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  Which was exactly why I’d resisted doing it the night before.

  “Would that be so bad?” Michael asked. “You know there’s something between us, Kate—something that draws us together. Would it be so bad to just…give in to it?”

  “I guess not…” I ran a hand through my hair. “I guess I just feel like…”

  “Like what?” he urged softly.

  “Like it’s not fair to tie you to me. I’m such a hard, cold bitch and you’re so sweet and kind and understanding…”

  “You’re not nearly as hard and cold as you want people to believe, Kate,” Michael murmured. “You’ve just had to act that way to survive. I can’t imagine living through some of the things you’ve had to experience.”

  “The life of a slayer isn’t easy—it isn’t meant to be,” I said. “And I have to warn you, Michael, bonding with you—if that’s what we’re doing—won’t make me a whole different person. I’m not suddenly going to be all sunshine and rainbows and roses.”

  “I don’t want sunshine and rainbows, baby,” he said simply. “I just want you.”

  His words brought a lump to my throat for some reason and I had to look away and blink rapidly. God, was I going soft or what?

  “Thanks,” I said. “I…I want you too.” I sighed. “Of course, this is all supposing that you actually are descended from Salvatore Moreno. If you’re not, I’m toast.”

  “I must be,” Michael argued “Didn’t she say his entire line of descendants were healers?”

  “Could be a coincidence,” I pointed out. “Anyway, I never heard of any group of people who were completely immune to vampire bites—other than slayers.”

  “Well, I’m not completely immune or we wouldn’t be here,” Michael pointed out. “Look, we could debate the particulars all night but we can’t. We need to get started, Kate.”

  I knew he was right and I was just procrastinating. Although if I didn’t know which I was more afraid of—the pain that was surely coming when he sucked the venom from my arm…or the commitment that followed.

  “Here we go,” Michael said. Clearly, he wasn’t waiting any longer. He brought my wrist to his mouth and I made myself watch as he bit down, his fangs piercing into the tender flesh, and began to suck.

  It hurt like hell, but not quite as badly as the holy water had for which I supposed I ought to be grateful. Only it’s hard to be grateful when you’re in a huge amount of pain.

  It felt like someone had jabbed my arm full of long needles covered in hooks and Michael was pulling them out, one by one while the hooks caught at the insides of my veins and tore them mercilessly.

  I gritted my teeth and watched as he sucked and spat over and over, doubtless putting the china rosebud pitcher to a use for which it had never been intended. But little by little, the awful dark lines on my arm began to recede. I told myself the agonizing pain was worth it but still, it was a long process and my forehead was beaded by sweat by the time Michael finally finished.

  “There,” he said at last. He got up and took the pitcher into the B&B’s quaint bathroom which featured a huge, old fashioned claw-foot tub. I heard the toilet flush as he got rid of the awful black goop that had come out of me and then running water as he brushed his teeth and rinsed out his mouth.

  When he came back, he had a cool, damp washcloth which he used to wipe my forehead and face gently. I was feeling so weak just then that I let him. Getting the Monsignor’s venom out of me was a good thing, I knew but its absence seemed to leave a hollow place inside me—a yawning chasm which needed to be filled if I was going to survive.

  But filled with what?

  “Kate? Kate, are you all right?”

  I realized my eyes had fluttered closed and forced them open again, my eyelids feeling as heavy as lead. I looked up at Michael

  “It’s gone,” I whispered, unable to make my voice go louder. “I…can feel it. But test to be for sure.”

  I gestured weakly at the bottle of holy water which was sitting on the dresser.

  Michael frowned but went to pick it up.

  “Are you sure? You just went through so much pain—I hate to put you through any more, Kate.”

  “Do it,” I rasped. “We have to be sure it’s all gone.”

  He sighed. “All right. I have to disinfect the bite I made myself anyway.”

  Uncapping the bottle, he took my arm again and poured a few drops over the spot where he had bitten.

  It didn’t burn and, to my surprise, it barely even bubbled. In fact, it was the weakest reaction I’d ever seen holy water have to a vampire bite. What did that mean?

  I couldn’t answer that question. Right then, I didn’t feel like answering any questions—I just wanted to rest. But the moment I closed my eyes again, I felt Michael shaking me.

  “Don’t do that, Kate.” His voice sounded close to panic. “Don’t let yourself drift off. It’s not safe. You…you might not wake up.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I tried to say but the words were so low I could barely hear them myself. The yawning void left by the absence of the Monsignor’s venom seemed to be growing inside me, swallowing everything up like a black hole.

  “Kate…Kate!” Michael shook me and then, to my surprise, he kissed me.

  That woke me up and I felt the black hole inside me receding just a little. My eyes flew open and suddenly I found I was kissing him back.

  “That’s right, baby,” Michael murmured, breaking the kiss for a moment to look at me with half-lidded eyes. “That’s right, it’s time for the second part of this treatment. After the pain comes the pleasure. And I want to make you feel really good tonight.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  “Michael,” I started to protest as he put his arms around me. “I don’t know about this. We’ve been traveling for hours and I feel so grimy…”

  “Which is why I’m running us a bath,” he said, smiling.

  “A bath?” I realized that I could hear the soft rushing sound of water coming from the bathroom.

  “Yup, we’re going to get clean and dirty at the same time, baby.” His grin widened. “What do you say?”

  “I, um…” But before I could finish my thought he was already helping me off the bed and taking me into the bathroom. The old-fashioned claw-foot tub was already over halfway full of steaming water and there was a washcloth and a cake of pink, flowery-scented soap floating in it.

  “Come on.” Michael was already pulling off his clothes and I had to admit, even though I was feeling woozy, the sight of his naked body had an effect on me. I couldn’t help thinking that I’d never seen him completely naked before—even the night before when we’d been intimate it had been dark in the room. Now I found the sight had certainly been worth waiting for.

  As he stripped off his t-shirt and jeans I wanted to lick him all over from his broad shoulders to his muscular abs. And from the way he was looking at me, the feeling was mutual.

  “So…we’re taking a bath together?” I asked uncertainly as he began tugging at my shirt.

  “Seems like a good idea, don’t you think?” he murmured in my ear as he slid my t-shirt over my head. “Be a shame to let a tub like that go to waste.”

  I had to agree it was a fabulous tub and it was certainly big enough for two. Still, once I was undressed, I was a little shy about being completely naked and wet with Michael. He caught me trying to cover my breasts and sex with my hands and shook his head as he pulled them gently away.

  “No, Kate. Let me look at you—all of you.”

  “All right.” I bit my lip and looked down at the floor until he lifted my chin.

  “Look at me,” he commanded and his eyes were filled with need and tenderness. “You’re so beautiful. And you’re one of the bravest people I know. Why are you shy all of a sudden?”

  “I…I don’t know.” How could I explain that I’d never made love before—not really. Oh, I’d had sex—enough to scratch my itch from time to time. But those had been sweaty, fumbl