help?”
She contemplated his question only for a split-second. “Because you felt remorse afterwards. It’s always like that with you. Haven’t you noticed that? You go on a binge, and afterwards you feel like crap because of what you’ve done. It’s not any different now.”
“You have no idea how I feel! You’ve never been through what I’m going through.”
Maya narrowed her eyes and went toe-to-toe with him. “What are you insinuating?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“No, tell me,” she challenged.
“You never craved human blood. You have no idea what it’s like. All you wanted was Gabriel’s blood.”
“And that makes you think I never went through what you’re going through now? That I never had those cravings? Grow up! We all have the same cravings, no matter whose blood it is we want. Your cravings aren’t any worse than anybody else’s. But you choose to act on them. You choose to show no restraint!”
At the accusation, Oliver pressed his lips together. His chest heaved, and he felt the cords in his neck bulge. “How dare you accuse me of willfully acting the way I do?”
“Oh, I dare a lot more!” She pointed her finger toward the door. “I also dare accuse you of attacking this girl and leaving her half dead! Is that how you want to live? Always a step away from killing an innocent?”
Her words chilled him to the bone. Often enough he’d been close to doing just that, but tonight, Maya was wrong. Tonight, he’d rescued an innocent. “I didn’t bite her! Do you want to know what happened? Do you? Or will that shake your preconceived opinion of me?”
“Go ahead! Dish up some more lies if it makes you feel better.”
“They’re not lies! I don’t know why the girl isn’t telling you what happened, but I can venture a guess. She hasn’t lost her memory. She just doesn’t want to admit what happened.”
Maya raised her eyebrows, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Admit what?”
He had to say it, as much as he wanted to keep this piece of information to himself. “That she offered me sex in exchange for helping her. She—”
Maya’s laughter interrupted him. “Oh my god! I can’t believe you couldn’t come up with a better excuse. What is it? Has the blood gone to your head and made you dizzy? No girl like her would offer you sex in exchange for help. She’s not a prostitute. Have you lost your mind?”
“She did! She offered me sex if I helped her and then she kissed me. And when she collapsed in my arms, I saw the bite marks of the other vampire. That’s when I brought her here.”
“She kissed you? Stop Oliver, you’re just digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole.”
“But it’s true! You must believe me! She was running from somebody. She begged me to help her.”
Maya let out a sigh, seemingly exhausted. “It’s me, Maya. You don’t have to continue making stuff up. Just tell me what really happened and I’ll try to put a good word in with Gabriel and Samson.”
“I’m not lying! It’s the truth. I didn’t bite her!”
She scowled at him. “Fine. Play it your way. Continue lying, but it’ll make it only worse. If you at least showed remorse for your actions, I could convince Gabriel and Samson to be lenient with you, but since you’ve decided to be a hard-ass about it, don’t expect to be treated with kid gloves.”
In disbelief Oliver shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. He would be taken to task for something he hadn’t done. “That’s not fair! I’m innocent!”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Innocent? There’s nothing innocent about you. The only innocent in this house is that girl in the next room. And you’ve robbed her of that innocence. You should at least have the decency to admit your guilt like a man.”
Oliver closed his eyes. He knew it had been a mistake to help the girl. He should have followed his first instinct and turned around the minute she’d approached him. But no, knight in
She contemplated his question only for a split-second. “Because you felt remorse afterwards. It’s always like that with you. Haven’t you noticed that? You go on a binge, and afterwards you feel like crap because of what you’ve done. It’s not any different now.”
“You have no idea how I feel! You’ve never been through what I’m going through.”
Maya narrowed her eyes and went toe-to-toe with him. “What are you insinuating?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“No, tell me,” she challenged.
“You never craved human blood. You have no idea what it’s like. All you wanted was Gabriel’s blood.”
“And that makes you think I never went through what you’re going through now? That I never had those cravings? Grow up! We all have the same cravings, no matter whose blood it is we want. Your cravings aren’t any worse than anybody else’s. But you choose to act on them. You choose to show no restraint!”
At the accusation, Oliver pressed his lips together. His chest heaved, and he felt the cords in his neck bulge. “How dare you accuse me of willfully acting the way I do?”
“Oh, I dare a lot more!” She pointed her finger toward the door. “I also dare accuse you of attacking this girl and leaving her half dead! Is that how you want to live? Always a step away from killing an innocent?”
Her words chilled him to the bone. Often enough he’d been close to doing just that, but tonight, Maya was wrong. Tonight, he’d rescued an innocent. “I didn’t bite her! Do you want to know what happened? Do you? Or will that shake your preconceived opinion of me?”
“Go ahead! Dish up some more lies if it makes you feel better.”
“They’re not lies! I don’t know why the girl isn’t telling you what happened, but I can venture a guess. She hasn’t lost her memory. She just doesn’t want to admit what happened.”
Maya raised her eyebrows, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Admit what?”
He had to say it, as much as he wanted to keep this piece of information to himself. “That she offered me sex in exchange for helping her. She—”
Maya’s laughter interrupted him. “Oh my god! I can’t believe you couldn’t come up with a better excuse. What is it? Has the blood gone to your head and made you dizzy? No girl like her would offer you sex in exchange for help. She’s not a prostitute. Have you lost your mind?”
“She did! She offered me sex if I helped her and then she kissed me. And when she collapsed in my arms, I saw the bite marks of the other vampire. That’s when I brought her here.”
“She kissed you? Stop Oliver, you’re just digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole.”
“But it’s true! You must believe me! She was running from somebody. She begged me to help her.”
Maya let out a sigh, seemingly exhausted. “It’s me, Maya. You don’t have to continue making stuff up. Just tell me what really happened and I’ll try to put a good word in with Gabriel and Samson.”
“I’m not lying! It’s the truth. I didn’t bite her!”
She scowled at him. “Fine. Play it your way. Continue lying, but it’ll make it only worse. If you at least showed remorse for your actions, I could convince Gabriel and Samson to be lenient with you, but since you’ve decided to be a hard-ass about it, don’t expect to be treated with kid gloves.”
In disbelief Oliver shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. He would be taken to task for something he hadn’t done. “That’s not fair! I’m innocent!”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Innocent? There’s nothing innocent about you. The only innocent in this house is that girl in the next room. And you’ve robbed her of that innocence. You should at least have the decency to admit your guilt like a man.”
Oliver closed his eyes. He knew it had been a mistake to help the girl. He should have followed his first instinct and turned around the minute she’d approached him. But no, knight in
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