Cherry Pie

by Sotia Lazu

Two hours into the drive, I was hungry, and not for blood. I craved something greasy and calorie ridden, to drown out the fantasies wreaking havoc in my head. Constantine gave a moue of distaste when I suggested burgers, but he stopped at a drive-through and let me order.

  “Let’s pull over somewhere and at least pretend we’re having a proper meal,” he said when a paper bag full of fatty yumminess was safe on my lap.

  I stuffed a handful of fries in my mouth and shrugged.

  “You’re so sexy like that,” he said with a grin.

  I tried to blow him a kiss, but the fries wouldn’t allow it.

  Laughing, he drove to an opening on the road, parked, and got out of the car.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  In lieu of an answer, he pulled a blanket out of the back seat and unfolded it on a grassy spot. He lay on his side and motioned for me to join him. I sat cross legged and placed the food strategically between us. Horizontal Constantine could lead to badness.

  The carton-made barrier didn’t help. I watched as he wrapped his lips around the fries or bit into a burger like it was the finest delicacy. The man oozed seduction, and my body responded to it. I adjusted my position, to ease the throbbing between my legs. Didn’t work. He licked his fingers slowly, and I groaned before I could stop myself.

  I blinked, and I was on my back, Constantine covering my body with his.

  “Constantine...” My voice was hoarse. Better that it didn’t work. I couldn’t choose between telling him to stop or to rip off my clothes and fuck me in plain view of anyone who drove by.

  “I’ve been good, Cherry,” he whispered in my ear.

  My insides clenched at the memory of Alex’s weight on top of me, before he tried to kill me. As if he felt it, Constantine propped himself up on his arms. His eyes were violet but clear. I wasn’t afraid of him. Never could be.

  He licked his lips. “You’ve made me want to be good, and I plan on keeping it up. I won’t pressure you into my bed, and I’ll accept your decision if you only come to me for the ritual. But I don’t want you to confuse my passiveness for lack of desire.”

  A tiny shift of my hips, and the proof of his words dug into my thigh. If he kissed me again, I wouldn’t stop him.

  Spoiler—he didn’t.

  “I burn for you,” he said. “You are the only sunshine I care to touch. Thoughts of you consume my days, and that little sound you just made haunts my dreams. I said I won’t be your default choice, and I meant it, but you should know it’s sheer torture being this close and not touching you.” He raised his hand to my face, let his fingers hover over my cheek for a brief moment, and then formed a fist and punched the ground next to my head.

  I was at a loss. My skin hummed in response to his voice, as my brain scrambled to catch up with everything he said.

  Constantine rolled off me and sat up. “I don’t remember the last time I ate al fresco,” he said in a pleasant, conversational tone. His eyes were their usual gorgeous blue again. He’d said his piece and left me in turmoil.

  While I’d once blamed sensory memory for my response to his advances, I could no longer deny I wanted him. This was bad. So very bad. It was too soon after Alex to start something new, and the situation would be messy even without Alex in the picture. I couldn’t get back together with Constantine, when I was about to give up my immortality.

  I dug into my food, avoiding his gaze.

  Fuck.

  Chapter Four

  FEMALE VOICES REACHED me as we entered the mansion. The vampettes were used to their new reality—and they didn’t have to travel the world for it. I mentally thanked whatever deity sent them to disrupt the tension between Constantine and me.

  “I’ll take my stuff to my room, and then come help with the move,” I said.

  Constantine nodded and went straight to the kitchen, while I made my way downstairs. I wasn’t over what he’d said. Had he made a bet with himself to drive me nuts, with his I love you too and his declarations during our sort-of-a-picnic?

  A quick shower washed away road dirt as well as thoughts I shouldn’t be entertaining. I’d just put on my underwear and a fresh T-shirt, when Sheena barged in without knocking. My manager-turned-friend-turned-betrayer-turned-friend-again was more hyper than usual, as she hopped on my bed and bounced on her knees.

  “Come on, come on, come on,” she squealed.

  “Someone’s excited,” I said as grumpily as I could, but I went closer for a hug. In truth, her excitement was refreshing. She’d lived in fear of Willoughby since my turning, and though she never showed weakness, this was the most carefree I’d seen her.

  “I sure am,” she said. “You’re back, and the move is postponed for tomorrow. That means I don’t have to carry shit and I get to drink.”

  “Yeah, ’cause you only drink on special days.”

  “God, I missed you.” She laughed and squeezed me before letting go. “Tonight is girls’ night in. The vampettes are making drinks, and your presence is mandatory.” She hopped to her feet and tossed me my jeans. “Get dressed. The party is their room.”

  Their room. The one they shared with Constantine. Any lingering heat dissipated.

  For a while, I’d done a great job convincing myself there was nothing sexual between my ex and his three protégés—though, let’s face it, a man not known for his restraint shared his admittedly humongous bed with three sexy kittens. They sure as hell didn’t play Sudoku when the door was closed.

  I stretched and pulled my jeans back on. Immortality was supposed to keep me in a good shape, but I felt ancient. Because that was what emotional roller-coasters did to me. What Constantine and his secrets and his stupid confessions of love did to me.

  Love. Pfft. He meant it, but the word had a different meaning for him. I had to remember it when I considered giving us another chance. When we were together, he’d tried to convince me monogamy wasn’t for vampires, and that sex and love were two distinct things. When I’d strongly disagreed, he’d cheated on me with his maker, and when I busted them, he insisted it was okay because he didn’t have feelings for her.

  Even if I accepted that immortals couldn’t do physical fidelity, the lie was unforgivable. It’d be different if I’d agreed to an open relationship. Or a polyamorous one. I could maybe see myself with him and Alex.

  I could totally see myself with him and Alex. In this bed. Or on the floor. They’d look so great naked together, Alex’s tan contrasted against Constantine’s pallor. Could I have them both? At the same time? It would be awkward after, but we could figure things out. And they both loved me. Well, Alex used to. I wasn’t sure now.

  Wait. Was I consideri—

  “Earth to Cherry. Come in, Cherry.” Sheena’s voice snapped me out of it. She watched me, eyebrows furrowed. “Do I want to know what’s in that head of yours?” she asked.

  I shook said head.

  “That’s what I thought. Now button those up and let’s go. Momma needs alcohol.”

  I followed her out of my room. Had I been thinking hard? Did I project my threesome-y thoughts to Constantine?

  Speak of the devil... He stood outside his bedroom, tapping something on his phone. There was no sly look of gotcha in his eyes when we approached. He barely looked at me, as he said, “Alex called from the airport. He’s on his way to London. I texted Ruby, and she and her team will pick him up at Heathrow.”

  “Did you tell him anything?” About the ritual.

  Constantine shook his head. “I thought he should hear it from you.”

  “He didn’t ask for me?” I kept my tone and face impassive, but I must have broadcasted my insecurity. Alex left to find himself. Maybe he also found that he no longer loved me.

  And what the hell did I want?

  Constantine snorted. “He was about to board. He’ll call when he’s with Ruby, and you can talk his ear off.”

  I rolled my eyes and shouldered past him and into the room. “Where’s the music?” I asked. “I was prom
ised a party.”

  “Hey.” Sally tackle-hugged me. She wasn’t drunk, just naturally perky and friendly. Except for when she thought I meant to stake her. Or last time we spoke, when she was locked inside this room, crying and threatening to starve herself to dust, because she no longer wanted to be a vampire.

  Constantine had talked her off the metaphorical ledge, and I’d stopped pretending he wasn’t sleeping with her. With all of them. In the bed now covered with giggling girls, platters of snacks, and teetering glasses of margaritas.

  I couldn’t believe he let them endanger his precious silken sheets.

  Sheena nudged me with her hip. “Grab a glass and tell us all about the big fight,” she said. “Tall, blond, and dangerous said it’s your story to share, and you only gave me the highlights over the phone.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Constantine, who winked. “This is girls’ night,” he said inside my head. “I’ll wait it out upstairs, with my best whiskey.”

  “Enjoy,” I called after him and climbed on the bed. Vampires couldn’t drink themselves to oblivion, but I’d give it a solid try.

  Liza, unofficial leader of the three fledglings, turned down the music and crawled on the bed to join her two BFFs and Sheena, who sat cross legged in a semi-circle, facing me.

  “So?” Sheena said.

  “So you know the uber-bitch and her minion were haunting Alex, yes? They lied to him, built on his jealousy, and messed with his mind until he was barely himself.” I stuffed a handful of nachos in my mouth and licked some salsa off my lips. “Well, the last night, they convinced him draining me was the only way to keep me from getting back together with Constantine.”

  “And he believed them?” Sheena asked. “He should have seen how broken you were when you thought he was dead. That boy needs an ass-whopping.”

  Nods all around.

  The next part was hard to remember. Harder to put into words. So I tried to be as detached as possible and present things like an outside observer would. “He dragged me to the forest while I was trapped inside his dream. I woke to his fangs in my neck. My strength had fled and I knew I was almost gone.”

  Sally gasped. “He did that to you? But he loved you.”

  “He didn’t realize he was killing me. When he did, he stopped. And then Willoughby attacked us.” I shook my head, hoping to wipe away the memory of feeling helpless. I wasn’t helpless. I won. Willoughby was dead.

  “Where was Constantine?” Liza asked.

  “Willoughby had staked him to the wall of my parents’ basement”—insert collective gasp—“but he freed himself and came to the rescue. He fed me and then helped Alex.”

  Insert collective swoon. Yeah, yeah. Constantine was awesome.

  “There was a fight, and Willoughby staked Alex but missed his heart. Alex pried out the stake and tossed it to me while Willoughby had Constantine pinned on the ground. I still can’t believe I hit Willoughby’s heart from where I lay half drained.” I studied the girls for signs of discomfort. Willoughby had been their maker and was good to them... with the exception of killing them and wanting to turn them into undead assassins.

  Carrie sighed. “We felt it when he was gone. We didn’t know what we were feeling, but there was a snapping inside. A tearing, and then—”

  “Hollowness,” I said. I’d felt the same.

  “It only lasted for a split second,” Liza said. “We knew something big happened, but not what.”

  “Now you do,” I said with a smile that hurt my cheeks. “Sorry I didn’t have a more cheerful story for you.”

  Liza waved off my concern, and Sheena patted my knee. “Alex will be back,” she said. “He loves you.”

  “I know. And he had a good reason for going away.” And maybe one day I’d believe that.

  “Why did he leave?” the third vampette, Carrie, asked.

  Lovely. I had to explain something I barely understood. “He felt bad for attacking me”—for almost perma-killing me—“and he needed some distance to figure out how to fix things. He thought helping out more of the fledglings Willoughby and Ádísa created would be a good step in that direction.” Or something.

  “So to make up for what he did to you, he left you behind and went to help girls he’d never met?” The scowl was out of place on Sally’s lovely face. Especially when she twirled a blond curl around her fingers.

  “That makes no sense,” Liza added. Her dark eyebrows were pulled together too, shadowing her hazel eyes. “Why not stay and fix things? I appreciate his altruism—got us out of a potentially shitty situation—but it does jack shit for you.”

  “He said he hadn’t come to terms with being a vampire. That he wasn’t himself since he was turned. He wanted to do good on a larger scale, to feel better, and then come to me in equal terms,” I said.

  Carrie harrumphed. She was the most level headed of the three, balancing between Liza’s quick temper and Sally’s naiveté. “What equal terms? He’ll still be the jackass who hurt you out of jealousy. He attacked you, Cherry. If you were both humans, he’d be arrested for it.”

  Or I’d be dead.

  “No,” I said. Another sip of strawberry-laced tequila might help. “He’ll prove to himself he can still be Alex, so then he’ll know he won’t hurt me again.” His aggression had horrified me, but I knew it wasn’t him. My mind and heart trusted him. In time, my body would learn to do so again too. But he had to be here for that to happen. Instead, he ran away, and I was left defending a decision I didn’t agree with.

  Liza cupped my shoulder. “But will you know?”

  Constantine chose that moment to knock on the open door. “You better wrap this up, children. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  I was so grateful for the interruption, I didn’t care how much he’d heard.

  Chapter Five

  WE MOVED SHEENA AND the girls out the next afternoon. It was fun, except for the carrying-stuff-around-while-pretending-to-be-humans thing, and Sheena totally enjoyed ordering us around until the rooms she provided the vampettes were to her liking. We ate and had a drink or two, and then, as much as I delayed the inevitable, Constantine and I had to return to the mansion.

  Alone.

  My ass buzzed the moment it touched the passenger’s seat. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and let out a sigh of relief. Alex. And I didn’t have to make chitchat with Constantine.

  “Hey, you,” I said.

  Constantine looked at me, and I mouthed Alex. He started the car, but we didn’t move. So much for this phone call saving us some awkwardness.

  “Hey.” Alex’s voice was warm and sexy as ever. “Wanted to let you know I landed safely.”

  I glanced at the dashboard clock. “A couple hours ago.” Which I hadn’t noticed till now. Shame on me.

  “I’m sorry. Ruby picked me up at the airport, and we had a bite to eat before driving to the hotel she’s staying at. We started talking, and I lost track of time. She’s a fascinating lady.”

  I shouldn’t be jealous of my grandma, who really was fascinating. And kickass. And looked like she could be my slightly older sister. And I wouldn’t be jealous of her.

  “So will you be staying in London,” I asked?

  “I thought so at first, but Ruby has a plan. We’ll be doing recon—fly to a different European city every couple days, verify the location of the fledglings’ to be rehabilitated, and make first contact. With Willoughby and Ádísa out of the picture, they may be easier to approach.”

  “Or they may be panicking.”

  That was what he wanted to talk about? No I miss you?

  “That’s a possibility too, and we’re ready for it. Ruby has made connections with a couple European Masters who’ll help us.”

  It took me a moment to catch up. European vampires have a different social structure. Each area has its own Master, whose word is law for his jurisdiction.

  “Please stay safe,” I said.

  “I will. Honest. I want to get back home in one piece.�
��

  He could have said to you. He didn’t. Should I be reading things into this? “Good. When you have time, there’s something else we need to discuss.”

  “We have a few more seconds. Ruby doesn’t want me on this phone longer than that. I’ll get a burner phone tomorrow and text you the number.”

  So very Cloak and Dagger. Was there even an enemy they were hiding from, or was this all so our council wouldn’t find Ruby? “It’s not urgent, and I’d rather do it over video-chat,” I told him.

  He chuckled. “It may be a while for that. Ruby doesn’t trust any online connection but her own, and we won’t be in her camp for at least another two weeks.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  Silence for a second, then— “I’m happy to hear that. I’ll call you from the new phone, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you.”

  He hadn’t said it since he left, and he hung up now before I could say the same. Might be for the best. Even if I had it in me to voice the words, I didn’t wanna do so in front of Constantine.

  “All good?” Constantine asked.

  “Yup. Ruby will drag him all around Europe.”

  He shook his head. “That woman always has a purpose.”

  “Yeah.” Now what to talk about?

  “Wanna go home, get drunk, and fuck like animals?”

  I snapped my head toward him and saw his body shake with suppressed laughter. I smacked his leg. “What would you do if I said yes?”

  Mirth disappearing, he grabbed my wrist and led my hand higher on his thigh. “Say it and see.”

  Thus began two very torturous weeks.

  I don’t know if Constantine did it on purpose, but he made it impossible for me to avoid him around the mansion. Every time I left my room, he was there, topless more often than not, and always with that sexy I-know-you-want me smirk.

  Despite his obvious availability, our exchanges were polite, bordering on stilted.

  Have you fed?

  Did you hear from Alex?

  Do you need something?

  Sheena and the girls are settling in well.