Page 63 of Don't Bite the Botanist
Hope soared in Ethan.
“That’s it, Tressa,” he said, pushing even harder against her chest, as if he could force that violet light into her faster. “I need you to wake up, Sunflower.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “Ethan…” she mumbled, her sweet voice weak and so very quiet. He didn’t know how he heard it, but he did. And it was all he ever wanted to hear for the rest of his life.
“I never want to see you again.”
Fuck that shit,he snarled inside his own mind. She was going to wake up, and he was going to show her just how glad he was to see her again.
“That’s it, baby,” he pleaded. “Open your eyes. Please, Tressa. Open your eyes for me.”
Her lids twitched again, then slowly—so achingly slow it felt like time stopped for a moment—her eyes opened.
“Ethan?” she asked, confusion lacing her words as she scanned his face.
“Welcome back,” he whispered.
The purple glow receded into his hands, and Tressa glanced down, astonishment lighting her face as she watched it dissipate.
“You scared me,” he said. “I thought… I thought you were…”
“I was,” she said weakly, her head lolling backward until Ethan snaked his hand around to support it.
He pulled her in close. “Shhh. You’re okay. You’re with me. Everything is going to be okay.”
Tressa blinked a few more times, then pressed on his chest hard enough for him to relax his grip so she could push up to a seated position.
Ethan didn’t completely release his hold on her, though. He needed to feel the warmth that was slowly seeping back into her skin. Needed to be surrounded by that bubblegum scent. It blended with something else, something vanilla that he thought might be coming from himself, and together, it was the sweetest aroma he had ever encountered. Like the grocery store ice cream they’d shared only exponentially better.
His eyes drifted over Tressa’s face and down her body to the massive red stain that coated her pink satin tank top. He knew in that momentthat no nightmare could ever be more terrifying than the memory of watching her die in his arms.
He’d been so awful to her. Acted like such a fucking asshole. Of course she wouldn’t admit to being a vampire after he’d just gone through an attack. He never would have trusted her to help him if she had confessed from the beginning. She’d been in an impossible situation, and when he found out the truth, he had only thought about himself. His anger. His betrayal. The logic he relied so heavily on never seemed to show up when it came to her. It always took a backseat to the anger he felt at the utter unfairness of the world.
But it wasn’t as strong anymore. The rage inside him. The need for revenge. He still wanted to end that vamp and make her pay for Jake’s murder, but the anger was… less. He could see clearly again. Rationally. Tressa had been trying to protect him. Help him when he’d given her no reason to. And he turned on her like a rabid dog.
“What’s going through your head, Ethan?” Tressa asked, her voice sounding stronger. More present.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “For everything. I don’t know why I was filled with so much hatred.”
“It’s okay,” she said, brushing a sweaty bit of hair off his face.
“No, it’s not,” he protested. “I stabbed you, Tressa. I almost… You almost…” A tear slipped down his cheek, and Tressa took his face in her hands, her thumb tenderly swiping away the bit of moisture.
“Ethan, look at me,” she said calmly. “Am I dead?”
He opened his mouth to say “No,” but then he remembered the whole vampire thing. “Um… technically yes, I think? I’m a little fuzzy on that.”
Tressa burst out laughing, and it relaxed something inside Ethan. Like a Pavlovian response to her joy, the thorny vines of fear, regret, and self loathing that had been wound tightly through every musclein his body loosened their grip and fell away. Ethan wanted nothing more than to spend an eternity drawing that glorious sound from her over and over again.
“Okay, you got me there,” she said when her laughter subsided. “But I’m breathing. And my heart is beating. And I’m looking at you like you’re the most incredible thing in the world. I wish you could see it, Ethan.” She ran her hands up through his hair, down his neck, and across his shoulders, her eyes taking in every inch of him. “You’re magnificent.”
He blushed. “Yeah, a magnificent fuck up. The first thing I did as a vampire was try to murder you. It’s a good thing we have these nifty healing powers. I had no idea I could bring you back from the brink of death.”
“About that,” Tressa said, scooting back to prop herself up against the wall. “That’s not normal, Ethan.”
He blinked. “Come again?”
She ran her hand over the gash in her tank top, her fingers grazing over the smooth bronze skin. “I can’t do what you did. None of us can. The closest you get is Cora who has accelerated healing even by vampire standards, but she still can’t use it on another person.” Tressa paused, a smile breaking out over her face. “It must be your Gift.”
