Free Bitten by Darkness by Marie E. Blossom Page B

answers out of you is extremely unpleasant. You could try, oh, I don't
know, volunteering information once in a while?”
    He
glanced at her, worried about the sarcasm, only to find her smirking at him. He
laughed. “Yeah, well, I'm not much used to talking to anyone.”
    She
frowned. “I know you just moved back here recently, but you must have lived
somewhere else. With other people, who you talked to, right?”
    He
shrugged. “Not so much.” He started the car. “I had a servant.”
    “A servant. Okay. And?” She made a rolling gesture with
her hand.
    He
smothered another laugh as the extra stars in the sky winked out suddenly.
Shit. Those were definitely ships. The only good thing about them was that they
didn’t seem to be following them. “He was a spy.”
    “You had
a servant who was a spy. Whose spy? Yours?” She was
holding the handle of the door now, her fingers whitening with her grip as he
accelerated sharply.
    He shook
his head. “No. Jack was a spy for my enemies.” He sensed her mulling that bit
of information over.
    “Hmm. And you were okay with that?”
    “Not
really.” He glanced at her. She was staring out the windshield. The moon washed
her face in pale light so that he could only see the shadows of her nose and
cheekbones. She was beautiful.
    “Those
extra stars are gone now.” She turned to him, worry chasing across her brow.
“What’s going on?”
    He eased
onto the highway and sped up, trying to think of a good way to explain. “You
told me that you're different. That you've felt different your whole life.”
    She
nodded. “You’re changing the subject.”
    “Just
bear with me,” he ground out, frustrated. “You know about vampires. Did your
mother ever tell you anything else?” His heart pounded, unusual for him. He'd
fed yesterday, but even so, he shouldn't be feeling this much adrenaline. It
had to be the taste of her blood that was doing this to him.
    “Anything else about what? She said the vampires would try to eat me. She said we
were different, but never explained why,” Sienna said, her voice low. She
seemed calmer, but still held the door handle tightly. “Why do I trust you? And
my heart is pounding, but that could be from irritation. You make me crazy. And
you didn’t answer my question.” She frowned, biting her lip. Jasper nearly
growled as he watched her teeth push down on all that gorgeous lushness.
    “We're
going to your mansion, aren't we?” she said.
    He nodded.
“It's the safest place I know.”
    “What
about Linda and Dillon? My mother?”
    He eased
off the highway and onto the side road that would take him up the mountain.
“They should be okay.”
    “Are you
joking? If I’m at risk, they’re at risk, too.”
    “Maybe,
but they’re not here ,” he said,
letting a little of his anger thread through the words.
    She
rolled her eyes. “What’s really going on, Jasper?”
    He didn't
answer her. He wanted to grab her and fuck her against the door. He wanted to
hold her and kiss her hair. He wanted to tuck her into his bed where she would
be safe forever. “Sienna—”
    “Jasper! Watch out,” she yelled.
    He jerked
the wheel, cursing as the car slid onto the gravel shoulder of the road. He
stomped on the brake, but cursed again as he watched two black SUVs pull up
behind them. The one in front that had run him off the road turned and drove
back, slowly.
    “Sienna, listen to me. This is important.” He stopped the car and grabbed her
arm, then slid his hands up to cup her face when he realized she was panicking.
She stared at him, frightened as she hadn't been at the café. “The men in those
vehicles, they’re not human. They're vampires— “ He broke off, grimacing at the inaccuracy. “They’re revenants. They want me dead
and they won't hesitate to kill you, too, simply for being in the way. I want
you to run. Go to the mansion. Don't wait for me.”
    She shook
her head angrily, dislodging his hands. “No! Are you insane? You