Reyna woke to the sensation that something was very wrong. The surface she was on didn’t feel like her bed and she was lying at the wrong angle. There was a heavy weight across her legs and chest, pinning her to what she belated realized was a carpeted floor.
The smell of blood was overpowering, and her body ached like she’d been in a fight. The area between her legs was tender and sore, and she had a headache that must have come straight from the gates of hell. Where was she and what the hell happened to her last night?
She searched her memory. Images began to flash through her mind like a movie on fast forward. With each scene a feeling off dread grew in the pit of her stomach until Reyna thought it would consume her.
Dear God, what have I done? I have to get out of here.
She cautiously opened her eyes, hoping the vampyr holding her so possessively—she had no doubt it was the same behemoth from last night—was as sound asleep as his heavy breathing indicated. When nothing happened, she eased out of his grasp. She was almost free when he mumbled something, tightened his hold, and shifted closer.
Once more pressed against his rock hard chest, she cursed silently to herself. Like an animal in a trap, she suddenly understood the need to gnaw off a body part just to get loose. Forcing herself to calm down and concentrate, she waited until he settled and his breathing was once more measured and easy before giving it another try.
Not once did she look at her captor. She didn’t know his name, nor would she be able to point him out of a police lineup. Hadn’t, in fact, seen his face at all. Reyna had known all she needed to when she discovered he was a stinking vamp.
The tips of his fingers slid down her back as she slipped away. Rolling to her knees, she took a deep breath to center herself. She had to get this right the first time. What she was about to do was forbidden but desperate times called for desperate measures. It didn’t help that at any moment she expected the vamp to wake and lunge for her.
No, couldn’t think of that now. She had to focus.
Concentrating intently, she built the image of her bathroom in her mind. Time seemed to dwindle to nanoseconds but still she persevered. When the bathroom was so real to her she could almost smell its floral scent, she gathered her energy and dematerialized.
As soon as the world stopped spinning, Reyna opened her eyes. She was home. It was the longest distance she’d ever jumped. Now that she was safe, the first order of business was to get clean. She had to wash the stench of vampyr off her skin, and maybe in the process, out of her mind.
She took a deep shuddery breath and crawled into the shower, too tired to stand. Blanking her mind to the ramifications of the previous night’s actions, she grimly focused on the steps needed to take a shower.
Turn on the spray. Make it as hot as she could handle, then make it hotter. Douse hair with shampoo. Lather. Rinse. Lather again. Scrub body till raw.
All that and she could still smell him on her. Feel his touch. She crumpled into a ball of misery and cried while the rapidly cooling water beat down upon her. After long minutes, she managed to pull herself together. She couldn’t change the past. Now her priority was damage control.
A chill rocked her and she reached up and turned off the shower. Wearily rising to her feet, she wrung out her long hair. She wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body and went to stand before the mirror.
Her café latté complexion was even lighter than normal with an underlying pallor. She leaned her head to the side and studied her neck. The black and blue marks surrounding the multiple teeth pricks were fading to a purplish red. Before the day was over, it would be totally healed. The sooner the better. In the meantime, she would wear something to cover it.
Eyes burning, she leaned over the sink and removed the specially made contacts she wore at all times, even while sleeping. Right now she couldn’t deal with the pain in her eyes on top of everything else. Besides, it’s not like she needed them to see.
When she straightened, Reyna glanced in the mirror. Her true self stared back at her. She paused, once again mesmerized by her silver-eyed gaze. Not gray, not blue, but silver that glowed and sparkled. Everything else she could hide, but these eyes? They proclaimed she was different, an anomaly, a freak.
Once again she felt her tear ducts sting, signaling the imminent arrival of tears. Blinking them back, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Really she was too old for these emotional displays. Get a grip already.