A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1)(83)

The tray left her lap, and a strong arm went around her shoulders, a rough cheek brushing her hair. And she needed that arm, she needed that cheek. She needed to believe someone cared, even a little, that she was dying inside.

The tears refused to abate this time, and she cried until her head ached, until she felt sick to her stomach, until she could barely breathe and didn't want to anymore. Finally, the sobs turned to hiccups, and the storm passed, leaving wreckage in its wake. With a shuddering sigh, she pressed her wet face against the vampire's shoulder, accepting the comfort he offered, needing it badly.

His hand was in her hair, stroking, soothing. "He was always there for you," he said quietly.

She nodded against his shoulder. "Always. We grew up in Pennsylvania, but I moved to the D.C. suburbs after school and never went back. Zack chose his college based on proximity to me. When he got into G.W., I moved into the city and rented an apartment. We've been living together for three years. I thought it was going to kill me when he moved to California next spring to take a job out there." Now he'd never go. "Lily would have gone with him."

"His girlfriend?"

"She would have been eventually. They've been best friends for three years, and she's in love with him, but he was too clueless to see it. Sooner or later, he'd have figured out what Lily and I already knew. That they were perfect together. She's the reason I'm here. She went missing. Zack and I were looking for her when I saw your world. He reached into the sunbeam to pick up a pen he recognized as hers. I grabbed him. The magic grabbed us both and sucked us in."

He stroked her hair, over and over, as she leaned against him, absorbing his strength. As usual, she was finding it hard to hold on to her hatred of him. He'd told her from the beginning he couldn't save Zack. That it was impossible. And in the end, he hadn't even tried. But he hadn't lied about that, at least.

He might be seriously lacking, as friends went, but he was the only one she had.

She sat up and wiped her face, then reached for her beer and downed it quickly, wishing she had a couple more.

Arturo stood, lifted the tray, then looked down at her for several moments, his expression pensive. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving her alone and trapped but without pain. And with a heart ever-so-slightly lighter for his having asked about Zack, then actually listened when she told him.

As long as she lived, Zack lived inside of her.

However short a time that might be.

With the pain gone and her hunger satisfied, Quinn's natural restlessness quickly reasserted itself. Pacing was out of the question since the entire cell was barely five feet by five feet. Instead, she did push-ups against the wall and a few dozen squats.

What would happen now? How badly would the shit hit the fan when Cristoff discovered her free of pain again, his dragon poison out of her system? Maybe he'd think it had just worn off. She was, after all, a sorcerer with a few quirks that seemed to surprise them all.

She was doing more wall push-ups when the door swung open behind her, stilling her heart until she saw Arturo. He closed the door behind him, his gaze grabbing hers, his expression strained and tense. "Do you trust me?" he demanded without preamble.

"No."

The tension left his face, his eyes crinkling with silent laughter as a smile lifted his mouth. "Smart girl." But the humor fled as quickly as it appeared. "I need you to trust me, now, cara. I am setting you free and risking both our lives in the process. Cristoff can never know it was me who freed you this time."

She stared at him, afraid to believe him. Afraid to leave. "He threatened to cut off my feet if I ever tried to escape him again."

Arturo's grim expression told her he thought Cristoff would probably do it, too. "I won't let that happen."

Could she trust him this time? Did she have a choice? If Cristoff kept her full of dragon fire, feet wouldn't matter. She'd be in too much pain to move, let alone walk.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my house, for now. Where he'll not hurt you."

Something inside her melted, just a little. "Thank you."

"Kassius will come for you while I attend this evening's banquet. Do as Kassius says."

Her stomach fluttered with excitement and nerves. "I will."

He gripped the back of her head and kissed her, a soft brush of cool lips, warming her from the inside out. Pulling back, he watched her with fathomless eyes. "I want you in my bed. I will have you in my bed. But your screams will be of pleasure, not pain."

He left as abruptly as he'd come, leaving her wondering just what he wanted from her. Sex, certainly. Was that all? Was he risking the wrath of his vampire master to have her to himself for a little while longer? She supposed it wouldn't be the first time a man had risked everything for sex.

If he got her out of here, if he saved her from Cristoff, she'd never say no to him again.

At least, not until the ground began to shake and she once more found a way to escape Vamp City through a sunbeam. Once and for all.

Chapter Nineteen

Kassius entered her tiny cell, a big black bag over one broad shoulder. He closed the door behind him, watching Quinn with more wariness than she watched him.

"Has Ax told you the plan?"

"Only that he's getting me out of here and that I'm supposed to trust you." She wrinkled her nose. Something did not smell good.