The Return of Jonas (Pearl Vampire Chronicles #4) by Dara Nelson Page A

is warm water with some Vitamin E oil and aloe in it.  It’ll help wash the salt off without drying out his skin more.”  I began gently pulling off Carlos’ gown as he grimaced.  “Sorry,” I said.  As I began to gently wash him, I was noticing that he kept looking over at Maria.  I smiled.  He was right.  It did help a little if he was distracted.  I handed the washcloth to Maria and said, “Now you do his other arm and side.”
    After she was done, I pulled him onto his side again, so she could wash his backside.  I smiled when I noticed her blush when she got to his behind.  I laid him back down, then looked at him .  “Do you think you could hold the washcloth long enough to wash…” I looked toward his crotch, still covered by the towel. 
    He lifted his arm up. “God, I hope so,” he mumbled.  I laid the washcloth in his hand and looked away as he moved it down.  A few seconds later he said, “Okay, done,” and I turned back around. 
    I placed the wash cloth and pan on the floor and laid the clean gown over him.  “Okay, I’m going to lift you up now.  I promise I’ll be really careful with that leg, okay?  Maria, while I hold him I need you to change the sheets.”  She nodded and I slowly and carefully moved my arms under Carlos.
    He gasped as I went to lift, but gritted his teeth and said, “I’m okay, keep going.”
    Matt walked in with the blood then, took one look at Carlos cradled in my arms like a baby and said,  “Oh no… we are NOT adopting him.”
    Carlos tried to smile through the pain . “Ah, come on DAD… please?” he said.
    I saw M aria smiling.  She looked at me. “All finished,” she said.  I laid him back down as gently as I could then got ready to feed him.
    “You’re sure about this?” I said, and he nodded.
    I laid the four heated regular pints on the bed next to his pillow then I took the heated evil pint.  “Do you need me to help feed him?” Maria said.
    “No,” I said a little too quickly.  “It’s just too dangerous for you, okay?”
    She nodded and backed toward the door, still watching.  I closed my eyes, dropped my fangs, pierced the evil blood, put a drop on my finger then handed it to Matt.  “Drink this,” I said to him, and he did.  I put my finger in Carlos’ mouth and waited.  As soon as his fangs dropped, I put one of the innocents’ bags on his teeth… and he moaned.  He drained it, I pulled it off and put on the second one… and he moaned louder and his eyes rolled.  I pulled that one off and put on the third… and he groaned and shivered.  I looked at Matt, who was looking just as surprised as I was.  I pulled off the third bag, put on the fourth and Carlos grabbed my arm and pressed the bag on harder.  He groaned again, his eyes rolled back in his head and his body gave a little spasm that looked somewhat familiar to me.  I know I was blushing and when I looked up at Matt again, he was too, but he was also trying really hard not to laugh.  I felt Carlos’ grip loosen and I looked back at him. He was longingly licking my arm and moaning.
    “Um, Carlos,” I whispered.   His eyes fluttered open then grew wide with surprise as he realized what he was doing.  He let go of my arm and dropped his hands to his sides as I pulled off the last bag and wiped off my arm.  “Please tell me I didn’t just… .please tell me that was a dream,” he whispered so Maria couldn’t hear.
    “Sorry, can’t do that.  That was definitely an interesting reaction, does that happen every time?”
    “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing,” he said.  Suddenly his eyes went to Matt and there was fear in them . “Matt! Shit, I didn’t mean to… Oh crap.”
    “Relax, it wasn’t your fault,” Matt said, “but you didn’t answer Sarah’s question.  Does that happen every time?”
    “I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s kind of like I black out or it seems like a dream.  So whether it happened every