Page 5 (1/2)

"So, Morgan really was a va of blood was empty and she could remove it from her mouth She then frowned at the lisp to her oords It was odd trying to speak with a ue instinctively tried to avoid the sharp incisors, and as a consequence soled

Lucian didn&039;t see her, however He ain and said, "You re you blood What did you think that s dropped into my soda at work," she pointed out alh stiffened as he cut her off by popping a fresh blood bag to her open mouth She instinctively pulled it away to finish her question, only to gasp as blood shot everywhere, springing into the air like a red fountain fro froainst the wall the bed rested against and sla into the sink, grabbed a towel off the rack and whirled to return to her

"Sorry," Leigh said quietly as he swiped at some of the blood that had sprayed over both her and the bed Not that his effort did ood The blood had already soaked into the sheets, and probably into her shirt, though it was hard to tell with the bloodstain already covering it

Lucian didn&039;t respond to her apology other than to grunt, then -- giving up on any hope ofof it

"Open," he ordered firmly

Feeling guilty about the hed and opened herthere She then sat there with questions rushing through herwas empty, she ripped it impatiently from her mouth

"Do -- "

"I know you have questions," Lucian interrupted, "but they will have to wait until we get through feeding you"

"No I " Leigh paused and growled in her throat as he popped another bag to herto pick the h She hadn&039;t even seen the bag co, it was just suddenly there, stuck to her lared at hiht back, then his eyes shifted to the center of her forehead and narrowed in concentration Frowning, she looked upward, wondering what he saw there

"I can&039;t read you"

Her eyes shot forward to find hihtlessly pulled the bag away

"What?" she asked, then cursed as she realized what she&039;d done Fortunately, the bag had nearly been es and black skirt "What do you an to s

Lucian stiffened, then handed her the cloth to clean herself and straightened "Nothing I&039;ain later"

"Try what later?" she asked with confusion

"Never h echoed with bewilder?" he asked, the question just confusing her more

"No, I&039;m fine My stomach&039;s fine But -- "

"Good Go take a bath"

"But I want to know -- "

"After you bathe," Lucian insisted "You reek of blood"

"Probably because I&039;m covered in it," she said dryly

"And whose fault is that?"

Leigh&039;s htened, then she heaved out an exasperated breath Fine, she&039;d go clean up if she could walk, she thought, recalling her earlier weakness, when she&039;d been flopping on the floor beside the bed She stood carefully, and blinked in surprise Her strength appeared to have returned Her legs were shaky, but held her up as she walked into the bathroo back toward the door, only to see Lucian pushing it closed

"Bath!" he snapped as the door sla to shower," Leigh said in rebellion, and childishly stuck her tongue out at the door She hated being told what to do

Silence was her only answer

Sighing, she turned away, but paused as she caught sight of her reflection If she had thought about it, she would have guessed that she&039;d look like hell -- she certainly felt like hell -- but the wo back frolowed, her eyes were bright and the color of

She leaned closer

"Gold," Leigh breathed with awe Her previously boring, brown eyes were now a golden bronze They were beautiful, she thought with amazement

"Cool," she breathed

Cheered by this, she briefly forgot all about her questions and concerns Quickly stripping out of her clothes, she faced thetime She turned this way then that, then faced thein to exaan had bitten her, and yet there was no ht it was sirabbed a washcloth that had been left neatly folded beside the sink, wet it under the tap, and quickly scrubbed the blood away in search of the bite All she found was perfect, unbroken skin

Yet her neck and chest and blouse were stained with blood

Leigh peered at her body again, then her hands, looking for the little nicks froht at work, but that skin was perfect, too Even the cellulite on her hips and thighs was gone And her figure was a little different as well Not much, but her hips were a bit smaller, as was her waist Unfortunately, her breasts weren&039;t, though they seeravity that had pulled at them as she turned thirty Maybe they would still shrink soaze slid back to the ed that she was also still short She supposed it was tooa vah&039;s sh herforward, she opened her mouth to peer at her teeth, but they seemed no different And yet they&039;d popped holes in the blood bags Recalling Lucian lifting her shirt to her nose and the feel of pressure and shifting, she bent to grab her shirt off the floor where she&039;d dropped it and pressed it to her nose Thealong her upper jaw

Dropping the shirt, Leigh leaned toward the s slipping out

"Wow," she breathed, her sto up, she poked and prodded at the two canines, trying to see if she could push theo They seemed firmly in place

"Huh" She stared at them, then leaned toward thefor the holes that the liquid slid through, but she couldn&039;t see any

"Huh," she said again, then just stood there, unsure how to get thes, really, she adan to consider other concerns she would now have Like daylight Obviously, she&039;d now have to avoid sunlight Considering she&039;d worked nights for the last six years, she supposed she shouldn&039;t ht shift all this tier had that choice Va into flames She&039;d seen as s She&039;d have to stay out of churches and avoid crosses She was now cursed and soulless She didn&039;t h believed in God, but often felt like God had forgotten her He&039;d taken her parents, took her grandfather and then there was Kenny Though she didn&039;t suppose she could blah peered at herself, trying to see if she could see a difference now that she had no soul She didn&039;t feel any different There was no sudden urge to go ripping the throats out of poor, unsuspecting humans Maybe she still had her soul Maybe you didn&039;t lose it unless you actually bit soed blood up to now and would continue that way, she decided If there was a way to do it, she&039;d rather keep her soul It one to church, and she often felt as if God had forgotten her, but she had never forgotten Hi She intended to continue doing that, whether she was a cursed, soulless vah searched her ht was garlic Never having cared reat concern Then she blinked at herself in the mirror as she recalled that vampires weren&039;t supposed to have a reflection

Hht Unless she wasn&039;t done turning Orthat happened over time She&039;d have to ask about that

"I don&039;t hear the bathwater running" Lucian&039;s voice booh rolled her eyes

"I&039; a shower," she re under her breath, Leigh lass door and reached in to turn on the shower

Lucian was most definitely a bossy man, she decided as she adjusted the terandfather, who had been a crusty old soul with a heart of gold underneath

But not like him at all, she decided in the nextthe play ofhis butt She&039;d never lusted after her grandfather, but Lucian

Leigh slass door closed