"What happened? How did it happen?" she asked.
"Jill must have been grabbed on the bus by Tristan or one of his helpers. When they died, whatever hold they had over her was broken. She doesn't remember anything that happened."
"Coming out of her daze, to that house, must have been a shock to her," she muttered.
"I imagine it was," he said as he took her hand.
The sensation of his skin sliding over hers caused her to blink in surprise. He'd always been able to warm her and give her a thrill before, but now it made her skin come alive in ways she'd never known possible. It felt like she had ten thousand more nerve endings in her body than before, and every one of them was begging for more from him.
"Amazing," she breathed. The smile he gave her eased some of the stress from his face. Finally seeing him relax a little was even better than the feel of his skin against hers. She leaned toward him, becoming more aroused as her breasts brushed against his chest. "This is something I don't think I'll ever get used to."
He smiled as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. "It's one of many new things you'll experience."
"And I'm looking forward to every one of them," she murmured. "Ethan, what happened at the house, what you looked like, has it ever happened before? Does that happen to vampires?"
He shook his head as his hand stilled on her hair. "It's never happened to me before, but I know it would happen again if you’re threatened. It won't happen to you though."
"Because I wasn't born into this?"
"Yes."
She couldn't get enough of the feel of him as she ran her hands over his arms. "I'm worried about you."
"Don't be," he said as he leaned forward to kiss her. "I was in control of myself in there, I'm okay with everything that happened in the house, and I would do it all over again. None of us have ever seen anything like it before though. Stefan has always said no one knows what a pureblood might be capable of doing."
"Like walking into a house you weren't first invited into."
"Like that," he said with a smile. "But there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."
She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. "I know," she whispered. "What is going to happen with the house? With all of those bodies?"
"Brian, Aiden, and Ian disposed of the bodies and set the house on fire. There was no hiding what happened in there."
"No kidding," she muttered. "How is your side?"
He pulled away from her and lifted his shirt to reveal the smooth, unblemished skin beneath. "All healed."
Emma stared at him in disbelief as he lowered his shirt back into place. "And I'll be able to do something like that now?"
"Not as quickly, but yes. Your eye is already better; your nose is healed, the bite marks Tristan left on you are gone, and I bet the broken bone in your foot has set, or it will as soon as you feed."
"Feed," she whispered and poked at the tips of her canines with her tongue. Her hand flew to her mouth when they lengthened at her prodding. "Oh."
He smiled as he took her hand. "It's okay; it's something you'll learn to control, given time. I'll teach you, and I'll help you get through it all. You must feed though, Emma, you don't ever have to feed on a human or a blood bag, but you must feed from me on a regular basis if you're going to stay in control. We also have to complete the bond between us."
Involuntarily, she felt her gaze slide to his neck. Her teeth tingled; saliva filled her mouth as she saw the pulse of blood through his veins. "I can hear your heartbeat," she whispered.
"I'm told you will get used to that too, over time. I imagine it will all be overwhelming at first, but my parents adapted, Stefan and Brian adapted, and somehow so did The Stooges." Emma nodded, but she found it disconcerting that with every beat of his heart, her hunger rose. She was growing increasingly consumed by the craving to feed from him. "Come here."
He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close. His breath was warm against her lips as his mouth moved over hers and his tongue entwined with hers. She became so lost in him she almost forgot the thirst growing within her until he moved her head to his neck.
The potent scent of his blood hit her, causing her fangs to elongate instantly. She could feel his excitement in the quickening of his breath and the hands pressing against her back. Fear at the thought of hurting him slithered through her and caused her to hesitate.
"You have to do this if we're going to complete the bond," he urged. "And we have to do that, Emma. We have to."
She knew the words were true; she could feel the necessity of them in her soul. Her entire being was begging her to join with him. Instinct took over, and Emma found she knew what to do. She took a deep breath before sinking her newfound fangs into his vein. Happiness slid through her as his warm blood filled her mouth and immediately eased the ache growing within her.
It was more than her hunger his blood fulfilled; it was also completing the bond she hadn't realized she was missing while human. She could almost feel the steel bands of their growing bond wrapping around them to join them for life. No, it was joining them for eternity, she realized as her fingers dug into his back.
Thoughts filled her mind, his thoughts. She was swept up in the love radiating from him as his thoughts urged
