Bittersweet Blood by Nina Croft Page A

doesn’t work. You can’t actually tell me what to do. Well you can, but luckily for me, I don’t have to do it.”
    “You think mind compulsion is the only way to control you?” He took a step toward her. Refusing to back down took an awful lot of effort, and Tara could feel her legs trembling with the struggle to hold them in place.
    “I’m sure that there’re all sorts of vampire scary stuff you could do, but you did promise you wouldn’t hurt me.”
    He sighed. “I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let anyone else hurt you, but you are coming back with me tonight.”
    In the dim light of the underground car park, he appeared huge and solid, his expression implacable. If he wanted to, she was sure he could pick her up and put her in the car.
    “Okay,” she said, “but I will want cocoa.”
    “Graham makes excellent cocoa.”
    Neither of them spoke as he drove out of the underground garage and onto the street. The roads were quiet. It was almost midnight, and she needed to ask Chloe to feed Smokey and give him a cuddle each evening. Hopefully, she’d still be up.
    Christian seemed to know the way to her apartment, and half an hour later, they pulled up in front of the building.
    “Do you want to wait out here?” she asked and tried not to sound too hopeful.
    “No.”
    Tara rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not going to escape out the back window and run away.” Ignoring the comment, he got out of the car, walked around, and opened her door. She sighed and climbed out. “Just get one thing straight. I do not belong to you, okay?”
    “I agree, you do not belong to me,” he replied. She started to walk away and almost didn’t hear the softly spoken, “yet.”
    A ripple of some unknown emotion ran through her. Anticipation or trepidation, she really wasn’t sure, so she decided to ignore it. She was getting good at that.
    She let them both in through the front door. A light was on in Chloe’s flat, and Tara decided to go there first. Christian stopped her with a hand on her arm.
    “Where are we going?” he asked. “Your flat’s on the second floor.”
    “Do you know everything?” she snapped. “We’re going to see my friend Chloe. I’m hoping she can look after Smokey for me while I’m away, because otherwise I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Graham can come in and feed your cat,” Christian said.
    She raised a hand to ring the bell, but paused. “Does Graham do everything you tell him?” She was curious as to the answer. Of all she’d learned tonight, the compulsion thing worried her the most. She had no intention of letting Christian have that sort of power over her.
    “Yes,” he replied.
    At least he wasn’t hiding it. Sighing, she pressed her finger to the bell. Nothing happened, and she leaned closer. Inside, she could hear music and someone moving about. A minute later, the door opened a crack, and Chloe peered through the gap.
    ”Hey, what’s going on?” She unlatched the chain on the door and opened it wider, only then noticing the man standing behind Tara. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed Tara’s jacket and pulled her inside, slamming the door behind them. Releasing her hold, she stared at the door as though expecting it to crash open.
    “Tell me that is not Christian Roth,” she whispered.
    “Well I could,” Tara said. “But unfortunately, I’d be lying.”
    Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, then tell me you haven’t brought Christian Roth to my doorstep while I’m wearing plaid pajamas.”
    Despite everything, Tara grinned. The usual Goth gear had disappeared, and Chloe wore a pair of red and black plaid flannel pajamas, and big, pink fluffy slippers. “Sorry,” Tara said. “I’d be lying again.”
    “Oh my God, what am I supposed to do?”
    “I just came to ask a favor.”
    Chloe shook her head. “Right, I’m with you. My brain may have left for a moment, but it’s back now, honest. What do you need?”
    Tara opened her mouth to speak but Chloe scurried