Page 138 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
"I needed you. You are stronger than you know."
"But you couldn't have known I would kill Marcus." It dawned on me the moment the words were out of my mouth. "You were using me as bait. You knew Marcus would smell my human blood and come running."
"It was necessary," he said, refusing to meet my eyes.
"Does my life mean so little to you?"
"Mi cielo, you were never in danger. I was with you the entire time."
I raised my hand to my face, to the place where the pain had radiated through my jaw before his blood had healed me. "My shoulder and jaw disagree."
He frowned. "Perhaps I should've been more cautious. Forgive me."
"Yeah," I drawled.
I waited, but that was all the apology he offered. "Did you know my ex-boyfriend was a vampire?"
He looked away, toward his cottage. "No."
My gut told me there was more to the story, but I didn't know what questions to ask to uncover the truth.
"Do you need more of my blood?" he asked, and there was the promise of sex in his voice.
"Not tonight. I'm going home." I climbed out of the car and started toward my house.
Rick knew better than to come after me.
hing About Myself
The shell blew through Rick's chest. In the spray of blood and thicker things, I didn't stop to check if any of it was mine. After all, the bullet that passed through Rick could have struck me, standing behind him. I didn't think about myself at all or reach for the man's neck to check if his heart was still beating. None of those things crossed my mind until after the sight of Rick with a hole in his torso elicited a reflex in me. Nightshade came around and decapitated the man before Rick could hit the floor.
I stared, heart pounding as his head rolled to the side of the hunting shack. His body collapsed to the earth in a pool of his own blood.
"I wasn't sure you had it in you," Rick said.
I snapped my head toward the Rick I'd thought was dead, only to see the hole in his chest stitch itself. The wound, once clear through his torso, was now a shiny pink spot on the skin behind his mutilated shirt.
"I thought you were dead," I yelled.
Rick's heady laugh filled the room. "I'm immortal, Grateful. You know that." He reached for me, hands running down my body, checking for injuries.
"Ow," I said as he brushed over my left shoulder. I looked at the source of the pain. The shell had clipped me. Blood soaked my shirtsleeve.
Rick stepped in close to me, his eyes locked on mine, eyebrows knit together in concern. He pulled the neck of his shirt aside. "Your knife, Grateful," he said.
"What? Why?"
"My blood will heal you," he whispered. The grave look on his face made me think he wouldn't take no for an answer.
I unsheathed my blade and sliced the skin over his collarbone. I sealed my mouth over the blood that bubbled there, and the hot fluid ran down my throat. The raw taste of him reminded me of the night before, and my pulse picked up its pace. My hands found his body, my fingers dancing over his newly healed chest. The world around me melted.
He pushed me away, breaking the connection. "Forgive me," he said, his voice cracking.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, blushing at my lack of self-control. My shoulder was completely healed. "Will your blood heal anyone?" I asked.
"No. Just you. I am the vessel of your soul. My blood renews you and only you."
I nodded, my face still hot with embarrassement.
