To his amazement, Liam felt himself growing hard again. Her body was supple beneath his and utterly tempting. He didn't know what was wrong with him. His need for her wasn't dimming at all; it was growing stronger with each time that he took her. He had fed on her last night, caught a few rabbits today, and fed upon her again, but suddenly he found himself hungry for more of her.
He would kill them both if this kept up. He shoved himself off the floor and to his feet. "Come on," he said more briskly than he had intended.
He took hold of her arms and pulled her to her feet. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes." He tossed her clothes to her and turned away. He couldn't look at her anymore. He needed to get out of this room. It was growing smaller by the second.
Sera tugged her jeans on as she watched him closely. His back was tense and his jaw was clenched as he stalked over to turn the shower off. The water had long since grown cold, and the steam in the room had evaporated. She pulled her turtleneck on and then tugged on her sweater. He was standing by the sink, pulling on a pair of jeans as he kept his back to her. It was then that she noticed the claw marks marring his smooth, taut skin. She swallowed heavily; she couldn't believe that she had done that to him. A blush began to burn her face as she lowered her gaze. What had he turned her into?
She bit into her bottom lip as she searched for something to turn her mind away from her thoughts. "Was your walk successful?"
"Yes. You ready?"
His clipped tones drew her attention back to him. She frowned as she pulled her turtleneck higher. "Liam, what's wrong?"
He kept his back firmly to her as he gathered the clothes off the floor. "Nothing."
"Are you mad at me?" she asked in confusion.
"No."
"Then why are acting like it?"
He scooped the last article of clothing from the floor and shoved them onto the counter. He ran a weary hand through his hair as he turned to face her. "I'm not mad at you Sera."
No matter what he said, his voice was still cold and strained. She stared at him in confusion. "Then what is the matter?"
He frowned as he studied her. She was a little paler than normal, and there were shadows under her large, luminous eyes. "How do you feel?"
"I feel fine."
"I've taken a lot of blood from you Sera, are you sure that you're all right?"
"I'm fine." Her words did nothing to ease the harshness in his face, and the coldness in his eyes though. "Liam, what is wrong?"
He opened his arms to her. "Come here." She hesitated before stepping into his embrace. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself, and I'm confused."
Alarm constricted her heart. Was he confused about her? About the way he felt about her? "About what?" she asked in a strangled voice.
He pulled slightly away and tipped her chin up with his finger. "About the loss of control I have when I'm around you."
She frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
"Sera, what happened earlier shouldn't have. I should have been able to stop myself from changing, from feeding off you. But I had no control; it just took over. And now I would like nothing more than to do it again."
He expected to see dread or revulsion in her eyes. Instead, they clouded with passion as she bit into her enticing bottom lip. "Oh," she whispered.
Sera shivered with want as his words stirred something deep inside her. She had no idea what she was becoming, what he had brought out in her, but words that should have frightened her, should have warned her to stay clear of him, at least for a little while, only served to make her tremble with want and need. Was it because his blood coursed through her veins? Was there now part of a vampire inside her?
She should have been terrified at the thought, but she wasn't.
He tugged at the edge of her turtleneck and pulled it down. He gazed at the two marks that marred the creamy perfection of her skin. His marks. His eyes dilated as his teeth instantly lengthened. He wanted to brand her again, to taste her again, and to fill her veins with his blood so that everyone knew that she was his. So that she knew that she was his.
He ground his teeth as he willed the demon inside him to subside. Gradually, he was able to regain some control of himself, and meet her eyes again. "I thought you said the marks faded," she whispered as she watched him.
"They do when we use our saliva to make them close faster."
Her brow furrowed. "Why didn't you do that with me?"
