Page 4 of Desired for Her Blood

My shoulders tighten and rise. The idea that Ember could be a witch conflicts with everything I believe, with my entire understanding of the world. For more than seventy years, I have known three things to be true: witches are wicked, vampires are vicious and cruel, and the combination of the two is pure evil.

But I must now face that I am a vampire and that Ember could be a witch.

I care for her, deeply, but how can I know if those feelings are magically induced?

Ember stirs, her eyes fluttering under closed lids, and her breaths quicken. She’s about to wake.

Rising, I stride toward the water and dive.

Chapter Two

Ember

My head is foggy,my mouth dry. I can’t move. My entire body feels formed from lead.

Through the fog, I hear voices, recognizing them as Ryker’s and Zuben’s, but they’re either too far away or speaking another language, because I can’t make out any words.

I hear a splash.

Water.

“I’ll try giving her water again,” Ryker says and I feel the coolness of the metal cup at my lip.

“She can’t take it in right now,” Zuben says from the other side of me. “I believe that, to revive, she needs blood. I will feed her.”

“No fucking way!” Ryker glares at Zuben. “She is not your fuck toy!”

“Believe me, using her as a toy for fucking could not be further from my intentions.” Zuben sounds disgusted. “I merely plan to give her some of my blood.”

“Vampire blood has a strong effect on her,” Ryker says, “but I suspect you already know that.”

I struggle to speak, but I can’t find the strength.

I want to reach out for Ryker or Zuben, to draw one of their wrists to my mouth, because I remember, very well, how my body became stronger, not to mention my insatiable desire, after I drank vampire blood.

“You know full well that after she feeds she’ll want to fuck,” Ryker says, his voice full of ire.

“That I do,” Zuben says flatly. “And I have theories regarding why the effect of vampire blood and venom are different for Ember than most humans.”

“Fuck your theories,” Ryker says. “She’s not a lab rat and I won’t let you use her as one.”

Ryker bends toward me. “She blinked!” He looks into my eyes. “Ember! Can you hear me?”

I nod. Or at least I think that I nod. I blink again, just to make sure.

Ryker looks up toward Zuben. “Her eyes are open, but she’s not responding. You really think vampire blood will help her?”

“I do.”

“Then I’m going to feed her.” Ryker raises his wrist to his mouth, but before his fangs even emerge, Zuben grabs his forearm.

“I have fed her once already,” Zuben says. “Therefore, it should be me who feeds her now.”

“What makes you thinkIhaven’t fed her?” Ryker glares. “In face, not only did she feed from me, she drank my blood while we fucked!”

Zuben sucks in a breath in obvious shock, then seems to settle his composure. “That new information, makes it all the more imperative that the one to give her a vein should be me.”

“Why?”