Page 32 of Bound

I plant my feet and scowl. “It wasn’t like there was a signsaying watch out for woman-eating horses. How was I supposed to know?”

“You weren’t supposed to run,” Dante says with a sad shakeof his head. “You were supposed to listen to my advice and stick it out withBeck. They didn’t teach common sense at your school, did they?”

“I’m not running anymore. I am done with running away. Itonly gets me into trouble. For your information, I’ve decided to take youradvice and work on Beck.”

Leaning against the side of the house, Dante’s smile becomesslightly lascivious. “Have you got him to top you yet, sweetheart?”

I return the smile without a hint of self-consciousness. I’malso through with feeling ashamed of the things I want. Nearly dying in anicy-cold river trapped by a horse with Super Glue for skin cured me of that. Insome ways I feel different. Like the river changed me. I feel…fierce. “Not yet,but I’m working on the problem. So you know something about the type ofrelationship I want with Beck?”

The vampire shrugs. “Sure. It’s common where I come from.You’ve got to understand, he has his reasons for being afraid of what he needs.You’ll have to pull it out of him.”

“That might be hard. I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s notlike I’ve had a Dom before. I know what I want, but I’m not sure how to getit.”

“I can help you with that.” He pulls out that ever-presenttablet. It apparently has a home inside his jacket. He types something on thekeyboard and flips it around. The LCD screen flows as an enormous list ofdownloadable material on the subject comes up.

“Have a problem? We’ve got a DL to solve it.” He lets hislanky body slide down to sit in the dirt by the front door. “Sit with me, Meg.We’ll see what we can learn.”

I take a deep breath and stare at the vampire. It’s time tomake a deal. “I will, but only on one condition.”

“I’ll bite,” Dante says with an ironic grin.

“Later, you have to take me for a ride on that motorcycle.”The bike looks cool.

“You got it, sister,” Dante agrees.

I’m satisfied and sink down beside Dante.

ChapterThirteen

Beck

I walk into the house and swear silently. How Imanaged to live with that slob brother of mine for thirty years without killinghim is a mystery to me. The small living room and kitchen area are cluttered,and it looks like no one has done a single dish since I’ve been gone.

“You were supposed to be fading, Ci,” I mutter to myself.“Not wrecking the kitchen.”

I quickly go around, straightening up what I can so Megdoesn’t take one look at her new home and walk out. She might think the woodsare cleaner.

“Beck?” Cian’s voice is weak and barely carries out of thebedroom.

“I’m here.” I walk through the door and am grateful becausethe bedroom is far neater than the kitchen. Someone cleaned up in here. Thereare neat piles of papers and books stacked around the room. More than likely itwas Dante. Vampires tend to be a bit fastidious. If my cousin spent the nightand this morning sitting at Cian’s bedside, he probably felt compelled tostraighten up a bit.

The room is dim, all the shutters closed. I walk to the twosmall windows and toss them open, letting the afternoon light in. Itilluminates my twin’s self-proclaimed deathbed.

Cian lays on his side. His hair is lackluster, and he’s lostweight. In the light of day, his skin looks pasty. Though he probably hasn’tbeen out of bed much for the better part of two months, he looks tired andhaggard. I try to summon some sympathy and find none.

“Get out of bed, ya bastard.” I kick the frame. All thistime I’ve been trying to save us and he’s been napping. The frame shakes, butCian stubbornly stays prone.

“No,” Cian replies with far more bite than a dying manshould have. He pulls the quilt up to his neck and pointedly closes his eyes.“I’m done. It ain’t worth it. I can’t think anymore. My mind won’t work.”

“You think you’re the only one having trouble?” I’m tired oflistening to my brother’s whining. Sometimes Cian forgets he’s not the only onehurting. “I wanted to kill everything in my path for a while there. I had tostop myself from going into a rage and killing innocent people. You just can’tfocus.”

Cian’s gray eyes open suddenly and burn with resentment.“You can’t understand. I can’t even read a book anymore. My mind drifts.Sometimes I don’t remember where I am. Do you know what it’s like to haveeverything that made you who you are taken away?”

I roll my eyes. “I bloody well do. You’re not the only onewho’s in trouble here.”

Cian shakes his head and dramatically turns away. “I don’twant to fight anymore. There’s no point to it. I haven’t the energy. Can’t wejust get along? It won’t be long before I’m gone. I feel it. I feel deathcoming for me.”

“You sound like a bad play,” I say with an affectionatelaugh. Cian has always been overly dramatic. Goddess, it will be good to havemy brother back.