She looked confused.
“Here.” He turned his hand over. “Slip your palm onto mine.”
When she did, his body tingled with her energy, and he quickly released her. “Did you feel that?”
“Oh my God, yes.”
“Hand-to-hand or hand-to-face is how we absorb most of the energies from...a...you. We’re sensitive to the sun’s rays, unableto process ultraviolet light into energy. We must obtain it by absorbing it from humans. But too much can make some of us more aggressive. In parts of the world with higher amounts of UV full spectrum light, there are higher concentrations of this energy within the human population. The more aggressive members of our race tend to live in those regions.”
“But how can you absorb it without us knowing? I mean, it’s like a jolt of electricity when you touch me. And I find it very...nice.” She closed her eyes as if she were savoring the feeling.
“Most people are tired when the energy leaves their bodies,” he said. “A little rundown, like you’d feel if you didn’t get enough sleep. But it appears you feel what I do. I think you must be taking some of my energies.”
“Is that...normal?”
He shook his head.
“And when you took my blood, why didn’t I turn into a...and I didn’t die.”
“Just a bite won’t turn a human into a vampire. It takes an almost complete blood draining followed by a blood transfer from several vampires. In fact, it’s forbidden unless...well, it’s not allowed.”
“And why don’t I remember any of it?”
“We are able to manipulate a person’s recollection of events, suggest a different memory of what happened.”
“So that explains my missing day.”
When she paused, the atmosphere inside the car grew thick with all the questions he knew she had for him. It was just like her to look at things from all angles, as the artist she was, to better understand what stood before her.
“If you’re like them, like the ones who have been preying on the sweetblood members of my family, how are you able tocontrol yourself around me? Why didn’t I die that day if I’m...if my blood is so sweet to you?”
“I don’t know, really. I surprised myself. To stop was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I almost killed you and for that I’ll always be horrified.”
“You nursed me back to health then, didn’t you? I’ve had such odd recollections of that time that I’ve not been able to make sense of. Cool damp cloths on my wrists. You brushed my hair over and over, didn’t you?”
He nodded.
“And the auction?”
“I followed you there to get the phone back.”
“Oh God, that phone.” She laughed, but quickly sobered again. “What about the mind-reading? Back at the warehouse. And on the ferry. Is that common? Can you all read minds?”
“No. I’ve never heard of it happening before.” Her shoulders dropped a fraction, and he sensed her tension dissipating. Her questions. All her wonderful questions. She wasn’t shutting herself from him. The beginnings of a smile wanted to seep onto his face, but he made himself concentrate on the road ahead.
“So, if you took my blood and can now hear my thoughts, why can I hear your words in my head?”
“I had to give you a little of my blood. I thought you were dying. I was sick with guilt for what I had done, so I was forced to share a small amount of my blood with you and now it seems...we are blood bonded.Enlazado por la Sangre.”
“Bonded by blood. Is that why it’s forbidden?”
“No. The blood bond is a completely separate issue. It’s always forbidden to share blood with a human. Vampires share blood with each other when we—” He caught himself. She didn’t need to know that vampires shared blood during sex. “Blood sharing is common, but blood bonding is not. Before you and me, I thought it was just a myth.”
“So, you broke your laws when you gave me your blood? To save my life?”
“Yes.”
“That’s twice now, you know...that you saved me.” Her words trickled off until they were mostly air.
