Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
He found the bite mark on her arm at once and shook his head.
“That’s nasty—and fresh.”
“I told you, it just happened. In fact, I’d be a gonner right now if the big guy—er, Ravik—hadn’t pounded the Infected that bit me on the head and then run off with me,” she said stiffly. “I don’t know why he bothered since he saw me get bitten.”
She still resented being poked and prodded, even if it was medically and scientifically necessary—which she wasn’t completely convinced it was.
“He probably rescued you because that’s a Kindred’s natural instinct—to save a woman in danger,” Severin replied. He straightened up. “All right—I only see the one bite and no scratches.”
“Which is exactly what I told you,” Cassie pointed out.
He frowned.
“You also told me that you hadn’t been bitten at all and weren’t infected.”
“I wasn’t going to stay around if I started feeling the urge to bite anyone, you know,” Cassie told him. “I was going to leave on my own if I started getting, uh, urges. Either that or find a gun and off myself.”
Severin looked horrified.
“Don’t speak of such things! You’re a Mature Elite, blessed by the Goddess. To take your own life would be nothing short of blasphemy.”
Cassie frowned at this response. For a male of Science, he was surprisingly religious. Then again, she knew the Kindred took their worship of the female deity very seriously. They called their Goddess, “The Mother of All Life” and believed that she came to speak to them sometimes. Cassie was agnostic herself, but she respected other people’s beliefs enough not to make fun of them.
“I just wanted to let you know I wasn’t going to stick around if I started having the urge to gnaw your face off,” she said bluntly. “I’m not morally bankrupt—just scared to death.”
His pale blue eyes softened a bit behind his glasses.
“I understand. Being infected is frightening. The good news is, I’m a Xeno-virologist and I’m trying to perfect a cure right now. I injected Ravik with a dose of my latest anti-viral just this morning and from the improvements he’s showing, it seems to be working. Maybe I can make a version to work on a human, too.”
“Do…do you really think you can?” Cassie heard the tremble in her voice again and couldn’t stop a few hot tears from leaking down her cheeks. She was feeling incredibly overwhelmed right now—being cheated on by her husband, kicked out of her home, bitten by an Infected, dragged to a secret bunker, and stripped naked for an inspection was a lot to handle all in the space of a few hours.
“I do think so,” Severin said firmly. “I’ve got some of your blood already to work with. In the meantime, we need to get you into a decontamination bath. The Virus can be airborne sometimes too—which is why Ravik always wears a respirator when he goes out for supplies.”
“But why make him wear a mask at all? I mean, if he’s, er, already infected?” Cassie asked—then wished she could take the question back. It was clear that Severin was touchy about his best friend’s status.
But the Blood Kindred scientist seemed to take the question in stride.
“Because I don’t want him to increase his viral load,” he explained patiently. “There’s no sense in taking a chance—especially when I’m trying to decrease the amount of virus in his system.”
“I didn’t know it was airborne too.” Cassie shivered and then realized how cold she was. Her nipples felt like ice cubes and her skin was covered in chillbumps. “Hey, can I put my arms down now?” she asked, since Ravik was still holding them away from her body. “It’s like a meat locker in here—I’m freezing.”
“Of course. Ravik—put down her arms. She’s cold,” Severin said, nodding at her.
Since the Beast Kindred didn’t obey orders at once, Cassie looked back and over her shoulder at him.
“Hey, you heard your friend. Let me cover myself again. I’m cold!”
A frown tugged at the corners of the huge Kindred’s mouth.
“Mate is cold?” he asked, sounding for all the world like a confused caveman to Cassie.
“Yes, very cold—freezing. Brrrr,” she said, trying to get the point across.
At last he nodded.
“Then Ravik will warm.”
And to her surprise, he loosed his hold on her wrists and then immediately turned her around so she was facing him. Before she could object, he put his arms around her and was pulling her close to him.
She could feel his black leather vest against her bare breasts and his tight leather trousers against her thighs. Then his big, warm hands began rubbing briskly up and down her bare back, sides, hips, and ass as though he intended to warm her up through friction and body-heat alone.
“Hey…hey!” Cassie protested, wiggling in his arms. “Nobody asked you to do that!”
“Ravik, stop!” she heard Severin say sharply. “She’ll warm up in the decontamination bath—you don’t have to rub her.”