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He wouldn’t, especially since he had polished her boots. Right?
His pained expression focused only on her as her entire body became immobile, and her eyes lost focus.
Please just let me live…
ChapterFive
Rolf let out a sigh as he watched the vampire’s muscles twitch. She went lax as her body sunk to the ground. Adeline’s eyes rolled in the back of her head, but damn if she wasn’t a fighter. The creature of the night mumbled something incoherent, still fighting to get upright, though her body was no longer under her command.
He kept a fair bit of distance between them, clasping his hands under his chin. The herbs flooded her system, and little by little, it became harder for her to stay upright.
A pang of guilt wrapped itself around his ribs and squeezed, and though he had sworn he wouldn’t talk to her any more than necessary, he found himself saying, “I can’t have you in my cabin for long, especially when your coven might be looking for you. You’ll be so mad at me when you wake up.”
He withdrew another handful of dried fruit and shoved it into his mouth.
“Ba—,” she stuttered. And though she couldn’t open her eyes, he watched as she took a deep breath and slurred the rest. “Basssstard.”
“I know,” he said, his heart breaking at how weak she looked. It wasn’t like him to treat any of his guests this way - it wasn’t how he was raised. “But I don’t see another way around this. Trust me, you won’t want to be here soon, either.”
“Wha—,” she started but slid further down to the ground. Rolf exhaled and wiped his forehead, thankful he had the foresight to give the rabbit more dried juniper berries. Her mouth was almost numb, but she managed to whisper, “What are you?”
“Not something you want to mess with, I assure you,” he whispered, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. If she could move, she would have recoiled - should have recoiled - from his touch. “I promise you that I won’t hurt you.”
Yet,he thought to himself. He wouldn’t hurt her yet.
* * *
Gasping for air and drenched in sweat, her hands flew to her face, but as she gingerly felt the skin underneath her eyes, her fingertips came away dry. Thankful, her weaknesses were still locked up tight, her shoulders relaxed, and she looked around the room.
Awash in the warm glow of the fire, the cabin felt almost peaceful, and languid shadows filled the nooks and crannies.The sheets scratched at her skin, and she inhaled, the scent of woodsmoke and juniper filling her lungs.
Immobilized from what had been in the rabbit’s blood, Adeline’s muscles had twitched restlessly in her sleep. She stretched, willing the ache in her limbs to leave. Plagued by more cryptic dreams and cold phantom hands holding her down, she fought against the grip of terror for what felt like an eternity until her food had finally worked its way out of her system. Her stomach rumbled, and she yearned to feel the warmth of blood run down her throat. But she was in no hurry to repeat the effects from the night before.
The crackle and pop of a log catching flame snapped her back into the present. Her head swiveled to the bastard that sat on the chair by the fire. He whittled away at a new piece of wood.
“You,” she snarled and pointed her finger at him. Her nails elongated into sharp, black claws. It took everything in her willpower not to lunge at him and tear into his neck.
“Good evening,” he said, as calm as ever. It boiled her blood.
Adeline threw the sheets off and swung her legs off the side of the bed. “You put juniper and garlic into that rabbit’s food. For that, I should…”
“Should what?” he asked and tilted his head, exposing the length of his neck. “Bite me?”
Adeline narrowed her eyes. The vein pulsed, and a shiver coursed down her spine. Weak, but not enough to do something stupid, she wondered what his blood would taste like as she drained the life out of him. Would he fight her? Would he scream? Would his eyes roll in the back of his head from the pleasure and the pain? He’d had the foresight to feed that rabbit juniper and garlic, which means he would have been smart enough to eat some himself. And in much more potent quantities, too, no doubt.
If she acted on her anger now and sunk her teeth into his soft neck, who knows what would happen if she was unable to finish the job? Would she turn an innocent into a creature of the night?
Damned either way and dependent entirely upon his hospitality, she didn’t move. Adeline curled her fingers into fists, her nails digging into her palms. A drop of blood landed on her thigh and trailed down her leg.
His eyes flicked to the red liquid that crept toward her ankle, and she stifled a self-satisfied smile.
He pointed at her with his whittling knife. “You’re going to stain my floor.”
The blood stopped short a hair's breadth from the wood beneath her feet. Adeline stared daggers at him, refusing to move.
“Apologies,” she hissed. She unfurled her fingers slowly to reveal completely healed palms. Adeline stuck her finger in her mouth and wet it. She swiped at the droplet of blood - leaving a deep red stain down her leg. Fully aware of the man’s eyes on her, she straightened. “Is that more to your liking?”
“Thank you. Yes,” he said, focusing his eyes on the stick in his hands. She wanted to reach over and slap the wood out of his hand.
