Page 74 of Bleed

Just as suddenly as he grabbed me, he lets me go, stepping back. I stumble a little before catching myself against the door and turning to face him.

When our eyes meet, something inside me shifts. Because the look in those eyes… it’s not annoyance or restraint; not hunger or frustration. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen from Elliott Faulkner before.

It’s a fierce kind of possession– an unwavering claim that sinks in deep and steals the breath from my lungs.

“Get out,” he barks, pointing toward the hallway.

For once, I don’t argue. I slip out of the room, and the door slams shut behind me, the sharp crack echoing down the hall like a gunshot.

I just stand there for a second, staring at the closed door while my heart hammers against my ribs. There’s an angry vampire on the other side of it, and poor Albert’s on the receiving end of his wrath. A normal person would be panicking right about now, but not me. Instead, I’m haunted by that look in Elliott’s eyes.

You are mine.

The words replay in my head over and over, each repetition sending another pulse of illicit heat through me.

God, there’s something seriously fucked about the way I’m wired.

A muffled thud comes from inside the bedroom, jolting me back to reality.

Right.

Probably shouldn’t linger outside the room where an enraged vampire is currently deciding the fate of his betrayer.

I hurry away, taking the stairs two at a time down to the main level and racing for my bedroom. My bare feet slap against the floorboards as I duck inside and shove the door closed behind me.

The latch clicks, silence descending as I sag back against the wood, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to slow the frantic rhythm of my pulse.

All I can see is Elliott’s face.

That look.

That impossible, possessive certainty in his eyes.

My hand slips beneath the waistband of my little boy shorts almost on instinct, fingers circling my clit. The scene upstairs flashes through my mind as I rub faster and faster, rapidly bringing myself to the edge of climax.

And when I fall over the cliff, Elliott’s name is on my lips.

Chapter

Seventeen

Ihaven’t seen Elliott in days.

I’ve heard him moving around the apartment– footsteps sounding overhead, the quiet click of doors opening and closing– but every time I venture out of my room hoping to catch him, he conveniently vanishes. Even on the nights I’m supposed to work in the lab, he never comes downstairs to get me like he usually does.

It’s weird.

I hate it.

Especially because we’re supposed to go to that science award dinner together tonight, and we haven’t had a chance to clear the air. Meaning instead of a fun night out, it’s bound to be awkward as hell.

If he’s even still planning on taking me with him, that is.

I haven’t seen or heard from Albert, either, and I’ve been too chicken shit to text him since the whole blowup with Elliott was technically my fault. I know I should probably apologize. At the very least, I should confirm Elliott didn’t seriously maim him. Instead, I’ve been doing what I do best– avoiding the problem and hoping it’ll somehow resolve itself.

Which is why he’s the last person I expect to find when I step out of the bathroom after showering, casually leaning a shoulder against my bedroom doorframe like he’s been waiting for me.

A relieved breath whooshes from my lungs, a grin instantly spreading across my face.