She sat up and quickly grabbed for a nearby jacket—one that smelled of Aidan. She pulled it on and rose to her feet. Her steps weren’t even shaky as she paced away from the couch. Definite improvement considering that when she’d arrived in Aidan’s office, just breathing had been hard.
Jane headed for the bathroom. She’d wash off the blood that still marked her body, get the extra clothes that Aidan kept for her in the bathroom closet, and then she could square off with Paris.
“You shouldn’t keep taking his blood.”
Jane’s steps faltered. “Um, I was dying.”
“That’s a habit you have. A rather nasty one.” He turned to face her. “Do you just expect him to appear these days? Kind of like Lois Lane and Superman? You think you can tackle anything because your safety net will always be there to save the day? To save you?”
He was angry and that wasn’t like Paris. Normally, he was the mellow one. And… “I’m not Lois Lane. He’s not Superman.” And she wasn’t waiting around for anyone to save her.
“Right. Not Superman.” Paris nodded. “Aidan’s an alpha werewolf and you’re a vampire. The two of you should stay as far away from each other as possible.”
Even with the coat, a chill skated over her body. “Do we have a problem, Paris?” Because she hadn’t thought so but…
Jane was still new to the vamp life, but she realized there were plenty of werewolves out there who didn’t like what she was—didn’t like her.
I just didn’t suspect Paris was one of them.
Testing now, she eased out a quick breath and said, “When you’re near me, do you want to attack?” Because that was the werewolf way. Get close to a vamp and primitive instincts take over and—
“You made yourself different.”
She didn’t know what he meant.
“Aidan’s blood,” Paris gritted out. “You had too much of it before your transformation, so when you became a vampire—that blood of his changed with you. You’re not just a vamp, Jane. You’re more—hell, I don’t even know what you really are.”
That was…insulting?
Scary?
Both, Jane decided. Definitely both.
“He changed you,” Paris said, a muscle jerking along his hard jaw. “And I’m worried that you’re changing him.”
“I-I need to get the blood off me.” No, what she needed was to get away from Paris for a few moments because Jane didn’t know what to say to him. She turned away. “Excuse me a moment, would you?”
“Stop taking his blood.”
Her hand grabbed the bathroom’s door frame. “You know I can only take werewolf blood.” She’d tried to drink human blood—both bagged and from a live source. She’d vomited it right back up. Jane licked her lips. “You’re right. Aidan’s blood did change me—it altered something inside of me so that I crave werewolf blood.”Not human blood. “If I didn’t get it…” Her hold tightened on the door frame. “I would die.”
Silence.
Then, after a tense moment, Paris asked, “Will any werewolf’s blood work? Or is it just Aidan’s that you crave?”
Would it? Jane didn’t know. It wasn’t as if other werewolves had been offering up their blood for her to try. She hurried into the bathroom, shut the door and made certain not to look at herself in the mirror.
The whole mirror-avoidance routine wasn’t because of the old legend about vamps not having a reflection. She still had one.
She didn’t look because she was afraid she’d see a monster staring back at her.
With a quick flick of her wrist, Jane turned the water on in the shower. Aidan had one lush bathroom—and the shower was certainly big enough for two.
But she didn’t linger to enjoy the hot water. She showered briskly, watching the blood turn the water red before it disappeared down the drain. Paris’s words had gotten beneath her skin. Changing Aidan.
Was it even possible for a vamp to change a werewolf? She had no clue. But Jane knew someone who might be able to answer that question…
Too bad that someone was the vampire who’d broken her neck a few days before. Vincent Connor. He was a powerful born vampire who she really didn’t want to see, not ever again.
Unfortunately, he was the only man who might have the answers that she needed.
She dried off and opened the nearby closet. Aidan kept her clothes in there—his, too, of course. He had to keep extra clothes on hand because when he shifted into the form of a wolf, well, his shirts and pants had a tendency to shred.
And when your lover was a werewolf who had incredible strength…my clothes tend to shred when he takes them off me.
So…extra clothes.
She pulled on fresh jeans and a loose shirt and after sliding her shoes on, Jane hurried back to face Paris. He was standing in front of Aidan’s desk, a wooden bullet still cradled in his fingers.
“I don’t want to hurt Aidan.” The words came from her, stark and desperate and so very true.
His head lifted. “I know.” He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. “That’s why you and I are about to have a little experiment.”