His breath caught in his chest as he saw her for the first time.

Gabriel heard the door close and knew he was alone with her.

The woman lay on top of the blankets, her clothes bloodstained. She wore pants and a t-shirt, a loose, white doctor’s coat over it. In red letters her name was stitched over her breast pocket: Maya Johnson MD, Urology.

Maya’s face was pale, and it looked even paler framed by her shoulder length dark hair. It wasn’t perfectly straight, but had large waves which seemed to caress her face. Her eyes were closed, thick dark lashes standing guard. He wondered what color her eyes would be once they returned to their normal state. Her skin had an olive tint to it, hinting at Latin, Mediterranean, or even Middle Eastern ancestry.

She had bruises and cuts on her face, mostly around her lips which were full and perfectly curved. She had fought her attacker, he knew instantly. Within hours her injuries would be gone, her vampire body healing itself while it slept.

He could only imagine the pain she’d gone through and the horror when she’d realized what was happening to her. She had died tonight at the hands of a rogue, and then he’d brought her back from the brink. She’d had to experience death to gain a new life. How painful had her death been?

Gabriel knew that every vampire’s transformation was different. Many had horrifying memories of the event, things nobody spoke of. And this woman’s memories would be terrifying—being turned against one’s will would have been traumatic. Her wounds attested to it.

Gabriel looked past the injuries and the ugliness of the bite wound on her neck. It was clear the rogue had been interrupted since he hadn’t had a chance to close the wound with his saliva. It would take longer to heal without it. Had he licked the bite wound, it wouldn’t even be visible anymore.

Gabriel only saw the woman underneath the injuries: the sensual curve of her nose, the strong lines of her cheekbones, and the gracefulness of her neck. Her slender figure might as well have been bare, for he could almost imagine what her nude form looked like.

Elegant long fingers extended from slim hands, hands whose caress he wanted to feel on his own skin. Long legs, which he wanted her to wrap around his waist as he made love to her. Full breasts he could suckle from as he kissed every inch of her body. Red lips he would taste with his.

There was something so enthralling about her scent, something so foreign, yet so familiar at the same time. No other scent compared to hers. Rich and dark, it engulfed him, cocooned him in an aura of warmth and softness. Every cell in his body responded to her call.

She was perfect.

Three

All Gabriel could do was look at Maya. Of their own volition, his legs carried him to her side where he sat down on the edge of the bed.

He bent over her and listened for her heartbeat. It was slow—too slow. A vampire’s heartbeat was almost double the rate of a human’s, yet this woman’s heart barely managed to reach a normal human’s heartbeat. Concern spread within him as he noticed the shallowness of her breaths. He didn’t need to be a doctor to know something was wrong.

Gabriel touched his palm to her forehead and felt the clammy coldness of her skin. He sucked in a quick breath. Her symptoms reminded him of his own turning and how he’d almost died a second time. His sire had been baffled by the events, but had never been able to explain it. It had been as if his body had rejected the notion of becoming a vampire. Just like hers was doing. Seeking death instead.

He wouldn’t allow it.

“No,” Gabriel whispered to her. “I won’t let you die. Do you hear me? You will live.”

He stroked her cold face with the back of his hand. There was no response from her. He reached for her hand and clasped the delicate fingers in his large palm. They were like ice. No blood was circulating in her extremities.

Shocked, Gabriel realized that her body had already started shutting down. Frantically, he rubbed her fingers between his hands, trying to generate heat.

“Carl!” he called out. Heavy footsteps came up the stairs. A moment later, the door opened, and Carl stepped in.

“You called, Gabriel?”

“Where’s that damn doctor?” Gabriel didn’t take his eyes off Maya.

“On his way.”

“Help me. Take her feet and rub them.”

“Uh—”

Gabriel shot Carl an annoyed look. “Now!”

Carl jumped into action. While he went to work on her feet, Gabriel continued massaging her hands, rubbing her long, elegant fingers between his large palms.

“What are we doing?” Carl asked.