was finally dead and buried, and her
enslavement to August was just beginning. This was a devil’s
bargain. She knew that. And yet, Dominic had been her weakness from
the first sunny afternoon when he’d offered her that crooked smile
outside the library.
The guilt of
betrayal mixed with the burning agony of the vampire’s fangs until
they felt like the same thing. Finally, August pulled away from her
throat. She turned to see him bite his tongue, then he licked the
wound on her neck, sealing their blood together.
Something unwanted
fluttered in her stomach when his tongue stroked over her neck, the
glimmer of something she shouldn’t feel. It had to be the bond
somehow controlling her. Had she just given him power over her mind?
The one thing he hadn’t had before?
Panic curled
inside her at the idea that she’d been free of his hypnotic
control, and now that she’d accepted his bite, some sorcery beyond
her might make her want him.
“Are you all
right?” he asked.
She felt the bond
rise from forgotten spaces in the void, wrapping around them,
creating a link that could never be severed. Deep down she’d feared
that once he got what he wanted he would turn more cruel, but his
touch on her face was gentle, his hazel gaze filled with warmth and
concern… and gratitude.
How long would that last?
“I-I feel weak,”
she said, unsure if she could stand, doubting it possible that she
could do this every night and survive to tell the tale.
“The changes may
take a while to complete.”
Nicole reached to
the side of her neck, expecting to feel a wound, but there was
nothing. As if it had never happened at all. Not even a scar, just a
slight burn under her skin that she worried would never go away.
Despite no visible evidence, the rest of her body screamed at her
like she’d been hit by a truck.
“Changes?” She
didn’t like the sound of that. Her breath came in short, shaky
waves, and she couldn’t get enough air no matter how much she
gasped for it.
He steadied her
with a hand on her arm. “Easy, Nicolette. The changes that make you
immortal, that make your blood replenish quickly, that speed your
healing time. The changes that make you a god. Believe me, they are
nothing to fear, especially without the curse attached.”
The realization of
what she’d done crept into her, the memories of the cellar and the
death promising to be a constant feature in all future nightmares.
She tried not to think about what it said about her that she had been
so quick to say yes when Dominic had been dangled in front of her
like a carrot, and yet she’d let no less than sixty people be
murdered right in front of her and still had refused the vampire’s
demand each night—until he’d found the thing that mattered to her
enough to sacrifice anything.
She collapsed on
the floor, shaking as the sobs bubbled up from somewhere deep inside
her.
“Oh, God. What
have I done? All those people you killed… What have I tied myself
to?”
“I can take it
away with the bond.”
“Take what
away?”
“The pain you’ve
suffered. You don’t have to feel this or be destroyed by it.”
She glared up at
him. “You mean mess with my mind so I don’t remember it, so you
can get away with it and it’s all okay?”
“That’s not
what I mean. I can’t erase your memories. But I can take the sting
out of them. You’ll know what happened. It won’t affect your free
will or your memories, just the pain.” He bit into his wrist and
held it out to her.
She made a face
and scrambled away. “No.”
“It won’t hurt
you, it won’t make you a vampire. All it will do is activate the
bond to heal the pain you’re feeling. You can still hate me if you
want.”
Nicole hesitated.
If she ever wanted to find a way to escape him, she would need to be
mentally and emotionally whole. Her best chance of getting away was
being offered to her now. “Okay.”
August relaxed.
“Okay. Good.”
She closed her
eyes and took the
enslavement to August was just beginning. This was a devil’s
bargain. She knew that. And yet, Dominic had been her weakness from
the first sunny afternoon when he’d offered her that crooked smile
outside the library.
The guilt of
betrayal mixed with the burning agony of the vampire’s fangs until
they felt like the same thing. Finally, August pulled away from her
throat. She turned to see him bite his tongue, then he licked the
wound on her neck, sealing their blood together.
Something unwanted
fluttered in her stomach when his tongue stroked over her neck, the
glimmer of something she shouldn’t feel. It had to be the bond
somehow controlling her. Had she just given him power over her mind?
The one thing he hadn’t had before?
Panic curled
inside her at the idea that she’d been free of his hypnotic
control, and now that she’d accepted his bite, some sorcery beyond
her might make her want him.
“Are you all
right?” he asked.
She felt the bond
rise from forgotten spaces in the void, wrapping around them,
creating a link that could never be severed. Deep down she’d feared
that once he got what he wanted he would turn more cruel, but his
touch on her face was gentle, his hazel gaze filled with warmth and
concern… and gratitude.
How long would that last?
“I-I feel weak,”
she said, unsure if she could stand, doubting it possible that she
could do this every night and survive to tell the tale.
“The changes may
take a while to complete.”
Nicole reached to
the side of her neck, expecting to feel a wound, but there was
nothing. As if it had never happened at all. Not even a scar, just a
slight burn under her skin that she worried would never go away.
Despite no visible evidence, the rest of her body screamed at her
like she’d been hit by a truck.
“Changes?” She
didn’t like the sound of that. Her breath came in short, shaky
waves, and she couldn’t get enough air no matter how much she
gasped for it.
He steadied her
with a hand on her arm. “Easy, Nicolette. The changes that make you
immortal, that make your blood replenish quickly, that speed your
healing time. The changes that make you a god. Believe me, they are
nothing to fear, especially without the curse attached.”
The realization of
what she’d done crept into her, the memories of the cellar and the
death promising to be a constant feature in all future nightmares.
She tried not to think about what it said about her that she had been
so quick to say yes when Dominic had been dangled in front of her
like a carrot, and yet she’d let no less than sixty people be
murdered right in front of her and still had refused the vampire’s
demand each night—until he’d found the thing that mattered to her
enough to sacrifice anything.
She collapsed on
the floor, shaking as the sobs bubbled up from somewhere deep inside
her.
“Oh, God. What
have I done? All those people you killed… What have I tied myself
to?”
“I can take it
away with the bond.”
“Take what
away?”
“The pain you’ve
suffered. You don’t have to feel this or be destroyed by it.”
She glared up at
him. “You mean mess with my mind so I don’t remember it, so you
can get away with it and it’s all okay?”
“That’s not
what I mean. I can’t erase your memories. But I can take the sting
out of them. You’ll know what happened. It won’t affect your free
will or your memories, just the pain.” He bit into his wrist and
held it out to her.
She made a face
and scrambled away. “No.”
“It won’t hurt
you, it won’t make you a vampire. All it will do is activate the
bond to heal the pain you’re feeling. You can still hate me if you
want.”
Nicole hesitated.
If she ever wanted to find a way to escape him, she would need to be
mentally and emotionally whole. Her best chance of getting away was
being offered to her now. “Okay.”
August relaxed.
“Okay. Good.”
She closed her
eyes and took the
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