Release Me When the Sun Goes Down (5 page)

Laveda watched us, her amber eyes wide with shock and pain.  Blood still pulsed from the injury at her neck, seeping between her fingers.  I hadn’t counted on the savagery of the wound, and I couldn’t let her go like that.  Satisfied that Rob would stay put at least for a few seconds, I pricked my finger with my fangs and smeared the blood over her jagged wounds,
only keeping from pouncing on her myself by sheer force of will. 

Rob no longer strained to get to her, but writhed on the bed as he slipped into transition, his pain eclipsing the need to feed now.  I spared one last glance at Laveda. 
“Go now, get out and don’t come back until we’re gone.”  When I turned back to Rob, I found his breath coming in fitful gasps, eyes held tightly shut in pain as sweat broke out across his brow. 

“
Shhh, it’ll be okay,” I crooned, slipping up behind him to hold him tight.  His eyes opened at my touch, the fear behind them tearing into my heart even as he moaned against the makeshift gag.  He shook from head to toe, t-shirt plastered to his body with sweat and I eased up on my hold as his skin became hyper sensitive, burning hotter and hotter.  It was time for the tub.

Freeing his legs, I got him into the bathroom and managed to set him into the deep tub,
letting the cool water bathe his feverish limbs as he sobbed in my arms.  His wrists were raw from straining at the cuffs, and he thrashed a lot less now, so I released the carabiner to allow him that ease of movement.  His cries faded with the soothing water, and I removed the gag as well, using it to cool his neck and brow as he lay propped up in the tub. 

His heart slowed, body growing weak as the fight went out of him.  “
I’m dying,” he murmured, his voice cracking and hoarse.

“
I know.” 

“
I’m dying,” he repeated, agitation resurfacing, but he was too weak to offer much resistance to the idea.

“
Shhh, it’ll be over soon and then the pain will stop.  I promise,” I soothed.  But as much as I hated to see him like that, I dreaded was came next even more. 

“
Going to hell.”

“
No, you’ll be here, safe with me.” I gathered him closer, resting my head against his. 

“
Burn in hellfire and damnation,” he insisted.  “Burning now…”  A shudder went through his body and I climbed into the tub with him, pulling him into my arms. 

“S
hhh, you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t want to leave you,” he groaned, fighting to get the words out. 

I started to sing, Rihanna’s
Stay
spilling out as I felt him grow weaker and weaker in my arms.  We rocked together slowly, my song filling the space between his heartbeats that came farther and farther apart as I sang it over and over again. 

“Can’t
leave you…”  The words fell nearly soundless from his lips.

“
I want you to stay…
” I sang, tears flowing freely as I felt him slip away, even knowing it wasn’t the end.  I felt it the instant his heart shuddered to a stop and he went utterly still in my arms as the last flicker of life faded away.  Dead and gone.  A surge of panic went through me as the silence stretched on, not daring to breathe for fear I might miss some sign that he was on his way back to me. 

“I want you to stay,” I whispered, cradling him close as my salty tears mingled with the cool water on his brow.  All at once Rob’s chest heaved, his eyes flying open with fear as he took in his surroundings with new eyes.  “
You’re safe.  You’re with me.  You’re safe,” I repeated, raining joyful kisses along the side of his face as his body gradually relaxed. His hands closed over mine, holding me tight and we clung to each other for long minutes, neither of us minding the cold. 

“W
elcome to the vampire club.”

“I sound strange.”  Rob cleared his throat.  “Do I sound strange to you?”

He sounded the same as always to me, or maybe a little sexi
er, his voice rough but soothing.  I knew it was part of his new senses though.  “What about me?  Do I sound the same to you?”

“You sound like…” 

When I looked up to meet his gaze I found him staring at me in wonder, as if at a loss for words.  “What’s the matter?”

“You’re breathtaking.”

I looked away, embarrassment creeping into my cheeks.  It was only the newness of his vampire senses; I hadn’t been the one to change, it was all him.  “I’m just me, same as always.”

“I never stood a chance, did I?” he murmured with that same touch of wonder. 

“What do you mean?”

“There was never anything else for it but to fall hopelessly in love with you.”

A soft smile curved my lips and I leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips.  “No, not hopelessly.  I love you too, remember?”

The wondrous stare continued, a furrow appearing on his brow.  “How did a villain like me wind up so lucky?”

“Says the man who died because of that love,” I pointed out gently.

“Wasn’t your fault, it was that tosser, Lodinn.”  Just like that, the puppy love was gone, a scowl creasing his face as cold hard anger clawed its way to the surface.  “Won’t be so easy for him the next time we cross paths.”

Why did that sound like he had payback in mind?  Was he nuts?  Holy smokes, he probably was.  His impulse control was clearly out the window now.  “Whoa… settle down now.  You stay the hell away from Lodinn.  You’re a newbie, remember?”

Rob shrugged away my concern.  “I’m stronger than I was as a human.”

“You will be, when you learn control.  But right now your emotions are kicking into overdrive so fast they’ll get you into trouble your body can’t keep up with.  Until then, you keep your distance from Lodinn or anyone else who even looks at you funny.”

“I’m not without resources.”

I wasn’t even going to entertain the notion.  “That’s an order.   I’m the boss, remember?  Even more than that, I’m your Sire, you’re pretty much doubly damned to do whatever I say.”

I thought he might argue, but instead the corner of his mouth tugged up into a lopsided grin.  “Triply damned because I’m a slave to your love.”

“My own love slave.  Could be fun.”  I pretended to consider, glad to see him smile.  “Does that mean we can put these babies to better use?”  I tugged on the leather cuff wrapped around his wrist and he made a face.

“If it’s all the same to you I’d rather have them off for now.”  The welts on his skin were gone now, but I could understand the request. 

“Sure, of course.”  They were hard to get off, the stiff buckles fighting me.  I’d probably have to buy Laveda another set after getting them wet.  “We should probably get out of the tub too, I’m thinking you could use a more comfortable place to rest.”  Carefully disentangling myself from him, I hopped out of the tub and offered him a steadying arm while he did the same, his balance still off.

“Here,” I said,
holding out a fluffy towel, but he stood stock still, focusing on his reflection in the mirror.  “Let me help you with that.”  Wrapping the towel around his back, I dried off his neck and arms while he stood there, tearing off his ruined t-shirt with a sharp tug to expose his well muscled back.  Rob slipped into a daze as I toweled him off, noting that the texture of his skin was smoother, but slightly less pliant.  He was as cold as the water, but no gooseflesh erupted as the air kissed his skin. 

Carefully
, I peeled off his sodden jeans and boxers and he stepped out of them, making no comment as I dried him off completely.  God, he was gorgeous.  Appealing enough in his own right as a human, as a vampire he’d become lethally sexy, even in his less than responsive state. 

His arms and legs moved automatically as I dressed him in the stolen clothes, the t-shirt stretching tight across his powerful chest.  He didn’t say a word as I slipped out of my sodden clothes, his eyes never focusing on me as I borrowed the short robe hanging from a hook on the back of bathroom door.  He only seemed to rouse as I led him from the bathroom and to the couch. 

“Are you okay?” I asked softly, sinking beside him.  “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m…
” he swallowed, shaking off the daze.  “Ain’t too sure what fine is anymore.  I still feel a bit off.”  He shook his head.  “This is what being a vamp’s all about then, yeah?”

“I’m afraid so.” I offered him a thin smile.  “I’m so sorry this had to happen.”

“Wasn’t nothing else for it.”

“I know, but we’ve never once talked about it, you becoming a vampire.  It must have come up once or twice over the years.  Have you ever considered it before?”

Rob shook his head.  “You’re not wrong there, it’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity before.  But I didn’t never want to be a vampire.”

“I’m sorry…” I started to say again, my heart clenching in anguish for saddling him with a life he never wanted.

“Not your fault,” he interrupted with another shake of the head.  “That wasn’t what I meant.  If given the choice of dying on that street and living to see another night by your side, I’d gladly choose this life.  I only meant I’ve seen what it does to some, and it’s not something I’d have sought out on my own.”

“Oh.  Well
, I’m still sorry about it.  It’s not what I had in mind either.  I sorta thought we had the best of both worlds before, you know?  My blood could keep you around for a long, long time, and you got to stay alive.”

“It’ll keep me around longer still is all,” he said, patting my knee.  “It won’t be so bad.  Didn’t never spend much time in the sun anyhow.  I already had a dependency on the blood, this way I’m not as tied to Jakob any longer.”

I wasn’t ready to talk about Jakob yet, not remotely, but there were some things that needed saying.  “At least now we have a tangible reason to spend time together beyond you protecting me.  He can’t just order you away again.  I’m your Sire, it’s my duty to show you the ropes of this vampire thing.”  And I knew firsthand how close two vampires could get hunting together.  “Jakob can’t object to our spending time together more… intimately.  Everyone knows there’s a strong bond between Sire and progeny.”

“You’d be surprised.  Jakob does as he pleases, he always has.  If it pleases him to keep us apart, he will, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“He let Carys be with Bishop and Aubrey,” I reminded him.  “He wasn’t happy about it, but he accepted it after a while.  Maybe he’ll do the same with us?”  For the first time, I started to think of Rob turning as a positive thing. 

“
Do you remember once me telling you about a girl you reminded me of?”

I nodded. 
“I remember you mentioned it before when we were at Vetis.” 

“Back in the day there was a girl I was sweet on.  At first Jakob didn’t approve, said it split my focus and kept me from my duties.  He ordered me to turn her loose, and I did for a while, but I was young and wet behind the ears.  I wasn’t as rough with her as I should’ve been when I broke things off and she tracked me down in
Szekszárd.”

“Where’s that?”

“In Hungary.  Anyhow, she made a proper spectacle of herself and caught Jakob’s eye.  He said that true love should be rewarded and he turned her.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.  At least you could be together.”

“Only the instant she turned, Lottie dropped me and fixated on Jakob.  You don’t have to tell me the power of a bond between Sire and progeny.” 

“Oh.  That is bad,” I agreed softly.  “But that’s not the same situation at all.  Neither one of us is going to turn to Jakob now, all this has done is brought us closer together.”

“You’re missing the point.  Jakob didn’t like my focus not being where it should and he taught me a lesson.  He took the one thing I loved and corrupted it.  He never wanted her for himself, and when he grew tired of her charms, he abandoned her and she went completely mental.”

“Where is she now?”

“Ain’t nothing left of her but dust.”  

“What happened to her?”

“She couldn’t take Jakob’s rejection.  Took an overdose of Seconal and went to sleep with the curtains drawn.  Burnt to a crisp the next dawn.”

“And I remind you of her?” I balked.  Why did I always remind people of these tragic tales?

“Not in that moment, but yeah, before Jakob got to her.  She had this smile that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.  I get that sometimes when I look at you.  Especially now.”  He reached for my cheek, drawing me closer.   

“Now you don’t have to breathe, so it kind of works out, huh?”

“We’re bound together now, there’s no use denying it.”

“I never wanted to.”

I got one of his rare smiles then, one that transformed his whole face as he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.  “We’ll still have to be careful.”

“I don’t care.”  My mouth chased after his, not quite ready to let him get away with such a tease of a kiss.  It was so strange to kiss him without the beat of his heart throbbing between us and the searing heat I’d grown accustomed to, but he met my lips with equal passion, wooing me with something new and just as exciting.