Kaige hoped so, too. He knew from experience what it felt like when the craving for blood got to be bad enough. And he also knew cravings like that couldn't be denied for long.
Savanna breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into her apartment. God, she felt like crap. She had a splitting headache and her stomach was upset, too. Not that she should be surprised. That lunatic, Kaige Travers, had fed her his blood. She'd probably be sick for days thanks to him. She prayed to God she didn't get some strange disease from his blood.
Of course, having his blood in her didn't explain why her eyes were suddenly hypersensitive to sunlight. In fact, they'd been so oversensitive that she'd had to squint and cover them with her hand the whole way home. That probably explained why she had a headache. It hadn't helped that she'd had to walk for nearly ten blocks after leaving his condo before she had managed to find a cab.
She pressed her hand to her forehead to see if she had a fever, but her skin didn't feel any warmer than normal. If anything, it actually felt a little cool. Maybe she should go to the doctor. Then she remembered it was Sunday. She would have to go to the hospital if she wanted to have someone check her out, and she'd end up sitting in the emergency room for hours. It would just be a waste of time. Besides, she hated hospitals. Which was strange, considering she worked in the medical field herself.
All she needed was some rest, Savanna decided. But first she needed some Tylenol and a shower, in that order. On the way to the bathroom, she stopped to check the messages on her answering machine. The first one was from her mother reminding her about coming to dinner that weekend. The other was from a friend at work.
"Savanna, it's Michelle. Where the heck are you? I covered for you at work, but you've been out two nights in a row and I'm starting to get worried. Call me."
Savanna's brow furrowed. What was her friend talking about? She hadn't missed work. Had she?
The thought that she might have spent more than just one night with Kaige Travers had her checking her email just to see what day it was. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the date on the most recent messages. According to her computer, it was Wednesday. Which meant that she'd been unconscious for two whole days. Savanna shook her head. This whole thing was getting creepier by the minute. Maybe she should go to the hospital and have herself checked out. And call the cops, too. That jerk at the club had bitten her, after all. But both could wait. Right now, she really needed that shower.
Going into the bedroom, she pulled off her boots then took off her clothes. Naked, she padded into the bathroom, took two Tylenol and stepped into the shower. The combination of the acetaminophen and the warm water did wonders for her. By the time she stepped out of the tub, she was feeling much better. Maybe she didn't need to go to the hospital, after all.
Taking a towel off the rack, she wrapped it around herself then wiped the condensation from the mirror with her hand. She leaned closer, examining the marks on her neck, only to blink in surprise. When she'd seen them in the mirror at Kaige's house, they'd been red and angry looking,but now they were only slightly pink. If she didn't know better, she'd think they were years old. But that was impossible.
Savanna took a step back and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was trying to understand how her neck could possibly have healed that fast when she realized she had a light sunburn on her face and arms. How the hell could she have gotten sunburn? She'd only been outside twenty minutes.
She swallowed hard as she remembered what that Travers guy had said about getting a nasty sunburn. What if he hadn't been as crazy as she'd thought? What if she really were a vampire?
She stopped herself. Now she was just being ridiculous. Even so, she found herself leaning forward to check her teeth in the mirror. No fangs, thank God. She let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head at her own foolishness.
She realized there was no way she could go to the cops and file a complaint about someone biting her on the neck, not when there were barely any scars. They'd end up thinking she was a psycho.
Telling herself to just forget the whole thing had happened, Savanna dried off and brushed her teeth. She set the alarm clock for four p.m. and slipped naked into bed. She must have fallen asleep right away because the next thing she knew, the alarm was going off. God, was it already time to go to work? She lay in bed for a moment, trying to determine how she felt, and realized that while she was still more than a little tired, she actually felt much better than she had when she'd gotten home.
She crawled out of bed and got dressed, then stood staring at the contents of her fridge for a few minutes. Though she was hungry, nothing really appealed to her, so she decided to skip it and just go to work instead. She'd grab something there.
When she got to the medical lab a little while later, her friend Michelle looked more than a little relieved to see her.
"Are you okay?" the other girl asked. "You look like crap."
Savanna nodded. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather, that's all."
She had no desire to tell her friend about the strange weekend she'd had. There was no way she could explain it that would make sense. Instead, they made small talk for a few minutes before she headed to her lab to get to work.
Try as she might, though, Savanna couldn't seem to focus on work. Usually, she enjoyed her job of testing and analyzing blood samples, but every time she picked up a vial of blood to take out a sample for crossmatching, her stomach cramped up so much that if she hadn't been perched on a stool at the time, she probably would have doubled over.
Thinking that a snack might help, she made her way down the hall to the small break room. Michelle was at the counter and she looked up as Savanna walked in.
"I'm having a bagel," the redhead said. "You want one?"
Savanna shook her head. "No thanks," she said. The thought of eating a bagel made her queasy. "I'm just going to grab a yogurt."
Walking over to the fridge, she opened the door and was just about to reach inside for one of the containers of yogurt she kept there when Michelle yelped.
"Ouch!"
Savanna looked around the door. "What happened?"
"I cut my hand with the damn knife," the other girl said.
Savanna closed the refrigerator door, immediately concerned. "Is it deep?"
Michelle shook her head. "It's just a little nick," she said, holding up her hand so that Savanna could see. "It's bleeding like crazy, though, but I'll be fine."
Savanna stared at the blood on other girl's finger as if transfixed by it. Suddenly, it was like nothing else in the world existed but that small amount of blood running down her friend's finger. She'd never seen a more beautiful color in her whole life. And the coppery smell was more tantalizing than any food she could imagine. In fact, the smell was absolutely...scrumptious.
Abruptly, Savanna felt a sharp sensation in her mouth. She winced and was about to reach up and see what it was, but for some reason, she found herself reaching for Michelle's finger instead. The blood was drawing her closer like a magnet. What the hell was she doing? Shaking her head, Savanna forced herself to stop. Oh God, in another minute she would have had Michelle's finger in her mouth!
Startled by what she'd been about to do, Savanna stumbled back in horror. Fortunately, the other girl didn't see because she had already turned toward the sink to wash off her hand. Mumbling something about needing to go to the ladies' room, Savanna turned and practically ran from the room.
To her relief, the women's bathroom was empty and she leaned back against the door gratefully. What the heck had happened back there? It was like she'd been possessed or something.
Trembling, she walked over to the huge mirror above the row of shiny, porcelain sinks and hesitantly opened her mouth. Her eyes went wide. Oh, God. She had fangs. Long, pointy, fangs! Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!
"Savanna, you okay?"
At the sound of Michelle's voice, Savanna whirled around, her hand instinctively going up to cover her mouth.
Her friend frowned, coming toward her. "Savanna?"
Savanna took a step back. "I-I'm not feeling well," she said from behind her hand. "Could you tell Karl that I decided to go home early?"
The other girl nodded, her brow furrowing even more. "Yeah, of course. But are you sure you're okay to drive? You look really pale. Maybe I should take you."
"No!" Savanna said quickly. "I'm fine. Really. I have to go. I'll call you."
She hurried out the door without waiting for a reply, leaving the other girl standing there with a perplexed look on her face. As she made her way down the hall, Savanna kept her hand over her mouth, afraid that if she didn't, one of her co-workers would be sure to see her fangs.
"Hey Savanna."
She looked up to see a tall, lanky, bespectacled man dressed in a lab coat coming down the hall, a clipboard full of papers in hand.
"Hey Bob," she murmured, the word muffled by her hand.
He stopped in mid-step to eye her in concern. "Are you feeling okay? You look horrible."
Even though she knew she should have kept walking, she stopped, too. "Not really. I'm going to go on home."
Bob nodded. "Good idea. Get better soon."
As she watched him walk away, Savanna couldn't help fixating on his neck. She suddenly had to fight the urge to push him up against the wall and sink her teeth into him. She could literally hear the blood pumping in his veins. Oh God. If she didn't get out of there soon, she really might bite someone.
With a groan, she ran down the hall and into the small employee locker room. Taking off her lab coat, she shoved it into her locker and grabbed her jacket and shoulder bag. As she hurried into the parking garage a minute later, Michelle's words came back to her. Maybe her friend was right; maybe she shouldn't be driving. But the thought of all the people who would be riding the BART made her decide against taking the subway. Even taking a cab was too risky. She couldn't trust herself to be near anyone right now. The sooner she got back to her apartment, the better.
When she got to the stop sign that led out of the parking garage, though, she hesitated. If she turned left, she'd be home in ten minutes. But what good would it do to go to her apartment? She had freakin' fangs! What was shegoing to do with them? Give them a good brushing and hope they went away?
Just then another cramp seized her. It was so painful that her knuckles turned white where she gripped the steering wheel. That decided it for her. Instead of turning left, she turned right and headed toward Nob Hill.
Kaige stared unseeingly out at the bay. The view from the living room window was one of the reasons he'd bought the place years ago, but tonight he couldn't be less interested in it. All he could think about was the girl. At this point in the transition, she would be feeling all the urges of a vampire. She just wouldn't know what they meant. If she went too long without blood, her body would begin to shut down and she would die. If that happened, it would be his fault.
He swore under his breath. Why the hell hadn't he thought to ask her name? Hell, if he'd any sense at all, he would have just checked the ID in her purse. She'd been passed out in his bed for two days, after all. It wasn't like he hadn't had the chance.
The doorbell rang suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. His heart began to pound. God, please let that be her. He hurried into the entryway.
Kaige yanked opened the door, relief flooding him when he saw her standing there. Her face looked drawn and she was even paler than she had been that morning. She must be really hungry.
"You're back," he said.
She swallowed hard. "Can I come in?"
He took a step back, silently chiding himself for his thoughtlessness. "Yeah, of course."
Arms wrapped protectively around her middle, she walked into the entryway and nervously looked around. After a moment, her gaze swung back to him. "Everything you told me this morning was true, wasn't it?" she said in a small voice. "You really are a vampire."
He nodded. "And so are you."
She shook her head, her brow furrowing. "But how can vampires be real? I mean, I thought they were just things people made up to scare kids, like werewolves and zombies."
Kaige felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "I'll explain everything later, but first you need to feed."
She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "You mean blood, right?"
He nodded. "Let's go into the living room and sit down."
When she made no move to head in that direction, Kaige put his hand on her back, gently guiding her into the room. She went willingly, taking a seat on the leather couch. She leaned over, her arms clutching at her stomach. She was cramping up even worse than he'd thought.
"So, when you say I need blood, does that mean we have to go out and bite someone?" she asked when she finally straightened up.
He shook his head. "Not quite. We don't go around biting people anymore."
She sighed. "That's good. I don't think I could bite someone. So, you use an IV then?"
He gave her a small smile. "No. Actually, we normally just pour bagged blood into a glass and drink it. I had to give you an IV while you were unconscious because that was the only way to get my blood into you. But unfortunately, bagged blood isn't going to work for you right now. You're not far enough along in the change to handle any other blood but mine. It would be too hard on your system," he explained. "Of course, if I'd been thinking, I would have had some of my blood waiting for you. But honestly, I wasn't too sure you were going to come back. So, we're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way."
Her blue eyes filled with panic. "You mean I have to bite you? Look, I know you're trying to help, but like I told you before, I don't think I could do that."
He grinned. "You're teeth beg to differ."
She blinked as if in surprise then reached up with her fingers to feel her fangs. Though not nearly as large as his, the tips still peeked out from between her lips, he noticed. Damn, he'd never seen a sexier pair of fangs on a female and he'd seen a bunch.
"I still don't think I can bite you," she said quietly.
Kaige couldn't help but laugh. "At least that means I don't have to worry that you accidentally bit anyone else today," he said. "Okay, we'll do this another way then. Close your eyes."
She eyed him nervously. "Why?"
"Trust me," he said softly.
She hesitated, but then obediently closed her eyes.
Lifting his arm to his mouth, Kaige brought out his fangs and bit into his wrist. As the smell of his blood filled the air, the girl's nostrils flared.
"Open your mouth," he ordered softly.
She obeyed without hesitation, her lips parting invitingly, and he gently pressed his wrist to her mouth. She was tentative at first, her lips gently closing over his wrist, her tongue barely touching his skin, but then her vampire instincts took over and she began to drink more urgently. He hadn't noticed how sexy her mouth was before, but as she drank from him, he saw that her lips were full and pouty and perfectly shaped. The kind of lips that a man dreamed of kissing.
Kaige swore silently. Where the hell had that thought come from? But he was distracted from wondering any more about it as the girl suddenly lifted her hand to his arm, holding his wrist more firmly in place while she drank from him. A moment later, she let out a little moan.
The sound was so erotic that it was all Kaige could do not to let out a groan of his own. Damn, what she was doing felt good. Actually, it felt more than good. It felt exquisite. Sexual, even. The realization made his cock immediately go hard inside his jeans and he had to clench his jaw to stifle another groan. He'd shared blood with other female vampires before, even during sex, but the pleasure had never been this intense.
Unable to help himself, Kaige slid his hand in the girl's long, silky hair, silently urging her totake more. She didn't need any further encouragement, but closed her mouth tightly around his wrist and sank her teeth into his wrist.
Kaige didn't even bother to stifle the groan that escaped his lips this time, but simply closed his eyes and gave in to the pleasure of what she was doing. God, he hadn't felt anything this incredible in his very long life.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kaige knew he should stop her before she took too much, but what she was doing felt too intoxicating. He couldn't stop her if he tried.
It was the girl who finally pulled her mouth away, though not before running her warm tongue over the bite marks.
Kaige opened his eyes to look down at her. She gave him a shy look as she wiped a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth with her finger.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to take that much."
"You didn't," he said, his voice sounding strangely hoarse. His legs suddenly felt wobbly and he sat down on the couch beside her. "Are you feeling better?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you," she said, but then winced as her gaze went to the puncture marks on his wrist. "What about you? Do those hurt?"
He shook his head. "A vampire's saliva has a slight anesthetic effect, so a gentle bite like that doesn't really hurt and the bite marks will be completely healed by tomorrow."
She blinked in surprise at that, but made no comment. A moment later, she lifted her hand to her mouth to hide a yawn. Even with her hand there, he could see that her fangs were still extended and covered with just the slightest tinge of blood. Damn, he couldn't remember ever seeing anything sexier than that.
Despite the fact that he'd told Jensen that he didn't want to have anything to do with teaching the girl what she needed to know, Kaige suddenly found that there was so much he wanted to tell her. But it was obvious that she was too exhausted right now.
Just giving her that little bit of blood wouldn't change that. Now that she'd fed, she needed to sleep.
"It would probably be best if you stayed here tonight," Kaige said. "That way we can talk in the morning. There's a lot you need to know about being a vampire, but I think you're probably a little too tired to talk about it right now."
She hesitated, but then gave him a small smile. "I am a little tired."
He got to his feet. "Then if you don't mind sleeping in my bed again, I'll walk you upstairs."