Page 22 of Bonded By Blood
“I’m sorry, I had to snoop a little,” she said as she set the clothes on the counter where the towel had been. She took a single step back and hesitated. “Do you think you need help?”
It was official. His pride would probably never recover.
Joe shook his head, careful to keep the motion slow and deliberate. He’d been a little off-balance when he’d started stripping, but for the most part he felt he had that under control now. Aside from the constant assault on his senses, which had at this point melded into a pounding headache to go with his parched, burning throat.
“Okay,” she said, before she turned and gave him enough privacy to get dressed.
Joe donned his clean, dry clothes with careful movements. He knew vampires had significantly more strength than humans and he didn’t want to further humiliate himself by ripping his pants when he tried stepping into them. He’d partially crushed at least one doorknob on his panicked flight into the bathroom earlier.
Once he was decent, on the outside, Joe exited the bathroom and spotted Brianna perched on the edge of his bed. She wasn’t quite sitting, so much as leaning back. Regardless, Joe paused, conflicted emotions swirling inside him. He didn’t feel nearly well enough to appreciate the sight of her beside his bed as much as he wanted to and, stupidly, that frustrated him. The whole situation frustrated him.
Brianna straightened and walked up to him. She placed a hand on his bicep, just below his shoulder, and looked him in the eyes. Somehow, the sight of her onyx stare reminded him that his irises would be black now, too. “I’m so sorry, Joe.” Her voice was soft, even up close. She looked genuinely remorseful, as if she thought what had happened to him was her fault.
Joe frowned. He had to figure out how to speak around this damn dry throat problem.
She settled two fingers over his lips. “Let’s go downstairs and get you something to drink. It won’t do much more than ease the dryness, but it’s better than nothing.”
Better than nothing sounded great, so he inclined his head.
She was right, though. When she handed him a cup of warmed milk, with the explanation that the thicker nature of the liquid would do more than simple tea, his stomach immediately revolted at the smell of it.
It’s just milk. But it wasn’t what his body craved now. The thought repulsed his mind the way the smell of the milk repulsed his stomach. Still, he lifted the mug to his lips and gulped it down. It didn’t taste all that great, but it did wonders for the veritable desert his throat had become. He fought the urge to gag a little, though, when it hit his stomach. The mug in his hands shattered, startling him back into the moment, and he looked down at his lap. In one hand he held the intact handle, in the other … a couple pieces of shattered, slightly milky ceramic.
Muffled giggling preceded the tell-tale ripping of paper towels and Joe lifted his gaze to the woman across from him.
Brianna looked far too amused for the circumstances as she held out a couple of paper towels. “You have to get used to your new strength,” she said. “Also, until you’ve quenched your thirst properly, nothing else is going to taste very good.” When he took the sheets from her, she knelt before him and began plucking the pieces of destroyed mug off his lap. “I’m a little surprised you didn’t leave more destruction in your wake on your way upstairs, actually.”
“Yeah.” His voice was still a little raw, but at least he’d finally managed to speak.
The small mess was long cleaned up by the time Joe registered the sound of an approaching vehicle. That was what the rumbling, crunching, unnatural sound had to be—what it reminded him of—even if it was much louder than he was used to. Then again, so was everything else. But, were there two vehicles? Or was the secondary sound normal, even though it didn’t quite match enough to qualify as an echo?
Brianna moved toward the covered window and scooted the curtain aside ever so slightly.
Joe wondered if he would have heard the sigh that followed if not for his newly enhanced hearing. He swallowed, cringing slightly, and asked, “Everything … okay?” At this point he was desperate enough to get his voice back to normal that even the idea of drinking blood didn’t sound as appalling as it should have.
Brianna dropped the curtain and offered him a small, reassuring smile. “Yes,” she said. “I just wasn’t thinking. I didn’t expect Mother to send Jasen.”
Jasen was there? Crap. Joe hadn’t even done anything wrong and he felt a flicker of nerves kick-start in his stomach.
His face must have given him away, because Brianna moved closer to him and folded one of his hands into both of hers. “Don’t worry. He’s here for protection, not to assassinate you.”
I’m betting he’s done the other thing, though. Joe tried for a grin and felt a little proud of himself for not nicking the inside of his lips in the process. His grin faltered almost immediately when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching the front door, followed by a pair of closing car doors.
Brianna turned her focus to the foyer as the door swung open.
A slew of new scents rushed in with the movement of the door and Joe stiffened as he attempted to adjust to the sensation. Dirt, rubber, leather, a strange combination of pollens with an undercurrent of something that brought to mind the image of leaves he didn’t know the names of, traces of coffee, and at the back of all of it—something coppery. Blood. Joe’s mouth watered before his brain had formed the word.
Jasen strode into the space, several paces ahead of two other male vampires Joe didn’t recognize. His jaw was tight and his eyes were narrowed. Whether in anger, frustration, or anticipation, it was hard to tell. He glanced between Joe and Brianna before focusing his attention on Brianna. “What the hell happened?”
Brianna was undaunted. “He’s too thirsty to do a lot of talking, so I know about as much as I can guess by looking around. I haven’t seen a sign of anyone else in the area. I’m sorry Mother dragged you out here.”
Jasen arched a brow. “Of course she sent me. The area’s obviously dangerous.” He turned as he spoke. “I’ll look around. Don’t wait for me.”
He reversed course and stomped past the other two—or at least it sounded like stomping to Joe’s ears—but Joe stopped watching him as his gaze zeroed in on the portable cooler resting at one of their feet. He didn’t need the roiling in his gut to guess what was inside. Dread and relief rose within him simultaneously. The moment was upon him, whether he liked it or not. His brain decidedly did not. His starved and fatigued body, however, could hardly wait.
“Bring that here,” Brianna said, speaking to the man with the rolling ice chest. “And tell me it’s not ice cold.”
“Lightly chilled for preservation, ma’am,” the stationary vampire said.