Robert (5 page)

He offered her his wrist again.

The cut dripped his tempting blood. For days she’d dreamt of being with him, and as much as she was here for Katie she was also here for herself. She’d do anything to stop the endless dreams and the sick feeling that had developed in the pit of her stomach.

Licking her lips, she gazed back at his black eyes while he offered her his wrist.

Drink or you will die.

Sophie glanced around, but the noise had come from nowhere but her head. The rolling of her stomach forced her to place a hand over her mouth.

“You have to drink, Sophie,” he said.

With no other choice before her, Sophie reached out.

Keeping an eye on him, she took his wrist and began to take the sustenance she needed after so long without it.

His scent surrounded her. She could feel his blood inside her body, as hers was within him.

Sophie took as much as she could stomach, then moved away from him. After all, she was still human. Once the need had been fed, the blood tasted like blood.

But she could feel the change inside. The power and strength began to return to her. The last three years had been a struggle. With each passing month, Sophie knew she was getting weaker. Unless she ate a little food every few hours she would pass out and not remember anything of the days before. Katie had helped her to solve the mystery of her sudden tiredness. She was here not only for Katie, but for herself, too.

It would seem that part of the bond with a vampire required a constant supply of his blood. As the years went by, unless she ate constantly, her body would start to drain of energy and she would be bed-bound for weeks at a time. She didn’t know why she hadn’t gone to Robert—to her mate—sooner. For months she had thought something must be wrong with the blood bond. Never before had she heard of bonded couples who struggled with fatigue or illness as she did.

But other couples remained together and fed each other. The only thing missing in her case was the blood.

Robert pressed a damp cloth to her brow.

“You’re ill.”

Sophie couldn’t argue with him and she didn’t have the strength to stop him from caring about her.

Already she could feel the welcoming warmth of his blood inside her body.

“I feel better.”

He nodded.

She looked at him. Really looked at him.

He wasn’t handsome, but he was sexy. Confidence and power emanated from him. Just by looking at his facial features, you would know he was someone of extreme importance. He had a tan, letting her know that he wasn’t restricted to the night time just because he was a vampire. His black eyes shone with knowledge. His eyes were the scariest thing about him—they followed her wherever she went. The eyes of a predator. He was strong, his body muscular. Even if he hadn’t been a vampire, he would still have been a strong man. As always, though, it came down to his eyes.

No living person had black eyes.

“Why am I so weak?” she asked.

He stopped and gazed at her.

Sophie had no choice. She needed all the answers.

“You don’t know?”

She shook her head. “I thought I was supposed to benefit from this bond.” She sounded petulant, even to herself.

“None of your friends are dead, are they?”

“Well, no—”

“Be thankful, Sophie. Most friends take advantage of the blood bond. It seems you and Katie are very quiet.”

He wrung the cloth out and wiped the blood away from her neck. Reaching up, she pressed her fingers against the bite marks.

“They are healed, but you will have the marks for some time.”

Sophie nodded. There wasn’t a lot she could do about it. The wounds would just have to be covered up. She might be a blood-bonded mate but she didn’t have to advertise the fact.

Vampires might officially be considered citizens in this country, but there were still groups of humans trying to find new ways of killing them. Of wiping them out. People like her, who gave themselves to vampires, were considered fresh meat—the bottom of the food chain.

And though they might not like it, these groups understood the bond between vampire and human. They knew that taking the human and torturing her would bring the vampire out into the open. They knew that by killing the blood-bonded mate they could weaken the vampire, and so those were the moments when they struck.

Vampires could survive past the severance of the blood-bond, though the human could not. But in the first moment the human was killed, the part that connected them would be torn from their bodies, shocking and weakening them. Their senses would be useless until their body had adapted.

Unluckily for her, if Robert ever died, her body would never be strong enough to survive the severing of the connection. She would die within minutes. Bloody good job it took much more to kill a powerful vampire than to kill a human.

Sophie had no plans to die in the immediate future.

“Why am I still weak after just feeding from you?” Sophie asked.

“You know about the lack of blood?” he asked.

“Kind of hard to miss that memo.”

He nodded understanding.

“You will start to weaken as my blood leaves your body. It has been three years since you last fed from me and you, Sophie, need to learn to accept me again. It will take a little time before you start to feel normal.” Robert wiped his hands on the towel.

“What do you mean? I thought I was strong enough with the bond and little blood.” Sophie pulled herself up into a sitting position.

He sighed, shaking his head. “This is why people shouldn’t get involved unless they know what they are offering.”

“What? What’s going on, Robert?”

“The blood bond works. You can feel me? Sense me?”

Sophie nodded.

“Well, the bond works by giving protection through the blood. Because I drank your blood, I knew who you cared for and how to protect them. By the same token, you should feel stronger and healthier and the aging process should slow down and eventually stop—but only with a constant supply of my blood.”

“I don’t understand. I’m getting weaker,” Sophie complained.

Sophie heard him growl, then Robert looked up at her. “That is because the bond was never completed.
Also, you didn’t stay around long enough to take regular feedings from me.
”

Sophie’s mind stopped working, her heart racing.

“What do you mean the bond was never completed? You drank my blood until I was almost dead. I remember. Then I drank your blood.”

He pressed his finger against her lips, stopping all talk.

“That was the start of the process. To complete the blood bond, you have to give yourself to me willingly.”

“But I did all that.”

“No. You have to give
all
of yourself to me. There is a reason a blood bond mate has to be a virgin. I must be the first and only one.”

Sophie couldn’t stop her eyes from widening. “Do you mean I have… No, I mean—”

“We have to have sex. Sex, along with the blood draining, brings the connection. You will need to stay with me.”

“Stay with you?” The surprises just keep on coming tonight.

“That is why you’ve been getting weaker. You will need my blood and I’ll need yours to keep the bond strong. Always.”

Sophie felther mouth open in shock.

“But, but—”

“You thought you knew all of our secrets?”

Sophie watched him get up off his seat.

“We need to have sex?”

“I gave you over three years to come to terms with this.”

She shook her head. “Not sex, you didn’t.”

“You came to us like you knew what you were getting yourself into. I’ve upheld my part of the bargain and will continue to do so. However, if you don’t take my blood or fulfil the blood bond, you will continue to get weaker. I don’t want to upset you with all the details, but let me say it won't be pretty,” Robert said, confirming the harsh reality of her situation.

Sophie ran her fingers through her hair.

“What happens if I don’t agree?
And don’t pretty up the facts. Like you said, I came to you thinking I knew what I was getting myself into. I obviously didn’t know everything, and now I’d like to know.
” She could feel the energy returning to her.

“These past three years, you’ve been getting weaker. Well, over time, you will grow weaker still. You won’t be able to get out of bed in the morning. Simple tasks will become impossible. Until eventually, you’ll be too weak to live. You’ll go into a coma and die.”

Sophie gasped. Katie couldn’t have known this.

“Could I use your bathroom?” Her voice came out squeaky. She tried to control the flow of tears she felt so close to the surface. She removed the blanket, feeling the quaking in her body.

In order to survive, she would have to spend the rest of life with this vampire.

“The bathroom is through there.” He pointed across to the second door.

She nodded, moving slowly away.

“There are clean bath towels.”

Sophie nodded again.

She closed the door and went immediately to the shower, turning it on full blast. Next she twisted the taps on full blast in the sink. She locked the door and pulled out her mobile.

Seventeen missed calls.
What could Katie want now? This whole plan was not panning out the way they’d originally planned and Sophie was starting to think it was going to backfire on them. Sophie took a deep breath to try to get her nerves under control. Katie wouldn’t be able to handle hearing her one support losing it.

She pressed speed dial for Katie’s number.
 

“Thank God. Where have you been?” Sophie could hear the fear and panic in her best friend’s voice.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to get his attention—”

“Someone is here, Sophie,” Katie cut her off. “The same car is here and has been for the past week. Ever since you left.”

“Oh, God.” Pressing her palm to her forehead, Sophie tried to work past the fear. “Are you sure?”

“Every time I wake up the same car is there. I went to work and it was outside the library. I’m freaking out, Soph.” Katie burst into tears. “Maybe you should just tell them the truth, or at least I should come in. If we cooperate, they might not kill me.”

“Katie, calm down. I’ll fix it.” She stepped closer to the shower, hoping against hope that Robert wouldn’t be able to hear her over the rushing of the water. “We’ve worked too damn hard to give up now and I refuse to allow anything to happen to you. You’re my best friend.”

“How can you fix it? My parents told me to be careful. Never to stay in one place for too long. I should have left when I was younger. I should have sold my parents’ house and just left.” Katie was panicking, and when she was frightened she talked without taking a breath.

Sophie couldn’t afford for her to freak out at this stage. She could hear the sound of drawers opening. Katie was packing. Sophie cursed. She didn’t have time for this. Between finding out that the blood bond wasn’t complete and Katie being in more danger than ever, she was close to pulling her hair out.
 

“Katie. Stay put. I said I’ll sort it and I
mean
I’ll sort it.” She snapped the phone shut, not giving her friend time to argue. She prayed Katie would listen and wait it out. Sophie glanced up at her reflection in the mirror.

A pale, scared woman gazed back, confused and tired. Was his blood starting to wear thin?

The puncture wounds stood out, red and sore against the paleness of her neck. She touched them with the tip of her finger and flinched at the contact.

Katie flashed into her mind again. All this was for her.

She unbuttoned her top and took her skirt off, then jumped into the shower. She wanted to wash off the sweat and grime from the nightclub, as well as the blood and pain she had experienced with Robert.

What was the use of saving her virginity if she could save her friend instead? If she didn’t give herself to Robert, she would die anyway. She should just dispense with it and think about Katie.