Department 19: Zero Hour Read Online Free

Larissa
wanted
to hurt him. Her vampire side was growing stronger and more powerful with each passing day, and, although he believed her when she claimed she had it under control, he knew exactly what that side of her wanted: to tear flesh and drink blood.
    To kill.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, smiling up at her. “You’re right.”
    Larissa smiled back at him. “Of course I am,” she said. “As usual.”
    She arched her back and began to rise into the air, but he grabbed her thighs and pulled her back down. Her eyes flared, and Jamie felt a shiver pass through her; her vampire side was pushing for control, the animal part of her that he knew she regarded as almost a separate person. She let herself be brought back to the ground, then dipped her face towards his, a low growl emerging from her throat. The movement was so fast and fluid, like the strike of a cobra, that it took his breath away; he stared at her, utterly intoxicated by everything she was.
    Her blazing eyes bored into him, her fangs gleaming centimetres from his face. He reached up, almost without realising he was doing so, and ran the tip of his index finger over one of the sharp white teeth, feeling its smooth hardness, the greasy sensation of the plasma that coated it. Larissa growled again, a guttural sound of pure lust in a moment that seemed to last forever. Then, all at once, the spell was broken.
    The glowing light in her eyes flared black, then disappeared so quickly it was as though it had never been there at all; the pale brown eyes that she had been born with were suddenly staring down at him, wide and full of fear. Then she was moving, taking hold of his wrist and dragging him bodily across the bathroom. Jamie was pulled to his feet willingly, still reeling from the intensity of the moment that had so abruptly ended, which was for the best; Larissa was hauling him with such force that his shoulder would have dislocated if he had resisted. She shoved his hand into the sink, turned on the hot tap, and scrubbed at his fingers with liquid soap, her hands flying back and forth. Jamie let her scour his skin for several seconds, until he suddenly realised what she was doing.
    “Hey,” he said. “It’s OK, Larissa. It’s—”
    She looked at him, and the expression on her face cut off his words like a guillotine. He watched in silence as she washed his hand again, then a third time, before towelling it dry and raising it to her face. She examined it carefully, searching, he knew, for any cut or scratch, no matter how small. Eventually she seemed satisfied and let go of his wrist.
    “Bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?” said Jamie.
    “No,” she said, staring at him with anger she was clearly trying to control. “I don’t. I don’t think there
is
such a thing as an overreaction when you’re dealing with the most dangerous substance in the world.”
    “It’s cool,” said Jamie. “You didn’t bite me. I’m fine.”
    “It is
not
cool. One drop of what’s on my fangs is enough to turn you if it gets into your system. One tiny little drop.”
    “I know,” said Jamie. “But remember where we are. Even if that did happen, they’d transfuse me in the infirmary before the turn even started. It’s OK, Larissa, really it is.”
    She sighed. “I know, Jamie. I know you’re careful and I know where we are. You just have to see this from my perspective. It’s not much fun having something in your mouth that turns people into monsters.”
    Something about her choice of words struck Jamie as deliciously funny, and he let out a snort of laughter. He tried to hold it, not wanting her to think he wasn’t taking what she said seriously, but failed; he started to laugh harder, casting apologetic glances at her between peals of hilarity. Larissa stared at him coldly, then gave in; her face curled into a smile that was, to Jamie’s eyes at least, profoundly beautiful, and she started to laugh with him as he reached out and pulled her into