He had heard countless cries of terror throughout his long existence but this one cut through his heart and soul like a knife.
“Shannah.” Murmuring her name, he sat on the edge of the mattress and drew her into his arms. “Wake up, child.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. For a moment, she stared at him, her eyes wide and frightened. And then, with a strangled sob, she collapsed in his arms, her body trembling.
“It’s all right, Shannah,” he whispered. “There’s nothing for you to be afraid of. You’re safe here, with me.”
It was a lie, of course, but she didn’t know that.
When she continued to shiver, he pulled the blanket from the bed and draped it around her, and then he rocked her back and forth as if she were, indeed, a child.
Gradually, her trembling ceased and she lay quiet in his arms.
He brushed a lock of hair from her brow. “How do you feel?”
“I’m dying.”
“Is that why you were looking for a vampire?”
She nodded. “I thought …”
“That I would bring you across?”
“Yes.”
He smiled faintly. “You came well-armed.” He had smelled the garlic she carried when he opened the door and saw her standing on the porch, had noted the cross she wore on a fine gold chain around her neck. When he put her to bed, he had been amused to find a crudely fashioned wooden stake tucked inside the waistband of her jeans, cloves of garlic and a small vial of holy water in the pockets of her jacket. He had disposed of all but the cross and chain. “And do you want to be a vampire?”
“No!” she exclaimed softly, and then, softer still, “but I don’t want to die, either.”
“Perhaps the doctors were wrong.”
“They can’t all be wrong,” she said wearily. Pushing away from him, she sat up, her shoulders slumped, defeat evident in every line of her body. “I should go home.”
“You should rest a little longer. Why don’t you go back to sleep?”
“No.” She had only a short time left; she didn’t want to waste any of it by sleeping more than was absolutely necessary. She wanted to live every minute while she could. “Anyway,” she said, throwing the covers aside. “I can’t stay here.”
He gazed deep into her eyes. “Of course you can.” He tucked her under the covers once more, then stood beside the bed, looking down at her. “Go to sleep, Shannah. Everything will be better tomorrow.”
“Yes,” she said, yawning behind her hand. “Tomorrow.” Her eyelids fluttered down. A moment later, she was asleep.
He watched her for a moment more, then knelt beside the bed. Brushing a lock of hair away from her neck, he ran his tongue lightly over her skin, felt his fangs lengthen in quick response to the scent of her blood, the pulse beating slow and regular in the hollow of her throat.
He closed his eyes as the hunger rose up within him, demanding to be fed. As gently as possible, he buried his fangs in the soft skin beneath her ear. In spite of the ravening hunger that clawed at him, he drank only a little. In spite of the impurity in her blood, it was sweet, sweeter than anything he had ever tasted.
Drawing away, he made a gash in his wrist with his teeth. Dark red blood bubbled from the ragged incision.
“Hear me, Shannah,” he said, holding the bleeding wound to her lips, “you must open your mouth and drink.”
Obediently, she opened her mouth and swallowed a few drops of his blood.
A flick of his tongue closed the wound in his wrist.
“Sleep now, my sweet Shannah,” he murmured. “Sleep and dream of a long and healthy life.”
About the Author
Amanda Ashley started writing for the fun of it. Her first book, a historical romance written as Madeline Baker, was published in 1985. Since then, she has published numerous historical and paranormal romances and novellas, many of which have appeared on various bestseller lists, including the New York Times Bestseller List and USA Today.
Amanda makes her home in Southern California, where she and her husband share their house with a Pomeranian named Lady, a cat named Kitty, and a tortoise named Buddy.
For more information on her books, please visit her websites at www.amandaashley.net and www.madelinebaker.net
Email: darkwritr@aol.com
About the Publisher
This book is published on behalf of the author by the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.
https://ethanellenberg.com
Email: agent@ethanellenberg.com
