It might have been a kiss. His lips were soft on my skin. My eyes shuttered at the contact, and I drew a ragged breath, waiting for the pain. It came with a stinging swiftness that sent my hands clawing for the armrests I’d just released. I gripped them tightly as the sting melted into something else. A prickle of fire and ice–my nerves fired so rapidly that I couldn’t process what I felt until it began to spread. The clash of heat and cold built between my thighs and spread to my core. I felt it all–the pressure of Julian’s mouth on my flesh, the blood spilling against his teeth, the venom filtering through my bloodstream.
Somewhere my brain protested this development. Julian had bitten me.
Not just bitten. He was feeding.
I should stop it, but I didn’t want it to end.
I wanted him to take more. I wanted him to take all of me.
A new sensation blossomed in my chest. It felt both familiar and different. My heart swelled, as though it would crack open and spill out, like my blood on Julian’s tongue. This new feeling commingled with pleasure, building a crescendo inside me.
The aria hit its final, dramatic climax, the audience burst into applause, and I shattered.
They were calling for an encore by the time I dared to open my eyes. When I did, the world was different. New.
It wasn’t the first time Julian had pleasured me with venom in my system. But then he had used his hands and mouth to coax out my climax. All he had done was bite me this time.
Later there would be consequences. But as he lifted his head, I found his eyes black as obsidian and his lips stained red. A second passed as we stared at each other. We’d crossed a line, and I knew now there was no way either of us could go back.
And then Julian casually got up, wiping his mouth, and took his seat. I waited for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. As the applause died down, the opera resumed, and I dared a glance at him. His eyes remained black, and his hands gripped the wooden armrest as mine had moments ago.
“Julian,” I whispered, reaching for his hand as my heart began to race. This time from panic.
“Leave,” he muttered.
“What?” The theatre was still relatively quiet as the next scene began, and a few heads turned our direction at the outburst.
“You need to clean that up,” he said in a low voice. “Go to the bathroom until the bleeding stops.”
I stared at him. The love I’d felt a moment before seeped away as I stared at the stranger next to me. “Are you–”
“Get out of this box before I kill you,” he said in a furious whisper, his eyes never leaving the stage.
I stumbled to my feet and fled from the box. The restroom was nearby, and I dashed inside it. After checking to ensure I was alone, I locked the main door and collapsed against it. Tears came as hard and fast as the final orgasm Julian had delivered only moments ago. No matter how hard I tried, I kept seeing his face and the look of unfiltered hatred on it. It was how he’d looked at me the first time I saw him in San Francisco.
I realized he wanted to kill me then, too. Not in a murderous, psychopathic way. It was more complicated than that. Julian wanted to drain me.
He warned me never to offer him my blood. Now I understood why.
An hour ago, I would have trusted him with my life. Did I still?
And what had I expected?
I wiped away my tears, staining my gloves with mascara. I couldn’t sit in here crying all night. I stood and moved to a long mirror meant for ladies to check their gowns or stockings. Instead, I lifted my skirt. Clutching it to my chest, I examined myself and found I was still bleeding from the wound. I cursed under my breath and went to the sinks. Wetting a hand towel, I cleaned the spot, discovering two perfectly round puncture wounds. I held the towel over them, waiting for the bleeding to stop. After a few minutes, I checked to find it had. Carefully, I made sure there wasn’t a drop of blood anywhere before dropping the hand towel in the trash. If Julian couldn’t control himself, could others?
I couldn’t stay in here forever, though, and by now, Julian would have control of himself. I unlocked the door and stepped out, determined to march back to box three and demand we leave. We needed to talk before he succumbed to his self-loathing. Because, despite the roller coaster of emotions he’d just put me through, I finally had my answer.
He was my mate.
I still didn’t really know what that meant. It was just a feeling. It was something in my gut that told me this was it. He was it.
Honestly, I wasn’t entirely happy about it. Mainly because being bound to a stubborn, grumpy vampire wasn’t something I’d planned on. Not that I could have planned it if I had wanted to. I made my way slowly into the corridor leading back to my seat, trying to decide which questions to ask him first. I only made it halfway before doors began to open along the corridor. Guests spilled out around me, moving to the restrooms or to the bar for a drink during intermission.
I fought my way through the crowd, trying not to accidentally touch anyone. I realized I left my stained gloves behind in the bathroom trash. Maneuvering around a group, I walked straight into Sabine.
She cast a disapproving look at me as a massive male vampire joined her.
“Thea, what are you doing here without a chaperone?” she demanded.
“I don’t need a chaperone,” I said, rolling my eyes. I didn’t have the patience to deal with her. Not now.
“This is her?” Her companion looked me over. “She’s shorter than I imagined.”
“Now is not the time, darling,” she hissed at him.
But he smiled broadly at me. “You must be Julian’s girlfriend.”
Sabine actually winced at the word.
“I’m Dominic Rousseaux, Julian’s father,” he explained, ignoring his wife.
“Oh. It’s nice to meet you,” I said, mustering up the politeness Julian had warned me against. Why did this have to happen now?
“Where is my son?” he asked.
“Hopefully, he’s not out picking up more strays.” Sabine sniffed. Then, she went still. Her nostrils flared, and she turned on me. Her gloved fingers caught my wrist, clenching it so tightly I thought she might break bones. “What have you done?”
“What?” I tried to pull away, aware that more than a few people were watching. Right now, I would give anything for a distraction. She couldn’t know that he’d bitten me, and, even if she did, why would it matter?
“I smell–”
A scream cut her off, followed by several more shouts. I turned and found myself face to face with horror. Figures dressed in black filled every staircase and began grabbing vampires. I spotted a red slash across the breast of one of the attackers just as he grabbed a vampire woman and shoved a stake through her heart.
It wasn’t like in the movies. Vampires bled. Her blood gushed over her evening gown, her dark skin going ashen as she bled out. Then, she went totally still. The man threw her on the ground and lunged for another vampire.
And then all hell broke loose.
I don’t know if I screamed because those around me drowned my cries. Within seconds there were more attackers clashing with vampires.
“Get her away from here,” Dominic ordered, shoving me toward Sabine. He moved toward the chaos. Sabine gripped my arm and dragged me away.
“We have to help them,” I shouted at her.
“You don’t stand a chance against them,” she yelled at me as I fought her. “Those are vampires.”
“But the men in black…”
“Are vampires,” she repeated, yanking me along. “I can’t believe this day has finally come. This is why you shouldn’t be here. The bloodlines need to be strengthened, so we can fight these monsters. Instead, I’m babysitting you.”
I wrenched free of her hold. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
We regarded each other for a minute, and then I tipped my head adding an unspoken request. Go.
She could fight. I couldn’t. She was needed there. I wasn’t.
“Run,” she snarled, then launched herself toward the fray.
I looked around for a weapon but found nothing. I doubted I could even pick up one of the antique candelabras.
But Sabine hadn’t delivered me to safety. She’d herded me away from the pack. A vampire in black saw me and started toward me. His hand tightened on the stake he held. It probably didn’t matter if I was a vampire or not. A stake through the heart would kill me.
I ran toward our box, praying Julian was inside, but it was empty. Shoving at the door, I tried to hold it against the attack, but I wasn’t strong enough. Just as Sabine had said. The vampire pushed open the door, knocking me to the ground in the process.
“Carpe Noctem!” he called as he lifted the stake.
“I’m human!” It was the only card I had. But it wasn’t enough to save me. It only changed the game.
“A human?” he crowed, standing over me. “Someone brought a snack. Let’s remind them what humans are meant for.”
I cried out as he grabbed me and lifted me to my feet.
“You don’t belong here, but you knew that.” His eyes were entirely black, and I knew nothing could save me now. “You belong on a dinner plate.”
He dropped his face to my neck, and I braced myself for pain.
None came.
Instead, I crumbled to the floor. Looking up, I saw my attacker’s body sway and then topple toward me. Headless.
Before he fell on me, strong arms lifted me from the ground and rushed me away. I buried myself against Julian’s chest, soaking up the safety I felt in his embrace. Yes, I still trusted him. No matter what he’d done. No matter how he felt about it. I knew he’d never be able to hurt me. I had just faced a monster with no man inside. Julian wasn’t a monster. No matter what he thought.
But when we reached an emergency exit, he stopped.
“Take her to my house and make sure no one gets in,” he ordered someone.
I clung to him as he tried to pass me off.
“It’s okay,” he coaxed me. “Sebastian is going to get you out of here.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” I protested while he placed me on my feet. “If you’re going back in there, I am, too.”
“You are so brave, pet. It is the first thing that I loved about you.” He grabbed me and yanked me hard against his body. His lips crushed against mine, and a sweet taste flooded my mouth.
Venom.
This time it wasn’t an accident. Venom flowed through me, and a fuzzy lightness overtook my brain. Julian released me into his brother’s waiting arms.
“She is going to be pissed at you.” Sebastian sounded a million miles away.
“I don’t care as long as she’s alive,” Julian barked. I tried to move toward the sound of his voice, but Sebastian kept hold of me.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Sebastian told him, “like get killed.”
Killed.
In my foggy brain, I remembered a hard lesson. Vampires could die. I’d just watch one die in front of me. Julian turned to go back to the attack.
“No!” I yelled. “Please! I love you.”
It was enough to make him pause. His head turned just enough for me to see his eyes were completely black. He smiled and vanished into the chaos.
