Marked By The Vampire (Purgatory 2)

Which meant Pate was way past human.

So am I.

“Unless you don’t…want to be with me.” He cleared his throat. “I can still change you, then you can walk away from me. You don’t have to—”

“I’d like to spend all of my days and nights with you.” The truth. Her deepest wi—

She cut that thought off.

“Then you want my bite? My blood?”

Olivia took a deep breath. There was no going back to a normal life. And there might be no going to a vampire life either. But she wanted to try because she wanted Shane. “I want you,” she said simply.

Then she tilted her head to the side and offered him her neck. His head bent. His breath brushed over her skin. Olivia closed her eyes. When his teeth pierced her, the pleasure rose within her, hot and strong. So overwhelming. Pushing the fear back. Pushing the memory of death from her mind.

He lifted her into his arms. Carried her toward the wall, the one just beneath that video camera. Pate won’t see us here.

Her body shuddered against his. His mouth…his tongue…

His teeth left her. “I have to take a lot more blood this time.” His words vibrated against her. “Just trust me, love. I’ll keep you safe.”

She did trust him. With every bit of her soul.

His teeth pierced her again and he drank. Pleasure came, rising and quaking through her body. Pleasure that came again and again, cl**axes that left her shaken because one just tumbled into another.

The pleasure was so good that soon all she could do was sag in his hold. Her hands slid to her sides, not touching him any longer. She was weak with pleasure…weak.

Then his head lifted and he stared down at her once more. He had her pinned to the wall, and she felt his arousal shoving against her. As she stared into his eyes, Olivia saw so many emotions.

Desire. Fear. Need.

But most of all, love.

Staring at her, he lifted his wrist toward his mouth. The dragon tattoo circled that wrist. If hell breaks loose, look for a dragon. Pate’s words whispered through her mind.

He used his teeth to rake over the flesh. Then he offered the drops of blood to her.

“Take all that I am,” he told her.

He put his wrist to her mouth. His blood flowed onto her tongue. Powerful. Rich. So strong.

And the weakness that she’d felt vanished. Lust pumped through her, a dark and wild desire that seemed to claw through her body. Her hands locked on his shoulders. Her nails dug into his skin as she fought to get ever closer to him and she kept drinking from his wrist. She—

“What the hell are you doing?” Pate yelled. He was in the doorway, glaring at them. “You can’t change her! She’ll be unstoppable then!”

Shane snarled and turned away from her, putting his body in front of Olivia’s. Without his blood, without his touch, she felt bereft.

“Stay back,” Shane ordered Pate. “Or I’ll put you into the ground…and you won’t rise this time.”

This time?

Her stomach knotted. A convulsive shudder shook her. Olivia looked down and saw that her fingers were trembling. “Sh-Shane…?” She swayed, slipping to the side.

Connor pushed his way into the room, knocking Pate out of his way. His fierce glance took in the scene, including Shane’s bleeding wrist. He gave a low whistle. “Trying to turn her? Good plan, man—”

“It’s not a good plan!” Pate shouted. “She’s not you! She’s not Duncan! She’s not a werewolf! Look at the power boost you two got. What the hell do you think will happen to her?”

She couldn’t feel her legs. “Shane…”

His head snapped toward her.

“Am I s-supposed to be so cold?”

He scooped her into his arms. “Love?”

Pain racketed her. The pleasure was gone. Something was wrong. But Olivia found that she could somehow smile. For him. “I do…love you…”

Another shudder rocked her. No, I’m not shuddering—I’m seizing.

Her heart didn’t seem to beat. Her blood…everything within her felt so still.

Olivia realized she wasn’t breathing any longer. She wasn’t blinking. She could hear. She could see. But she was frozen.

Dead?

“Olivia!” Shane put his wrist to her mouth. “You just need more blood. That’s all. You’ll be fine.”

She didn’t taste his blood. She didn’t taste anything. And even though her eyes were open, it was becoming harder to see.

When you die…what’s the last sense that you lose? That stupid f**king question ran through her mind.

Hearing.

Because she could hear everything happening around her, but she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t see. Couldn’t feel. She was wishing then, wishing desperately that she could live. If she had any magic left, any power, she just wanted to live.

To be with Shane. To see what their future could be like. He’d made her happy. Made her feel safe. For such a precious time, he’d even made her hope.

But…

She couldn’t hear him any longer.

She couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t feel anything. Couldn’t hear anything.

I love you, Shane.

***

“We need Holly in here, now!” Pate bellowed. Then he locked his hands around Shane and tried to pull him away from Olivia.

That shit wasn’t happening. Shane shoved him back. “Olivia, love, please, open your eyes!” This wasn’t supposed to happen. He’d transformed others over the centuries. This had never happened.

Her convulsions had stopped. Her eyes were closed. Her chest still. She wasn’t breathing. Wasn’t moving at all.

He kept trying to give her more of his blood. If she just took more, she’d be all right. She had to be all right.

Connor grabbed him. So did Duncan. He fought them, twisting and punching with all his might. No one could take him from Olivia!

“Holly may be able to help her!” Pate shouted. “Dammit, man, we are your friends, stop. Stop!”

And he realized that he was strangling Duncan.

Shane heaved out a breath. One. Two. His fingers loosened on Duncan as Holly rushed to Olivia’s side.

Holly felt for Olivia’s pulse. “What happened to her?”

“I was…” His voice was hollow. Broken. “I was going to change her.”

“Take him out of here,” Pate ordered Connor and Duncan. “Get him out, now! Take him to the yard.”

Shane shook his head. He lunged toward Olivia.