Part 25 (2/2)
”This is my choice?”
”Can't be anyone else's.”
”But I thought there was no other option. I mean, madness doesn't ring any of my bells, nor does suicide. I don't want to do anything that's going to see you hating me.”
He gripped the back of her head. ”I love you.” Teeth bared, he snarled out the words, ”I will always love you.”
”You can speak the words,” she said, ”but I don't see the truth in your eyes.” That made him rear back and slam a fist against the kitchen counter. ”Bella, I'm trying!”
”It's okay. If you won't have me as a bloodsucker, then I'll have to learn to accept that.”
”You won't do any such thing. How can I make you understand how I feel about you?”
”By being truthful.” She set down the book and crossed her arms over her chest. ”Severo, you're as scared as I am. Admit it.
You're losing the woman you fell in love with. I'm not the same, and I'm never going to be the same. And every time you look at me, you will see the horrors of your past.”
”It won't be like that.”
”Just, please, look me in the eye.”
It was such a simple request, and yet he struggled to hold her liquid green gaze for longer than a second. In her eyes he saw so much. Their shared love. The good times, when they'd spent days making love until they were both too exhausted to rise for breakfast. And the teasing play. And the jealousy he felt whenever another man got close enough to breathe her air.
She is yours. Look at her.
Bringing up his chin, Severo found Bella's pleading stare.
”You love me?” she asked.
He nodded.
”And you're afraid?”
”I am. I...want it to be as it's been, but it never will be. And what scares me the most is the werewolf will kill you first chance it gets.”
”It will not. I love the werewolf, and it loves me.”
”The werewolf takes off vampire heads with one swipe of a paw.”
”You can control it.” She hugged him and kissed his neck. ”If you want to.”
If he wanted to? So easy as that, she thought. Yet would he want to?
Bella kept a firm grip on the pa.s.senger-side door handle as Severo navigated the potholes on Highway 35W, which stretched to Minneapolis. He seemed unsure and frequently slowed to read the signs.
”You've not driven this road before, have you?”
He cast her a knowing smile.
”You've run here,” she decided.
”Saves on gas, and the wolf needs the exercise. I can make this distance in half the time it takes a car.”
”Well, aren't you speedy on four legs.”
”Don't worry. I've a driver's license. I drive into town on occasion to stay in practice.”
”You navigated our small town pretty well.” She twisted on the seat and curled a knee up to her chest. ”So, you've told me about Ivan. How does this all work? How long do you think it'll take?”
”Ivan suggested a few days. The initial bite can take place right away, but you'll then need to drink human blood. He intends to show you the ropes, which is generous of him. You'll be in good hands, Bella. You could have just ventured out on your own, attacked a mortal, and found your own way.”
”You'd never allow that.”
He smirked. ”Only because I want what's best for you.”
”You are what's best for me, lover. Are you going to be there when we...do it?”
”I will not watch another man hold you in his arms and sink his teeth into you, Bella. I don't think it would be comfortable for either of us, do you?”
The man did have a ferocious jealous streak. ”Yes and no. I mean, I want you there for support, but it would be kind of squicky for you, I'm sure.”
”Squicky?”
”Yeah, squirm icky.”
He turned onto a highway off-ramp. ”I'll stay at a motel and pick you up when you call. Might be safer for Drake that way, too. I know if I get anywhere near him after the fact, I'll want to rip his head off.”
Ivan Drake lived in a forty-second-floor penthouse in downtown Minneapolis. Bella swallowed during the elevator ride, because fast elevators made her ears pop.
As they waited before the door, she slid her hand into Severo's. He leaned in and kissed her on the mouth-slowly, like he meant it-and she didn't sense any disgust or repulsion. In a way, it was a goodbye kiss. Goodbye to the woman he knew, the woman she knew.
”It's going to be fine,” he said and pressed his forehead to hers.
What she wouldn't give to have back the randy, charming Severo who had once seduced her with suggestive moves and aggressive will. That charm was still inside him, but she would never be able to touch that part of him again.
”Just tell me what you think of me.”
”I love you, sweet.”
The endearment went a long way in rea.s.suring her. Superficially. ”I love you, too.”
Ivan opened the door to the vast penthouse. The foyer was stark white and modern, as was the living room beyond it. The man had to be rich, because, Bella thought, from what she could see, the place deserved to be in a magazine.
Ivan stood as high as Severo and was equally as built. What was with all these paranormals? They were all muscled and so s.e.xy.
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