“Yes,” she reluctantly admitted.
“Then we have to go. Right now, your jobthinks you have a concussion. If they find out you were here—”
“I can’t lose my job.”
Aiden hoped she wouldn’t return to her oldlife, but if the possibility of losing her job got her moving, hewould use it to his advantage. “No, you can’t.”
Not to mention, if he stayed here muchlonger, he might feed off one of the injured. His fangs pricked,and his mouth watered at the prospect. His eyes latched onto theblood trickling from a cut on a man’s forehead. He struggled tokeep himself under control as he nudged Maggie toward the door.
The police started filing into therestaurant as the two of them crossed the lobby to the elevators.Aiden steered her away from the police and toward the stairwell.Maggie kept her head down as more shouts sounded from behind them.He hurried her up the stairs.
Opening the door for her on the third floor,Aiden held it as Maggie stepped out of the stairwell and into thehallway. Fire licked over his veins, and his thirst grew with everystep he took toward their rooms. He sniffed at the air whilelistening to the beat of hearts behind the closed doors lining thehall. The idea of hunting so close to their rooms wasn’t one heliked, but he couldn’t go far from Maggie, and he had to feedsoon.
He didn’t care if he snapped and killed ahuman; they meant nothing to him. He would live with the rottenstench until it faded from him, but he couldn’t take the chance hemight go for Maggie. He should have known this was coming andprepared for someone to watch over her while he hunted, but it wastoo late for that.
Stopping outside his room, he slid the keycard into the lock and pushed open the door for her. Instead offollowing her into the room, he backed away to put more distancebetween them. He had to leave her before he couldn’t.
Maggie frowned when she glanced over hershoulder at Aiden standing in the hall. His fisted hands caused themuscles in his forearms to bulge. He looked as predatory as thenight when the Savages attacked them, but she had no idea what hadput him into this state.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He rested his hand on the doorframe butdidn’t go any closer to her. “The blood, downstairs. It’s been awhile since I fed.” He could barely get the words out as theprospect of blood caused saliva to fill his mouth. “I have to. Now.I need you to stay here. I won’t leave this floor.”
Maggie glanced at the hallway behind him.“You plan to feed on some of the people in those rooms?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“I have to.”
“But there are families—”
“I’ll stay away from the families. I don’tfeed on children.”
“They might panic.”
“They’ll never know what I’m doing. I’lltake the memory from them.”
She knew he had to feed to survive, andlooking at him, he had to do it soon, but to do it to unsuspectingpeople felt wrong. “It will hurt them,” she said.
“No, it won’t. I promise you, they’ll neverknow what’s going on. They’ll never remember it, and there won’t beany pain.”
“But—”
“Maggie, if I don’t feed now, I could losecontrol and attack someone, or worse, I could hurtyou. Doyou understand?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. This is how I survive. I must feedif I’m going to keep you safe, and that is the most important thingto me.”
“Why?”
“Because I care about you.”
The blunt way he stated it robbed her of allfurther protests. That sentence wasn’t a line coming from Aiden.She believed him when he said it, just as she believed he wouldn’tcause any suffering to anyone he drank from tonight. If theyexperienced a fraction of the pleasure she’d received from hisbite, then they would know only bliss.
Her pulse quickened as she recalled theecstasy that flooded her when his fangs sank into her throat. Sheyearned to feel that again, but more, she didn’t want anyone elsesharing the experience with him. She gulped when his eyes fell tothe vein in her throat and red flashed through their greendepths.
