Bloodlust Read Free Page A

wrong. You’re still hot. You’re a hot chick who looks like she hasn’t slept in about a decade.”
    “I’ll go heavier on the under eye concealer the next time I enter polite society.”
    “Are you in any pain?”
    Having poison in my veins came with a whole set of issues, a couple of which were excruciating pain and nausea. I’d been given another drug, a fusing potion, meant to bind the Nightshade with my blood on a cellular level. Since then, things had been better.
    “Other than feeling headachy and weary, kind of like a constant low-level hangover, I haven’t experienced any severe pain since taking the fuser.”
    “Not yet, you mean.”
    I cringed. “Thanks for the reminder.”
    “I got more fuser for you so you can take it regularly. I know it doesn’t exactly go down easily, does it?”
    “It sure doesn’t.”
    The fuser ramped up the pain I felt about a hundredfold before it started to work. As the saying went, it was always darkest just before the dawn.
    “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” he said.
    “Thank you, Mary Poppins. If I didn’t have to inject it, I’d be happy to swallow a bucket of sugar with it.” I reached for his sleeve to draw him closer when some other rough-looking bar patrons moved past us. “Is that what you wanted to see me about tonight? The fusing potion? I thought you might have some other answers.”
    His expression tensed. “Not yet, I’m afraid.”
    I felt a stab of disappointment at his answer. “Oh.”
    “Where’s Declan?”
    “Waiting vigilantly outside. Armed to the teeth.”
    “That’s surprisingly reassuring to know.” He glanced at my neck as I twisted a lock of hair around my finger. “Making new friends?”
    I touched the fresh fang marks. Luckily for a newly designated pincushion like myself, a vampire’s bite healed in a matter of a few days, leaving no scars behind. It was small comfort since they stung like a bitch. “You kept me waiting too long. I met a couple guys who liked the way I smelled.”
    He grimaced. “Sorry. I take it they’re gone now?”
    “Permanently.” I glanced around. “Now that you’re here, I do want to talk to you about Declan’s new serum.”
    Noah looked nervously over his shoulder. “Yeah, sure. But . . . listen, Jill, there actually is another reason why I needed to see you tonight. And it’s not because I enjoy the dulcet tones of Black Sabbath and the smell of sweaty leather.”
    “What is it?”
    Noah shot another look over his shoulder. “Jesus, Jill, when he contacted me yesterday it scared the shit out of me. It was the last damn thing I expected. He wants to see you, but he didn’t want me to mention that until you got here.”
    My heart sped up. “Who?”
    Noah met my gaze and held it. “Matthias.”
    There was a long moment of stunned silence before I gathered my thoughts together enough to answer him. “He—he’s alive?”
    Noah nodded.
    Fresh panic raced through me. “And he’s here? Right now?”
    “In the flesh.”
    I had the sudden urge to turn and run, to escape this bar as fast as my feet could carry me. But my legs felt like lead.
    Matthias was alive. It couldn’t be possible. It shouldn’t be possible.
    I turned as if in slow motion to see the vampire king in question step out of the shadows to my left, his pale gray gaze trained on me. My mouth fell open in shock. I couldn’t help but be stunned to see him again—alive and well and standing right in front of me.
    After all, I’d been the one who’d killed him.

2
     
    THE REST OF THE BAR BLURRED IN MY PERIPHERAL VISION and the throb of the music dulled in my ears. When Matthias got within six feet of me he slowed and dark veins faintly surfaced on his pale cheekbones.
    “I’d almost forgotten how powerful it is,” he said so quietly I barely heard him. “I hadn’t properly braced myself for your scent.”
    “I can’t believe this.” The shock made my words sound hollow. “You died right in front