I woke up at five the next morning, grinning idiotically. A dull throb nestled between my legs, reminding me of Duke's visit.

"May I have more?"

My heart thumped at the memory, and I found myself grateful my period had ended earlier yesterday evening.

Though it probably wouldn't have mattered to Duke. He was a vampire, after all. And considering how skilled he was with his tongue, it probably wouldn't have mattered to me, either.

Shaking my head clear, I decided to take a shower before I got worked up.

I tiptoed past a sleeping Jo, wishing I could talk to her about last night, and stepped inside the bathroom.

It was my first sexual encounter;

I was so excited, I could burst. But because of Duke's job with the university, I couldn't tell Jo without getting myself and him into trouble.

Maybe I could be vague?

I thought, starting up the shower.

As I pulled off my nightshirt, I decided it was best to keep my mouth shut. If Dean Lachlan found out what happened...my thoughts abruptly shifted to yesterday, when Lucius and I hatched my escape plan.

"What if Dean Lachlan finds out what you're up to?"

"I would likely be executed." Lucius replied in a calm, indifferent tone. "Or, tortured to the point of wishing I were dead."

If he'd be willing to torture/kill Lucius for helping me leave, I could only imagine what he'd do to Duke for performing oral sex on me.

"Audrey?" Nero was perched on the bathroom windowsill, glaring against the light. "What are you doing here?"

Hastily, I snagged a towel and wrapped it around me.

"Me?" I hissed. "What are you doing here?"

He wasn't in his campus security uniform, but a pair of grey sweatpants.

No shirt.

No shoes.

Holy fuck.

"There was a perimeter breach," he answered, lithely sliding inside. "And I wanted to check on you."

"Oh," my eyes skimmed over his frame, and I had to look away.

It was almost like he was made of marble, his muscles were so perfectly chiseled; pectorals, abs, the delicious V-line that rested between his hips. He wasn't bulky, though, but lean and athletic.

And I couldn't keep my eyes off him.

"Thanks," I mumbled, catching another glimpse of him. "But, as you can see, I'm fine."

I really wasn't though.

There was a lump in my throat, my heart was racing, and I felt flushed. Our kiss from yesterday came to mind, and I blushed brighter.

Then, I felt guilty.

Nero had told me he loved me, and in spite of my rejecting him, he still came to check on me.

"Listen, Nero, about yesterday--"

"Don't sweat it," he interrupted, leaning against the bathroom sink. "I shouldn't have sprung that on you like that. I just thought... nevermind. It doesn't matter."

He was looking down at his bare feet, hands in his pockets.

I touched his bicep to get his attention. "What is it? Nero, what did you think?"

He gazed up at me, amethyst eyes uncertain. "After I led you on the other day, I didn't think you'd ever speak to me again. Not that I'd blame you. I acted like a dick." He shrugged, turning his gaze back to his feet. "But when you were attacked... when I got shot...you showed me more affection than anyone else ever had."

I was beyond terrified that day. There was so much blood, and he was so still. I thought he was dead.

"I heard you crying when I was on the floor," he went on, turning his whole body to face mine. "No one has ever wept for me before."

He reached out to brush a stray hair behind my ear. "No one has ever held me the way you did when I was on top of you. No one's... I've never had someone to care for me the way you do. Or, the way I thought you did."

Nero looked heartbreakingly lonely in that moment. It hurt seeing him like that, because I knew exactly how he felt.

I felt that same crippling loneliness every single day before I came to Lachlan Island.

"I do care for you, Nero." I bridged the gap between us, wrapping my arms around his waist. "It's just yesterday--when you said what you said--that was the first time anyone had told me that."

"No one's told you they loved you before?" He whispered, finally returning my embrace.

"No."

"So, that's why you freaked out when I said it?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I just didn't know how to accept it."

"It's fine, I get it." He cooed, kissing the top of my head. "To be honest, I don't know what I would have done if you had said it back."

I pulled away to gaze up at him.

He looked beautifully sad, maybe even a little confused. His eyebrows, which were a shade darker than his lavender hair, furrowed slightly as he studied my face.

Then his expression hardened, and his gaze traveled down my body.

"You were with Duke last night, weren't you?" His voice was quiet, cold. He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. "I can still smell him on you."

My heart stalled before slamming into my chest.

"Nero, please, you can't tell Dean Lachlan. He'll--"

"It's too late!" Nero snapped, carving a hand through his hair. "I think he already knows."

It was as if the ground vanished beneath me. "What? How..?"

"I don't know. But Duke never showed up for patrol, and when I walked past his room earlier I smelled..." his eyes grew wide, seemingly hit with some kind of revelation. "I have to go."

He pushed away from me and made it to the window in two long strides.

"Nero, wait!" I called after him. "What did you smell?"

He heaved himself through my window, and turned to give me a grave look. "Burnt flesh."

Then he was gone, leaving me to choke on horrified tears.

~~~

I had never showered so fast in my life. It was a silly thing to do, shower after my conversation with Nero. But I didn't know what else to do.

The door that led to the girl's dorms wouldn't be unlocked until six, so I wouldn't have been able to leave right then. Plus, I didn't want to approach Dean Lachlan smelling like Duke.

I was too afraid of what he'd do to me.

I had left the shower running during Nero's visit, so the water was frigid by the time I stepped into it.

Not that the temperature affected me.

I was already chilled to the bone, deeply disturbed by Nero's words. And by Duke's silence. I had mentally screamed for him, begged him to let me know he was okay. But he didn't think back at me, which left me feeling queasy, panicky.

After the shower, I dried off and went into mine and Jo's room to get dressed.

She was still asleep. Our shared alarm clock had another ten minutes before it would blare her out of bed.

Good.

I had to find Duke, and I didn't need Jo getting in my way. Or seeing how upset I was.

After getting dressed, I slipped on the ring Duke left on my nightstand; the one Dean Lachlan gave me. It made me sick to wear it, but with any luck, it would help butter him up.

And help keep Duke alive. If he wasn't dead already.

I shook my head.

No, I can't think like that.

He's still alive, he has to be.

I repeated that thought over and over in my head while heading out the door and down the hall.

Duke's not dead.

He's still alive.

The thick, wooden door that led out of the girls dorm section was still locked when I got to it. I cursed under my breath, and began pacing until it finally clicked open.

Darting past whoever unlocked the door, I shot downstairs and ran outside. The air was chilly, thick with dew, and eerily quiet. I approached the square cautiously, glancing over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't followed.

"Please be okay," I whispered before coming to the statue of Dean Lachlan. I glared up at the carving, cursing its model. Then I tapped on it three times, like Lucius had the night before, and stood back while it loudly yawned open.

With one more glance at the university, I descended the stairs. It seemed to take forever to reach the bottom, but once I did I was hit with a horrible burnt smell.

Oh no.

I rushed through the empty room where the orgy had taken place the night before, and pushed past the curtains at the back.

He's not dead.

He's not dead.

My heart pounded, blood roared in my ears. I had to find Duke, but I didn't know where to look.

Until I ran into Aiden. Literally.

"Oh shit, Audrey."

The collision had knocked me flat on my ass.

Aiden hadn't even budged. "Are you okay?"

I scrambled to my feet, breathless. "Where's Duke?"

"Audrey, now's not a good time." He said, boyish face uncharacteristically grim. "You need to go back--"

A painful wail from the door he was in front of cut him off, and his eyes widened.

My heart clenched at the sound, tears stung my eyes. It was Duke, howling in agony on the other side of that door. He was alive!

"Let me see him." My voice shook. "Please, Aiden."

"Audrey," he sighed, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Trust me. You don't want to see him right now. Not like that."

"Aiden, please!"

"Damnit! Where the hell is Aiden with those blood bags?" A muffled female voice called from the room.

I gazed down at Aiden's other arm and noticed a small ice chest resting in his grip. He seemed to be conflicted, eyes darting from the door to me, when he finally sighed.

"Come quietly," he conceded in a hushed tone. "And make it quick. Gabriel won't be gone long."

I gave him a short nod and followed him inside.

"Jesus Christ, Aiden, it's about time... what is she doing here?" The clinic doctor was standing by Duke's bed, sounding more tired than frustrated.

"She wanted to see Duke." Aiden shrugged. He sat the ice chest on a medical cart and took a step back.

"Fine," she exhaled, throwing her hands up. "Just stay out of my way, and don't touch anything."

"Yes, ma'am." I muttered.

"Aiden," she barked. "Were you able to get more gauze?"

"Yeah," he fished around in his pocket and pulled out three thick packs of white bandages. "These were all that you had left."

"You gotta be kidding me." She groaned. "What about blood? How many bags did you bring?"

He opened up the cooler to show her its contents.

"Two bags? That's it?" Her jaw dropped. "This isn't enough to stabilize him."

"It was all Gabriel would give me." Aiden mumbled, hopeless.

As they bickered about what to do next, I peered behind them to get a look at Duke. He was lying on top of his sheets, naked and unconscious, the left side of his body charred black. His hair, his ear, his flesh-- all of that was replaced by burnt, cracked, flakey skin with bits of red peeking out beneath it.

I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

"What if I gave him my blood rations?" Aiden offered. "Would that be enough?"

"How much do you have left?" The doctor asked.

"Two bags. Maybe two and a half."

"No. No that wouldn't be enough. We'd need at least a gallon to--"

Duke's back suddenly arched off the bed, and he cried out. Then he started convulsing, rattling the bed with his violent thrashing.

"Shit, he's seizing!" The doctor growled. "Help me get him on his side."

She and Aiden rolled Duke onto his uninjured side and waited for his tremors to stop.

"Did you bring me more lorazepam?" She asked Aiden.

He shook his head. "I couldn't find it."

"Damnit," she pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes screwed shut. "Okay. I'll run to the clinic and try to find some. Aiden, keep Duke on his side until his seizure passes. Audrey, go back to your dorm." She came over to wipe the tears off my face, her voice softening. "Duke wouldn't want you to see him like this."

I shook my head, body racked with the sobs I was holding back. "I can't. I can't leave him."

"Then start praying," she whispered. "Because he needs a miracle."

She looked back at Duke one more time before leaving, and I hit my knees.

This is all my fault.

I put my face in my hands, crying hard.

I should have sent him away.

God, please let them find more blood...

Suddenly I was struck with an epiphany. Before I could talk myself out of it, I stood up and grabbed a pair of bandage scissors off the medical cart.

Duke was finally settled down, and Aiden eased him onto his back.

I came around the other side of Duke's bed and gingerly climbed in. "What if Duke got fresh blood? Would that help?"

"Well, yeah." Aiden rubbed his chin. "A few gulps of live blood would probably heal him completely. Depending on who he got it from. Why do you ask?"

He caught sight of the scissors in my hand, and gave me a quizzical look. "Audrey..."

"Aiden, lock the door."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to give Duke my blood."

His mouth hung agape, but I didn't give him a chance to argue. I sliced into my palm with the scissors, biting my lip so I wouldn't yell.

Aiden bolted for the door and twisted the lock, then returned to Duke's side. "This is insane! He could go mad and kill you."

"So don't let him," I mumbled, gently propping Duke's mouth open.

I held my hand over his lips, watching my blood drip inside. After a few drops, Duke let out a low moan. His fangs extended as another drop hit his tongue, and he moaned again.

I flexed my hand to will more blood out, wincing at the sting. "I think it's working."

Duke's eyes flew open, and in an instant he was on his knees, yanking my hand to his mouth.

Aiden came from behind to grab me, but I stopped him.

"Wait! He's not finished yet."

"No, but you will be if he decides to rip your head off."

Duke silently licked the wound in my palm, reminding me of another place he'd licked the night before.

Then, he sank his fangs into me.

I cried out from the pain, the pleasure, and watched his cheeks hollow as he drew my blood into him.

"Okay, guys, seriously." Aiden spoke low, heated. "Doctor Hadley will be back any...oh, fuck."

My breathing was shallow, chest heaving, and I was so wet. I started panting, my hips moving on their own accord, desperate to soothe the ache between them.

Aiden and Duke were panting, too, and before I realized it, Aiden reached around to slide his hand down my pants.

I gasped as he slipped a finger inside me, then rocked against his hand, my ass brushing his erection.

He kissed my neck while undoing his fly with his free hand, then he started jerking. I looked back to see him pumping his fist up and down his shaft, matching the tempo of his finger in me.

We kissed hard, moaning into each other's mouths, breathes coming out harsh and ragged.

I could feel the pressure building from his touch. I was about to come when Duke tore through my shirt.

"Duke?" I ripped my mouth from Aiden's to gawk at the vampire in front of me.

All of his burnt flesh had fallen off, like dead leaves from a tree, and was replaced by new skin.

He looked great.

Healthy.

Horny.

His erection stood proudly at attention, thick and inviting. I watched, fascinated, as he took my hand and wrapped it around his girth.

Go up and down. He thought at me. Do as Aiden does.

I obeyed, and started moving my hand. Duke threw his head back, groaning as I jacked him off, then reached out to tug on one of my nipples.

And I came. Loudly.

Aiden held steady as my orgasm rippled through me. When I finished, he stuck another finger inside.

We were like zombies. Groaning. Moaning. Mindlessly trying to fulfill our hunger, desperately seeking satisfaction.

Aiden was the next to come. He hissed through his teeth, cramming a third finger in me as his own orgasm shook him.

I cried out in release, my heart thundering against my ribs, when Duke came. He squirted on my leggings, softly choking out my name through parted lips.

The three of us collapsed into bed after that, with me asleep before my head touched the mattress.