VAMP

by Wyatt, Dani

  Thank fuck he did.

  What I do know is, he isn’t sure why he just opened the door without knocking, and I’m guessing it’s probably best if he never does.

  Whatever the details, the door opening at that moment was what we needed to change the balance of power in the room, distracting everyone as Maltese made his launch which, without his help, we are all unsure how it would have turned out.

  “Seleme is well today?” Rudolf asks, a father’s concern in his voice.

  “She is. Looking more like she’s months along than mere weeks.”

  He looks at the ground with a slight smile. “Yes, as was the case with her mother. When vampires conceive, things are fast. She will give birth within a couple months. You will need to be ready for anything.”

  “I’m beginning to understand that. This morning, on our hunt, first she was craving squirrel. Then it was skunk, of all things. Skunk blood.” I shake my head, the absurdity of our conversation sinking in.

  Rudolf grins. “I remember like it was yesterday. Seleme’s mother couldn’t get enough of possums and chipmunks. I do feel for you though,” He walks with his hands clasped behind his back. “Skunks have their downside.” He leans into me and sniffs on a crooked smile.

  “That they do.” The ground crunches under our steps, a hard freeze coating everything with crystals overnight, and I think of how beautiful Seleme was this morning with her rounding belly and full growing tits, laying on the edge of the bed while I fucked into her hard enough I broke the headboard.

  Again.

  We’re on our third bed. The antique store delivery workers are starting to look at me with some mad respect.

  “Did you track down the remaining Hasanovs?” I ask, bringing up a subject Seleme has been anguishing over.

  Rudolf nods and sighs. “There aren’t many of them left. They’re young and frightened of our retribution for what their elders did. I spoke with them and explained our way of seeing things, promised them there would be no more danger if they want to return to their homes. I want bygones to be bygones, all this war and death...” There’s sadness in his voice as he continues. “I wish I didn’t have the guilt of so many lost lives on my conscience.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I reassure him. “It was the Messinas. They had you fearing your own shadow, and whipped up fear in the other clans so they’d make attempts against Seleme and keep their bargain relevant in your mind. They were the ones killing the doves, throwing them on the porch when they were meant to be a sign to Seleme. A sign that she was about to find her one. Fall in love. They knew they needed to threaten you all, scare you before they lost their hold on what they wanted.”

  Things unraveled pretty quickly after the situation with Michael and Alberto. Anna went to Michael’s mother, to smooth things over, and found she had little knowledge of what had gone on. She initially vowed revenge against me for killing her son, and I can’t blame her for that. But the details were undeniable, and when she looked into exactly what had happened over the past twenty years she accepted that the blame lay entirely at Michael’s door. Things came out that I’m sure Michael would have kept buried for a long time; things about how he manipulated the situation like some sort of mafia don.

  “There one more thing...” I stop as we approach the back door of the estate, the windows glowing with candlelight.

  “What?” Rudolf crosses his arms over his black suit, and again the oddness of us both taking these long walks dressed so formally seems perfectly natural now.

  “I know that Seleme and I are bonded. Together, in every sense of the word. But, like her mother, there is a human part of her too. I need to care for that as much as I care for her other half. The half you gave her.”

  “I think I know what you are going to say. I was meaning to talk to you about this as well.”

  “I want to marry Seleme. A ceremony. White dress. Tuxedos. Whatever she wants. I need to give that to her. I want your blessing.”

  He nods. “Of course. You have it, no question. However, it’s ironic because I wanted to show you this this morning.” He uncrosses his arms, reaches a hand inside his suit jacket and brings forward his closed hand. “I’ve been thinking you should make a honest woman out of her.”

  When he opens it, I swallow hard and raise my eyebrows. “That’s stunning.”

  “It’s been in my family for so long, I don’t remember exactly how old it is. I want you to have it, to give to Seleme as her engagement ring.”

  In his upturned palm the blood red ruby is nearly the size of a quarter, encircled with a halo of diamonds, and I hold back the chuckle as I think of Seleme’s tiny hand wearing such a monster of a ring.

  “That is an amazing and generous gesture, Rudolf. I’m grateful.” I clear my throat and choose my next words carefully. “You have become more than Seleme’s father to me. I respect you and appreciate all you have done for me. But...” I take a deep breath. “I cannot accept this.”

  I reach into my trouser pocket as disappointment clouds his face.

  “Why not? You are part of the family already. This is not charity.”

  I nod. “I understand, but I am a man. A man that wants and needs to provide for mine as you do yours. I know it must be hard, you’ve cared for Seleme as a father should. But it is my turn — as you’ve cared for Amber, I will care for your daughter.”

  I pull out my hand, pinch the platinum band between my middle finger and my thumb, raising the ring so he can take it in. “This ring came to me. Look inside...” I lean the ring from side to side, hoping that, in the dim moonlight still left fighting with the sun, his eagle like vision will allow him see what I know is there.

  “Where did you find this?” He takes it from me, holding it up in front of his face, and I can see in his eyes he understands.

  “I was at the antique store, there was a woman there. At first, I didn’t take note of her. Seleme was picking out a new bed, driving the salesperson crazy as usual with her questions. I walked to the jewelry case, the woman was standing there and looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back, then I looked into her eyes.”

  I pause, looking in the windows of the house where I see movement. Seleme’s silhouette glides behind the windows of the library on the second floor and just the sight of her still speeds my heart and thickens my cock.

  “And?” Rudolf narrows his eyes.

  “Her eyes were red.”

  “Really? Who was she?”

  “She didn’t say. She was old, I’m sure of it. Not that she looked old, but I sensed something in her. I know I’m new to all this, and age is kind of irrelevant to our kind, but something made me feel...”

  “What?”

  “That she could have been older than Anna.” I meet his eyes. “Is that possible?”

  Rudolf shrugs. “I’ve given up trying to figure out what’s possible and what isn’t, Maxim. I trust your senses, if they tell you she was old then I believe she probably was. What did she tell you?”

  “Nothing of any use. She just reached down, took my hand and pressed a small wooden box into it as she said, ‘I’ve been waiting.’ I asked her what she was waiting for. She smiled, looked over at Seleme, then back up at me and said, ‘For the next one. Look at the ring tonight, in the moonlight. You’ll know.’”

  Ruldolf hands the ring back.

  “I looked over at Seleme, puzzled, then when I looked back she was gone.”

  I hold up the ring to the last of the moonlight. The platinum filigree band work is beyond anything I’ve seen. There is a wedding band that matches, fitting around the other, making them look like they are one piece. The diamond is old, hand cut probably five carats, a third of the size of the ruby Ruldolf offered and much more appropriate for Seleme. But that’s not the most amazing part.

  Glinting in the moonlight, deep inside the clear stone is a fracture in the perfect shape of an ‘S’, which catches it the light, casting a rainbow of refraction on the ground in another perfect S-shape.


  I look back up to see Seleme looking out the window, waving at me. I wave back, her smile lighting up my heart as it did the first time.

  Rudolf looks up at her then back at me with his smile. “When will you do it?”

  “Later today. Then I want us to marry right away, if Seleme is in agreement, of course.”

  “Very well. I will contact the celebrant. She is a friend from long ago. Keep me advised on the timing, she has the gift of speed. She can travel a thousand miles in a matter of minutes so I’m sure she could be here quickly.”

  “Thank you, Rudolf. For everything.”

  Fourteen

  Seleme

  “I’M GETTING FAT. Fast.” I whine, rubbing my tummy as I watch Maxim touch the tip of his finger to each candle wick and the flash of fire follows.

  He snaps his head around, narrowing his eyes, then stomps over to where I’m standing in front of the long mirror on the wall of our living room.

  “That’s not a word you are allowed to use when referring to yourself. Ever. Got it?”

  I huff but deep down I know the truth: the bigger I get, the more Maxim seems to want me.

  It’s as though we’ve lived a lifetime in two short weeks since that night everything happened. I look months pregnant already and from speaking with my mother it sounds like it’s the same as happened with me; I was born in just under three months.

  “Can you see yet?” I ask Maxim as he comes over, a hand rubbing my belly as he nuzzles my neck, biting in that same spot as he did that first time. I hiss at the sensation. It’s not exactly pain but it’s pleasure mixed with a thrill of a different sort.

  “Not yet.”

  He’s been able to ‘see’ the baby. He says it’s not exactly like you see things with your eyes, but he sees it with a touch, and I’m anxious to know if it’s a boy or a girl.

  “When I dream, I see a little boy. A mini-Maxim.” I purr as he lowers himself and kisses my belly, his hands gripping my rear end, making me instantly wet and longing for him.

  We’re together nearly every minute of the day. He barely leaves my side except to go on his walks with my father and then, he leaves me with my mother.

  He still fears something will happen to me. After the night of my turning, my power has grown exponentially. I am faster, stronger than any vampire — even Anna — has known throughout all the years. Even dining on animal blood, rather than human blood, doesn’t seem to diminish my power. My senses are only slightly more acute than before, but now running water no longer seems to have any effect on them.

  All my power seems to be growing and changing as time goes on, so we don’t know exactly what will happen, but all I know is that I am happy. Happier than ever in my life.

  By some odd irony, both of my big cases at the law firm were stalled for different reasons. It turned out to be for the best, because my pregnancy is already obvious and as fast as it’s progressing, questions will certainly be raised. I’ve taken a leave of absence, my other clients being tended to by other attorneys in the office, and although a part of me misses the work, it must have been more the human side of me that was obsessed with the achievement of it all.

  Because now, my instincts are to protect my baby and find out how our family is going to work in our new reality.

  “Do you want a boy then?” Maxim moves a hand to the center of my tummy as he looks up at me, as though he can figure out a way to give me whatever I want.

  “I don’t care. Boy or girl, it is part of us, I love our baby already.”

  He leans in and kisses my belly, and as he does so his eyes go wide.

  “What?” Panic squeezes my throat. “What’s wrong?”

  Maxim’s eyes close for a quick second as both his hands come to the sides of my belly.

  “Maxim!” Tears spring to my eyes; I’m convinced something is wrong.

  But when he looks up, it’s not fear I see in his glowing red eyes, it’s joy.

  “I can see.” He smiles, his white teeth practically glowing.

  “What is it, what is it? A boy? A girl?”

  He nods. “Yes.”

  Confusion clouds my thoughts for a split second, then realization explodes inside of me.

  “Both? Twins?” I do a little jump and Maxim nods. “Oh my god! Two?”

  Pure bliss and some fear battle inside of me.

  Maxim looks perplexed. “Baby, didn’t Anna say there is no such thing as vampire twins?”

  “That’s almost what she said.” My voice is shaking as my hands settle on top of Maxim’s as he holds my tummy. “She said, ‘before’. There have never been vampire twins before.” I grin. “I guess we’re having a lot of firsts.”

  “I guess nothing is impossible. Not in our world.” He drops his hands, one coming to hold mine and his other reaches inside his suit jacket. “I can’t wait.”

  “Wait for what?”

  He pulls out a carved wooden box, flipping the top open with his thumb and holding it up, and there’s a wild concussion in the air. Like the earth shifted under my feet.

  “For you to marry me. Marry me, Seleme, for real. Be my wife for eternity and not a day less.”

  I nod my head, unable to make the words that beg for freedom come from my throat. So many things I want to say, but a simple nod is all I can manage.

  As he slips the ring onto my finger, there’s this familiarity that calms me. A warmth inside of me glows that I haven’t felt since I turned.

  “This ring has been waiting for me.” I whisper, unsure what I mean but knowing it’s the truth.

  “I believe so. And you know what else has been waiting for you?”

  I look down at my hand, and inside the ring I see the natural ‘S’ shape, set in the center of the stone, and there’s a knowing that grows inside of me. Of things past, present and future, and the hope of what is to be.

  “What?”

  “Me.”

  Maxim pulls me down onto the floor in front of the fire, onto the soft sheepskin rugs, raising my slip of a dress and exposing my wet sex as he lowers his face between my legs.

  I look up at the wooden beams of the ceiling and raise my hips to meet his mouth as he takes slow licks up and down. His tongue is cool as it flicks over my clit, taking his time as I moan and slip my hands into his hair pulling us closer together.

  His mouth moves faster and I feel the sharpness of his new teeth rasp against my tender flesh as his mouth opens wide and he consumes me.

  Thick fingers push into my slick opening, spreading me, and I want him as much as I did those first days when I felt it was my human hormones playing tricks on me.

  Not so.

  My need grows each day, and so does his. I don’t know how we will make it though eternity if that continues, but for now our need hasn’t faded in any way.

  The bond we formed when we first gave ourselves to each other is unlike anything I could imagine. I want him, but not just like this. I want his thoughts, his good, his bad, his soul. It’s as though we are truly part of one another in ways that humans cannot understand.

  My hips grind against his ravaging mouth as I tear at his hair and we become near animals.

  I cum in a twisting explosion as he licks and sucks at my clit, wringing another wild climax from me before he rips his clothing from his body and spreads my legs wide.

  He covers me, his massive frame held above my belly as he penetrates me in one hard thrust. I can hear our hearts beating, speeding, racing toward each other as his thick cock fills me.

  We cum together as his thick seed sprays inside me. Maxim’s roar shakes the windows of the house as I claw down his back, just as I do nearly every time we make love.

  Thankfully, he heals almost immediately, as do I, otherwise he would be a mess of torn flesh.

  His hot seed is dripping from me as his face comes to my ear and he tells me all the loving and wonderful things I will never tire of hearing.

  Then we lay there for a long moment, the fire flickeri
ng as Maxim raises his face above mine and kisses me softly.

  “Did you ever believe this was possible?

  I take a deep breath, my hands on his cheeks. “Not in a thousand lifetimes.”

  “That’s what we will have. A thousand, then a thousand more. After that, we’ll renegotiate.” Maxim smiles and I give his shoulder a soft punch.

  Before I can reply, there’s a giggle from the far wall and we both snap our heads around to see Anna standing there grinning, not even a hint of a blush on her cheeks at walking in on us.

  “Don’t you ever knock?” I ask, neither Maxim nor I moving to cover ourselves.

  “Knock? And miss this?” She turns her hand over, gesturing toward us. “Where would be the fun in that?”

  Maxim sighs, lowering his head to my shoulder. “She’s your godmother. You deal with her.”

  “That I am.” Anna turns and heads toward the kitchen. “But there’ll be no ‘dealing with me’, Maxim Forsythe. Have a little respect for your elders. I’ll give you two a minute, then I have news.”

  Maxim slips out of me with a sigh, reaching over and grabbing a blanket off the leather sofa and wrapping me in it as I stand.

  He quickly slips on his trousers, then we make our way into the kitchen to find Anna sitting there on my phone, talking to someone.

  “Yep. They’re here. Come on up, I’ll buzz the gate.” She taps the screen and puts the phone down, smiling at us like a Cheshire cat. “Do you two ever do anything else?”

  Without waiting for a response, she walks over to the security panel on the wall and pushes the button for the gate at the end of the drive.

  I lick my lips and snap my tongue before answering. “You should try it sometime. Maybe you’d understand.” She rolls her eyes and I point to the phone. “And, who is coming over?”

  “Dimitri.” Her eyes twinkle.

  “He’s early.” Maxim grouses. “He wasn’t supposed to be here for an hour. I’ll go meet him, I guess.”