Karizma

Chapter 17

Ryleigh studied Kristopher as he processed her confession. His fangs were on display when she opened the door for him, but they only accented as his lips curled back into a snarl. A snarl of anger. Her magic readied itself defensively. She attempted to push past him, but his grip tightened on her hips to secure her in place between him and the wall. She cocked her eyebrow at him, and her magic flared slightly. The heat of her magic radiated through her clothes, enough to burn his fingers. He growled slightly and removed his hands from her hips. Before she could push past him, he had pressed his hands into the wall beside her head. He caged her between him and the wall, his breathing heavy as his auburn eyes brightened.

"Kristopher," she said slowly. "You don't want to do this." She had betrayed him, hurt him; he was pissed. She trusted Kristopher enough to believe that he would never hurt her, but that was before her confession. That was before I told him who I really am, she reminded herself. "You have no idea what I want to do," he growled darkly.

"I'm sure that I do. I'm the last Karizma. Any vampire would not hesitate to kill me where I stand based on that admission."

"What if I don't believe you?"

"Seriously?" Ryleigh snorted. "Come on, Kristopher. You're significantly older than me, and I know that you're full of shit. You've sensed my magic change, grow, especially during sex. How many other witches do you know of that have felt this powerful to you, truly?"

"This can't be true," Kristopher said. Ryleigh sighed and closed her eyes. She rested her head back against the wall. Her magic crackled harsher under her skin as she opened her eyes. He looked so lost, so hurt, so angry. She resisted the urge to touch his face in assurance. There is no assurance here, she thought. This isn't a lie that I can take back later, this is the truth. "Fine," she whispered. She tilted her head to the right, exposing the left side of her neck. Kristopher growled again and Ryleigh nodded lightly to him. "Don't believe my words, believe my blood. You know damn well that, if what I say is true, you'll taste it in seconds."

Ryleigh watched Kristopher's demeanor change as he hesitated her invitation. She forced her magic to calm for the moment, for the heat to recede so that he could taste her blood. She had been thankful that he did not feed on her after her birthday, because she knew that he would have learned the truth. She did not regret their night together whatsoever, but she knew that their night never would have happened if she had been honest with him. Kristopher slowly slid his hands down the wall and settled them on her hips once again. He lowered his mouth to her neck, and bit.

Ryleigh gasped as his fangs penetrated her neck desperately. She instinctively tangled her hands into his shirt while he fed. She felt his tongue caress the skin of her neck while he suckled on it. Her magic clawed within her to free itself, to protect itself against the intruder in her body. She fought against her magic to tame it for the moment. She was not sure what Kristopher would do after tasting her blood, so she could not completely restrict her magic. She needed to be prepared for his reaction. He bit harder into her, and she moaned softly.

Kristopher suddenly released Ryleigh from his mouth. One of his hands shot out and wrapped around her throat. He pinned her against the wall as he brought her to his eyelevel. Ryleigh's skin scorched as her magic reacted to him. "Don't do this," she warned. The grip on her throat was loose, more to keep her imprisoned than to harm. "Don't make me kill you."

"No, that's my job," he seethed.

"I know that all vampires want to kill me, but I really don't want to hurt you."

"You don't understand," he growled as he brought his mouth inches from hers. His auburn eyes flared as he stared at her. "I'm your bounty hunter. Me, specifically. I was sent to kill you when you ascended, to end the Karizma bloodline once and for all. I've been cleaning the line for decades."