickled through her consciousness. Thirst/hunger ... for vamps it was one and the same.

Then the other sounds registered. The soft expulsions of breath in the air. The squeak of beds, close, probably within one hundred feet. The rumble of cars on a highway.

She licked her lips. The move didn’t help the thirst any. Nicole opened her eyes. He was beside her. Keenan’s long lashes cast dark shadows against his cheeks.

His chest was bare, the muscles strong and toned and his flesh tanned a golden brown. The thin sheet lay just over his hips, barely covering his waist and legs.

Nicole glanced down. Her clothes were gone. Right. She’d figured that when she felt the cold air on her breasts. She grabbed the sheet and yanked it up.

And that thirst had her teeth stretching, burning ...

He was still asleep. So close. If she was careful, he wouldn’t even realize what she was doing.

Maybe.

Nicole leaned over him and her hair fell forward to brush against his arm. She could hear his heartbeat drumming. Such a strong, powerful beat. He’d tasted so good before. If she could just get a few more sips of blood, she’d have enough strength to head back into the night and disappear.

Her mouth lowered toward his throat. Just a few drops ...

“So I had to promise not to hurt you, but as soon as you wake, you go right for my throat.”

She froze. Her gaze lifted, and she saw his lashes slowly rise. He turned his head a fraction and met her gaze. “Hardly seems fair, sweet.”

She swallowed—tried to, anyway. “You don’t ... understand the thirst.” For a human, it would feel as if the person had gone a week without food. So consuming. Overwhelming.

“I understand more than you can imagine.”

No, he didn’t. She wrenched away, keeping that sheet clutched to her as she rolled for the edge of the bed.

He grabbed her wrist in a lightning-fast move. Now it was her turn to freeze.

“Where are you going?” He demanded, but his hand wasn’t rough on her flesh. His thumb was ... stroking her. Like he was enjoying the feel of her skin. Weird.

Sexy.

A shiver skated over her. “If I can’t take from you, then I have to find someone else.”

Now his hold tightened. “Going to seduce another human?”

Her head whipped back toward him. “Would you rather I ripped out their throats?”

“I’d rather you didn’t do anything with them. Humans are dangerous.”

She laughed at that. “Of all the monsters out there, I fear them the least.”

“Then you’re being a fool.” He still didn’t let her go.

And, great, he’d called her a fool. Way to sweet-talk.

“Humans hunted you last night,” he said. “When humans realize what you are, they want you dead.”

“Everyone wants me dead.” Why did he think she’d been running for so long? “I’ve been running from shifters, demons, and hunters like you ever since I became one of the undead.” And she was tired.

If they’d just leave her alone ...

But since she’d risen as a vampire, she seemed to have some kind of beacon on her back. They kept coming after her. Before she’d left New Orleans, a group of demons had broken into her house. Screaming, fighting, they’d tried to force her to leave with them.

They hadn’t expected her vampire strength. She hadn’t expected it either. But when she’d nearly ripped a demon’s arm from his body, the others had finally backed off.

“How long have you been a vampire?”

Not a growl now. A deep, rumbling question. His thumb still stroked her wrist.

Her breasts tightened. “About six months.” She licked her lips. Thirsty. The sheet had dipped near his waist. She wouldn’t look down there, well, not again, anyway. “One day, I was your average almost thirty-year-old, walking in the sun, eating chocolate cake, drinking margaritas after work. Then ...”

She shrugged. A careless move when she cared too much.

“Then one night, I became something else.” She wouldn’t talk about that night. The hunter wasn’t going to pity her and offer to let her walk away. Hunters had no pity.

“A vampire bit you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, that’s usually the way it works. He bit, I fought back and—”

“You had to ingest his blood in order to change.”

She drove the broken glass into his throat. Blood poured from the wound. On her hands. Her face. Her shirt. Nicole cleared her throat. “I guess I did.” She paused, and her hands clenched around the sheet. “His, but not the other bastard’s.”

“The other—”

“There were two of them there that night. One who attacked and one who just watched.” No matter how much she’d pleaded, he hadn’t helped her. “When I fought back, the other one got out of there fast enough. He ran, but one day I’ll find him.”

“Will you?”

Her head jerked in a nod. “Damn right. And he’ll pay for what he did.” No, what he hadn’t done.

Help me.

Keenan turned his hand over and offered his wrist. “Take the blood.”

Nicole blinked. “Why—”