The Bite That Binds (The Deep In Your Veins #2) Read Online Free Page A

you.”
    “Bollocks.” I leaned across the table. “You listen to me, Gandalf. I’m about to walk into what could potentially be a trap. If there’s something to worry about, I want to know what the bloody hell it is.”
    “I’m sorry, Sam, but I fear that this is a path you must take.”
    “What’s wrong?” asked Jared as he returned to my side.
    I pointed at Luther. “It’s him over there doing his ‘riddle me this, riddle me that’.” And right then, I didn’t have the patience for it. “Let’s go before I set his beard on fire.”
    Narrowing his eyes at the three Kejas opposite us, Jared linked his fingers with mine. There was a queasy sensation in my stomach, and then we were in the living area of his rather impressive apartment. He pulled me flush against him, locking his arms around me. “I’ll go pack my stuff so we can drop it at your place before we leave. Are you sure I can’t talk you out of going to check out the bungalow?”
    “Nope.”
    Resting his forehead against mine, he exhaled heavily. “Just promise me one thing. Promise me you won’t Merge with anyone.”
    Although vampires each only had one gift, Bestowers like Antonio could impart power to another vampire and, thus, allow them to develop another gift. He had done this for me once as a reward, and had done it twice for Jared. “It’s one of my gifts—”
    “And it’s a dangerous one. The last time you used it, you nearly got too overwhelmed by power, and I almost lost you.”
    I grabbed the lapels of his matrix-style leather jacket. “Look, it’s sweet that you’re so determined to protect me, but I’m a big girl.”
    “Yes, and you’re my girl. I want you safe and here with me. Promise me.”
    “I only use it as a last resort.”
    “ Sam .”
    A sly thought came to me. Ordinarily, I wasn’t a sly person, but when needs must…“I’ll make you a deal. You tell me about Magda, and I’ll promise not to use that gift at any time tonight.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “That’s a shitty deal.”
    “It’s the only one you’re getting. You close yourself off from me all the time, Jared. It’s not fair. I trusted you with all my shit. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”
    After a long moment, he nodded and took a seat on his corner leather sofa. It was a minute or so before he finally spoke. “Evan and I already knew about vampires before we Turned. One night on our way home, we were walking down an alley, and we saw this guy chomping on some girl’s neck. He heard us coming and looked up; his irises were glowing amber, and his fangs were showing.
    “He told us to turn around, to forget what we had seen and take another route to where we were going. I could feel the power, the push in his voice, but…I don’t know, it just didn’t work. The same went for Evan. I know now that he’d obviously had the gift to hypnotise, but for whatever reason it hadn’t worked on us. The vampire realised and started laughing. He seemed fascinated with us, and we actually became friends.”
    Sensing his reluctance to go on, I perched myself on the sofa beside him and nudged his knee with mine. He gave me a put-out look but continued.
    “Evan and I went to a club with him one night. It was a place where a lot of vampires went. Magda was there. I’ll be honest, I was a little mesmerised by her. It was mostly because of the natural glamour that comes with vampirism, I guess” – Hmm, not feeling good about Magda right now – “but it was never more than sex to me. She told me she loved me, but I hadn’t felt the same. I’d thought I cared about her at the time, though. In truth, I’d really just been kind of…I don’t know…a little infatuated with her.”
    Did that make me feel a little better? No. Although I’d never been a possessive person, I could be quite possessive with Jared and I even had my jealous moments. This was to be one of those moments.
    “She said that she wanted to Turn me. I probably should have