Heirloom Magic (Paranormal)

Chapter Ten

The bite pinched at first, and Harper could feel every slide of his fangs, but then something changed and it wasn't entirely unpleasant. It was actually...pleasurable. Harper gasped as Jasper drank for only a minute more before he pulled away, panting, and wiped his sleeve across his mouth. Harper stared at him, her eyes wide.

"I apologize," Jasper said stiffly as he stood and offered Harper a hand up. Harper stood and felt slightly dizzy. She stared at her wrist where the twin puncture marks were already fading. "Vampires have special saliva that heals the wound," Jasper explained when he saw her staring at it. "It's how we've avoided detection for so many centuries."

Harper cleared her throat and nodded. "That makes sense," she said as she stood there, not really sure what else to say. He had just drank her blood and now his cheeks had a flush of color that she had never seen before.

"Thank you," Jasper said after a moment, and Harper looked up from her wrist to meet his eyes.

"You're welcome," she told him, and she really meant it. Jasper looked entirely refreshed, and since he was the one entirely saving their lives right now, that was a very good thing.

"I've never had demon blood before," Jasper blurted out, and Harper flushed when she suddenly remembered the way Caspian had spat her blood to the floor. What if she'd poisoned him! "It was not unpleasant!" Jasper hastened to reassure her when he saw the look on her face.

Jasper stared at the witch before him; she was pale from her blood sacrifice. He had been trying to play it tough, but he had really needed the blood. He hadn't been sure what would happen if he bit her. He had tried, years ago when he had first been imprisoned, to bite Liz, and the ring had walloped his ass for his efforts. The only thing he could think of was that he hadn't bitten Harper with ill intent. He stared at the ring on her finger intently. If Harper could actually break the curse, he could be free again.

He could hear the blood rushing through Harper's veins and felt his fangs twitch in response. It startled him. He hadn't been close to losing control in over a century. He hadn't been lying though, her demon blood was good—like regular blood on steroids. His mouth watered for another taste, but he knew that he could not allow himself to give in to temptation.

"How much farther?" Harper asked, distracting him from his dark thoughts.

"We are about seven or eight miles from our contact," he guessed. "He is waiting for us at a small motel that is off the radar of pretty much everyone but the locals," Jasper told her. He opened his arms and Harper stepped forward willingly. Jasper scooped her up and they took off again.

Ten minutes later, Jasper skidded to a stop in the dusty parking lot of a small, rundown motel. There was no one around as he set Harper down. Light was coming from the window with the sign that said 'office,' and Jasper started towards it. Harper was confused. Was Jasper renting a room for the rest of the night?

The bell over the door jingled, and a pimply looking teenager looked up from where his face was glued to a small television set on the desk. His eyes widened when he saw Jasper.

"You made it," he said, sounding surprised as he got to his feet and came around the desk. In the dim room, Harper gasped when she saw that his eyes glinted with the fires of Hell.

"Jasper," she managed to choke out as she grabbed Jasper's arm and started to back away. Jasper refused to be moved. "He's a demon," she hissed, and Jasper nodded.

"I know," he told her. "Remember when I told you that demons were the only ones who could teleport?" he asked, and Harper nodded. "This is Fergus. He teleported me to you." Harper peeked around Jasper at the pimply faced demon and took a steadying breath.