7
Ursula felt a stinging pain as something wet brushed over her neck and raised her hand to slap it over the source of the pain: the puncture wounds. Darn, why did they sting? They’d never stung before when a vampire had licked them to close them.
Her eyes shot open in the same instant, and within a second everything came rushing back to her. She wasn’t reclined on the couch in the blue room of her prison anymore, even though she lay on a soft surface. She had escaped the blue room and the vampire on top of her. She’d outsmarted Dirk. That thought almost made her smile. Almost.
If only she knew where she was and who the two people standing over her were. She tried to focus her eyes, but it took her a few seconds to truly be able to see the two in front of her clearly. The woman’s white coat became less fuzzy and she read the stitching over the breast pocket. Dr. Maya Giles it said. Long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Thank God, she’d made it to a hospital! Somehow, she’d escaped and managed to reach a safe place. Now everything would be good, and she would be going home to see her parents again.
As she shifted, her arm slid against a cushion, sending another wave of pain through her body—not strong, but nevertheless noticeable. She bit back a curse. It was all worth it. Her wounds would heal quickly, much quicker than the ones she carried inside her.
Her gaze drifted away from the white doctor’s coat to the man who stood next to the doctor. She instantly realized that she’d seen him before. Out there somewhere. On the streets. Taking a deep breath, she collected her thoughts. It finally came to her. He was the young man she’d asked for help. Seeing him together with the doctor confirmed that he’d helped her in the end. He looked at her, apprehension in his eyes.
“You’re awake,” the female voice said, making Ursula turn her gaze away from him.
She tried to nod, but the action caused her discomfort as if she had a migraine. “What happened?” she asked instead.
“I took care of your injuries. What’s your name?” Dr. Giles asked.
“Ursula. Am I in the hospital?” She scooted up, bringing herself into a half-sitting position, for the first time allowing herself to take in her surroundings. But what she saw wasn’t what she was expecting.
This wasn’t a hospital, but a private residence. By the looks of it she was in someone’s living room. Why hadn’t her rescuer brought her to the emergency room? Slowly she turned toward him, her forehead working itself into a frown. She noticed how he shifted from one foot to the other.
“I thought it would be better to get you to my personal physician. It was quicker. And Maya is the best,” he explained. His gaze flickered toward the doctor who nodded in agreement.
“And you are?” Ursula pressed out.
“Oliver, my name is Oliver. You remember me, don’t you? You asked me for help.”
Ursula sucked in a breath. Her memory was fully intact, but at the same time, the experience she’d gained over the last three years had taught her to be cautious about what she admitted. Besides, she still remembered offering him sex for helping her. Was that why he’d brought her here, rather than driven her to a hospital? Was he going to cash in on her promise as soon as she felt well enough? And why shouldn’t he? After all, she’d made a promise, and not only that, she’d kissed him to show him that she meant business. What virile guy would turn down such an offer?
She allowed her eyes to travel over his body. He was well built, muscular, yet lean at the same time. His jeans fit him like a second skin, making her aware of his masculinity. After the display of testosterone she’d been exposed to in her prison, she expected that the sight of such maleness would turn her off, but the opposite was true. The same feeling that had spread through her when she’d kissed him filled her even now. And this time she couldn’t write it off as a side effect of the fear she’d experienced during her escape.
“I’m . . . uh,” she murmured, wondering how to answer. Was it wise to admit that she remembered only too clearly what had happened?
The doctor dropped down on her haunches, bringing her to eyelevel. “You suffered from massive blood loss. Do you remember what happened to you?”
The blood loss! Her hand instinctively came up, wanting to touch the puncture wounds the leech had left, but in the last second, she grabbed the pillow instead, pulling it onto her lap. She couldn’t tell these strangers about the vampires. If she did, who knew what they would do with her? First, they wouldn’t believe her anyway. And then? Would they have her evaluated by a psychiatrist? Bring her to a closed institution? No, she couldn’t afford this delay. She had to get to her parents and make sure they knew she was alive and safe. And then she had to send help to the other girls—she had made that promise, and she would not renege on it.
“Blood loss?” she mouthed, hoping she sounded surprised. “What happened?”
Oliver dropped down as well, bringing his face closer so she could look into his eyes. “When I found you, you were injured and suffering from blood loss. Somebody attacked you. You were running away from somebody.”
Ursula shook her head slowly, pretending she was trying to remember the events. “I don’t know. I don’t remember being attacked.”
“But you must, you told me,” Oliver insisted, his voice strained, his forehead creased.
Maya put a hand on his arm, interrupting him, then looked back at her. “You were in very bad shape when I got to you. Your blood pressure was dangerously low and your heart was close to giving in. I gave you a blood transfusion.”
Ursula’s heartbeat instantly doubled. She knew it had been close. She knew she’d let the leech take more than other vampires had before him, but it had been the only way to drug him. However, she couldn’t tell these two any of this.
“Thank you for saving my life, Dr. Giles.”
“I’m glad I wasn’t far. Now tell me, what do you remember?”
Ursula threw a cautious look in Oliver’s direction, noticing how he parted his lips, as if wanting to say something. For effect, she pressed her palm against her temple. “I don’t know. I was walking home after an evening class . . . ”
“In the Bayview? There are no classes out there,” Oliver protested. He leaned in.
“What Bayview?” she interrupted.
“The Bayview district of San Francisco. It’s a bad area.”
So that was where she was, in San Francisco. So many miles from home. At the other side of the continent.
“I don’t remember how I got there.” She allowed the tears that she’d suppressed for three years to well up in her eyes, lending credibility to her lies. “I can’t remember anything, don’t you understand?”
She caught how Dr. Giles shot Oliver a displeased look.
“But, that’s impossible!” he objected once more. This time he reached for her, putting his hand on her forearm. “You must remember. You asked me to help you.” His eyes bored into her, their blue brilliant in its intensity.
For a moment she wanted to move toward him, assure him that he was right, that she remembered every second of their encounter: the way his arms had held her, the way his lips had pressed against hers. Their kiss. The fleeting feeling of safety and the desire that lay beneath.
“Let her be, Oliver. Can’t you see that she’s in shock?” the doctor scolded him and tore his hand from her arm.
Oddly enough the spot now felt cold in comparison, his body heat having left her. Not wanting him to say anything else on the subject, Ursula asked a question of her own, “Who are you? Why didn’t you bring me to a hospital?”
Oliver and the doctor exchanged an odd look. She noticed how his Adam’s Apple bobbed, before he turned his face back to her.
“As I said, I thought it better if . . . ” His voice trailed off.
“I was closer than the nearest hospital,” the doctor continued in his stead. “And time was of the essence.”
While Ursula believed that time had indeed been of the essence, she wasn’t convinced that it had been easier to bring her to a private home. “So this is your house?”
Dr. Giles shook her head. “No, it’s Oliver’s.”
“Yours?”
“Actually, my, uh . . . parents’ house.” He looked almost embarrassed about his admission.
“I live only a few blocks away,” the doctor continued. “Oliver did the right thing to bring you here.”
Ursula looked at her arm and noticed the bandage that was wrapped around it where her skin had met with a metal rod from the fire escape and lost the uneven battle. It was true, the doctor had patched her up. She also felt better, not as woozy, and stronger too. In a hospital they couldn’t have done any better either. She was well enough to leave.
“I thank you very much for helping me.”
She swung her legs off the couch and pushed the pillow and the blanket off her lap, then pulled herself up. Instantly she swayed. Oliver jumped up from his crouching position and caught her just as her knees buckled.
“Got you.”
His muscular arms reached around her, holding her up, reminding her of their earlier embrace. Heat suffused her cheeks, because a desire to rub herself against him to find release overwhelmed her even now in the weakened state she found herself in.
“Woah, woah,” Maya called out. “I said I took care of your injuries, but that doesn’t mean you’re fit to get up yet. You’re still too weak.”
“I’m fine, I just need a moment.” She pushed against Oliver, but he didn’t release her. Instead he held her even tighter. Their gazes collided.
“Don’t you remember what you said to me?” he whispered. “Not even what you did then?”
She knew he was alluding to her offer and her kiss, but as much as she wanted to admit the truth, she couldn’t, because it would also mean admitting that she was running from somebody, and to explain why she had two puncture wounds on her neck. Anybody who’d ever watched a Dracula movie would know what this meant. All she could do was to deny she knew anything about it, so she could leave and return home. Home. See her parents. Feel safe again.
“I need to call my parents. I need to talk to them.”
The doctor moved closer and addressed Oliver, “Let her sit down again.” Then the doctor smiled at her. “You’ll need to rest a bit first. You can talk to your parents a little later. First, I’d like to ask you a few more things.”
Somewhat reluctantly, Oliver helped her sit down on the sofa. When she felt the soft cushions support her back, she let out a breath of relief. One more second in his arms, and she would have started panting. It was clear that the sexual arousal the vampire’s bite had caused in her, had still not left her body. Even after what must have been an hour or even two after being bitten by the leech, she still felt the need to touch and be touched.
“You said you were walking home from a class. Where was the class?” Maya asked.
Frantically, Ursula scrambled for an answer. She knew nothing about San Francisco. But every large city had to have a college. Holding her breath, she answered, “The community college.”
“Out in Sunnyside? That’s far from the Bayview.”
Ursula shrugged.
“Do you know how you got there?”
“I told you, I don’t remember. It’s like my memory was wiped clean.” She looked away, wanting to avoid her scrutinizing look.
“Fine, I believe you. It must be the shock. It’s not uncommon.”
Relieved Ursula lifted her head and caught how the doctor’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Oliver. His jaw set as if he was clamping it down tightly, and he glared back at Maya. It appeared as if a silent battle was raging between them.
Then the doctor turned her head back to her and pasted on a smile. “Why don’t you rest for a little while?” She snatched the blanket from where Ursula had dropped it earlier. “Here. You’ll probably be a little cold, but that’s normal after the blood loss.”
To her surprise Oliver reached took the blanket from Dr. Giles’ hand and spread it over Ursula’s legs. Then he gave her a sad smile almost as if he had a difficult chore ahead of him.
“Oliver, a word,” Dr. Giles said.
He looked up at the doctor, then back at her. “You’ll be safe here.”
She quickly lowered her lashes. Had he realized that she hadn’t really lost her memory? Did he know she was lying and wanted to tell her that the people who were chasing her would never find her here? Or were his words of reassurance simply a casually thrown away sentence?