Read Online Unafraid by Cat Miller - Free Book Online Page B

you take off the head, it’s all over. We can’t
regenerate or fuse a lost limb to our bodies like they do in the
movies.”
    She smiled broadly and he knew she was
shocked he had answered her question at length. She had expected
the opposite. “Can you make me like you?”
    She looked so hopeful. Griffin felt sick. He
pulled her close again wrapping his arms tightly around her petite
body. She was so small and frail. Of course, she would bring all of
his hidden wishes and fears out into the open. He had indeed caught
himself often thinking of turning her so he could keep her by his
side, but the risks were high and Griffin had many other problems
to deal with before he could make that kind of commitment. He
didn’t release her, opting not to see the defeat he knew she would
feel.
    “It is possible to turn a human but there is
a tremendous risk. It usually isn’t done unless the human is going
to die. It’s usually a last ditch effort to save a loved one,” he
admitted.
    “Why? What risks?” she asked against his
chest.
    “Less than half of humans that have undergone
the transformation have survived. I’m no scientist but my
understanding is that as the human blood is consumed by the vampire
blood and the human body fights it like a virus. The human gets a
raging fever and endures untold pain. The human body fights for
survival. More often than not the human dies in the battle,” he
quietly explained.
    “Oh,” she replied.
    “It’s not at all common for a vampire to
enter a long-term relationship with a human. The human will grow
old long before the vamp or they take the chance of losing them to
the change. After a human is changed they can no longer conceive
and there are no known cases of a human surviving a vampire
birth.”
    The intercom from the front desk buzzed to
announce the arrival of their meal. He stood with Tessa in his arms
and stood her on her feet, glad the conversation was over for the
moment. He had ordered dinner from a great little Italian joint
that usually didn’t deliver. But the Vaughn name was important in
more than just vampire society and he had no problem getting what
he wanted.
    Griffin opened the door to allow the manager
of the restaurant to enter. The man froze in his tracks and stared
at Tessa. She glared back at the man. These two obviously knew each
other. The insanely possessive beast that had claimed Tessa as his
own long before Griffin had seen the truth reared his head. Griffin
didn’t believe the pudgy man was a threat to their relationship
like that slick human who’d spent time in Tessa’s bed had been. The
thought of the darkly handsome son of a bitch still made Griffin’s
blood boil.
    This human looked at Tessa’s worn shoes,
nondescript shirt, and jeans with distain. He looked around the
well-appointed living area. He inspected Griffin in his designer
apparel and turned back to Tessa. The beast in him realized the
human male found Griffin’s female lacking. A growl built in his
chest that he didn’t realize had escaped until both Tessa and the
man looked at him with frightened eyes.
    “Do you have a problem?” he growled at the
manager of the restaurant.
    “N-no Mr. Vaughn, I was just surprised to see
my employee when she hasn’t reported to work for weeks,” he
stuttered.
    “Your employee?” Tessa snapped, “I was fired
for not allowing a customer to grope me or assume it was acceptable
to offer me money and demand sex. I am not your employee, Sal!”
    Sal looked perplexed, standing between a
hissing Tessa and Griffin who was finding it difficult not to
strangle him. Taking deep breaths to calm himself before his eyes
shifted to black, Griffin snatched the bag of food and sat it on
the entry table before digging out his wallet. He could feel his
fangs beginning to press into his lower lip. The sooner this
asshole was gone the better.
    “Sebastian assured me that your dismissal was
a mistake. Even though I believe you deserved to be let go