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He hadn’t.
Clearly, he’d brought them here to become test subjects for Dr. Reynolds.
“I know you,” Olivia purred, cocking her head. “I recognize your scent. Ian...it’s the woman from the other night.”
“The one with the hunter,” Ian replied.
Two hunters, actually. But I didn’t bother to correct him.
“I’d say it’s great to see you again,” I said, “but I’d be lying.”
I tried to see past the monstrous veiny exterior, the sunken cheeks, the black eyes. They were human once. For all I knew they could have been an accountant and a journalist; a teacher and a lawyer. Whatever. I didn’t know where they came from or what their backstories were. And I really didn’t give a shit.
All I knew was that they were a threat—to Declan, to me, to Jennifer whom I’d fully committed myself to rescue. And I knew they were drawn to the scent of the Nightshade inside of me like every other vampire was. Since this pair wasn’t well fed like Lawrence, they wouldn’t have his control—the control that had kept him from sinking his fangs into me to get a taste of my irresistible blood.
At least, that was my hope. And, frankly, that was also my worst fear.
“Jill!” Declan’s pained roar echoed in my ears.
I staggered back a step as the ravenous vampires started moving toward me.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
The decision had been made.And now, all I could do was hope these vampires didn’t rip me apart before they tasted my blood. Declan grabbed a step and wrenched his broken body closer to us, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop what was about to happen.
“Delicious, right?” I said. Fear wasn’t something I could control at the moment, so I gave in to it, wrapping myself in it like a thick blanket. “You need to drink my blood.”
“Yessss,” Olivia hissed.
She had hair so pale blond it was almost white. I think it was a bleach job since nobody had that color of hair naturally. Her skin seemed even paler in contrast to the dark veins that branched along her jawline, and her lips were deep red as if she’d already been drinking her fill of blood before they got to this floor. I could barely see the whites of her eyes, her irises were so large and black. She looked like some sort of angel, actually. An angel of death.
She grabbed hold of my hair, fisting it so tightly that I let out an involuntary cry of pain. Ian drew closer. I shuddered as he slid his hand over my stomach and pressed me back against the wall.
“It’s even better up close.” He sniffed along my neck. “I’ve never smelled anything so good in my life.”
“You should know something about your hunter friend,” Olivia whispered. “The one who stole our life away from us and shoved us in the trunk of his car...”
“What about him?” I asked.
“He’s dead. I tasted his blood myself.”
My chest hitched. “You say that like I should care.”
“Don’t you? Or perhaps you only care about this one,” she nodded toward Declan. “Doesn’t matter, really. You’ll all die now.”
My heart pounded so fast it made me dizzy. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Declan was trying to get to me. I shuddered with fear and disgust as Ian slid his tongue over my jugular vein.
Olivia had a tight hold of my hair and she wrenched my neck to the side. Her other hand grasped my chin and she nipped at my jaw, not quite hard enough to break the skin. Her fangs were as sharp as the scalpel that Lawrence used on Dr. Reynolds’ throat.
This was typically the part in the movies where the good guys would arrive, stakes in hand, and make mincemeat out of the monsters, saving the damsel in distress who’d been foolish enough to wander off into danger and get herself eaten. But my life wasn’t a movie. And this damsel had chosen this distress with full knowledge of the potential consequences. I didn’t have nightmares every night because my life was big fun.
“Do it,” I managed. “Bite me. What are you waiting for?”
As the saying went, be careful what you wish for.
I thought I had properly braced myself, but the pain was a horrible shock. And they weren’t taking turns. Olivia was at my throat, her fangs slicing into my flesh. Ian had moved down to my wrist and I winced as he pierced my skin so deeply I was sure he’d hit bone.
It hurt like hell, but I couldn’t move or struggle anymore. Something about a vampire’s bite rendered the victim paralyzed while they were being fed upon. I could feel everything, see and hear everything. But I couldn’t try to protect myself or fight back, which made it even more dangerous and frightening.
