Once Bitten, Twice Burned (Phoenix Fire #2)(10)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“One of your parents had to be a phoenix, too.” Because what she was—it was in the blood. “They must have told you—”

Her eyes were stark, whispering with pain. “My real parents abandoned me when I was two years old.”

That sure explained how she hadn’t known that she was a supernatural. She’d been totally clueless, completely unprepared for Wyatt’s torture. Unprepared for me.

“I don’t want to be a monster.” Her words were hushed.

He stiffened, knowing that his next words would be brutal, but she had to face facts. “Too bad, because you are.” They didn’t have time for a pity party. He had to get her to embrace the beast within her. They needed that beast for their survival. She couldn’t pretend to be human—being human wouldn’t save their asses. Being an unstoppable machine of fire and fury? Oh yes, that would buy them a ticket to freedom. “You need to learn how to call up that beast that lives inside of you. Because Wyatt has big plans for you. Plans that involve you dying and screaming and him using you to create a whole new army.”

She shook her head. “You want to hurt me, too.” Her lips were red from his kiss. “You want—”

“He’s going to give you to another vampire.”

The color bled from her face.

“Your blood . . . there’s something about it.” When I taste it, I just want more. Because it tasted like pure, hot power flowing on his tongue. The best wine, the wildest drug, all rolled into one.

He held her shoulders against the wall. Ryder had to make her understand what was happening—and why she needed to pull up the phoenix inside. “He’s going to make sure you die again.”

She blanched. “No, I don’t want to! Help me.”

He wanted to. Ryder was tearing apart inside. “I will. You trust me, and I’ll help you.” He hadn’t helped anyone else in a century, but he’d just given his word to her. A second chance. “We have to get out of the facility.”

The only way out was through Wyatt.

The guards were just steps away from the cell. He could hear their shuffling footsteps.

“You’re breaking our deal,” Wyatt told him through the speaker, sounding not-too-shocked.

Ryder tossed a vicious grin over his shoulder, a grin aimed at the two-way mirror. “What are you gonna do? Kill me?”

The door opened. Ryder’s gaze jerked to the left. The armed guards stood in the entranceway. They weren’t wearing their fireproof suits, but they were all heavily armed.

“Maybe we’ll let you watch as we kill her,” Wyatt said. Of course, he wasn’t with the guards. The guy was far too much of a coward to come and face him when Ryder was strong.

The guards lifted their weapons. Aimed them at Ryder’s body. He was shielding Sabine, blocking her so that the guards couldn’t even see her body.

“New deal,” Wyatt thundered out.

He wanted that man’s head.

“Drink her blood, Ryder, or I’ll find a vamp that will.” The weapons stayed pointed at him.

“This hardly sets the mood,” Ryder drawled lightly even as his fingers tightened on Sabine. No other vampire could drink from her. “An audience isn’t really my thing.”

The weapons weren’t lowering.

“No! You can’t do this!” Sabine pushed against Ryder. “We have rights! You can’t just lock us up like this!”

Ah, she was still singing that song, was she? Still clinging to her humanity, when they needed her beast out. “Wyatt doesn’t think monsters have rights.”

You’re a monster, love. Face it. He got that she didn’t want to give up the illusion of safety that humanity entailed, but Sabine needed to look around. They were prisoners, she’d died, and the only way out was through her flames.

She didn’t want to believe that she was just as much of a beast as he was, but there was no point denying the truth. The woman could freaking burn. Die and burn and live again. Not a talent that the average human possessed.

“Take her blood, Ryder,” Wyatt ordered him. “Take her blood, now.”

There was a feverish intensity in the words. An intensity that made Ryder worry . . . just what had Wyatt done? Why was the scientist so determined for Ryder to drink her then?

He didn’t take his eyes off the guards as he asked Sabine, “Did he give you something before you came in?”

“They’ve been injecting me with drugs all week.”

When he drank her blood, he’d get dosed with whatever brew was in her veins. His fingers fell away from her shoulders.

“I don’t want you drinking from me,” she told him. Her shoulder brushed against his as her body pressed closer to him. “I’ve been having nightmares about you every night.”

Great. So he was the big, bad boogeyman to her. What else was new? But, really, there was no other way for her to picture him. I drained her. The guilt still ate at him. The woman was right to hate and fear him. Hell, she should probably get in line on that score. Plenty of humans—and vampires—felt the exact same way.

He just wished that he didn’t have this need for her. The need had to be coming from her blood. Some kind of side effect that was messing with his head. Temporary, surely?

“I can hold on to my control.” The words were flat, and he hoped they were the truth.

Her gaze slanted up at him. “Didn’t you say that last time?”

Last time he hadn’t known that a phoenix was being offered to him. He focused on the guards as he made his demand. “I want a wooden stake.” Like they wouldn’t have plenty of those handy. In this place, the smart guards should have them all tucked in their boots.

If they were smart. He actually wasn’t certain that any of the guards qualified as smart. If they had any brains, they wouldn’t be keeping him captive. They’d know to run, fast and hard, away from him.

Because he wouldn’t be in a cage forever, and Ryder made a point of always getting payback.

“Why?” Wyatt demanded. “Why do you need a stake?”

Ryder cast his gaze to the two-way mirror. “Because if I can’t stop drinking her blood, then I want her to stake me.”

Sabine gasped.

Ryder smiled. “Like you said, it’s a new deal.”

“You’re insane,” Sabine told him, words tumbling out quickly. “I might be new to this whole supernatural bit, but even I know that vampires aren’t supposed to ask for stakes.”