Unable to move, my knees gave in as he bore down on me, delving his mouth into the side of my neck. A scream strangled in my throat, leaving me with nothing more than a gasp. The sound only encouraged him.
I froze, awaiting the painful prick of canines to puncture into my neck. Instead, his lips molded to my bare skin, suckling on the exposed flesh. He left a trail of kisses from the top of my shoulder till he reached my earlobe, nibbling on the bottom with his teeth.
“Just give in.” He was nearly breathless.
“Why? So I can become a monster, like you?” I finally jeered. It was all I could do, save for screaming.
Blaine looked genuinely disappointed. “Either way, you’re going to become one of us. The only question here is if you’re willing to embrace it?”
“I’d rather you kill me.”
Blaine sighed, and it sounded like he was trying to bury a chuckle. He continued teasing with the skin along my neck, inhaling my scent. “Don’t say that. Besides, you didn’t seem to enjoy it too much the last time. I’ve never seen someone fight so hard to stay alive. And then you were so defiant against me. Almost wasn’t able to bring you back.”
I froze. “What did you say?”
The revelation constricted every ounce of me, and Blaine felt it. He brushed his nose along my jaw, kissing my chin. “Which part?”
“You… You’re my Maker?”
He smiled. “Well, of course. Who did you think it was?”
I’d been so focused on trying not to look at him that I had missed what was right in front of me. His left hand.
Blaine’s eyes followed to where I was gaping, and his smile grew all the more as he hiked up his sleeve.
Black metallic ink painted his entire arm. And the runes. They were an exact match for my own, down to the tether wrapped around his ring finger.
“Sitri.”
Wicked delight blazed in his eyes. “Someone’s been doing their homework.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“No what?”
“You can’t be him. You’re from here.”
“No, I was raised here. My parentage on the other hand,” he sighed. “Well, let’s just say it’s unconventional.”
“That was you, stalking me?”
“I had to keep an eye out on my girl.” He was practically beaming, continuing to plant small kisses on my neck.
“You tried attacking me with a tire iron!”
“I was trying to keep you safe,” he corrected between kisses. “Between Blackburn and Reynolds snooping around, I didn’t have much of a choice. I was forbidden from revealing myself to you until the last stage of your Rite, so it was the only way I could make contact. I had hoped your suspicions would’ve convinced you to stay clear of them both.”
My head was swimming, unable to process it all. “How did you even know I’d be there on the road, or at the school, or in the restaurant?”
“Tu es meus verum coniunx.”
“What?”
“I’ll always know.” Blaine met my eyes again. “So long as you’re near, I’ll always be able to sense you.”
“Why me?”
“Why not?” His fingers teased with the hem of my shirt, his knuckles brushing the skin of my navel. “You said it yourself, how much you despise this place, this way of life. The parties, the exhibition, the pretension. No more. We can start over.”
Where?
In Hell? With an eternally damned soul?
“If it really was you who brought me back to life, then why didn’t you change me right there?” I demanded. “Why wait till now?”
“You saw what happened to the others. Making both transitions at the same time isn’t too kind on the mind. Sure, it still brings about loyal followers, but as you said, they can be a bit too rambunctious for their own good. It’s best to take things a little more slowly. Like us.”
His hands gripped my waist, pulling me closer. Too close. Petrified and in a whole new league of disbelief, I remained frozen. What was happening? This couldn’t be happening.
Any moment I would wake up from this nightmare. I’d wake up in a cold sweat, feverish from how real it felt. Because this couldn’t be happening.
I tried to shrink back, but he wouldn’t allow it. His hands seized my waist, pulling me back to face him. My feet knocked against his, and I nearly gasped. Had he felt it? Nothing in his eyes indicated he did. A thrill of hope exploded inside my chest at the feeling of my ankle…and the holster strapped around it. Reese’s knife. There was a very good chance that Daniel had found and confiscated the blade after he tied me up, but…what if by some miracle, he hadn’t?