Page 47 of The Vampire's Guide to Wooing a Scholar
He grabbed a towel and draped it over his neck. “Nothing of importance.”
She felt a sinking sensation in her stomach as she remembered how he’d refused to remove his shirt. “Don’tlie to me.”
“Winifred—”
She grasped both ends of the towel to prevent him from rising. “Youwillshow me.”
He didn’t verbally agree, but the way the lines on his face deepened told her she’d broken the last of his defenses. She released her grip and gestured for him to bring him a robe. When she was warm and dry, she sat on his bed and crossed her arms. “Well?”
He touched his top button. “Before you see this, I want you to understand that there is nothing you could have done. This… was inevitable.”
She scowled. That was precisely the disclaimer she would have expected from someone who thought the exact opposite. “Stop stalling and show me.”
He did, and it was like someone had punched her in the gut.
“Oh, Marcus…” She touched the red-brown edge of a bruise on his chest. “What happened?”
He clenched his hands at his sides in a way that suggested he was avoiding reaching for something with which to cover himself. It made her heart ache that he felt he had to hide from her.
“I believe it is… an illness,” he said, speaking as if every word were being pulled from him by force. “One unique to my species. The attacks were the first stage, and this is the second.”
The attacks she’d tried to help him manage. In forcing him to endure practice sessions, she’d interrupted his research. It was her fault his condition had worsened. She knew he hadn’t discovered a cure, but perhaps… “Is there anything that improves the symptoms?”
He didn’t respond, but his lips thinned. He was keeping things from her again.
“Marcus,” she said sharply. “Tell me.”
He exhaled harshly. “Every vampire has a mate, one soul in the entire world with whom they are destined to bond. It is the lack of this mating bond that causes the disease mate atrophy. I did not believe it at first, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Earlier this year, Cordon lapsed into a fever and nearly died. His symptoms only abated after he mated with his wife. That was what changed my mind.”
It was an incredible story, but she was more interested in what he hadn’t said. Each time he spoke, pieces slotted together in her mind, but she could not yet see the complete puzzle. He’d claimed he did not drink from humans, but the way he’d licked her finger the night of their wedding suggested his resistance was not because of any lack of desire. In fact, he’d seemed far more energetic after she’d caught him with Smith.
“Human blood,” she said. “That’s what heals you. Well, that’s easy, then.” She tilted her head to the side and let her robe slide open. “Drink from me.”
He jerked away from her. “No!”
“Why not?” It wasn’t as if this were the first time she’d offered. His continued reluctance to let her give him what he desperately needed was tremendously frustrating.
“You do not know what you are asking,” he said.
“I am asking you to let me help you.”
He shook his head. “I made a vow not to bite humans, Winifred. A vow I have broken several times since you arrived.” He licked his lips. “You don’t know h-how many p-people I’ve killed during feedings.” His throat worked. “I could not live with myself if anything happened to you. I would rather die of this affliction.”
Her stomach churned. She’d tried very hard not to dwell on the idea of him taking human lives.
But it was not as if he was hunting for sport. He was a predator, and humans were prey. She could not blame a cat for eating a mouse.
“You are trying to be better,” she said. “That is what matters.”
His expression shuttered. “You don’t understand.”
There he went, cutting a part of himself off from her again. She was growing rather sick ofit.
“Please, Marcus.”
His eyes glowed bright blue. “I will not risk forcing you to make the choice I was not given. The answer is no.”
A snippet from one of the occult books he’d provided returned to her.A sharing of blood. That was how vampires spawned offspring. With that fact, the puzzle came together. He feared if he drank too much, he would feel compelled to turn her into a vampire.
