Free Blood Mate by Kitty Thomas Page A

before he just went back to
killing.
    He left the room
and returned with a gilded book that must have been created at the
beginning of time. The paper would surely flutter into dust at the
lightest touch. But when he opened the book, the pages were strong
and thick. They were made of stiff cloth with words written in an
ornate script in ink that refused to fade.
    August thumbed
through several pages and pointed at the top of a new section. “It’s
all there. No. You won’t age. You can’t die. You won’t have to
drink blood to maintain anything. You will be you, but stronger. Able
to heal faster, regenerate blood more quickly. For me.”
    She shivered as
that last part vibrated against the air. He stood so close. He
smelled good. Masculine and clean. Nicole tried to ignore him. She
loved Dominic. Any chemical attraction she might feel toward August
was a weird mixture of pity, sadness, gratitude, and whatever
supernatural thing he’d done to her through the blood exchange.
Nothing more.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    August didn’t
attempt to engage her in conversation on the ride home. She would
have to come to him in her own time. Did he have plans for more than
her blood? Of all the questions. She was his mate. Her blood sang to
him like a lullaby, asking him to take her in every way a woman could
be taken. But such a thing couldn’t be explained without sounding
sinister. And he didn’t want to have to chase her.
    It would be best
if she could learn to accept things. He would grant this compromise
because he’d spoken the truth when he’d said he would give her
anything. If it was in his power, she could have it.
    They sat in the
driveway of her parents’ house while the rain beat against the
windshield, occasional streaks of electricity lighting the overcast
sky.
    “Maybe they
don’t know I’m gone. I don’t see them a lot. Maybe we should
go.” Her foot bounced against the floorboard.
    She jumped when
August put his hand on her knee to stop the constant movement. “Why
don’t you want to see them?”
    Frightened eyes
rose to his. “You’re a vampire.”
    “You think I’ll
hurt them.”
    “I don’t know.
You could.”
    Her gaze went from
his to his hand on her knee and then back up to his eyes again.
Pleading. She wouldn’t say the words out loud. She wouldn’t ask
him to stop touching her, but he knew she wanted him to. It was
almost as if he could read the thoughts right out of her head. She
wanted it to just be her blood. Too bad, but they didn’t have to
talk about that now.
    August patted her
leg like a father or platonic friend, and the breath she’d been
holding spiraled out of her in a soft sigh into the stillness of the
car. “Come on. Let’s get this taken care of so you can go home to
your husband.”
    When he reached
the front door, she was behind him, waiting like a stray he’d
picked up instead of someone who belonged there.
    He rang twice
before a woman in her late fifties opened the door. She had kind eyes
that resembled how Nicolette’s might be if age were allowed to
grace the edges of her features. Silver streaks highlighted the
woman’s dark brown hair.
    He hated having to
do this, but seeing a strange man on the doorstep with her emaciated
daughter would not garner him an invitation through a simple request.
It was the one thing he couldn’t gain from people through mind
control. Humans had been allowed that one safe haven when the gods
had worked their curse. It didn’t mean he couldn’t use threats to
gain compliance. And he had strong collateral.
    “Can I help… ”
The woman’s words died when she saw Nicolette shivering in the
rain.
    August grabbed his
mate roughly by the throat. Her heart rate ratcheted to an impossible
speed. He felt the sense of betrayal with each erratic thump that
pounded against his hand.
    “Invite me in,”
he hissed at her mother. The tears he smelled on Nicolette made his
stomach turn, but it had to be convincing.
    “C-come in,”
the