Crimson Groves by Ashley Robertson Read Free Book Online Page A

for you to bite her.”
    “You’re lying,” I retorted, wanting badly to yell, but only soft wispy sounds came out. “Why are her hands tied? I know you must be persuading her to be relaxed, you can cut the crap now!”
    “I am not persuading her, and that is the reason her hands are bound. Persuasion should not be used the first time you feed from a human. You need to do it on your own. Her arms are tied to make it easier on you. Even willing blood donors are afraid, yet intrigued, of the bite from a new vampire. It is intensely painful at first, and most try to fight you during that time. You are too weak to keep your hold on her should that happen.” His voice was still eerily calm.
    I stared at the woman, tilting my head. “Is he telling the truth? You want me to bite you?”
    She looked at me, face blank, eyes empty.
    “Are you going to answer me?” I asked, voice a little louder. Yeah, for me.
    “Enough of this!” Bronx said. He wasn’t calm anymore. He tossed the woman on the floor, a few feet in front of me. Her body jiggled as if it were made of Jell-O. I didn’t move. There was no freaking way I was going to drink her blood!
    “Every blood donor craves the bite of a new vampire. It is more potent than any other. She wants you to bite her and feed from her. She wants to feel the pleasure only you can give her.” Bronx was closer to me. I hadn’t seen him move. He was just there. I wish he’d stop doing that!
    People let vampires bite them so they can get high? This guy must be high if he thought I’d buy that crap. But the way he’d just described how a vampire bite felt, well that sure was similar to what I’d gone through when he bit me. No, that couldn’t be it! Could it? No way! Maybe?
    I didn’t believe him, definitely didn’t trust him, and yet the only thing I had to go on was what he was telling me. So were some tidbits of truth sprinkled inside Bronx’s words? I glanced down at the woman’s neck, imagining the blood within it. I slowly shook my head in disgust. Yep, that seems real human, doesn’t it?
    And to top everything off, I wasn’t feeling any better. Actually it was getting worse. My body was worn out, like I’d just run a marathon. My stomach churned, demanding food, but I wasn’t hungry for food. Fear crept up my neck like a small, uninvited insect. I was afraid of everything Bronx told me, more afraid of how I felt. I was a stranger in my own body. But not to what I wanted. I licked my lips, slowly. A desire for blood pushed to the corner of my mind—instinctive, familiar. My mouth watered. I pressed my lips together, then closed my eyes, and squeezed them shut. If drinking blood was my only way to survive, then let me die again right now. And this time there wouldn’t be any coming back.
    This had to be the worst nightmare I’d ever dreamed, but I knew it wasn’t a dream at all. This was real— all of it. I opened my eyes, looked at Bronx. He was smiling, watching me with anticipation. I shook my head violently, screaming “no, no, no” in my mind. I closed my eyes and started praying.
    There was movement in the room. I strained to hear it, didn’t want to open my eyes, afraid of what I would see. But that delicious aroma was already waltzing inside my nose, tickling my taste buds. On my skin, goose bumps scattered everywhere. My stomach tensed. That scent was all that mattered now, mouthwatering, irresistible. I had to have it now.
    My eyes shot open wide, instantly seeing what my new body craved. He bit her. He just freaking bit her. A disturbing thirst grew inside me as I watched tiny droplets of blood trickle down the middle-aged woman’s neck. There wasn’t blood on her before. The old puncture marks on her neck had been clean. I stared at the crimson rivulets, mouthwatering, my fangs struggling to stay confined inside. My tongue stroked across my new canines—sharp and hungry. My refusal to bite her and drink her blood had been much easier before I saw