First Drop of Crimson

Denise. He’d taken quite a lot of blood from her while in the initial throes of its druglike effects. She’d looked stable when she made it to the hotel, but what if she’d gone into shock since then?

The strange looks from the people he passed reminded him that he was covered in blood and missing his shirt. Right, that would draw too much attention. Spade ducked into the nearest alcove and then grabbed the next person walking past.

“Quiet,” he said, glaring at the young woman with his gaze lit up. “Give me your coat.”

She handed it over without another word. Spade put it on. It was several sizes too small. Still, it covered what it needed to and he wouldn’t be wearing it long.

“Off you go,” Spade told her.

He made it to the Plaza as quickly as he could without revealing his supernatural speed. Once inside, though, he ignored the elevators in favor of the stairwell. One clear shot upward had him flying past the different floors in a blur, arriving at nineteen in seconds.

The stench of sulfur drifted to him as soon as he opened the stairwell door. A demon had been on this floor.

Spade flew the rest of the way, not caring now who might see him. He crashed through his hotel room and rolled when he hit the carpet, the same silver knife that had been in his throat now gripped in his hand.

“Denise?” he called out. “Denise!”

She appeared in the bedroom doorway, blood still staining her neck, her face even paler than his normally was.

“You’re back,” she said, swaying.

Spade caught her before she hit the floor.

Chapter Eleven

Denise’s eyes fluttered open. Spade leaned over her, a deep frown creasing his face. Blood covered the front of him and even clumped in his hair. Considering what had happened the last time she’d been this close to him, she should have been concerned about his proximity to her throat. But right now, she couldn’t summon the strength to worry about being bitten.

“You look like hell,” she murmured.

Spade didn’t smile. “What did he do to you?”

She didn’t want to talk about it. She’d thought it was agonizing the first time Raum forced his essence into her, but this last occasion made her realize what the word pain really meant. The hotel had sent security to her room. She’d had to lie and say she twisted her ankle—as if that would explain several minutes of screaming. What they’d heard, anyway. Raum had covered her mouth after he got bored listening to it.

“What did he do?” Spade repeated, more emphatically this time.

Denise closed her eyes. “He upped the dosage on the marks,” she said, trying to keep the horror of remembrance out of her voice. “He wasn’t happy with my progress.”

Spade muttered something low and fierce, too rapidly for her to catch. “Shouldn’t have stayed at a hotel,” he finished with. “Should have picked a private home where demons couldn’t enter. I didn’t think he’d followed us here, but he’s obviously smarter than I realized. We’re leaving, Denise, just as soon as we get cleaned up.”

“Doesn’t matter where we go.” It was so exhausting to talk. She’d stayed awake only out of concern over where Spade was. When he didn’t come back at dawn, she’d been worried that something happened to him. Now her energy was totally depleted. What Raum did felt like it almost killed her.

“What do you mean?” A light shake made her open her eyes. “Come on, you can’t sleep yet.”

It took all her effort to wave her wrist at Spade. “He can track me through the brands. So it doesn’t matter where we go. He’ll find me.”

Spade didn’t say anything. Denise closed her eyes again. It felt like she’d only shut them for a second, but then the splash of warm water jolted them open.

She was in the shower. Clasped in Spade’s arms, it looked like. And he’d taken her boots off and was now peeling off her skirt.

“What?” she managed.

“I have to get your blood off both of us,” he said grimly. “It’s not safe otherwise.”

If she didn’t feel like she’d been run over by a truck, she would have protested. But right now, as long as she didn’t have to move, she didn’t care what Spade did.

His hand cupped around her forehead, then more water ran down her neck. Denise closed her eyes.

“Sorry.”

It came out in a whisper. Spade turned them, and the stream from the shower ran over her stomach next. He must have gotten her sweater off, too, from the feel of it. Was her bra still on? An exhausted glance down revealed it was. So was her underwear.

“What are you sorry for?”

Her face was in the crook of his throat, so his voice vibrated against her. Maybe it was because she was still only half conscious, because she answered with the truth.

“How I acted when you bit me. Didn’t mean to. Didn’t know it would make it hard for you to stop—”

“Christ, is that what you think happened?” Denise felt his hand brush her face. “It wasn’t you; it was your blood. The essence from Raum’s brands turned it into a sort of drug for vampires, it seems. I felt the effects as soon as I swallowed; but what’s in your blood is so powerful, I couldn’t stop. I’ve heard of altered blood being sold on the black market to young, stupid vampires seeking a thrill, but I didn’t realize…”

Spade’s voice trailed off. Then he shook her until her eyes opened. The intensity on his face was enough to wake her all the way up.

“What?”

“That’s it, Denise. Your blood changed after Raum branded you. That’s how we’ll track Nathanial. Through his blood.”

Spade strode into Ian’s parlor without waiting for the butler to announce him.

“Who would I go to if I were looking for some Red Dragon?”

Ian clicked off his telly with a snort. “I say, Charles, you’ve truly turned over a new leaf since you started shagging this one, haven’t you?”

“Don’t speak of her that way,” Spade growled at once.

Denise looked pleased that he’d corrected Ian’s rudeness, but Ian’s slow smile confirmed he knew the real reason behind Spade’s response. He cursed himself for his possessive reaction. It was one thing to act as though Denise were his while they were in public. Quite another to feel that way, however. Spade felt like he was in quicksand when it came to his emotions for Denise. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Ian drawled.

Spade gave Ian a single glare.

“Looking for some Red Dragon, you say?” Ian replied, his arched brow saying he’d drop the matter…for now.

“I don’t remember talking about a dragon,” Denise whispered.

Spade glanced down at her. “Chasing the Dragon is an expression for seeking a narcotic high. Vampires call their drug Red Dragon, because it’s only through tainted blood that we can be affected by a chemical stimulant.”

Though now he knew the stimulant in Red Dragon wasn’t chemical at all. The vampires who sought it out either didn’t care what ingredient in it gave them the high, or knew not to ponder it publicly. Consuming or selling Red Dragon was against vampire law. After all, hallucinating, out-of-control vampires threatened the secrecy of the race, and nothing was of more concern to the undead world than keeping their existence a secret.

Denise had no idea how dangerous her blood was. If the Law Guardians found out she was a walking drug,