33. CATALINA

THIRTY-THREE

catalina

The cool ground was uncomfortable, and why was it so dark? My heart rate picked up and I shot up. My forehead smacked into something hard as rock. A hiss came from said rock.

“Sorry,” I squeaked when Ren cursed under his breath.

I wish I could see Ren, but it was still pitch dark. He’d taken so much blood that I’d passed out. Did the guy have no impulse control? I frowned at him even though he couldn’t see me.

My irritation slipped away and the cool splash of reality slapped me across the face. I was stuck in a dark room. Thoughts of the vampire who’d captured me long ago were going rampant in my head.

I clasped my trembling hands together and scrambled back. There had to be light in here, I was pretty sure I’d seen the switch before Calliope slammed the door.

Unsteadily climbing to my feet, I swayed, disoriented by the darkness. Steps unsteady, I smoothed my dress down and stumbled forward with my hands out.

I pressed my palms on the walls, dragging them over the metal surface.

My fingers bumped into something and relief loosened my shoulder as I nudged the switch up. A buzz filled the room and a dim light flickered to life.

Chains rattled, calling my attention to Ren.

I choked on my spit.

My eyes watered as I coughed and worked to suck in a breath.

Holy crap he was massive. He felt massive, but this wasn’t what I’d expected. His legs were stretched out in front of him. He was as large as the other vampires, but wider, more like Bastien. It was confirmed, these guys had been injected with some unfair height and muscle genes.

His short hair sat artfully mussed. Strands fell forward, framing his forehead. The chiseled lines of his cheeks had nothing on that jawline, and his plump lower lip stained with blood did things to me.

Ink peeked from over the neckline of his torn shirt and stretched down both his arms, but I was too far away to see details.

To put it succinctly. He was fucking sexy, and he watched me like a lion watching prey.

I cleared my throat. Now that it wasn’t darker than a coffin, oxygen reached my brain. I dipped my hand into the front of my dress to pull out my inhaler.

“Asher, Jax, and Tobias should come after us once they realize I’m not home, right?” I raked my fingers through my hair and slid to the ground next to him. I pressed my inhaler to my mouth, inhaling a puff.

He hadn’t moved and when I peeked up at him, his eyes were eerily blank. Nerves tightened my stomach. I wasn’t a fan of that expression . . .