Nobody answered.
I got up out of bed and crept towards the balcony, terrified that someone was going to swoop in and kill me. When I finally reached the glass and peered outside, my jaw dropped.
“Duncan?”
He was sitting alone at the small bistro table on my balcony, staring out into the moonlight. He turned to me and cleared his throat. “Hey, Nikki.”
I stepped outside and knelt next to him. “I’m so happy to see you,” I said, my eyes welling with tears. I had no idea how much I’d missed him until now. “God, I thought you were dead.”
He touched a strand of my hair. “I’m still here.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So, how long have you been sitting out here?”
He shrugged. “Not too long.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing his hand. He was chilled to the bone.
He looked away. “I’ve been… better.”
I rubbed his hand, trying to warm his skin. “You should really come inside. It’s freezing out here.”
He turned and stared at my hand as I continued to rub his. “Nikki, I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why?” I teased. “Does being alone with me in my bedroom scare you?”
He looked into my eyes, and what I saw there stopped my heart. “No,” he answered. “But, it should scare you.”
Chapter Twelve
I jumped up and moved away. “What…what happened to you?”
He smiled bitterly. “What do you think happened?”
“Are you a…vampire?” I asked.
He stared ahead, looking lost. “I don’t know what I am. I haven’t fed on anyone’s blood or anything. But, I can’t say the idea doesn’t consume me day and night.”
I stared at his face, which was much paler than usual, but hauntingly beautiful. He’d always been nice looking before but whatever had changed him now emphasized everything I’d loved about his features. I had an incredible urge to touch his face, but was a little frightened of what he’d do.
“How did this happen?” I asked.
He leaned back in the chair and sighed. “You remember how Ethan went after us Sunday night and the truck flipped?”
I remembered someone had, but wasn’t about to argue about it now. I only nodded.
“Well, you blacked out and I pulled you out of the cab. It was then that Ethan decided to strike.”
My eyes widened. “He really attacked you?”
“Yes. Your admirer, or whatever you want to call him, brutally attacked me and left me for dead.” He closed his eyes. “He’s lucky I was only human at the time because now…I’d rip is throat out,” he growled.
I stared at him in confusion, “But how did you end up a vampire?”
He opened his eyes again and the strange light I’d seen in Ethan’s eyes was also reflected in Duncan’s silver eyes. “Celeste. She found me and brought me back.”
“Celeste made you a vampire?” I asked.
He shrugged. “She calls it something else, a Roamer or something. Anyway, I’m certainly not the same physically. Now, I move like the wind and have more strength than I’d ever thought possible. It’s like a double-edged sword; both awesome and horrifying at the same time.”
I moved closer to him and touched his arm. “What are you going to do?”
He grabbed my wrist and scowled. “You have to quit touching me.”
I searched his eyes. “Why?”
He licked his lips. “Because I don’t know if I can trust myself around you.”
I shook my head. “You…you’d never hurt me.”
Not Duncan. Somehow I felt safe with him, even like this.
He stood up. “I should go.”
“Wait, are you going home?”
“I don’t know. I have this growing hunger and I don’t know what I’m capable of anymore. Jesus, Nikki,” he said. “I almost lost it on this drunken woman earlier. She’d offered to give me a ride and I… I wanted to tear her throat apart. I could smell her blood. It was…” Tears filled his eyes and he turned away. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he choked. “I’d never forgive myself.”
My heart went out to him. I reached for his hand again but he wouldn’t let me touch him. “I want to help you,” I whispered. “Stay here tonight, you’ll be safe. I just somehow know that you won’t hurt me, Duncan.”
He looked into the sky and murmured, “I just can’t take the chance. Not with you of all people.”
I tried a different approach. “Ethan’s out there somewhere, and he’s much stronger than you because he feeds. You want revenge? Then you either need to feed, which personally, I think is a bad idea for obvious reasons, or hide out until you find a different way to get through this.”
He shook his head. “I don’t…”
“I know you don’t want to hurt me. Just come inside and rest,” I urged, pulling him into my warm bedroom.