In the Dark. Jen Colly

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СКАЧАТЬ sat anyway, and he covered her shoulder with a large hand, pressing her to the mattress.

      “Listen, buddy, I want to sit up. So leave me alone and let me figure it out, or help me up,” she said, struggling against his hold.

      The hand on her shoulder changed directions, and he gently pulled her to a sitting position. He might have moved slowly, but it felt like she’d been pitched forward. She had to squeeze her eyes shut to stop the room from spinning. Palms flat on the mattress, she braced herself, simply breathing.

      “You passed out again. How are you feeling?” he asked.

      When she looked up at the man, she recognized him instantly. He’d saved her life, and carried her down here after she’d passed out in the alley. She’d never passed out before. Yes, being robbed had been scary, but after he’d shown up, she didn’t fear for her safety. Except when…he’d bitten her. “You…you’re,” she said, her voice shaking even as she kicked the blankets at him and backed against the wall. “Get away from me.”

      That sudden movement had been a very bad idea. She leaned back against the wall for balance and clutched her head with both hands.

      “You hit your head pretty hard. Do you remember what happened to you?”

      “I don’t have amnesia.” She snapped her mouth shut, holding back a whimper, then whispered, “A mild concussion, maybe.”

      The volume of her words rattling around inside her head hurt badly. She wanted very much to lie down again and sleep for a whole day, but messing with her equilibrium to get her head to the pillow was something she dreaded at the moment. Stillness seemed to work the best right now. She opened her eyes enough to see him through her eyelashes. Satisfied that he hadn’t made a move toward her, she asked quietly, “Why am I here?”

      “Because it’s safe here.”

      “Where is here?” She gave it another go.

      “A friend’s home.”

      “Wow, are you cryptic.” She wasn’t getting any water out of this rock, and gave up.

      “Habit,” he said, shrugging one shoulder as if apologizing.

      “Well, it’s a bad one.” With her fingers, she searched out the sore spot on the back of her head. If there had been any doubt in her mind, the bump under her fingertips revealed that she had definitely hit her head. “Why didn’t you leave me in the alley?”

      “Do you remember what happened?” His voice had changed with this question, and she swore she heard a touch of hope in his words.

      “Boy, do I. You bit me. Bit me!” She’d gradually gotten louder, and had to catch herself. “You should have left me.”

      “If you didn’t remember, I could have. But you know what I am,” he said, lowering his head. “Even if I had wanted to let you go, I couldn’t. There is no other choice. Now you will stay with me.”

      Her mouth hung open in surprise for a moment before she snapped it shut. “I’m not staying with you.”

      He leaned closer, gaze narrowing on her. “Leaving you to those two monsters would have been the only way to avoid me. And if I had, death and dismemberment would’ve been the very least of your worries. I say again, I have no choice.”

      A chill shimmied up her spine, made her shiver. The problem was, she believed him.

      As frightening as those men had been, the man sitting before her was the one who had bitten her on the neck. It had stung, searing, before her vision dimmed.

      “Have I really been kidnapped by Dracula?” she whispered, watching his lips, afraid of what hid behind them.

      He raised an eyebrow, then cleared his throat. “Dracula is dead, and was not one of our kind. My name is Soren. And I am vampire, if that’s what you’re asking.”

      She stared at him now, unable, or maybe unwilling, to stop. This man certainly wasn’t the pasty, caped creature she automatically associated with vampires, nor did he look eternally youthful. And she supposed his aged look threw her the most. His skin had a natural light olive tone, and when coupled with the grooves across his forehead and the smile lines bracketing his lips, he looked like a worn thirty-five-year-old man. How could a regular man be a vampire?

      The bedroom door swung open. A short man stood in the doorway, nearly hidden by her large blue suitcase. He tossed it on the floor.

      Soren sighed. “This is Gustav.”

      “I wish you would have let me kill her. This thing weighs a ton,” Gustav said, then his eyes fixed on her and narrowed. He turned to Soren. “You gave her my clothes? This isn’t getting any better. Get her dressed and out of here.”

      “We’re going,” Soren assured him, his mouth twitching as if he fought a smile.

      “I hate people,” Gustav grumbled, then caught sight of the splintered door. “Hey, what the hell happened to my bathroom door?”

      She certainly wasn’t going to take the fall for that one. As Gustav looked between them angrily, she discretely pointed to Soren.

      “Forget it, I don’t want to know.” Gustav left, throwing his hands in the air.

      Soren lifted her suitcase and set it inside the bathroom. “I thought you might want your things. We’ll be leaving soon, so bathe and change your clothes.” Despite her pounding head, she was up and across the room in an instant. It didn’t seem like a smart thing to try a vampire’s patience.

      * * * *

      Soren watched as she tried several times to get the door to latch right. She barely got the thing to close even as she used her weight to pull it into place. After she’d passed out, he’d nearly torn the door off its hinges the instant he’d heard the solid thump of her body against the wall. Yet again, he was struck by her human weakness.

      He’d caught her in time to keep her head from smacking the floor. Funny, how a bump on the head and overexertion caused a human to pass out.

      He would have to be drunk or nearly dead to lose consciousness. Even the women of his species were amazingly resilient. Faith was vulnerable, and he needed to shelter her. Which he shouldn’t want to do. Shouldn’t even think it. He had other, more important things to attend to.

      Demons ran free in Paris.

      Their red-eyed faces filled his mind, but an image of Faith took over, soaking wet and terrified of them. He stood and paced the room, rubbing the back of his neck as he moved, anger growing.

      He had to stop remembering her fear, and that the demons had touched her. It made him furious, volatile. Gustav’s casual request to kill her had nearly sent him over the edge.

      And when he took her home? It had been so long since a human had been brought into their world. His whole life was being rearranged in an evening, because of one girl.

      * * * *

      Faith knelt on the floor, popped the metal latches and lifted the lid of her suitcase. She might be able to get out of this. Soren was a vampire. He СКАЧАТЬ