I was suffocating, my head reeling with confusion.
“Danni, no.” Balen grabbed my arm as the door flung open.
“Let me go.” I punched him in the jaw and he grunted, releasing me. “I need a minute, okay? I’m not going to take off into the fuckin’ woods and disappear. I can’t—remember? We’re Bonded.”
I watched her jump out of the car then kick at the gravel on the shoulder. She swore and gestured with her hands and, damn, she looked hotter than hell. I’d like nothing more than to throw her on the hood and fuck her on the side of the road. I’d do it, too, if I thought I might get away with it. Unfortunately, her anger was far past my ability to smooth over with sex.
I got out of the car and leaned up against the side, crossing my arms. I should’ve told her. I knew her memories were returning and she’d eventually find out what I’d done.
But there’d been no choice. Ryszard’s plan for me was to consume his blood then drink Danni’s to heighten my taste for it. It almost worked. I’d fought the craving every day. The memory of her sweetness on my tongue reminded me of exactly how my thirst could be quenched and the power it gave. But I survived it. I drove it from me until it disgusted me.
After five minutes pacing back and forth on the shoulder of the road, she climbed back into the car and slammed the door. I said nothing as I got back in and started back down the highway, waiting for the words I knew were inevitable. Danni rarely remained silent on any issue.
“Why?” she asked.
Fair enough. “I’d already taken Ryszard’s blood. He had word that Keir and the others were coming and if they got to me, the chances of me turning would be greater if I’d tasted human blood.”
“Turning?”
“Drinking vampire blood changes us into one of them. Ryszard needed me to be rescued, healed, and then to keep him informed of the Scars plans in order to get to Anstice. By forcing me to drink from you, it would heighten my thirst for blood, therefore, turning me quicker. Otherwise, it would have been weeks before I completely turned.”
“Why did he want Anstice so badly?”
“She’s a powerful Healer. More so than most. Not many healers have the ability to heal a vampire. Anstice does. Just like our mother.”
Danni was silent for a minute, her gaze staring out the windshield. “Don’t do it again.”
“That’s it?” I had meant to say it in my mind, but I was so surprised that I said it aloud.
Danni nodded. “I hated it. I hate that you did it, but I get it. You saved my life. Sometimes we have to do shitty things in order to get there. Just, don’t do it again. So, what age did you have your first kiss? I was fifteen.”
I shook my head, surprised she was letting it go so easily. “Twenty-five.”
“Wow. Why so late? I mean, don’t all guys kiss a girl in high school?”
I shrugged. “I was training to fight. I had no interest in girls at the time. Besides, there were no high schools when I was growing up.”
“Right. Yeah, I guess not. So, what was her name?”
I shook my head. “That’s two questions. Wait your turn.”
We played the game for a while longer, then stopped to grab coffee and muffins before arriving at the airstrip where the plane waited on the tarmac.
I was excited to fly on a private jet. When in my lifetime did an opportunity like this come up? Never. Besides, it was a hell of a lot better than thinking about what we were doing and who was after us.
I peered around at the luxury of leather lounge chairs, a bar, and a flat-screen TV. I decided to sit in a seat facing backward; after all, when on an economy flight did you get to do that? He took the seat across from me; a low table sat between us.
“No fear of flying?” he asked as the plane careened at a sharp angle into the air. He stretched out his long legs and I ran my eyes up the length of them.
My belly whirled and I thought of running my hands along his tight hard muscled thighs. “Umm, no,” I said then tore my gaze from him to look out the window. “It’s remarkable. To think all this steel can actually sail through the air. I’m going to so hate flying economy after this.”
He chuckled. “Then we shall always fly this way, little one.”
Little one. I loved his endearments, the way they rolled off his tongue as though he’d been calling me that for years. What concerned me was how he spoke as if we’d be together forever.
What would happen when the Wraiths caught up to us? Would they order his death? What then? It would be like my parents all over again. I could never live like my father, desolate and struggling to breathe as each day grew longer and more miserable without his wife. No, I promised I’d never allow that to happen to me.
“And what about these Wraith guys?” I hated to bring up the subject, but the reality was that we were running. Balen was a wanted man and I was Bonded to him. He could be taken away at any time and I could die.
I ran my hands up and down my arms. Balen took off his seatbelt and leaned forward, taking my hands in his.
“Baby, we’ll get through this.”
“I wish I knew what to expect. I mean, I used to live day by day, you know, not worrying what the future holds, but now—I mean after Ryszard—it changed. I hated how I couldn’t remember, and now I hate that I do. I feel seriously screwed up.”
“Just confused.” Balen tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.