by Gayla Twist
“Goodbye, my darling,” I heard him say in a soft voice as he got to his feet. “Sleep well.”
Chapter 18
A moment later, Jessie had left the graveside and was offering me his arm. “May I escort you to your car?” he said in a gallant attempt to shake off his pain. I could tell by the tight expression on his face that it was taking some effort on his part.
“Please,” was my response as I hooked my arm through his. We took a few steps before I remembered my reason for actually visiting the cemetery so late in the day. “Wait a minute.” I scampered back to the chairs to snatch up the umbrella and then join him again.
I didn’t say anything to Jessie about the old man until we were in the car and were on our way back to my house. Jessie had offered to drive. There was something about my old VW bug that amused him. But once he’d had a little time to collect himself, I asked, “Are there any other vampires in the area?” When he gave me a perplexed look, I added. “I mean, besides your family.”
“I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head slightly but keeping his eyes on the road. “My cousin Dorian will be here for the holidays, but he hasn’t arrived yet as far as I know. Why do you ask?”
I told him about the weird-looking old man who had been glaring at me. The corners of Jessie’s mouth pulled down more and more as I described him. He blinked several times when I mentioned the scar. “Does he sound familiar to you at all?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t know for sure that he’s a vampire, but you know …” My words drifted off, and I felt a flash of embarrassment—like I was paranormal profiling or something.
“No,” Jessie said rather abruptly. He shook his head back and forth quite rapidly as if trying to drive an idea out of his head. “He couldn’t … I mean, no.”
“So he does sound like someone you know?” I asked, a little surprised by his reaction.
“No,” he said again, but it almost sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. “I know of no one living or undead that matches that description,” he said firmly.
Jessie drove for a few more minutes in silence, frowning to himself. He was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the knuckles of his already pale skin were almost white. Then, only a few blocks from my house, he pulled to the side of the road. When I gave him a questioning look, he said, “I’d better get out here. I’ll see you safely home, of course, but I’m sure your mother won’t be expecting me in your car.”
He was right. I knew he was right, but my heart gave a little wrench in my chest as I thought of being parted from him. “Will you come see me in a few hours?” I asked. “After my mom thinks I’ve gone to bed.”
He was about to say no. I could see the words forming on his lips. I stopped him by grabbing him by the lapels and kissing him quite fiercely. “Please?” I said in a husky whisper.
“Yes,” he said once I’d pulled away. “I’ll come by. I would very much like to spend more time with you this night, if that’s okay.”
Jessie had no idea how okay that was with me. It had been a tiring day, but kissing him fired up my hormones again. My heart began pounding a heavy beat in my chest at the thought of luring him into my room. “Okay,” I told him. “But meet me at our window. I’m sure my mom’s tired, and she probably won’t want guests. I’ll just tell her I’m going to bed early.”
Jessie got out of the car, and I fumbled my way over the gearshift to the driver’s seat. He waited patiently for me to be settled and belted in before leaning down and planting an electrifying kiss on my lips. “I’ll follow you home, but keep your doors locked,” he told me.
“Always,” was my reply.
After kissing me again, he added, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Wait,” I said, tugging at his hand. “You’re not going to blow me off like you did last night. Are you?”
“No,” he assured me. “And I’m sorry about that. I meant to apologize earlier, but my mind was so cluttered with everything.” He gestured vaguely toward the way we had just driven. “I really didn’t mean to stand you up, but there’s been some tension at home between my brother and me. I really don’t understand what’s going on with him, but my mom made us talk it out. By the time we finished up, it was too late to meet you. Or even call.”
Jessie’s brother, Daniel, was, in my opinion, a complete jerk. But it did strike me as amusing that two men who had been on the planet for over eight decades still had to have their mother settle their arguments. Being an only child, I didn’t know much about sibling rivalry, but I guess it ran pretty strong sometimes. “I forgive you,” I said, suppressing a smirk. “But please, don’t do it again.”
“I will do my very best,” he promised before leaning in through the window to bestow me with another lingering kiss before launching into the sky and disappearing from view.
I gave myself a few seconds to relish the kiss and make sure my hands were steady before I started driving. Jessie’s kisses were dizzying, to say the least.
When I finally walked in the door, I could tell my mom had been worrying. She immediately gave me a hug and said, “I should have just gone with you. It’s not like I got any work done, anyway.”
“I was fine,” I told her, returning her squeeze. “I know there’s a weirdo out there, but I really can’t always stay locked in the house after dark, you know.”
“I know,” she said, reluctantly releasing me, “but you can at least spare me the worry by not going anywhere by yourself at night until they discover what happened to those poor children.”
It seemed like a reasonable request, so I said, “I promise.”
Mom had made mac ‘n’ cheese for dinner. Afterward, we hung out on the couch watching TV for a little while before I faked a few yawns and said, “I’m pretty beat. Think I’ll just go read a little before bed.”
“Good night, sweetie,” she said, kissing me on my forehead. I had to force myself not to scamper upstairs in my excitement for Jessie’s arrival.
It wasn’t that I exactly planned to seduce Jessie. We had just buried Colette, so it would be weird to greet him in just panties and a bra. But I did have a strong desire to lure him into my bedroom and keep him there as long as possible. When he’d kneeled on the ground and buried his face in my chest, my nipples had grown hard despite the fact that I was trying to comfort him. I knew that probably wasn’t appropriate, but I was a teenager and I had hormones.
I brushed out my hair, freshened my makeup while trying to make it look as invisible as possible, and then put on my prettiest nightie and robe. I didn’t exactly have anything sexy to wear, but it wasn’t exactly sex that I was after. At least for the moment. I guess I wanted intimacy. I wanted to hold him and touch him and feel his weight on top of me.
It felt like it took forever, but Jessie was finally tapping at my window. I sprang out of bed and rushed over to let him in. Once the window was open, I could see him drawing breath to protest entering my bedroom. Instead of arguing with him, I just grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and dragged him inside.
“Good evening,” he said, a bit surprised.
“Mr. Vanderlind,” I whispered, lifting my arms up to drape around his neck.
He kissed me, his arms wrapped so tightly around my waist that I was lifted from the floor. “I know it’s only been a few hours, but it seems like it’s been forever,” he murmured in my ear. Then he deftly scooped up my legs and turned me so I was held like a bride being carried over the threshold. Then, with great care, he laid me on the bed. “Oh, Aurora,” he said with a soft moan as he pulled himself on top of me, pressing every inch of his body against mine.
“Jessie,” I whispered back, my body straining against his. I could tell that he wanted me, and it stoked the fire that was already burning deep inside of me. He kissed me deeply, his tongue parting my lips and dipping into my mouth. I writhed beneath him, fully feeling how much he wanted me.
His kisses descended to my chin, my throat, my breastbone. He nuzzled my br
easts and then turned his head to rest upon my chest for a moment. “I can hear your heart beating,” he said, and I felt his words rumble in my ribcage. He slid his hands underneath me, so he was almost cradling me in his arms. His weight became less as he supported both of our bodies, although the right side of his face still pressed against me. “I know you probably don’t fully understand what I’m talking about, but this is such a wonderful sound,” Jessie whispered. I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell by the angle of his long eyelashes that his eyes were closed. “Being with you tonight is wonderful,” he said, his voice barely audible. “It’s amazing to me that there can be any joy in this miserable day.”
After that, he became very still; his breathing grew steady. I had thought he was just taking a moment, but as the time stretched longer and longer, I went from eager and lustful to slight confusion. What was he doing?
Jessie had told me once that vampires don’t sleep. He’d described the state they’re in while reclining in their coffins as more like being unconscious than any type of dream world. That’s why his behavior was so peculiar. If he wasn’t sleeping, I had no idea what he was doing.
As my libido calmed down, I became sleepy too. I wasn’t exactly warm in his arms—in fact, I was on the chilly side—but there was no place in the world I would rather have been. Eventually, I found my eyelids had become heavy.
“Aurora,” Jessie whispered. I couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake. I had dreamed of Jessie so many times that I half convinced myself I was having some type of fantasy.
“Yes?” I finally managed to say when I felt him shifting above me and realized he was actually in bed with me.
“It’s almost dawn,” he said, trying to gently pull away from me.
I let out a small whimper and tried to keep him close. “So?” I said, a slight pout to my voice.
“I have to go home.” He managed to pull himself away and get to his feet.
“What happened last night?” I asked, still groggy. But the memory of the passion that had quickly faded to napping immediately popped back into my brain. “I thought we …” I paused, not sure if I should feel embarrassed, or maybe even a little hurt. “I thought you …”
“What is it, darling?” Jessie asked, sitting back down and reaching for my hand. He pressed it to his lips.
Turning my face away from him, I managed to stammer, “I thought you wanted me.”
“Aurora,” he said, taking me in his arms. “You have no idea how much I want you. In fact, it would be ungentlemanly of me to say how much.” He kissed my forehead and then the lids of my eyes. “But yesterday was a very difficult day. I was awake all day in my coffin thinking how much I hated not being able to attend Colette’s service. And then the conflict of seeing you and missing her and trying to find out about …” His words trailed off. “Well, that doesn’t matter right now, but when I took you in my arms, I felt passion coursing through me. I wanted you, every bit of you. I wanted to devour you in every sense of the word,” he told me. “But somehow, the beating of your heart mesmerized me. It’s the most beautiful sound in the world to me. I’ve just been lying here for the past several hours listening to your heart beat. It was so peaceful, so hypnotic to me.” He let out a small, rueful laugh. “It’s the closest I’ve come to sleeping in the last eighty years.”
Chapter 19
I hadn’t had a shift at the cafe in so long, it took me a little bit to get back in the groove of working. But it felt good—waiting on customers, earning money. I couldn’t tell if it was because the holidays were barreling down on us or because my family had been having a rough time, but the tips were slightly heavier than usual. A group of kids from my class came in, which always made me feel a little awkward, but none of them were acting all superior because I was behind the counter and they were in front of it, so that was a nice change.
One thing about working at a popular small town cafe is that you hear all the local news first hand. Two women came in for coffee and sat at the counter for a chat. I didn’t really know them beyond serving them cappuccinos fairly frequently, but I had figured out from hearing large amounts of their conversation that the redhead was named Carol and the blonde was called Beth. They’d gone to high school together and been best friends ever since. Seeing that they appeared to be in their forties, that was an impressive chunk of time. One of the things that appeared to glue their friendship together was a mutual love of gossip.
Once they were seated, after doctoring their drinks with various creams and sweeteners, Carol said, “Did you hear that old Mervin is MIA?”
“The taxi driver?” Beth asked, licking a bit of foam from her lip.
Mervin was Tiburon’s sole taxi driver. He was quite elderly and always in a bad mood, but he was on call twenty-four seven to drive passengers anywhere they wanted to go, as long as it wasn’t too far outside of Tiburon. It usually took him forever to show up, and the ride was never pleasant, but he always got you to your destination. Mervin wasn’t an official taxi driver or anything. He just called himself a taxi driver and drove an old car that he’d spray painted yellow.
Carol continued. “Well, apparently the police found his car on the side of the road on seventy-one south last night, but with nobody in it.”
“You’re kidding,” Beth gasped.
Carol shook her head adamantly to show that she was not kidding. “At first, they thought maybe the car had broken down and cranky old Mervin had just walked home or to a diner or something. But the keys were still in the car, and the engine was running.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Beth commented.
“I know,” Carol said. “They searched the area, thinking maybe he had a heart attack or something and staggered out of his cab. Or maybe stopped to help someone along the road. But there was no sign of him anywhere.”
“You’re kidding.” Beth said again. “That’s so bizarre.”
“I know,” Carol replied, her eyes round with the titillating horror of it. “He simply vanished. It’s like he was plucked off the ground and whisked away into the sky or something.”
I had been drying mugs and found myself pausing to listen. The more they talked, the more my stomach clenched.
“Maybe it was the same weirdo that got those kids that are missing,” Carol said.
“Maybe it was aliens?” Beth suggested. “Maybe they just beamed him up or something.”
“There’s no such thing as aliens,” her friend insisted, all but scoffing at her.
“I don’t know,” Beth said with a shrug, “I think there are a lot more weird and dangerous things out there than we realize.”
“Joe, I need to go on my break,” I said when I realized my hands were shaking. Before he could answer, I hurried out back where only the staff who smoked usually hung out. I had this wild idea that I might actually throw up and eyed the dumpster as a possible place to leave my breakfast.
There was a vampire loose on the streets of Tiburon, snatching people right out of their cars. It had to be a vampire. There was no other explanation. It had to have been the crazy old man that I saw. I wasn’t an expert at identifying the undead, but I was pretty damn sure he was one. I had to wonder if Jessie knew him. Was that why he acted so funny when I described the guy?
I felt my body start to tremble, and I looked around as if I thought some bloodsucker was going to attack me in broad daylight. I was being foolish. I knew I was being foolish, but that didn’t stop me from being afraid. If my suspicions were true and the old man was a vampire, and one that Jessie knew, then why had my boyfriend lied to me?
By the end of my double shift, it was already growing dark. I was feeling calmer. Definitely not happy, but calmer. I knew Jessie loved me. I knew he would willingly sacrifice his life to save mine. But why would he not tell me about the vampire? If the old coot actually was a vampire. Maybe I was just being paranoid because I knew vampires existed and therefore every weirdo with a menacing face appeared to be a vampire to me. I was to
o exhausted to think about it anymore.
There had been a few mix-ups while I was working. It was my fault; I had gotten some orders wrong. Joe was not thrilled with me, but instead of yelling, he put his arm around my shoulder, gave me a little squeeze, and said, “Maybe having you in to work today was a bad idea. You’ve been through a lot lately.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m just a little distracted. I’ll pull it together.”
“I know you will,” he said, as if it never occurred to him that I would do otherwise.
“Joe, I know this is going to sound silly, but would you please watch to make sure I get to my car safely?” I asked.
“That’s not silly,” he told me. “Never be embarrassed for taking precautions. There’s some nut job out there. If you weren’t at least a little nervous, I would think there was something wrong with you.”
I was jittery driving home. I kept glancing around at the sky, wondering if some weirdo was going to come diving out of nowhere and snatch me off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again. I was thrilled when I got back into the house and had the doors locked. Yes, Jessie could enter our home, but it was comforting to know that no other member of the undead could enter without a proper invitation. And fortunately, my mom had never been keen on inviting strangers into the house.
I was very restless that evening. I kept thinking I heard the phone ring or someone knocking at the door, but it was always just my imagination. I really, really, really wanted to hear from Jessie but was reluctant to call him. He was my boyfriend; we were in love; I had every right to call if I wanted to; but still, I felt weird about it. Mostly because he lived at the castle. I didn’t know if it was Viggo’s job to answer the phone. I liked the giant and didn’t mind talking to him. But the idea that his mom might answer made me feel awkward, and the idea that his jerky brother, Daniel, might answer made me feel mega-uncomfortable. Especially if he and Jessie had been fighting lately. For the zillionth time, I wished that Jessie had a cell phone so I could call him on a whim like normal people do. And I’d have to find out if there was any type of signal booster that I could afford so that maybe, just maybe, he could get a signal in that stone fortress where he lived.