Page 16 of Bound by Vengeance
“I never thanked you for your help lastnight,” she said and set the mug down on the half wall.
“There’s no need,” he replied.
“Yes, there is. You risked your life. Thankyou.”
Resting her hands on the wall behind her,she lifted herself up and settled onto it. She didn’t miss Nathan’sglance at her thigh when the motion caused the shirt to rise.Tugging the shirt down again, she sat on the back of it. She hadn’tbothered to put on jeans as the shirt hung to her knees and theidea of wearing her ruined jeans again repulsed her.
Now, she wished she had.
She went to slide back off the wall, butNathan walked over to stand next to her, freezing her in place.
“Anytime, Victoria,” he murmured, his eyesdarkening as his gaze fell to the open buttons. The way her namerolled off his tongue caused her nipples to pucker as she picturedthe wicked things he could do to her with that tongue.
Vicky’s breath lodged in her throat when hiscypress smell increased. Unwillingly, her gaze fell to the growingbulge in the front of his jeans.
Run!But before she could bolt, heretreated from her. Relief and disappointment thundered through heras she bowed her head.
“So, are you ready to tell me exactly whatDuke did to you?” he asked as he returned to the pan of cookingbacon.
Vicky grimaced. Drawing her knees up, shewas careful to keep herself covered to her ankles by the shirt. Shehugged her legs against her chest and surreptitiously slid the topbuttons of the shirt into place.
“You heard part of it; he sold me tovampires,” she said.
Nathan’s hand clenched on the handle of thepan until it bent a little within his grasp. He couldn’t look ather. He was afraid if he did, he would strip the shirt off and takeher, or batter this kitchen until nothing remained of it.
“I see,” he said through his teeth. “Andwhat’s the rest of it?”
She didn’t want to relive it all again, buthe had saved her life, and she owed him something for that. “Didyou ever hear about a vampire named Drake Wilston?”
“I can’t say I have.” He chanced a glance ather. “Did he have something to do with Duke?”
“He was once one of Ronan’s men, but he gavein and turned Savage. Then, one day he decided it would be fun tocapture purebreds and allow other vampires to feed off them, for aprice, of course.”
“Of course,” Nathan murmured, and the panhandle bent entirely over.
“While we were dating, Duke sold me to someof Drake’s cohorts, and I became an imprisoned delicatessen for abunch of lowlife assholes.”
No wonder she’d despised the vampire, Nathanrealized and briefly wished Duke was still alive so he could dowhat Vicky hadn’t and torture the miserable bastard until he wasnothing more than a blubbering mess.
Lifting her arm, Vicky gazed at the scar onher inner right wrist. She’d received it during her time incaptivity, but whereas the rest of the countless bites she’dendured had healed and faded away, this scar remained. Multiplebites on her wrist, from different vamps, had formed what resembledan ancient sun symbol on her flesh.
“What do you have there?” Nathan walked overto stand before her again. He frowned at the mark on her innerwrist.
“A scar.”
“I didn’t think it was possible for vampiresto have scars, until Killean.”
Vicky started to lower her wrist, but heclasped it and lifted it toward him to inspect it. She almost toreher hand away from him. After what she’d done while chained to thatwall, Vicky hated the kind touch of another, but she couldn’tresist him. She concentrated on breathing normally as littlecurrents of pleasure rippled across her flesh from his caress.
“If the action is repeated often enough, ascar or tattoo will remain on a vampire. In some cases with vamps,if they’re scarred before they reach maturity, it doesn’tcompletely heal. I’m not sure how Killean received his scar, but itwas probably one of those two things. I also don’t know why thisremains on me when all the other bites I endured while in captivityfaded. I wasn’t bitten on this wrist any more often than otherplaces on my body, but the mark persists.”
Color crept into her cheeks, and her lasheslowered to shadow her eyes. Nathan didn’t think it was possible forVictoria to blush; this was more shame creeping over her as shedropped her legs and tugged at the ends of his shirt with her freehand.
“Victoria—”
“I wasn’t raped.”
She pulled on her arm, and he reluctantlyreleased her.
