The drive to her cabin took longer than it should have, with her eyes streaming and swollen and her vision blurred. She drove slowly, trying to avoid every rock and bump in the dirt track. As it was, even with four-wheel drive, it was hard going. Shea was cursing softly by the time she backed the truck practically onto her porch.
“Please, please, don’t grab me and eat me alive,” she chanted softly, a litany or prayer. One more time ripping at her throat and she might never be able to help anyone again. Taking a deep breath, she opened the tailgate and shoved the dolly over he ramp. Without looking at him, she lowered the coffin onto he dolly and wrestled him inside.
He never made a sound. Not a groan, not a sob, not a curse, He was in agony; she could tell by the sweat coating his body, by the white lines around his mouth, the crimson stain on his forehead, and the stark pain reflected in his eyes when it was finally safe to remove the sunglasses.
Shea was exhausted, her arms aching and weak. She was breed to take a moment to rest, leaning against the wall, fighting a wave of dizziness. His eyes were back on her face, simply staring at her. She hated his silence, instinctively knowing that hose who had tortured him had not received the satisfaction of hearing his cries. It made her feel like one of them. Movement lad to be excruciatingly painful for him.
Working quickly, she got him onto the gurney beside her operating table. “All right, I’m going to get you out of this box.” She needed the sound of her voice even if he didn’t understand. She had tried several languages, and he hadn’t responded yet. There seemed to be intelligence, knowledge in his eyes. He didn’t fully trust her, but it was possible he realized her intention was to help him.
Grasping her sharpest knife, Shea leaned over him to get at he thick ropes. Instantly he caught her wrist, preventing movement. Her heart sank. He didn’t understand after all. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the pain of teeth ripping through flesh. When nothing happened, she looked at him, fully expecting to meet his blazing eyes.
He was examining the long gash on her arm, his eyes slightly narrowed, lids half-closed. He turned her arm one way, hen the other, as if fascinated by the long line of blood from wrist to elbow. Impatient, Shea tugged to get away. His fingers :lamped down hard, but he didn’t look at her face. He brought her arm to his mouth slowly, and her heart seemed to stop. His breath was warm against her skin. He touched her gently, almost reverently, a long, moist caress that took the sting from the injury. His tongue was rough velvet, lapping at the wound with care. The feel of it sent an unexpected curl of heat spiraling through her.
Intuitively she knew that he wanted to repair the damage he had done. She blinked down at him, unable to believe he was attempting to heal her silly scratch when his own body was so terribly mutilated. The gesture seemed so touching, it brought tears to her eyes. She stroked back his shaggy mane of hair with tender fingers. “We need to hurry, wild man. You’re bleeding again.”
He released her reluctantly, and Shea slashed through the ropes. “It’s okay to yell at me if you have to,” she chattered on needlessly. It took an eternity to remove the manacles. Even with a bolt cutter, she was not very strong. When his wrist finally came loose, she grinned at him triumphantly. “I’ll have you free in no time.” She heaved the heavy chains off him, revealing blackened, charred flesh up and down his legs and across his chest. .
Shea swore, furious that such evil existed. “I’m pretty sure the people who did this to you found out about me and my research, too. We may have the same blood disorder.” One manacle was finally off his ankle. “It’s very rare, you know. A few years ago some fanatics banded together and decided people like us were vampires. But I guess you already know that,” she added apologetically.