“What are you doing here, sekhor?” he snarled.
I’m definitely going to die.
Despite the pressure around my throat, I could squeak out. “Fuck you.”
What? Do you want to die faster?my logical brain cried.
His nostrils flared and the golden light gleamed from his eyes. Okay, he was some supernatural being. Maybe he was a vampire? Maybe the one who turned me?
Still, he had barged in, scared off my mark, called me what sounded like a dirty word, and assaulted me. I wasn’t cowing down to this son of a bitch, no matter how bone-melting gorgeous he was. Or how pee-my-pants terrifying.
“What was that?” he said, cupping a hand around his ear. “You want me to rip your head off right now, bloodsucker?” A faint, cultured accent curled around his words seductively despite his threat. The low timbre of his voice reverberated through my skin, striking my bones with a devastating blow.
Bloodsucker? Okay, maybe he wasn’t a vampire, but I wasn’t entirely ruling it out. Despite being a nearly starved vampire, I didn’t hear his blood the way I could most people’s. I was salivating for different reasons. The things I wanted to do to his jawline had nothing to do with drinking blood.
I settled for a glare this time, imagining every bone-breaking maneuver I could use on him.
Understanding dawned in his eyes, as if he heard my thoughts loud and clear. My gut clenched at the possibility this supernatural dude could read my mind. But no, I was just doing a stellar job of broadcasting my “Fuck you” this time.
He released me. I half-expected to crumple to the ground. Instead, I miraculously landed on my feet. Score one for vampire abilities. One side of his mouth curled up in a smile as his eyes flattened like a shark’s. He was now ten times scarier.
“Tell me how you came to be, and I’ll make it quick,” he promised. Where there had been raw fury a moment ago, he slid into a smooth professional demeanor. His voice was silken. There was a soothing, well-practiced quality to his tone. I instantly believed he could convince terrorists to hand over their guns simply because he asked.
“Make what quick?” I rubbed my neck, wondering if I could bruise.
The smooth mask slipped as he bared his teeth at me. “Your death.”
“Yeah, well, the last time didn’t exactly take, so what makes you think you’d be successful?”
Taking two steps toward me, he seemed to suck all the air out from the space between us again. “Trust me.”
If I still had a beating heart, it would have been hammering out of my chest. As it was, my nipples hardened at the rough tone of his voice. To both our credits, our eyes remained locked despite the stiff peaks now pushing through my tank top.
“That’s what I’m working to find out,” I said, waving an arm in the direction Chad had taken off. “You chased off my only lead to finding out who bit me.”
Something hardened in the god’s face. “Someone bit you?” I was tempted to ask what type of accent that curled seductively around his word. It was cultured yet comprehensive, as if he were from everywhere and nowhere.
Maybe I’m a linguist; how else would I know about accents?
“Isn’t that generally how vampires are made?” I pulled the collar of my leather jacket and tank top aside to show the scar tissue where my neck met my shoulder, where someone had taken a chunk out of me. Nothing like those beautiful, pristine twin bite marks you saw in the movies. The sucker had gnawed on me as if I were a chew toy.
The gold drained from his irises, leaving warm mahogany as they regarded my scar. “You don’t remember?”
A few strands of my hair tickled my nose, but I was afraid to make any movement to push it back. “Nope, sure don’t. Don’t remember my name, my family, my home, my life. Pretty sure I would like all of those back.”
“So, what?” His tone was derisive and incredulous. “You think you can go back to living a normal life though you must live off the blood of others to survive?”
I jutted my chin out, glaring at him. Okay yeah, it was a pretty stupid plan when he said it out loud, but damned if I was going to tell him that. Judging by the amused glint in his eye, he knew anyway.
This time he grabbed me by the arm, dragging me along. “What the hell, dude?”
“Dude?” He raised a perfect dark eyebrow at me. There it was again, that spark of amusement. When it drained a second time, he said, “You will answer my every question to help me find the one who made you.”
Sounded like a brilliant plan when I was on my own. Coming from him, it sounded like a suicide plan. “And once I do?”
He stopped, jerking me to an abrupt stop, bringing me face-to-face with him.
Damn, he smelled insanely good. Whatever cologne mixed with the scent of his skin was enough to make my brain go fuzzy. Warmth spread through my stomach, then pooled between my legs. I wanted him. Maybe even more than blood.
