Excerpt
Savard watched her delicate jaw drop at the sight of his fangs. Never
in his long life had he shown a human what kind of creature lurked
behind the visage of a man. He waited for her scream, expected her
terrified flight or even a fainting spell. Instead of acting like a
normal human, she just sat there, taking it all in, processing, and
then out of the blue, the minx slugged him in the shoulder.
He groaned, not so much from her punch, but from stabilizing his core
muscles to keep his body upright. Through gritted teeth, Savard asked,
“What the hell was that for?”
“Give it a guess,” she huffed, not frightened, and certainly not
shying away. “You can speak. Just say what you are. You didn’t need to
threaten me with the pointy teeth.”
“Wasn’t a threat…won’t bite,” he mumbled. He knew he was behaving
poorly, but his body ached, his hunger beat a heavy cadence against
his tongue, and this woman had ruined his plans for a quick death.
His eyelids drifted shut, his head tilted back against the cushion.
He was getting worse. The pain was there, but not exactly
excruciating, making it easier to speak. His body was numbing out,
going cold on the inside. Sensation was slipping away, along with
life.
“If you’re what I think you are, then…” her soft voice trailed off,
as if redirecting her question.
“What can I do? Be honest.”
“Nothing you’d be willing to do,” Savard said, cracking one eye open
to observe her reaction, and when she shifted closer, he suddenly
realized she still held his hand. In fact, her grip had never wavered.
Even after he’d bared his fangs.
“Like letting you bite me? How can you be sure I wouldn’t?”
“I’m not asking.”
“But if it would help you…” Her delicate eyebrows scrunched together,
and she asked in earnest,
“Would it help you? And would it hurt?”
His lips twitched, the beginnings of a smile that never fully formed.
For some reason, he found explaining the nuances of a vampire’s bite
to this innocent human amusing. “Blood heals. A bite is more pleasure
than pain.”
“I wouldn’t turn into a…”
“No.”
“When you bite someone…” Her voice was hesitant, the first subtle
hint of trepidation he’d found in her. “Do they die?”
“No. Life is precious,” he said quietly.
Deafening silence surrounded him and he closed his eyes again, the
calm lulling him. Several minutes passed, or perhaps more, and then he
unexpectedly caught her scent. The soft, delicate flesh of this woman
had a scent all its own, and he opened his eyes to see her leaning
close to him, her hand pulling that fluffy white-blonde mass of
randomly braided hair away from her neck. Savard growled, closing his
eyes against the temptation, and turned away from her.
“Why not?” she asked, her steady voice sending shivers through his
battered body.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.