I Am Only One {Mature Vampire Romance}

Book 3|14. Precautions

Chapter dedicated to ALL of my readers. Much love!

Chapter 104—Precautions—Raine's POV

I disentangled myself from Cage's embrace, and jumped to my feet. My one goal now was reuniting with Talon, and I needed shoes to do that. I darted across the room in less than a blink. A little giggle puffed from my lungs. I still hadn't gotten used to my gazelle-speed at the drop-of-a-hat thing.

Even though I moved insanely fast, Cage still managed to stand from the couch and capture me around the waist before I slipped into my intended footwear. He spun me around to face him, causing a startled cry to escape my lips, "Hey!"

He was silent for a moment, concern etched the lines of his brow, and his eyes searched mine. Even in the midst of his contemplative stare, his ever-present and overwhelming love shone bright in his irises. The combination of the two – equal measures of his infinite care and obvious adoration– left me breathless.

"We are not going to see Talon. He and Echo will be coming here. How are you feeling...in control?"

I blinked up at him, not quite sure what I was supposed to be in control of.

Understanding my look of confusion, Cage explained gently, "I had hoped by feeding frequently, you could have avoided bouts of bloodlust, but after what happened with Talon, we need to be even more vigilant. For the time being, I think you should always have another vampire on hand when you feed, just for emergencies."

I frowned.

He continued quickly, "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, we just need to continually plan for your needs."

I understood now. He assumed my desire for Talon's blood had overridden my senses, causing me to lose my grip on reality. "Oh, I didn't lose control because of bloodlust."

His eyebrows rose. "What do you mean? If it wasn't bloodlust, why didn't you stop?"

I cringed at the reminder, and then hesitated, taking a moment to recall exactly what occurred. Images...no that wasn't right...I hadn't seen pictures in my mind. Instead it felt like a wave of devastation and pressure had blown through my senses, causing an explosion of chaos beneath my eyelids, crimson hues that burned the very insides of me. I shuddered as the intensity of it rolled over me once again.

"I felt his pain..." I stopped, overwhelmed again.

"What do you mean?" Cage asked, his voice was low and comforting, encouraging me to continue.

I looked up at him, and tried to find the right words. "It was like a doorway opened...and I could feel it all...all of the torture and suffering she had put him through." My face was twisted into a grimace and my hands clenched automatically, my fingers digging into his biceps.

I had been so naïve, assuming that I understood what Talon had endured. He had shared a little, enough for me to know the horrid woman took great pleasure in cruel sex games, and almost daily spankings, not restricted to one area of his body, but several. She hadn't limited her abuse behind closed doors either. No, she liked to put her suffering pets on display for other vampires to enjoy. But even worse than the physical torture, she had inflicted a wound so deep, it was unthinkable. She had forced him to slit the throat of the woman he loved. By that point, it had been an act of kindness really, mercy to relieve the young girl's torture.

But even with all of that horrible and despicable information, the moment I began the process of changing him and some invisible entryway opened between Talon's consciousness and mine, the true enormity had struck me. Overwhelmed and suffocating, I realized that I'd had no real understanding of what he had endured...until I'd felt all of it.

My mouth was dry, my tongue thick. "I don't know everything that woman did to him, but I'm afraid it would be the things of my worst nightmares."

Cage's expression was grim. His silence told me I was right. I suspected he didn't have to use his imagination. He knew all of the gritty disgusting details, horrors that many pet owners inflicted on their humans, torture of the worst kind.

"It wasn't lust for blood that overwhelmed me, it was lust for vengeance. I was saturated with rage, and so far gone to it that my body reacted on instinct. Even my brain couldn't override and contain my actions, enough to realize and stop me from hurting him."

Cage's brow furrowed, his mouth tight as he considered my words.

I whispered, "That's not normal, is it?"

It was clear he didn't want to scare me because he chose his words carefully, "No, but maybe yes."

What?

He reached to smooth a strand of hair away from my eyes and tucked it gently behind my ear. "Everything about you has been a little different. Not bad, just different. You are unique, the only one in so many facets." He ran his knuckles along the side of my face. "We are going to have to learn as we go along. In this instance, we won't know if this is 'normal' for you until you change someone again."

From behind us, a knock at the door interrupted our conversation. Cage turned around. "Open."

Echo opened the door and step through with Talon right behind him.

My mouth fell back open and I breathed, "Holy shit."