Just One Bite (29 page)

“Ya think?” I’d barely gotten the words out when a white hot sensation hit me in the solar plexus. I gasped and my mouth opened. The demon went
poof
and suddenly he was in mist form, spiraling straight for me.

Heat rolled through me, over my tongue, down my throat, into my chest, my abdomen, clear to my toes.

I had a moment of startling realization—me, the demon, the demon, me—
no
!

I was a vampire. I was wearing the crucifix
and
the medal. I reached up, but I felt only itchy, inflamed skin. In the corner of my eye, I caught a gleam of gold on the floor. I’d either dropped them or they’d been ripped away. Either way, they were gone.
Gone.

I couldn’t…

I wouldn’t…

Nooooooo!

I hauled myself to my feet and tried to take a step, but the fire blazing through me grew hotter, more consuming. My legs trembled and the floor shook. I heard Mama’s voice somewhere to my right, but I couldn’t see her. In the far-off distance, the sound of footsteps and voices echoed. Familiar voices.

“Where are you?”

Ty whispered through my head and hope blossomed. I tried to form a thought, to send it back to him, but the only thing I could think about was how much my body hurt and how scared I was and how friggin’
hot
—

“I’m coming, baby. I’m coming.”
It was his voice again. Loud. Clear. Close.

He called me
baby.

The thought registered along with a tiny burst of happiness before I felt a stab of searing pain, like a hot knife slicing into my chest. I groaned and gasped, fighting the sensation that threatened to drive me to the floor. I forced my eyes open. I had to hold on, to focus, to
see,
but a green fog clouded my vision. I stumbled forward, Ty’s thoughts rumbling in my head, leading me on.

“I’m here.”

“I’m coming.”

“It’ll be okay.”

A door crashed open and footsteps scrambled.

“Holy shit.” It was Ash’s voice this time.

“Fuck,” Ty growled.

Double fuck
declared a voice inside of me.

I knew then, just as surely as I knew my mother would never give up her quest for multiple grandchildren, that my forked buddy and I were headed straight to Hell.

Chaos erupted. Hands reached for me.

“No!”
It was Ty’s voice that blared in my ears. “Not her, you asshole,” he growled. “Me.” And then his arms closed around me.
“Me.”
And his fangs sank deep into my neck.

The fire grew unbearable. Screams echoed in my ears. My afterlife seeped away. And then everything went pitch-black.

Twenty-seven

W
hen I finally opened my eyes, I was lying on my stomach in the middle of a king-sized bed with a goose-down comforter and a pile of soft, fluffy pillows. Ty’s familiar musky scent—fresh air, freedom, and a hint of danger—teased my nostrils. I buried my head in the pillow and inhaled.

Heaven.

That’s what this was. I was dead. Not in Hell, ob viously, which meant I’d gone the opposite direction thanks to all of my hard work as a dedicated matchmaker. I’d helped the lost lonely souls of New York find true love, and
this
was my reward.

I took another whiff before lifting my head to see what else waited for me in the hereafter. Let’s see…A heavenly beach. An endless supply of designer clothes. A hot-looking demon sitting on the sofa watching NASCAR—

Get.
Out.

I blinked, but he was still there, sprawled several feet away, legs propped on the glass and chrome coffee table, remote control in hand. He pressed a button and Talledega morphed into the latest Nickelback video.

O-kay.

While I wasn’t an expert on Heaven, I’d be willing to bet my next retainer fee that demons were not allowed. Not even good-looking ones.

I rolled over and winced. My body ached and my skin felt numb and tight. I wore an oversized man’s T-shirt and my undies. My legs were bare beneath the soft sheets. I struggled into a sitting position and blinked. Once, twice and my vision focused beyond the sofa and the demon.

Nix the white sand beach, the palm trees, and the bamboo hut filled with Calvin Klein dresses and Ferragamo purses and yummy Christian Louboutin booties.

Instead, I saw the familiar wall of glass windows overlooking a quiet neighborhood in the Meatpacking District. Beyond, a full moon pushed past the edge of the building across the street, illuminating the massive room.

Ty’s loft.

I’d crashed here a while back when I’d been wanted for murder and had gotten up-close-and-personal with the layout. We were on the top floor of a three-story warehouse filled with rich leather furniture, chrome tables, a gonzo entertainment center, and a state-of-the-art kitchen with lots of stainless steel and granite countertops (Ty, obviously, didn’t need such an impressive kitchen, since the most he ever did was open the occasional bottle of blood or pop the tab on a beer, but it had come with the place).

I shifted my attention to the demon sitting on the black sofa.

Zee Prince.

My throat burned and I swallowed. “What…” I started, but my voice seemed to stick on the one word.

It was enough to draw Zee’s attention. He pushed to his feet and walked over to me. He pulled up a chair near the bed. “You’re finally awake.”

I swallowed and licked my dry lips. “W-what am I doing here?” It was only one of about a zillion questions that raced through my fuzzy brain, but there were too many and I had a pounding headache that kept me from prioritizing.

“We brought you here after the exorcism. You were possessed,” he told me in much the same way he might have said “You were sleeping.” He folded his arms and eyed me. “Ty forced the demon out and saved you.”

How?

Even as the next question bubbled to the surface, I already knew the answer. I touched my neck and felt the deep puncture marks. A tiny drop of blood oozed over my fingers and slid down my skin.

Zee grabbed a Kleenex off the nightstand and handed it to me. “Easy. It’s still fresh.”

I wiped at the blood and Zee relaxed back into his chair.

“It was the only way for Ty to force the demon out,” he went on. “He had to drink from you until the demon jumped ship. He finally did, but only after Ty had drank so much that the demon feared you might die. If the vessel dies, it’s an automatic trip back to Hell. The demon had no choice but to hop into the nearest body.”

Images pushed and pulled and suddenly I was back in the old sanctuary, Ty’s strong, purposeful mouth on my skin, his fangs pushing deep. I heard the tormented wail of the demon, felt the thrashing inside of me and the draw on my neck, and then…

“No.”
I teetered as I struggled to throw my legs over the side of the bed.

“Calm down.” He gave me an odd look, as if he couldn’t quite believe I was so freaked.

“But it’s Ty,” I gasped. “He’s possessed now.” And all because he’d tried to save me.

The thought struck and the reality of what he’d done hit me. A lightbulb flipped on and suddenly I knew. I
knew.

Made or not, Ty Bonner was The One.

Yeah, I know. I’d always sort of known this, but I’d never seen it so clearly. There’d always been too many obstacles in the way and so my view had been limited. But now I realized how all of that paled in comparison to the thought of losing him forever.

“He can’t be possessed,” I blurted. “Not now. Not when I’m finally sure—”

“He’s okay.” Zee got to his feet. Large hands forced me back to the pillows. “Ty’s a vampire with a strong will. He was able to contain the demon. He and Ash headed for Riker’s Island and a piece-of-shit child killer we’ve had our eye on who’s been sitting on death row. Ty touched the guy, deposited the demon, and then Ash took control.”

“And sliced and diced and sent the demon and the child killer straight to Hell,” I finished, relief seeping through me as I realized that Ty was okay and he wasn’t jetting for Hell at that very moment.

Zee nodded. “That part’s happening right now.”

“What about Evie?”

“She’s got a few cuts and bruises and she doesn’t smell all that great, but otherwise, she’s fine. We dropped her at her apartment so she could recuperate. She doesn’t have any memory of the demon—that goes with being possessed—and so she’s a little confused. She thinks she tied it on at one helluva party and now she’s paying the price. Some sleep and a hot shower, and she’ll be as good as new.”

“Mama Balducci?”

“She hauled ass out of there as soon as the demon jumped into you.” He shook his head. “Never knew an old lady could move that fast in a pair of rubber boots.”

“Mrs. Weisenbaum?”

“Crusher took her back home.”

“But she’s—”

“—possessed? We know. But Bucky—that’s the demon who’s got her—is small potatoes compared to some of the other bastards we have to deal with. Back in the early eighteen hundreds, he got messed up in the head in some war and became a hermit. Started torching animals for fun and stealing chickens for food, but he’s pretty much harmless to humans. Besides, as old as that woman is, he’ll be on his way back to Hell pretty soon anyway.”

I closed my eyes and let everything sink in. I’d done it. I’d saved Evie and no one had gotten hurt in the process and it was now all officially over.

“So where’s Ty?” I finally asked.

“Helping Ash and Mo. They needed a third and since he had to go make the deposit, he gets to help send the demon back. Mo and I flipped a coin to see who would stay here and babysit you.”

“And you lost.”

He shook his head and his eyes took on a bright gleam. “Actually, I won.”

A few days before, I might have felt a tiny twinge of desire (I
am
a born vamp, so being a ho is practically genetic). But instead of thinking about sex, I found myself thinking about how soft the bed was and how I couldn’t wait to see Ty and tell him the truth—that I didn’t care if he was made or born and that I absolutely could not exist another day without him. “I’m really tired right now.”

Yeah, right
flashed in his gaze and he grinned. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.” He stood. “You thirsty?”

I nodded. A few minutes later, he reappeared with a glass of clear liquid. I sipped at the cold water as images from the church replayed in my throbbing head.

“They’ll be back soon. You should rest. You’ll never get rid of those splotches unless you sleep.”

Demons and exorcisms faded in the face of real tragedy. “I have splotches?”

“It’s more like a full-blown rash.”

I glanced at the hand holding the glass. Sure enough, my skin looked red and angry. My gaze shot upward, over my forearm to my biceps that disappeared beneath the sleeve of the T-shirt. I yanked up the material on my right arm and studied my shoulder. Yikes. My stomach churned as I turned my inspection to the right arm and saw more of the same. I kicked the comforter away and surveyed my legs.

“I need a mirror,” I blurted. It couldn’t have spread everywhere, right? I’d taken the Benadryl. I’d even said a few Hail Marys (mum’s the word). There had to be a part of my body—the most visible part—that had been spared.
Right?

Zee shrugged and headed for the bathroom while I did my do-
not
-freak-out deep breathing. Needless to say, I was still freaked out (and a little lightheaded) by the time he returned. I took the small compact and drank in my reflection.

Rule number one—when suffering from a bad case of hives, DO NOT ask for a mirror.

A bright pink bloated face dotted with dark, angry splotches stared back at me. I was puffy. I was spotty. I was a freakin’ strawberry.

Worse, I was a strawberry with fangs. Besides being dehydrated, my nerves were still buzzing from Ty’s mouth on my neck. My primal instincts had obviously kicked in and I was still semi-aroused.

I was also mortified.

My chest tightened and my eyes blurred. “I can’t believe I look this awful.”

“You think that’s bad, you should have seen yourself right after the demon hopped out. You’ve been sleeping a few hours, so it’s actually gotten better.”

Great.

Just friggin’
great.

I’d waited my entire afterlife for the right vampire to come along, sweep me into his arms, and bite me. Finally it had happened and I’d spent the moment not only possessed, but looking like a bloated piece of fruit.

Was I cursed when it came to men or what?

Twenty-eight