Blood Ties

9. Blood Runneth Over

“Quinn baby… Sweetheart, wake up.”

She heard a slight slapping sound and realized someone was tapping her face trying to rouse her. She didn’t know what day it was, what time, and she certainly couldn’t tell whose voice it was that was speaking. The last thing she remembered was going to bed in her apartment on the Upper East Side in New York City. When the voice spoke again, her eyes blinked open and were met with a chiseled jaw of dark scruff under dazzling green eyes.

“Wha—what happened?” She blinked again, trying to clear the fog from her head. Intrinsically, Quinn knew that she wasn’t at home, even before she’d opened her eyes to see Adam staring down at her.

Adam. His name is Adam.

Her eyes became wider, and the world came crashing down around her as she suddenly recalled every blessed detail that had occurred over the past several days.

“You’re a vampire! Oh my God, what the f**k!” She sat up, realizing soon that she was actually in a bedroom and cradled upon Adam’s lap on a strange bed. Her head swiveled wildly, her red hair whipping around her head and getting caught in her open mouth as she sputtered and tried to scramble across the bed and toward the door. For a moment, Adam let go of her, afraid of hurting her with his strong grip and doing worse damage, especially to her psyche.

Quinn scrambled across the bed to the opposite side and looked back him, her hands gripping the coverlet with her feet planted on the floor. She was leaning toward him, knees bent as if ready to run a marathon. It was almost predatory in nature, and Adam got up from the bed and sauntered over to the dresser before picking up a small glass of juice.

“How much do you remember, love?” He walked slowly around the bed to bring her the juice, holding it out to her while he was still a few feet away. She stared at it blankly for a moment and then blinked before taking it to bring up to her mouth. After she swallowed half of the drink down, she spoke.

“Everything, I think.” She almost visibly shuddered and looked up at him. “You kidnapped me and took me to Upstate New York. We flew on a plane to Southern California. You had Lee come in and feed off a human, I remember. They… The person seemed to enjoy it. Was that woman willing? She didn’t—”

“The person was willing enough. It’s one of my employees that knows a little about what we are. Very discreet, a very comprehensive NDA signed. Plus, she is related to Mafia, so we have that over her head. We keep her secrets, and she keeps ours. The Mafia is not a group one to mess with, but my father’s friend Michael is also related closely to another Italian family—one that is more dangerous than any other. She knows this, and it keeps any of the big players that know even a little bit about us in line.”

Quinn’s head felt like it was swelling with too much information. She took another cool drink of orange juice and set it down on the night table behind her.

This was all true, and she nodded her head. “I remember it all. She… Leandra drank from that woman’s neck, and that woman, whoever she is, moaned like she was having an…an orgasm.”

Adam nodded and tried to regain his composure. He didn’t like that she ran from him as soon as she woke up, but he also understood that this was probably a shock, seeing a human female being fed upon. With all the other information she’d gleaned from them and seeing the old photos of Eli and Cassie’s birth certificate, she was finally a believer, even if she didn’t want to believe. It was hard to come to terms with something that should only be a thing of books or fantasy, but she’d seen with her own two eyes and—

Fuck.

“Did I pass out?” She glanced around the room, looking like she was tired of figuring out where she was.

“Yes. You fainted, and I brought you into this room. It’s mine, though there are other guest rooms. I figured someplace that looked a little more lived-in would probably be more comforting than a sterile guest bed would. If you had been in a bedroom that was less homey, you may have screamed your bloody head off upon waking up.” He smiled at her, trying to ease her still-tense form. “Leandra has gone back home next door, and my mother and everyone else are cooking. You have to be starving by now.”

She hadn’t thought of that. It had been hours since she’d last eaten. She wasn’t big on huge meals, but she always made sure she got enough protein for her dancing and acting.

“I’m in California. What about my parents? They’re going to worry if I don’t call them this weekend—and my boyfriend, Marcus.”

Adam’s brows darkened. “Boyfriend? Why didn’t I know you have a boyfriend? I kept my eyes on you. The only places I’ve seen you go is to school and to a friend’s place.”

She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “We don’t get much time together, to be honest. I go over to his place sometimes on the way home, but that’s about it. We haven’t been on a date in months, most likely.”

Adam’s jaw twitched. “And why not?” He didn’t know if he was more jealous or more annoyed she wasn’t being courted as she should be by her so-called boyfriend.

“He’s going to Columbia University for law. He doesn’t get a lot of free time anymore because he’s interning at a firm downtown.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s very time-consuming, but we still meet for coffee every week and keep in touch daily. He’s probably freaking out by now. Where is my phone?”

“My father has it. It was dead, and it’s charging in the study.” He moved forward a step and studied the worried crease of her brow. “Tell us what you want us to let your parents know. My suggestion is to let them know you are swamped with schoolwork or the play and that you’ll call them next week. How often do you speak?”

“At least once a week, usually on the weekends since I don’t have classes or many rehearsals.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “I guess one weekend not doing so would be okay.” She looked up at him, one side of her lips drawing a frown from her. It was like she had a squiggly line for a mouth instead of lips.

Adam reached out to smooth away her concern and ended up with a finger tilting her chin up. “I’ll have my mother send your mother a text, but it stays on silent in case they try to blow up your phone with calls.” He took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. “I hate doing that, I promise you, but it needs to be done. None of us here want to harm you, especially myself. The only reason I’ve done this is because I’m not like my father. I don’t have his unending patience and faith that my mate will accept me. I’ve seen what misunderstandings can lead to, and I don’t want to make the same mistakes he did. I need you close by or I’ll go crazy. I’m not like my parents. I was born a vampire, and I’ll always need you near me.”

He’d slowly been coming closer to her, his hand brushing back her tangled locks until her face was clear. She wasn’t pushing him away, but it was like she was hesitant to get too close. Her mouth opened to speak, but it was too late, and his lips descended on hers in a brutal kiss.

It was different than others she had shared with Marcus. It was more passionate yet loving, and she welcomed his tongue in even as her mind struggled to catch up with what was happening. She had a boyfriend, Marcus, and this was technically cheating.

So why didn’t it feel like cheating? Why did it feel right?

Quinn believed him, first and foremost. He hadn’t hurt her—not really. She may have been drugged to get on the plane, but the tea had been heaven-sent and helped liven her up. There were no ill, lasting effects.

Plus, his tongue made her want to melt into his body like sinking into a swimming pool on a hot, muggy day. Back in Virginia, they had a swimming hole nearby, and they spent much of their free time in it when the sweltering heat of summer came. This was much like that. Cool, refreshing—absolutely divine.

Before she knew it, her hands were curling into his hair, tugging at the short strands as she moaned into his mouth. She didn’t know how they’d gone from dangling at her sides to his chest and up to his neck, but her fingers were scrabbling through to his scalp, nails digging into his skin, his hands cupping her hips as he fought for composure.

He wanted to pull her down on the bed, pull off every stitch of clothing and lick her all over. Knees, breasts, thighs, in between—he wished he could do just that, but he remembered his father’s warning earlier about taking it slow and letting the bond mature at its own pace. Adam had pointed out that she’d already drank some of his blood, and that would move things on more expeditiously.

He could barely wait.

She moved in closer, and Adam was barely able to stand it. As his arms closed tighter around her, he felt the dissipating tension melt off of her body. His c**k hardened in response, and he let out a soft groan she lapped up with her eager little tongue until—

“Wait, Adam.” Her voice was soft, more tender than before when it was all prickles and stings when she’d first woken up. The bond was there, and it caused her anxiety to melt like the first lick of a popsicle fresh from the freezer.

“What, sweetheart?” His mouth was poised close to her forehead, and he pecked it slowly as she shivered.

“Marcus, my boyfriend.”

Adam stiffened until he was sure he’d get angry enough to say something that would scare her. “What of him? He was not meant for you like I was.”

Remarkably, she nodded and tipped her head up to look him in the eyes. “I need to let him know it’s over, tell him I found someone else.”

His breath caught, and hope welled up inside his chest.

“Even if that’s not necessarily the case, it kind of is. I let you kiss me.”

“You kissed me back,” he pointed out. “And enjoyed it, if I’m not mistaken.”

She looked down, too ashamed at how eager she’d been, how embarrassed she’d felt at the sounds she’d made with his tongue licking its way into her mouth. “Yes…yes, I did. I feel silly actually, texting him a break-up note, but I have to, and I know you can’t let me do that yet. We don’t trust each other enough. Is it okay if you did it for me? It feels cowardly, but it’s better than making him wonder or worry. Tell him I’m not at home this weekend. Knowing him, he’ll try to come by, and my landlady doesn’t always hear the doorbell. She constantly forgets to put in her hearing aids.”

He smiled, feeling slightly better. “That I can do. Can you write something up? You talk differently than I, so he may be able to tell if you don’t use your own tone.”

She nodded up at him, her lips finally flickering up in a small smile. “That I can do. Paper?”

He reluctantly walked away to a desk in the corner and grabbed a piece of blank printer paper and a pen. Handing it over to her, she sat down on the bed and leaned over, her face blank while she nibbled on her lip contemplatively.

Adam looked away, sitting on the edge of the mattress a foot away from her. He could hear her scribbling, and was surprised when it was more short-lived than he thought it would be. When the sounds stopped, he felt the nudge of her elbow against the meat of one bicep.

“Here. Tell me what you think.”

He looked down and read it over slowly.

Marcus, I’m sorry I haven’t been as present as you’d like lately. The fact is, I met someone else. I’m sorry. Please don’t call or come see me. I’m away for a little while thinking things over. If you don’t hate me and block my number, I’ll let you know when I’m back in the city. Maybe we can talk then. Goodbye.

“Well?” She looked over at him with concern marring her pretty face. “What do you think?”

He didn’t know what to say for a moment, but he was damned if he was going to make too much of the words on the page.

“It’s perfect.”

For now, anyway, he thought to himself.

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