Blood Legacy Origin of Species by Kerri Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kerri Hawkins
passion when attempting to subdue her because she was appealing to, and in fact reveling in, their most primal instincts.
Victor sighed, and Edward turned to him expectantly.
“I’m going to need some help.”
CHAPTER 6
RYAN OPENED HER EYES. Drake was no longer sleeping with her, but that was not surprising because it felt like she had been asleep awhile. She was surprised to see Victor at the foot of her bed who, aware of her awakening, was examining her warily. Her eyes shifted to the fading bruise on his cheek, then drifted downward to the welts on his arms.
“Well, what happened to you?” she asked.
Victor said nothing but cast his own eyes downward, and Ryan followed his gaze. She, too, had welts and bruises covering her arms.
Ryan’s tone filled with self-recrimination and resignation. “What did I do now?”
“You don’t remember?” Victor asked.
Ryan shook her head. “The last thing I recall is Drake reading to me.”
Susan walked in as Victor responded.
“It seems you went out for a walk, then were a little resistant when I tried to bring you back.”
Ryan felt the stirrings of despair and more than a little frustration. “What exactly did I do?”
Victor was uncertain, but because of his own fierce predatory nature could not help but find a degree of humor in the events. “I’m not completely sure, but I think you were going to try and eat me.”
“Oh dear god,” Ryan said, hiding her face in her hands, “I thought I’d gotten that out of my system.”
“How are you feeling now?” Susan asked, moving to her side. She placed her hand on Ryan’s forehead, noting that Ryan’s skin temperature had returned to normal. She also noted that her iris color had returned to a more typical hazel. Ryan’s eyes often shifted color with her mood, but Susan had never seen them maroon before.
“I feel fine,” Ryan said. “Still a little tired, but nothing extreme.”
“Hmm,” Susan said. “Your blood work is coming back completely routine.” She stopped and clarified. “Well, routine for you. And Victor doesn’t seem to have had any ill effects from your contact.”
Ryan sat upright. “What contact?”
“One of your blows split the skin here,” Victor said, fingering his collar bone, “causing me to bleed.”
The implication was obvious to Ryan, especially if she had been as out-of-control as described. “I took your blood?”
“Barely,” Victor said, thinking back to the strange encounter. “The minute your lips touched my blood, you jerked back as if you had been electrocuted.”
As he said that, a disjointed series of visions rushed through Ryan’s head. The deformed creatures standing in the shadows watching her, the monstrous tentacles clutching her torso and pulling her downward, the shower of blood that blocked out all light then ran down her throat, suffocating her with pleasure. There seemed to be something else there, some other story she couldn’t quite remember, but she returned to the series of images that rushed through her mind with such force they caused physical pain.
“I…” Ryan said slowly, “I actually remember some of that.”
This seemed significant to Susan. “What do you remember?”
Ryan struggled to sort the images. “Nothing before that. Nothing after that. But I remember the moment Victor’s blood touched my lips.” She turned to Victor. “And somehow it seems my reaction to the connection was mental, not physical.”
Susan felt her own sense of frustration. None of this made any sense. When Victor told her of the contact, she had swabbed the wound but found nothing more unusual than traces of thrombolin. Although this would have been abnormal in a human, it was normal for Ryan because Susan had previously discovered the anticoagulant in the saliva of their Kind. And although Ryan may have taken a small amount of Victor’s blood, Victor had taken none from Ryan.
Ryan settled back into the pillows, her exhaustion returning
Victor sighed, and Edward turned to him expectantly.
“I’m going to need some help.”
CHAPTER 6
RYAN OPENED HER EYES. Drake was no longer sleeping with her, but that was not surprising because it felt like she had been asleep awhile. She was surprised to see Victor at the foot of her bed who, aware of her awakening, was examining her warily. Her eyes shifted to the fading bruise on his cheek, then drifted downward to the welts on his arms.
“Well, what happened to you?” she asked.
Victor said nothing but cast his own eyes downward, and Ryan followed his gaze. She, too, had welts and bruises covering her arms.
Ryan’s tone filled with self-recrimination and resignation. “What did I do now?”
“You don’t remember?” Victor asked.
Ryan shook her head. “The last thing I recall is Drake reading to me.”
Susan walked in as Victor responded.
“It seems you went out for a walk, then were a little resistant when I tried to bring you back.”
Ryan felt the stirrings of despair and more than a little frustration. “What exactly did I do?”
Victor was uncertain, but because of his own fierce predatory nature could not help but find a degree of humor in the events. “I’m not completely sure, but I think you were going to try and eat me.”
“Oh dear god,” Ryan said, hiding her face in her hands, “I thought I’d gotten that out of my system.”
“How are you feeling now?” Susan asked, moving to her side. She placed her hand on Ryan’s forehead, noting that Ryan’s skin temperature had returned to normal. She also noted that her iris color had returned to a more typical hazel. Ryan’s eyes often shifted color with her mood, but Susan had never seen them maroon before.
“I feel fine,” Ryan said. “Still a little tired, but nothing extreme.”
“Hmm,” Susan said. “Your blood work is coming back completely routine.” She stopped and clarified. “Well, routine for you. And Victor doesn’t seem to have had any ill effects from your contact.”
Ryan sat upright. “What contact?”
“One of your blows split the skin here,” Victor said, fingering his collar bone, “causing me to bleed.”
The implication was obvious to Ryan, especially if she had been as out-of-control as described. “I took your blood?”
“Barely,” Victor said, thinking back to the strange encounter. “The minute your lips touched my blood, you jerked back as if you had been electrocuted.”
As he said that, a disjointed series of visions rushed through Ryan’s head. The deformed creatures standing in the shadows watching her, the monstrous tentacles clutching her torso and pulling her downward, the shower of blood that blocked out all light then ran down her throat, suffocating her with pleasure. There seemed to be something else there, some other story she couldn’t quite remember, but she returned to the series of images that rushed through her mind with such force they caused physical pain.
“I…” Ryan said slowly, “I actually remember some of that.”
This seemed significant to Susan. “What do you remember?”
Ryan struggled to sort the images. “Nothing before that. Nothing after that. But I remember the moment Victor’s blood touched my lips.” She turned to Victor. “And somehow it seems my reaction to the connection was mental, not physical.”
Susan felt her own sense of frustration. None of this made any sense. When Victor told her of the contact, she had swabbed the wound but found nothing more unusual than traces of thrombolin. Although this would have been abnormal in a human, it was normal for Ryan because Susan had previously discovered the anticoagulant in the saliva of their Kind. And although Ryan may have taken a small amount of Victor’s blood, Victor had taken none from Ryan.
Ryan settled back into the pillows, her exhaustion returning