Page 14 of Fire in My Blood

My shoulders become rigid.Fuck.I’ve scared her.

“It’s Sunday tomorrow, and I don’t work on Sundays. I’ll be here on Monday, though.” She gives me a hesitant smile, and I can see the apology in her eyes.

“Oh. That’s okay then.” My shoulders sag with relief, and I give her a teasing grin. “I’ll just wait right here for you, okay?”

Erica’s brows furrow, and her gaze drops to the floor. “I’ve tried to think of a good excuse to come in tomorrow, but I haven’t been able to come up with anything plausible.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” I stand. Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and give it a gentle squeeze.

She looks at me and gives me a small smile. “I’ve got more water for you. Just give me a moment.” She disappears out the door.

Less than twenty seconds later, she’s back with three clear plastic bags filled with water. They probably contain about half a liter each.

“You can probably hide the empty bags inside the mattress cover. Or do they check that?” There’s a worried crease between her eyes.

Shaking my head in astonishment, I give her a wide grin. “No, I think that might work.”

Relief washes the concern from her beautiful face. “Great.” Then her eyes turn sad. “I have to go now, or I’ll be late. I don’t like leaving you here, but please understand that I don’t have a choice.”

“I know. Don’t worry about me. Go now before they come looking for you.” I smile and shrug like I don’t have a care in the world.

She hands me the plastic bags before turning away and moving over to the door. After throwing me a quick smile over her shoulder, she turns off the light and walks out the door.

I hear her move away from the door outside, and I lower myself back to the mattress before resting my head against the wall behind me. My mind is filled with Erica, her golden-blond hair, her beautiful brown eyes, and her smooth, pale neck.

I can still feel her warm skin under my hands and her soft lips against mine. Her kiss left me breathless. It wasn’t meek and hesitant like I had expected but filled with a restrained passion that I’m desperate to coax free.

But the hard truth is that it can’t happen again. She isn’t mine to pursue. And I have to keep that at the front of my mind. There will be no more kissing, or anything else for that matter.

I lift my head and stare into the darkness. To a human the room would appear pitch black. But I have no trouble seeing in the dark. I’ve spent many hours here already studying my surroundings and trying to come up with a way to escape. But there is nothing in this room I can use to get out of these chains.

And then there’s the door. When I move as far forward as the chains will allow, I can see about half of it. It’s a heavy steel door, and whenever it locks, I can hear the solid bars sliding into the wall. I might be exceptionally strong when I’m at my full power, but I’m not sure I can break through that door, using muscle strength alone.

I scrub my hands down my face in frustration. Two days. That’s the time I have to get out of here. A little less than two days.

As much as I want to see Erica again, I can’t allow that to happen. The risk is too great that I won’t be able to leave her behind when I go. I don’t stay in one place for long. It’s the curse of who I am and what I do.

But I would give just about anything to kiss her one last time before I leave. It would be a mistake, though. I’m alreadybalancing at the edge of my control, and I don’t need any more temptation.

My life consists of duty, a duty to keep humanity safe. I was born with that obligation, and it will stay with me forever. And I can’t let anyone, particularly not a human, distract me from my responsibility.

I should have told her not to come back on Monday. Perhaps it would have been best to scare her to make her stay away.

Except there is no way I would have been able to do that to her. She has been through enough. And I would rather die than hurt her.

∞∞∞

Erica

I rush to put away everything, before I grab my coat and purse and hurry outside to my car. I’m not late, but I still feel jittery when I approach the gates. It’s like the wordguiltyis written in thick capital letters on my forehead. My smile feels like a horrible grimace not reaching my eyes at all, but I give a small wave as usual and hope for the best.

The guard at the gate reaches out one arm, signaling for me to stop.

My heart drops into my stomach, and a cold sweat breaks out all over my body. This is not good. How does he know that I’ve been visiting the prisoner?

A horrible thought strikes me. Perhaps they can check the use of my keycard, and now they’ve found out I’ve opened the door to Lucas’s room several times in the last few days. I haven’t even considered that possibility. What will happen to me nowthat they know? And more importantly, what will happen to Lucas when I can’t bring him water anymore?

I roll down my window and try not to flinch when I meet the guards concerned gaze. “Hi.” My mouth is so dry I almost choke on the simple word.