"But the good vampires will be sleeping, too. Who will hear me during the day?"
"I'm hoping ye can reach Austin. He's somewhere in Eastern Europe."
"Okay, I'll try." She started once again to get up, but he held tight to her hand.
"One more thing. Austin's wife was a vampire, but Roman was able to change her back."
Emma nodded. "You mentioned that before. But I gathered you weren't interested in having the procedure done on you."
"Nay, it wouldna work on me. Roman can only do it if he has a sample of the mortal's original DNA, and mine is long lost. He would need a blood sample taken before ye were transformed."
She blinked. "You think I might get transformed?"
"I think we should be prepared for the possibility. If Casimir transforms you, wait till ye can escape, then go to Roman so he can change ye back."
"It won't get that bad. We'll escape before Casimir arrives."
Angus squeezed her hand. "Emma, I have pledged to protect ye from harm, but we're outnumbered. Casimir and his followers are vicious, and I'm no' invincible."
"Nothing will happen to you. I won't let it."
He smiled sadly. "I love yer fierce spirit, lass, but we must be prepared. Let me do this, so I'll have the peace of knowing that ye can be made mortal again if the need arises."
She frowned. "What do you want to do?"
"We need a small sample of yer blood, and ye need to keep it hidden on you. Not me. If I'm killed, everything on me will turn to dust." He raised her arm and pushed back her sleeve. "We should do it now, while I'm no' too hungry. That way, I willna lose control."
"You're going to bite me?"
"Would ye prefer using the spoon on the table? We have nothing sharp here."
She took a deep breath. "Okay, what the heck. Bite me." She gritted her teeth and turned her head.
He snorted. "Emma, I have promised to never harm you. I'm a man of my word."
She turned back to him. "Then how…?"
"Trust me." He brought her arm up to his mouth and licked the soft underside of her forearm.
Her arm tingled. Pleasantly. Very pleasantly. "How?"
"It needna hurt, lass. Only the evil vampires make it painful, for they enjoy inciting terror more than giving pleasure." He licked her again.
The tingling grew and shimmered up her arm. "Wow," she breathed. "Wicked."
Let me in. His mind spoke to hers.
She relaxed her psychic barrier. Why?
To heighten the pleasure. For both of us. He licked her again. Her whole body tingled. He placed his mouth over her arm and suckled. She felt her blood rushing through her body as it was drawn down her arm to his lips. Gooseflesh prickled her arms and legs.
Her toes curled under. Her hands fisted.
Each time he sucked, the pull inside her grew stronger and deeper. It pulled at her chest, then her stomach, then at the core between her legs.
He groaned. Ye feel so good.
Something pricked her arm and entered her. She jolted when it mirrored a probing sensation between her legs.
He lifted his head. Blood welled from two small puncture wounds. He grabbed the sheet off the cot. Two tiny droplets of blood ran down her arm toward her wrist.
He wiped them with a corner of the sheet. There. That should be enough.
"I'm still bleeding." More blood trickled from the wounds. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt at all. Her skin had become so sensitive that the trickle of blood felt like the tickling caress of a lover.
I can stop it. He placed his mouth over the wounds and sucked.
"Ah!" Emma squeezed her thighs together. It felt like he was between her legs. With each suck, she felt the tension rising.
Ye taste so good. I knew ye would. He swirled his tongue around the wounds, and her body jolted with spasms.
She collapsed, her head falling onto his thighs.
He let go of her arm and ripped off the corner of the sheet. "Here." He tucked the bloodstained cloth into her pants pocket.
She struggled to catch her breath. "What the hell was that?" She looked at him and was met with red, glowing eyes.
His mouth quirked. The tip of one his fangs showed. "Was it good for you, too?"
She smiled. "Careful, big guy. We don't have any dry cleaners nearby."
CHAPTER 21
When Emma awoke, it was daytime. She lay on the cot for a moment, wondering how she'd gotten there. Her last memory was her lying on the floor, her head in Angus's lap while he stroked her hair and entertained her with tales from his past. He'd talked into the wee hours of the morning, and she must have fallen asleep. He'd straightened the cot and put her to bed.