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Parker sucks in a sharp breath through his nose and his eyes flash with desire, but he nods. He glances around and then lowers his voice. “I’m a very old vampire, Nora; my control is impeccable. Still, because it’s you, I fed before coming here tonight just to be safe. I will be fine.”
Parker glances at the group of humans staring at us. I can tell he hates that we’ve just confirmed their suspicions about his underworlder status. I feel a little bad about that, but I also needed the answer to his question. I don’t think I’d have been able to cut myself in his presence if I thought he was going to vamp out on me.
“Is her blood really that much more enticing to you?” Elijah asks.
The glare he gets from Parker is 100 percent vampire. His eyes turn red, and his fangs descend. It makes Elijah and his friends all back up.
“You will keep his secret,” I say calmly to the group of curious onlookers, “or we will kill you. All of you.”
Whoa. I don’t know where that threat came from, but I kind of mean it. Not that I’m a murderer, but I suddenly feel this desperate need to protect Parker. I guess that makes him one of my friends now, too, because I would only ever be that loyal and protective of someone I care about.
Elijah must believe I’m serious, too, because he steps over to me with a hand up in surrender and speaks to me like he’s trying to calm a raging child. “It’s all right, Nora. We would never do something to harm your friend. We do not do things to hurt our brothers or their sponsors.” His smile turns rueful. “Besides, we know better than to cross a vampire.” He nods when Parker growls softly once more. “Your identity is safe with us. You have my word.”
After a moment of tense silence, Elijah turns to me with a smile. “It’s time.”
When I nod, he takes my hand in his and pulls a butterfly knife from his pocket. His thoughts are a jumbled mess of excitement. He’s addicted to underworlder blood, and he’s so eager to try mine. He thinks there’s something different about me, something powerful that I’m still keeping a secret. He thinks that’s why he’s so drawn to me and why Parker finds my blood more enticing.
“Well, get on with it,” I rasp, shaking my arm at him.
He looks up at me with heated eyes and refuses to break my gaze as he makes a small but deep cut on my inner forearm over a vein. I wince but am rather proud of myself when I don’t cry out because it hurts like a bitch, and pain brings out the sailor in me.
Keeping his eyes locked on mine in what I think is meant to be a sexy look—epic fail there—Elijah brings my bleeding arm to his mouth. At first, he just licks the beads of blood that have bubbled on the surface, but then he gasps and clamps his mouth down on the cut. He pulls a hard suck, and his eyes roll back in his head. He moans in a way that makes me feel dirty—though, that could just be his thoughts making me feel that way.
He’s never had blood like mine before. He was right, and it’s everything he expected. He doesn’t know what’s different about me, but mine is the sweetest, most vitalizing blood he’s ever had. He can feel the power I’m giving him, and it’s exciting him sexually.
Suddenly, the tingling sensation—that intuition that someone plans to harm me—disappears. Elijah no longer plans to allow me to be sacrificed. He has other uses for me now. He wants me to be his girlfriend, or, at least, some kind of sex and blood slave.
He was drawn to me before, but now, after sharing this intimate moment and tasting me, he’s completely gone for me. It’s more than bloodlust. He wants to claim my body as much as my blood. He’s never wanted anything more. He plans to feel Nick out about ending his relationship with me before Tuesday, and he’ll do whatever needs to be done if Nick’s unwilling. He thinks Nick will go for it, though, because he didn’t seem to really care about me, he only wanted my power, and Elijah can offer him alotof power. It should be an easy negotiation. Nowhere in his thoughts does he considermyfeelings toward himself or Nick. Asshole.
Elijah’s thoughts disappear as he’s ripped away from me. “Okay, that’s enough,” Nick says.
He takes his shirt off and wraps it around my bleeding arm before putting his leather jacket over my shoulders. I must be really out of it, because I’m shaking and I want to go home and I don’t even care about the fact that Nick is shirtless and totally lives up to his name. Hell, he’d live up to Adonis’s name.
“You okay?” he asks. I nod, but the simple action makes me sway, and Nick is forced to catch me. He glares at Elijah.
“You took too much,” Parker growls.
He’s keeping a lot of distance from me at the moment, and his eyes are burning red again. I must be the Bella to his Edward. That’s comforting. Not.
“Sorry.” Elijah looks completely drunk. His brothers are holding him up, and he’s grinning at me with a wide, goofy smile. “You are incredible, Nora. So strong.”
Really? That’s strange, considering I’m human. Whatever little underworlder blood I have in me must bereallykickass. But it’s a mystery for another day, because I can hardly keep my eyes open.
“We,” Elijah says, pressing a hand to his chest and then waving at his brothers, “the Brotherhood of the Highest Order, would be honored to invite Nick into our circle and have you as his sponsor.”
“Super.” I can’t dial back the sarcasm. My head hurts too much.
Elijah’s smile softens. “Go home and get some sleep. You’ll feel better soon, and then we’ll talk.” His eyes shift to Nick. “We’ll text you on Tuesday with the location for your initiation. Bring Nora. Once you’ve completed your initiation, you will be one of us. We’ll move you into the house, and you can start to learn our secrets. Power you can only dream of right now will be yours in reality.”
“Sounds good,” Nick says, shaking Elijah’s hand. “Parker, want to help me get her home?”
Parker looks at me, face pinched in pain and shame. “I’d better not.”
Nick narrows his eyes at Parker as if he’s now thinking the same thing I was a moment ago. What’s so special about my blood? It should be normal human blood with maybe a drop of underworlder power in it. It shouldn’t be so different that it’s testing the control of a vampire as old as Parker, and who recently fed.
Nick turns me to face him and zips up his jacket while searching my eyes. “We need to get you home and in bed. Think you can hold on to me long enough for me to get you there on the bike?”
I’m honestly not sure, but my car is still parked at the club, and I’m not letting anyone besides Nick take me home. “I’m good.”
“Okay. Let’s get you home.”
