Page 31 of Patrick’s Seduction (Scanguards Vampires #19)

31

F allon woke in a bleak white room with concrete furniture fused to the floor. The bare walls reminded her of depictions of the interior of an insane asylum—or a morgue. Though a morgue at least had steel tables and refrigeration units as well as other equipment. This room was devoid of them.

She shivered and looked down at herself. She was naked. She didn’t remember having been brought to this room, but she knew what it was: an underground cell at Scanguards’ HQ. Patrick had told her that he would bring her here, but she’d shifted at some point during the transport. However, she wasn’t sure if it had happened in the van or in the building.

She let her gaze roam the room, searching for her clothes. There were none. But she noticed a monitor next to the door. It displayed a message.

Fallon, now that you’re awake, please enter the code 8095 into the keypad below. It will open a door behind you. Behind it, you’ll find a small bathroom with toiletries and clothes. Take your time. You had a rough night. I’ll come to get you when you’re ready. Love, Patrick.

Fallon glanced around. Only now, she noticed claw marks on the walls and deep scratches on the door. It appeared that she’d tried to get out when she was in wolf form. But her temporary prison had held. Memories of how violent she’d become, how frustrated at being locked up, came rushing back. She had no way of pushing them back, even though she didn’t want to be reminded of the wolf inside her. Her muscles ached as if she’d done a rigorous weightlifting routine with a personal trainer, attesting to the fact that the wolf had relentlessly clawed and scratched at the door and the walls to find a way out. But just like the furniture in this room, the walls and floor were made of concrete.

Not wanting to stare at the claw marks she’d left, Fallon tapped in the code and pivoted to see a door she hadn’t noticed previously spring open. She opened it wider and entered the well-lit bathroom. Relieved to see a large shower equipped with different soaps and shampoos, she turned on the water and stepped under the warm spray. Her muscles instantly felt better.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood in there, letting the water run down her body, before soaping up and then washing her hair. When she finally turned off the water and dried off with a large, fluffy towel, she felt better. She looked into the mirror above the sink, pleased to see that her face looked refreshed. There was a still-wrapped toothbrush on the vanity, as well as other toiletries. She brushed her teeth, used deodorant, and dried her hair with the hairdryer before she dressed in the clothes that lay on a small stool. The clothes weren’t hers, but they fit perfectly nevertheless. The soft fabric of the form-fitting sweater and the comfortable pants felt good on her skin. Whoever had placed these items in the bathroom, had thought of everything, including underwear, socks, and shoes her size.

Feeling like a human being again, even though she knew she wasn’t, she opened the bathroom door and walked back into the cell. To her surprise, Patrick was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. She met his gaze.

Patrick bridged the distance between them with three steps, and opened his arms, embracing her.

“It’s so good to see you,” he murmured into her hair. “How are you feeling?”

Her stomach suddenly rumbled loudly.

He drew his head back, smiling. “Apart from being famished.”

“I’m better now,” she admitted, inhaling his masculine scent and hugging him tightly. “Thank you for everything.”

He put his finger under her chin. “I’d do anything for you.” He pressed a tender kiss on her lips.

His kiss ignited something inside her, making her want more of the same. She angled her head and kissed him back with more fervor, wringing a surprised gasp from him. But he didn’t pull back. Instead, he kissed her more passionately, and she suddenly felt her back being pressed against the wall, while their bodies were touching so closely as if they were one. She now regretted having gotten dressed. But before she could start undressing, Patrick severed the kiss.

He breathed heavily. “Damn, baby, you can make a man forget everything in a second.”

She put her hands on his hips, drawing him closer once more. “Don’t play hard to get.”

He chuckled, and his eyes sparkled. “Hold that thought. You’ve gotta eat something first. After what you went through last night, you need to get your strength back.”

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “From what I saw, it must have been painful.”

“You were here? Watching me?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes.” He pointed to the ceiling, and she followed his direction. A camera was installed there. “I wanted to make sure that you didn’t hurt yourself.”

A shiver raced down her spine, and she looked past him. She wished he hadn’t seen her at her worst. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It must have been awful to watch.”

“No, Fallon, don’t say that,” he said softly and tipped her face up with his fingers. Affection streamed from his green eyes. “You’re beautiful, even as a wolf.”

She knew he meant it, even though she didn’t understand why he would still find her beautiful when she was a beast.

“Come, let’s get you some breakfast, and I can fill you in on what we’ve been working on overnight.”

Patrick led her outside by punching in a different code in the keypad next to the cell door. He took her hand as they walked to the elevator and rode up to the top floor. It was quiet on that floor, and she didn’t see or hear anybody. The office doors they walked past were closed.

The office Patrick ushered her into was a corner office with several large windows. It was furnished comfortably with a large desk, several chairs, and a seating area with a coffee table. On it stood a tray with food and drink.

“This is your office?” she asked, surprised that it was so large.

“It’s my father’s, but he’s still on vacation,” Patrick replied and pointed to the seating area. “Eat something.”

At that moment the sun was coming out from behind a cloud and shone straight onto the food, making her aware of something she hadn’t even thought about earlier.

“The sun! It’s gonna burn you,” she said, whirling around to Patrick in an attempt to shield him.

“It’s okay,” he said quickly, “the windows are coated with a UV film that protects vampires from the rays of the sun. But even if they weren’t, the sun can’t hurt me.”

“What?” Suddenly she remembered when Patrick had picked her up from the hospital and taken her home. It had been during the day. “You were outside when you… but how? Don’t vampires burn in the sun?”

He took her hands. “They do. But I’m a hybrid. My father is a vampire, but my mother is human. That gives me the ability to walk in daylight, unlike my father, who has to stay indoors while the sun is up.”

“Oh!” She’d never imagined that there was something like a vampire hybrid. “But if your mother is human, won’t she age and die, and your father will stay young and immortal? I mean, vampires, they’re immortal, right? And they don’t age?”

“Yes, they’re immortal. I’ll explain everything you want to know, but why don’t you start eating?”

He led her to the sofa and made her sit down. She reached for a piece of pastry and poured herself a cup of coffee from the thermos. “Go on.”

“You mind if I get breakfast too?” he asked.

“Just take some of mine. It’s too much anyway.”

He shook his head and walked to a small fridge. He opened it and retrieved a bottle. When he turned back to her and joined her on the sofa, she could see the bottle more clearly. The contents were red.

“Tomato juice?” she asked skeptically.

He shook his head. “No. It’s human blood.”

Her breath hitched. She should have expected this.

“We procure it from blood banks. We don’t attack humans to feed.”

She found her voice again. “So vampires don’t bite humans?” It sounded rather civilized and somewhat of a relief.

As he unscrewed the bottle, he gave her a crooked smile. “Well, it’s not as clear-cut as that. My father, like all vampires who are blood-bonded to a human, drinks only from my mother.”

Shock charged through her. “And she allows that?”

“Of course. She loves it. And it’s their blood bond that keeps her young. She still looks the same as on the day she met my father. She also drinks his blood on occasion, while he drinks hers daily.”

“But that must hurt,” Fallon said, still frowning.

“It doesn’t.” Patrick sighed and set the bottle on the table without drinking from it. “I have to make a confession.”

He hesitated, and instinctively, she froze.

“The day we had sex after you came back from the med center… I tasted your blood.”

For a second, she had trouble understanding the words. She shook her head. “No, that’s not possible. I would have known.”

“Remember when I licked your breasts when I was inside you? You were so close to coming.”

She remembered it well. How could she forget? It had felt out-of-this-world amazing.

“My saliva made sure that you didn’t feel my fangs piercing your skin. I drank your blood, not much, just a taste, because I couldn’t resist. You smell so good.”

She still couldn’t believe it. “But there were no puncture marks. I would have seen them.”

“A vampire’s saliva heals small wounds instantly. It doesn’t leave any scars behind either. I’m sorry, I should have asked for your permission, but back then you didn’t know what I was. But I wanted you to feel the pleasure of a vampire’s bite.”

“The pleasure,” she murmured, thinking back at how hard she’d come in his arms, how long her climax had lasted.

“You remember,” he said and smiled at her. “That’s what the bite does. It heightens arousal. Just like it heightened mine when you bit me.”

She felt her cheeks heat and didn’t have to look in the mirror to know that she was blushing like a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl encountering her schoolyard crush. “Oh.”

He chuckled and reached for the bottle of blood. “Now eat your breakfast.”

Patrick set the bottle to his lips and began to drink. She couldn’t turn away and watched him, fascinated. When she caught his gaze connecting with hers, she noticed his eyes starting to change. She’d seen this in him before and had blamed the light, but now she knew that it was his vampire side trying to emerge. Her heart began to beat faster because she could feel sexual energy roll off him in waves.

When the bottle was empty, he set it down on the table and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss into her palm.

He locked eyes with her. “I wish I could make love to you right now, baby. But we have to go.”