Page 62 of Fire in My Blood
The man who fills the doorway next is tall and muscular, although not as tall as Lucas. He’s got short black hair and dark-brown eyes, and even though he can’t exactly be called handsome, his features are masculine and striking. Not a man to be easily forgotten.
His expression doesn’t reveal any emotions as he stares into my eyes, and I stare straight back at him without any hesitation. I’m well beyond being meek and humble at this point. A strength I never knew I had suffuses my spine, straightening it and lifting my head in defiance.
I’m going to make sure Lucas isn’t in trouble because of my actions. Taking the blame for what happened doesn’t bother me; in fact I welcome it, and if Lucas had stayed, I would have told him as much.
“I’m Markus.” The tall man steps forward with his hand outstretched.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Erica.” I take his hand in a firm handshake. “Please sit.”
A look of surprise registers on his face for half a second before it reverts to neutral. It’s obvious he’s not used to someone else taking charge.
“Thank you.” Markus sits down on the couch facing the one where I was sitting, and I go to sit back down. Lyn comes around to sit on the couch next to me, leaving a little space between us.
“I want you to know none of this is Lucas’s fault, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to sort this out.” I stare directly into Markus’s eyes to convey my sincerity.
He narrows his gaze at me. “Are you aware what it means to be mated to an elemental?”
“Not really, no. But if you mean sex, I don’t think that’s likely to happen again.” I fight to keep my voice steady and my face from showing the despair tearing at the broken pieces of my heart.
Markus takes a deep breath, and his eyes seem to darken with anger. “Mating has to do with blood more than sex. Lucas drank your blood, and you had his. The exchange created a bond between you.”
I frown. “I can’t have swallowed more than a few drops of his blood. I never intended to bite him. It happened by accident.” I can feel heat coloring my face, even though the terror of what happened after I bit Lucas destroyed the beauty of what we shared.
“It doesn’t matter, a drop is enough. You are bonded to him, and he is bonded to you, forever.”
Shock reverberates through me, and I’m sure my face drains of all color. “What does that mean?”
His expression is completely neutral. “It means that if one of you dies, the other will die. You’re immortal the same as he is, but you need to be physically close to each other often in order to keep the bond strong. Otherwise, you’ll both weaken and die.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and close my eyes to stop tears from filling them. This is so much worse than I could have ever imagined. If Lucas knew this would happen if I accidentally swallowed a drop of his blood, why didn’t he warn me?
“What do you mean by physically close?” I open my eyes to look at Markus, dreading his answer.
He studies my face. “Sex.”
I groan. “Lucas will never want to touch me ever again.” I fist my hands to keep it together, at least until I can leave.
“But you would?” Markus lifts an eyebrow in question.
I nod. What do I have to lose? Hiding my feelings won’t change anything now. “I would do anything for him, give him whatever he wants. I love Lucas. It was never my intention to put him in this situation, and I’ll do anything necessary to make sure he’s all right.”
Markus’s mouth falls open in surprise. Then, he lets out a bark of laughter. “That stupid fuck. He doesn’t deserve you. You’re way too good for him.”
His expression sobers, and his eyes bore into mine. “What exactly happened before he left?”
My throat constricts as pain cuts through my heart again. I really don’t want to talk about this. I’m not even sure I can without falling apart. Biting my bottom lip hard to distract myself from the pain in my chest, I narrow my focus to what I have to say.
“I asked Lucas to bite me, and he said he wanted to be inside me when he did.” My gaze is on my fists in my lap. I just can’t handle the disapproval in Markus’s eyes when he realizes this is all my fault.
“When he bit me, the sensations were so overpowering that I bit him back. I can remember sinking my teeth into his shoulder, but I never expected to break the skin. Afterward, he saw the blood on my lips, and I’ll never forget the shock on his face.” I swallow to prevent the tears filling my eyes from spilling down my cheeks.
“He almost seemed to panic. He mumbled something about the vampire who’s after me, and that he had to go. The lastthing he said before he closed the door was that I should talk to you.” I glance at Lyn before looking back down at my fists.
“That’s all he said?” Markus’s voice is emotionless.
I nod. “Yes.”
“Did you tell him you love him?”