Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73

RIAGHAIRE

Riaghaire heard when Claire returned home. Her steps were light but his hearing was exceptional without the bar’s protections dampening it. He listened as she made her way down the hall, stopping just outside the spare room door where he and his gréine were located.

“I know you can hear me,” the stormy-eyed blond whispered. “We need to talk. Come out to the living room.” The sound of her footsteps told him that she had left before he’d had a chance to respond. Not that he’d been given choice.

The vampire debated his options. Being ordered about by, well, anyone, was not something he usually allowed, but this woman had offered to shelter them for the foreseeable future. She was also his gréine’s friend, and that meant he should… behave as best he could. The less fretion between them, the better.

Not that he was about to do whatever was demanded in order to ingratiate himself to Claire, but having a chat in the living room wasn’t something worth

causing a fuss over.

Casting a glance at his sleeping human, Riaghaire slid off the bed, placing the book on the side table before leaving the room. It would be fine. She was safe in there and she needed the rest; his going to the living room wouldn’t affect anything.

Claire had already seated herself on the sofa, and when he appeared she motioned to the chair opposite herself. He did as she wanted, lowering himself into the seat with care, as if there might be a trap waiting to trigger.

The two of them stared at one another for a minute, neither wanting to be the first to break the silence. It was Claire who eventually let out a sigh. “Did she manage to fall asleep?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

More silence settled between them and Claire shifted awkwardly. Riaghaire/however, was patient and accustomed to long periods of agonizing boredom.

Another annoyed sigh came from the blond. “Guess I’ll cut right to the chase. What are you, exactly?”

The question confused Riaghaire, as she already knew what he was. “I am a vampire.”

“No,” she snapped, shaking her head. “No, you’re not. At least, not like any vampire I’ve ever met before. You… your hunger doesn’t drive you. At all. So you’re not actually a vampire, but maybe something similar? A dhampir?”

Riaghaire chuckled. “I am no half breed. I was human, once, long ago, but was turned. Fully and completely”

“Then how are you not some raving lunatic when you get hungry?”

He shrugged his shoulders in response. In auth, he just didn’t want to tell her anything She was not his friend. If not for his greine, he was certain this woman would have had no qualms about killing him. It was none of her concern, why he was how he was.

Those stormy eyes of hers narrowed suspiciously, as though she knew he was choosing to keep his secrets. That was fine, as it was obvious she had some of

her own.

“Why should I trust you, then, if you won’t tell me what you are?,” she finally demanded.

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Chapter 73

“For the same reason I did not tell gréine that you, too, have a secret she knows nothing of,” he replied, a small smile on his face.

Claire’s eyes widened just a bit before she grimaced. ‘Of course you noticed.”

“As a vampire, it is difficult for me to not notice these things,” he added, knowing she would have asked if he hadn’t elaborated.

“Why haven’t you said anything?”

“Should I?”

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“It would benefit you if you did, wouldn’t it?,” she countered with a sour expression.

“Perhaps, in the present, but not for long,” he explained, giving the woman a thoughtful look. “I can only do so much. I cannot provide her with money. shelter, sustenance… All I can do is protect her from those who wish her harm, or to take her against her will. I are not so simple minded as to think I am able to give her anything else.”

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7:52 am

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Take Me Once, I’ll Bleed You Twice

hapter 74

“Hold up. Are you saying.. that you’re keep your mouth Strut because you need me?”

Riaghaire nodded. “Of course. Had you been human, things would have proven most difficuit, but you are not, and you are adamant that keeping her safe is important. For that reason you are an ally.”

She let out a rude snort. “An ally? Seriously?”

“Would you disagree?”

Claire hesitated, then shook her head. “No… We have the same goal, I guess.”

“I will say nothing of your secret. However, if she asks me directly, I will not lie.”

“She can’t find out,” Claire insisted, eyes narrowing again. “I will find a way to end you if you so much as hint at it to Bea.”

Riaghaire was already shaking his head. “You underestimate her, if you fear the truth will cause her to abandon you.”

“That’s not…” she sputtered, then reined herself in. “That’s not your concern. It’s not your secret to tell, vampire. I forbid you from telling her, even if directly asked.”

“You cannot impose such a condition on me,” he countered, a smirk growing on his face. “You do not have the power to force me to do anything, and we are both aware of that fact. What you can do… I will concede that it is impressive, but it is not something that can stop me, if I decide you are an enemy.”

The colour drained from Claire’s face at his declaration. It seems she hadn’t realized the differences in their power or, perhaps, she believed because of what she could do, she could bridge the gap between them. This amused Riaghaire.

When he’d stepped over the threshold of the bar, and again of her home, he could tell the protections in place were of this woman’s design. That meant she had the ability to prevent others from entering or exiting as she saw fit, but vampires were bound by a different set of rules. If someone invited them in,

even the protections she’d so expertly woven into existence. nothing could be used to stop them

–

Contrary to what the blond thought, revoking a vampire’s invitation did nothing. So long as he didn’t leave he could stay indefinitely. Should he decide t leave and return, a revoked invitation would cause some… discomfort when crossing the threshold anew, but that was dependent on how long he’d stayed inside before leaving. The longer he had, the less it would affect him upon re-entry.

“If you hurt me, Bea won’t be happy.”

“I am aware,” he replied. “That is why, at the moment, you are an ally; however, I will do whatever must be done to keep her safe. Should you choose to do something that may prevent me from doing so, I will not hesitate to do what must be done.”

“That would hurt her,” she countered. “Hurting me would make her turn on you.”

“And that is a price I am willing to pay. Even if she told me to leave and never return, it would not stop me from doing what I must. Whether I am by her side, or watching from the shadows, my debt will not be left unpaid.”

“You… are such an asshole,” Claire told him, voice full of venom, but she’d sounded awkward in her delivery.

Why would Claire think he cared what she thought of him? Ludicrous. Only his greine’s opinion mattered. “Is that all you wished to discuss?”

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