she tried desperately to make sense of the random images flickering in her mind.
The last thing she fully recalled was driving toward home and wanting to eat her
cookie dough ice cream. "Ice cream," she muttered as she licked her dry lips.
"You're home and you're safe, Laurel Rose." The mattress sank as Stefan sat down
beside her. She felt the covers being tucked more securely against her body.
"Accident. Ice cream," she muttered, trying to force her scrambled brain to make
sense of what had happened.
"Yes, there was an accident, but you're fine..." His voice trailed off. "Everything is
fine." She sensed his hesitation and she forced her eyes open again. He looked so
gorgeous sitting next to her. His long hair fell over his shoulder and chest as he leaned
forward. His hand was warm against her forehead as he gently pushed a lock of hair
out of her face. "Did you want ice cream?"
"No." She licked her lips again. "Had some."
"In the truck?"
Laurel Rose started to nod, but stopped when it made her head throb again. She felt
his hands cover the top of her head, felt them grow hotter the longer they rested there.
The pain in her skull dulled to a manageable level and she knew that she had Stefan to
thank for that.
"What else do you remember?"
"Jeremiah Stoner." Her memory was starting to return quickly now. "He shot out
my tire and kidnapped me." She remembered being naked, cold and bound, and she
shivered. Stefan tugged another quilt over her, his gaze never leaving her. "There was a
room and a large stone table. I was tied up. He was crazy." She was becoming more
agitated with every word.
"Shh." Stefan leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You don't have
to talk about it until you're ready. Just relax."
But the floodgates had opened and it all just kept spewing out. "He thought if he
drank my blood, whatever psychic powers I possess would become his. I kept him
talking. I knew you'd come if I could just distract him long enough for you to get there.
His name isn't even really Jeremiah Stoner. He killed the real pastor and took his place.
He also killed the man who built the room below the church for him. I don't know how
many people he's murdered by draining them of their blood." Laurel Rose shuddered.
"He was insane."
"You don't need to worry about Jeremiah Stoner. He can't hurt you or anyone else."
Stefan's eyes were like shards of green ice. No, Stefan would not have allowed the other
man to live. Laurel Rose closed her eyes and said a prayer for the man even though he
didn't deserve it. She also offered up a prayer for the other victims of Jeremiah's sick
obsession.
Stefan moved away from her and began to prowl around the room. "What else do
you remember?"
She could tell that something was definitely bothering Stefan, but she didn't know
what. She concentrated on her answer as she continued to watch him carefully. "I
remember that he cut me. I was bleeding, but the bonds on my hands were getting
looser. Then you were there. I heard other voices too." As hard as she tried, she couldn't
place the voices of the other men. She had no idea who they were.
"My brothers," he answered. He waved his hand as if they were of no importance.
"What else?"
"It got dark." She'd been very frightened and alone at first. "You were yelling at
me, calling to me to stay with you." She frowned as she remembered. "You were in my
mind urging me to fight, to drink."
"I was," he confirmed as he halted at the end of the bed and crossed his arms over
his massive chest. His face looked as if it were carved from stone, showing no emotion
whatsoever.
"I was dying," she began slowly. "But I'm not dead." She rubbed a hand across her
forehead. "You. You pulled me away from death and back to you."
Stefan nodded slowly but kept his distance. She felt so cold without him next to her.
"I took your blood and gave you mine. I did not allow you the choice of living or dying,
but made it for you." His lips thinned as he pursed them.
"What does that mean?" Laurel Rose could barely concentrate on the conversation.
Her stomach was churning and her head was throbbing again. She was very afraid she
was going to embarrass herself and get sick all over the bed. She swallowed hard and
took a deep breath.
"It means that you are now a vampire, like me. Your life is tied to mine. You need
blood to live. You will be able to eat or drink small amounts of food once your body
adjusts, but you no longer need it to live. You are immortal, but you can still be killed.
Prolonged exposure to sunlight, a stake through the heart or beheading will kill you.
Sunlight is lost to you forever and you are now a creature of the night."
"You converted me?" Her voice shook as badly as her hand as she brought it up to
wipe her sweat-covered face.
"I saved you," he corrected.
She was going to be ill any minute. She desperately wanted to concentrate on what
he was saying, but the sickness welling up in her was making that virtually impossible.
She was fascinated by what he'd done and had so many questions, but they would have
to wait.
She rolled over onto her side and tried to throw back the covers. Stefan stalked to
the bed and placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down. "What are you
doing? You need to stay in bed."
"Sick," she managed to whisper. She saw his eyes widen in understanding and he
plucked her out of the bed and carried her down the hall. The movement made the
churning in her stomach even worse. "Hurry," she moaned.
She all but jumped out of his arms as he carried her into the bathroom and made it
to the toilet just as she got violently ill. She would have been embarrassed to tears, but
she was just too darn sick to care. The floor felt icy beneath her, chilling her skin as she
knelt, leaning against the cool porcelain between waves of sickness. Stefan sat behind
her, his strong arms locked around her, supporting her when she needed it and
comforting her the rest of the time.
He left her long enough to dampen a cloth in tepid water and he used it to wipe her
face. Time lost all meaning as Laurel Rose was sick for hour upon hour. It was if her
body was ridding itself of everything. And it was. She realized that Stefan was
murmuring in her ear, telling her that her body was purging itself of human waste. Her
body was changing, becoming stronger.
Finally, it seemed, she was finished. She desperately wanted to go back to bed, but
she didn't have the strength to move. As if he knew exactly what she needed, Stefan sat
her on the small bathroom countertop and helped her brush her teeth and rinse her
mouth. Then he ran some warm water over the washcloth and wiped it over her face
and shoulders.
Her muddled mind cleared long enough for her to realize she was naked. It was
funny that that fact hadn't occurred to her before now. But there was nothing sensual in
his actions. Every movement was filled with purpose. Finishing quickly, he scooped her
into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom, tucking her into her bed.
"Sleep. We'll talk more when you wake tomorrow evening." Stefan stood and she
was very afraid he was going to leave.
"Stay." She held out her hand to him. He stared at it for so long that she dropped it
and turned her head away. The man had held her for hours while she'd been sick.
Perhaps he didn't want to stay with her any longer. Burying her face in the pillow, she
waited to hear his receding footsteps.
Instead, he swore sharply. She heard the shuffling of clothing being removed, then
the mattress sank next to her and she rolled up against his massive body. His hands
were firm but incredibly gentle as he gathered her into his arms and settled her head on
his chest. With the strong beat of his heart lulling her, she drifted off to sleep.
The sun had sunk moments before and Stefan knew that Laurel Rose was awake.
They'd slept the day away, locked in each other's arms. Cristofor had checked on them
just before he'd left at dawn, making sure the drapes were closed tight. He'd even gone
so far as to add some extra blankets to the window. His brother had assured him that
they would all be back later in the evening to check on Laurel Rose.
Stefan knew that they were all still worried about him. The expressions on his
brother's faces when their wives had shown up last night had been priceless. Both men
had glowered and the looks on their faces would have made the bravest of men quiver
in fear, but not so their wives.
Both Johanna and Delight had just scowled right back at them. Johanna had tapped
her foot again the floor, crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at her very large
husband. "You really didn't think you could keep us away, did you?" she asked. Stefan
had almost laughed at his poor brothers as they struggled with their desire to keep their
wives safe and their pleasure over their wives' wish to be there with them.
But Stefan understood his brothers all too well now. He had a woman of his own
and nothing was more important than her safety and happiness. Both couples were still
learning to strike a balance between the men's instinct to protect and the women's need
to be independent. Stefan just hoped that he and Laurel Rose would have years to argue
about such things. His brothers were very lucky men. And he was putting off the