She picked up the third glass of blood before her and let it slide into her mouth. It tasted faintly metallic but had the texture of cottage cheese and clung to her tongue. She slammed the glass down and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Disgusting.”
Cordon scribbled several lines. “Pig is not my favorite, either.”
She poked the empty glass. “Why can’t I just drink from you?” He’d allowed her to do so every night since he’d turned her, and each time, she’d come apart from the intense pleasure echoing through their mental bond.
He put his notebook down. “There might come a time where I am too weak to supply you.”
His logic was sound. Frustrating man. She felt like a caged animal, desperate for freedom. The only thing keeping her from lashing out was the constant hum of his love and concern. The connection she had feared was now something she could not imagine being without. It was as if she’d lived every day before she’d met him without an important part of her soul. Now that they were reunited, severing their bond would be like tearing off a limb.
A rap at the door startled Kitty out of her thoughts and offered a welcome respite.
“Come in,” Cordon said.
The door creaked open, and the butler entered. Hughes’s face was flushed, his white hair was disheveled, and he clutched the doorknob with both hands as if trying to keep someone behind him from seeing inside.
“I apologize, my lord,” he said breathlessly. “I tried to send the lady away, but she insisted on seeing Miss Carter.”
A bolt of panic along the bond from Cordon and the sound of raised voices in the hallway alerted Kitty to the impending danger. Before Hughes had finished speaking, Kitty had gulped the remaining glasses of blood, stacked them, and hidden them beneath the bed. Not a moment too soon, as Hughes stepped aside and Kitty saw their unexpected guest.
“I demand to see my sister,” Betty said as she stormed past the butler, looking more fearsome than Kitty had ever seen her.
It had only been a few weeks since she’d seen her sister, but it felt like years. Kitty scrambled across the small space and met Betty in a fierce hug.
“I missed you,” Kitty said, her voice thick with tears.
When they parted, the room was empty. Kitty sent a soft mental query to Cordon and was answered with warmreassurance and the echo of a chuckle. They could not yet speak directly mind to mind, but she understood enough to grasp his meaning; he would ensure they were not interrupted.
“You’re so pale,” Betty said. “And cold! You should be wearing a shawl.”
“Come,” Kitty said, ushering her to the chair Cordon had vacated. “Tell me everything that has happened in the world while I have been shut up in this house recovering.”
As Betty sat, she dabbed at her wet cheeks with a handkerchief. “Mother said you were terribly sick. Father and I tried to visit, but we were told your doctor was not allowing anyone to see you. They turned us away. Your own family!”
Kitty winced. It had been Cordon’s idea to allow society to believe she’d contracted a rare disease. She hadn’t wanted to put her sister or her father through such pain, but Cordon had correctly predicted that she’d remained bedbound for the first several days after her transformation. The one time a human maid had accidentally ventured into her room, Kitty’s vampire nature had taken over and she’d nearly killed the poor girl.
She couldn’t explain any of that to Betty, so instead she clasped her sister’s hands. “Did you travel here by yourself?”
“Is that all you have to say?” Betty asked. Then she laughed. “Ellis accompanied me.” She turned her head, as if looking at someone sitting beside her. “She was quite insistent.”
The reminder of their imaginary companion made Kitty’s eyes burn with tears. The only thing she regretted about her transformation was deceiving her sister. A deception that would have to continue, because Kitty did not know how Betty would react to the news that her sister had become a night-dwelling, blood-drinking creature.
“Are you going to marry the viscount?” Betty asked.
Finally, a question she could answer honestly. “Yes.”
Betty squealed, and the following hour was spent discussing arrangements. The only difficulty was explaining that the ceremony would have to take place at night, but Betty readily accepted Kitty’s excuse that her illness had made her sensitive to sunlight.
“You must be tired,” Kitty said, after Betty yawned. “I will summon a maid to bring refreshments.”
“Wait.” Betty bit her lower lip. “There is something I wish to say first. Before I lose my courage.”
Kitty swallowed thickly. “Of course.”
“I know what happened to Mr. Blaylock.”
Kitty’s whole body stiffened. Through their bond, Cordon sent a thread of worry. She was tempted to slam the door between their souls shut, but that would only send him rushing to her rescue. Instead, she opened the connection and allowed him to share in her worry. There was a brief surge of shock, but then he wrapped his mental presence around her like a comforting blanket.
God, she loved him so much.
