A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1)(56)

She looked at him curiously. "Do you consider yourself dead? Or undead, maybe?"

"Neither." He took her free hand and drew it to curve around the side of his neck, pressing her finger against the pulse point beneath his ear. His skin was cool, but very much alive. "Do you feel it?"

"Your pulse? No."

"Wait for it."

A moment later, she felt the unmistakable throb of his heart blood, strong and clear. "Yes," she breathed, and waited to feel it again. Seconds passed, perhaps more than seven, before she felt another kick. Withdrawing her hand, she looked at him in surprise. "It beats incredibly slowly."

"Yes. It will beat faster right after I've fed and far more slowly when I'm hungry and depleted of blood. But my heart beats, Quinn. I live."

"And yet when you became a vampire, you died."

"I was transformed. Near death, yes. And without the blood of my maker and the transformation, I would have died. He'd drained far too much of my blood for me to have ever recovered. But, no, I never truly died."

Quinn took another sip of her wine, mulling his answers, overlaying the legends in her mind with the truth as she now understood it. "Why did he turn you?"

Arturo stilled, then slowly lifted his glass and drained the wine. "He did what he did." Without warning, he stood, levering himself up and off the rope bed far too easily, then set his glass on the washstand.

She looked up, starting the awkward scoot off the bed with wineglass in one hand, plate in the other. "Are you leaving?"

He grabbed her glass, then took her hand and helped her up. "I have responsibilities other than you, cara."

"I wish I could say the same. Seriously, Vampire, what's the plan? To keep me locked up here for the rest of my life?" Which, in this place, might not be very long.

He handed her back her glass. "Get some sleep. Night has fallen. In the morning, we shall accompany Cristoff to the Crux to test your power."

That sounded . . . ominous. "What's the Crux?"

"The Crux is the term for the inner lands of V.C., farthest from the Boundary Circle, lands not claimed by the kovenas. Within their very heart lies the Focus, the spot upon which Phineas Blackstone stood and cast his magic to create this world. It is there that the magic must be renewed."

"You do know that I have no clue what to do, right?"

"Grant and Sheridan Blackstone will accompany us, along with a dozen of Cristoff's guards."

"You're afraid other vampires may attack us? Don't they want Vamp City saved?"

"Vampires are not always the most logical of creatures. But there are other things within the Crux that would enjoy seeing us dead." He touched her hair. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Right. Go to sleep and don't worry about the monsters, even though these monsters are real." Arturo turned to go, and she stopped him. "Vampire, what if I fail? What if I can't save this world?"

"We'll try again at the equinox."

At least failure wasn't an automatic death sentence. "And if I succeed?"

He gave her a small smile. "We will be grateful."

"That's it? Will I be freed?"

Frustration glimmered in his eyes. "You will never be free. If you are of no worth to Cristoff, I will offer to buy you from him." His eyes darkened, his hand lifting to touch her hair. "I wish you for my own."

"For your slave."

"For my bed." Vampire-fast, he took the glass and plate from her hands, deposited them on the washstand, then pulled her against him, dipping his cool face to nuzzle her neck, making her shiver with pleasure. His dark, decadent scent filled her nostrils, his soft hair sliding along her jaw. A moment later, he shifted, rising, claiming her mouth in a kiss that was soft and sensual, a tasting, a sharing.

When he pulled away, she stared at him, breathless, trying to make sense of the inconsistencies in him. He could be so hard. Yet when he touched her, so gentle.

His hand cupped her jaw, his thumb tracing her bottom lip. "Such a frown. Did my kiss displease you?"

"No. I just . . . I don't know what to make of you sometimes."

"And why is that?"

She watched him for long moments, debating whether to be honest and deciding she might as well be. "My instincts tell me to trust you, but you've told me yourself that I should never do that. And you've proved it. You lied to me about taking me to find Zack, then turned me over to Cristoff. And you refuse to help me save my brother. I hate you for that. I want to hate you. And I can't."

He mirrored her frown, then cupped her face in his hands, looking at her in earnest. "This is the truth, Quinn. You must understand it. My loyalty is to Cristoff. His needs and desires come first above those of anyone else, including myself." His smile was small, his eyes deep and fathomless. "But I do not hate you either, tessoro. I quite like you. And I would not see you come to harm."

"You'll protect me. But never from Cristoff."

He slid his fingers into her hair, running the blond locks between his fingers. "Correct. And no, never from Cristoff."

He'd protect her from all but the worst of the monsters - the master who ruled them all. Which was little protection. And yet, she believed him.