lowered, meant only for me. “You could eat her.”
Those words released my cravings into a rushing fever. I closed my eyes and sucked on the surge of saliva filling my mouth. Just one little sniff. I did. And, oh hell, it was like dipping my nose into a field of honeysuckle. But I was strong. Stronger than my body. I was superior. I’d even tasted her already and stopped myself from finishing the job. Oh, she tasted good – better shut down those memories before I do something I can’t take back .
I stopped the earthquake ripping my goals in half. I had to get her home. She deserved the safety of her house after what she’d gone through. I’d chosen this life, unknowingly true, but I left home. I ran away on my own. But right at that moment, safety was a huge issue, I needed food. Massive amounts of food. My solid football receiver form looked more like a puny soccer player’s form – nothing against the ball chasers, but seriously.
Hm. Lost my train of thought again. Damn.
Oh, right. Heather.
I didn’t adjust my volume. “I’m not going to eat her. She’s survived to this point, she’s going to make it longer.”
Dominic ground his teeth. The sound grated in the sudden silence.
We stared each other down. But I didn’t fear him anymore, in fact, I’d somehow gained the upper hand. He broke first and shot an oily smile at Heather. “Sorry, doll. No hard feelings. Just trying to cover my bases. Nothing personal.”
Her smile bit back, filled with angry crystals. “Of course not. Just science, right?”
And her words stopped Dominic from speaking. He stared at her, a shadow passing in his eyes. After a drawn out moment filled with uncomfortable tension, he replied. “Right.”
“ If I feed you, will you stay or at least come back?” Dominic studied me. “I have some animals in the next building over.” He read my face filled with doubt correctly. “No really. I have animals over there. If you want, I’ll go first. You need to eat it in there, though. Too much blood will draw more of your kind out here.”
“ They’re clear in town.” Had to be too far for the smell.
“ Yeah, but part of my research indicates you guys can smell blood from extreme distances – nothing else – but like sharks, one drop and you’re all over it. I never got an exact distance, but in the beginning I had to lock up one because he went off premises and brought back a dead mule deer. Created chaos.” He moved to the door, brushing against Heather with his hips and chest. “Oh, sorry, doll.”
I didn’t have to see the jerk-wad expression on his face to know it was there.
He eyed the junction between her legs and bared his teeth. “You should’ve seen what happened to a girl on her period. Unreal.”
Heather picked up her leg and stamped her heel into his instep. “Oh, sorry, dick.”
Dominic cursed her, baring his teeth. He lifted his hand as if to strike her, but my hiss caught his attention before the swing fell. He glared but moved on.
I ignored the urge to applaud. She was a feisty one. That I’d bit into. When would she become like me? Asking Dominic about the time frame might give him too much information or something. I didn’t want his attention on her any more than it had to be. The bastard was creeping me out.
The promise of food kept me following him, but his past lies held me back from moving too fast. It’d been days since I’d had anything with substance. The small bite in the locker room had been an hors d’oeuvre more than anything. Moving was becoming painful. I felt like a dog on a mission, easily distracted with the appearance of anything that moved.
He waited for me by the door of a tan vinyl-sided building. The square structure didn’t look capable of housing more than three cars let alone animals. Unless they were cats. Damn. I wasn’t eating anything feline – or canine.
“ Do you want her to go in with you? See what you can do?” He smiled at me, with the innocence
Those words released my cravings into a rushing fever. I closed my eyes and sucked on the surge of saliva filling my mouth. Just one little sniff. I did. And, oh hell, it was like dipping my nose into a field of honeysuckle. But I was strong. Stronger than my body. I was superior. I’d even tasted her already and stopped myself from finishing the job. Oh, she tasted good – better shut down those memories before I do something I can’t take back .
I stopped the earthquake ripping my goals in half. I had to get her home. She deserved the safety of her house after what she’d gone through. I’d chosen this life, unknowingly true, but I left home. I ran away on my own. But right at that moment, safety was a huge issue, I needed food. Massive amounts of food. My solid football receiver form looked more like a puny soccer player’s form – nothing against the ball chasers, but seriously.
Hm. Lost my train of thought again. Damn.
Oh, right. Heather.
I didn’t adjust my volume. “I’m not going to eat her. She’s survived to this point, she’s going to make it longer.”
Dominic ground his teeth. The sound grated in the sudden silence.
We stared each other down. But I didn’t fear him anymore, in fact, I’d somehow gained the upper hand. He broke first and shot an oily smile at Heather. “Sorry, doll. No hard feelings. Just trying to cover my bases. Nothing personal.”
Her smile bit back, filled with angry crystals. “Of course not. Just science, right?”
And her words stopped Dominic from speaking. He stared at her, a shadow passing in his eyes. After a drawn out moment filled with uncomfortable tension, he replied. “Right.”
“ If I feed you, will you stay or at least come back?” Dominic studied me. “I have some animals in the next building over.” He read my face filled with doubt correctly. “No really. I have animals over there. If you want, I’ll go first. You need to eat it in there, though. Too much blood will draw more of your kind out here.”
“ They’re clear in town.” Had to be too far for the smell.
“ Yeah, but part of my research indicates you guys can smell blood from extreme distances – nothing else – but like sharks, one drop and you’re all over it. I never got an exact distance, but in the beginning I had to lock up one because he went off premises and brought back a dead mule deer. Created chaos.” He moved to the door, brushing against Heather with his hips and chest. “Oh, sorry, doll.”
I didn’t have to see the jerk-wad expression on his face to know it was there.
He eyed the junction between her legs and bared his teeth. “You should’ve seen what happened to a girl on her period. Unreal.”
Heather picked up her leg and stamped her heel into his instep. “Oh, sorry, dick.”
Dominic cursed her, baring his teeth. He lifted his hand as if to strike her, but my hiss caught his attention before the swing fell. He glared but moved on.
I ignored the urge to applaud. She was a feisty one. That I’d bit into. When would she become like me? Asking Dominic about the time frame might give him too much information or something. I didn’t want his attention on her any more than it had to be. The bastard was creeping me out.
The promise of food kept me following him, but his past lies held me back from moving too fast. It’d been days since I’d had anything with substance. The small bite in the locker room had been an hors d’oeuvre more than anything. Moving was becoming painful. I felt like a dog on a mission, easily distracted with the appearance of anything that moved.
He waited for me by the door of a tan vinyl-sided building. The square structure didn’t look capable of housing more than three cars let alone animals. Unless they were cats. Damn. I wasn’t eating anything feline – or canine.
“ Do you want her to go in with you? See what you can do?” He smiled at me, with the innocence
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