Blood Type Read Free Page B

year— and yet I didn’t have to look to know it was him. Normal humans—or humans in general— used the front door. Besides that , John’s pleading messages for me to please call him back were currently clogging my voice mail . I knew he c ouldn’t stay away forever.
    “Can I come in?” John said, his pale face pressed against the pane of glass. His dark hair hung in his eyes, dripping water down his face and onto the collar of his coat.
    I wrapped my fingers around the bed post, fighting the urge to get up and throw the door wide open . I did not want to see him, let alone talk to him . E ver again ! And yet there was a part of me that desperately wanted, and needed, him.
    “Let me in,” he repeated, this time with an edge to his voice that left no room for argument. I got up and unlocked the door, helpless against the compelling sound of his voice and the need to follow his order.
    “I wondered when I would see you again,” I said. And that was the truth. I had known it was only a matter of time before he showed his face.
    “What did you do to your neck?” He reached out to touch the bandage, but I dodged his hand.
    “It’s none of your business, John. What do you want?”
    “I know how sick you are,” he said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You’re running out of time.”
    “You’ve been spying on me?”
    “Not spying, Blake. I care about what happens to you , whether you believe it or not .”
    “If you cared, you wouldn’t have let that monster anywhere near me. You would have been straight with me in the first place!”
    John took a tentative step closer, and then another, forcing me back until every vertebra of my spine pressed painfully against the wall. I put a hand on his chest, but not in an intimate way. He smelled refreshingly like wet snow, but underneath was a mouthwatering sweetness that set my entire body on fire and burned from within .
    “I told you the last time we spoke that I never wanted to see you again.”
    “If you didn’t want to see me,” he said, his lips grazing my ear , “then why did you let me in?”
    I pushed him back and clamped my hands over my ears. “Don’t be cruel. I know what you can do. Be quiet and don’t talk to me.” I began to hum the Star Spangled Banner in case he got any ideas.
    “Look at me, Blake.”
    I turned my head, humming louder to drown out the hypnotic sound of his voice.
    “Remove your hands and look at me.”
    I stopped humming at once, as though my voice had been magically muted. I placed my hands against my sides, feeling resentful that all of this was happening against my will. I met John’s eyes, trying with difficulty not to get lost in them. His hold on me was strong .
    “Tell me why you let me in,” he said, his voice a gentle, yet commanding, whisper.
    My vision clouded with unshed tears. “Because you told me to.”
    He seemed to be waiting for some other answer , and his expression slowly morphed from one of cautious hope to grim resignation. He carefully traced the line of my jaw with his finger, trailing down to pick at the edge of the bandage.
    “Fair enough. Now, tell me what happened here.”
    “It’s a reminder. So I will never forget.”
    The crease between John’s brow deepened , and he ripped off the bandage in one swift movement. I gasped against the unexpected pain, the tears spilling over at once.
    “Oh, Blake. ” His shoulders slumped at the sight of the tattoo. “As if you could ever forget. In all the years I’ve been alive in this body, that one night is still fresh in my mind.”
    We had never discuss ed how John had become what he was; we had never had the opportunity. And as curious as I was now, I wasn’t about to start asking questions.
    “Before long this won’t even matter,” he said, lowering his head to lay a gentle kiss on my neck. A ripple of longing shot up my spine. 
    I closed my eyes , and m y voice came out low and hoarse . “And why is that?”
    “Because you’ll