by Martha Woods
Two cool arms wrapped around her, Jared pulling her into her chest. His large hands slowly rubbed her back, as though to tell her without saying a word, that it was okay to let it out. And Calla did. For the first time since it all began, Calla let herself weep. Tears freely poured from her eyes as she buried her face in his chest.
Jared let her cry without saying a word until her sobs finally started to ease. His chin rested on the top of her head, his fingers slowly combing through her fiery red curls. “I can’t say I know how it is to face your clan after pledging allegiance to Tessa, and being tricked be Deidre… But I know the sickening feeling that comes along with trying to decide whether or not to see your family again,” he breathed to her.
“You do?” Calla asked meekly.
He nodded, still holding her close. “My final day as a human, I was wondering around the woods alone at night, trying to find my brother. I heard his voice off in the distance and started toward it. As I approached where I thought he had been, his voice was gone. Before I knew it, I was attacked by a beast, which I later found out was a shapeshifter. Ally happened to be hunting in the area at the time. She stumbled into the scene, killed the shifter, and changed me into a vampire to save my life. Ally took me to her small cabin in the middle of the woods, fed me, and took care of me while I transformed.
“When I came out of it, I wanted to go back to my family. They had taken care of me my entire life, even though they could hardly care for themselves given the circumstances. Ally warned me, though. Being a newborn vampire, I could kill them without meaning to. Instincts could take over just at a whiff of their blood. She also told me how painful a goodbye would be. They either wouldn’t understand why I was leaving, or they would figure out I was a monster and hate me. Ally gave me the option, but I couldn’t do it. I never saw my mother or brothers and sisters again.
“To repay Ally for saving me, I devoted myself to her services. I’ve served loyally at her side for nearly one-hundred-and-ninety years. I owe her my life.” Calla’s crying had eased to silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She gazed up at Jared from his chest and saw his pale blue eyes glossing with emotions. “So, I know what it’s like to have to give up your family, and then devote your life to someone else. It’ll be hard for a while, but you’ll come to accept it. You’re strong, even if you don’t think so.”
Calla’s heart thumped in her chest, in awe of the heartache and compassion of his story. She could see in his eyes that he was reliving it like it was yesterday. The temptation to peek into his thoughts weighed on her, but Calla didn’t dare betray his trust. Jared amazed her. The man made of stone was gradually showing he truly had a soft side. He was staring down into her eyes, searching them for something, Calla wasn't sure what. Calla gave a weak smile, meekly joking, “Do you say that to all the girls?”
Jared’s hands cradled her face then, his thumbs gingerly brushing her tears away. “I've never told anyone that,” he admitted in a husky whisper.
Calla’s eyes widened slightly from awe. He was sharing with her things he hadn't shared with others? She could feel his pain and sorrow that surfaced because of his story. It overwhelmed her, feeling his heartache and by her own emotions of gratitude, respect and something she couldn't quite place. She found her eyes falling to his lips, her pulse racing. His thumb dropped from her eye to her cheek, stroking her warm skin.
Then, Jared slowly leaned in, pressing his soft, cool lips to hers. Her breath was taken away by it, her lips tingling from the feel of his. After the initial shock had worn off, Calla kissed him back. Their lips moved together in a slow, steady rhythm. It felt right to kiss him, as strange as it seemed. Even though his skin was chilly, his kisses were perfect. She liked the way his plush lips dominated the kiss but were gentle enough to where she could pull away if she wanted. Calla didn’t.
The sweet, innocent kisses started to shift into fiery, passionate kisses. Calla’s hands rested on the base of his neck as his dropped from her face and pressed to the small of her back. His tongue traced her bottom lip, a shiver running down her spine. Opening her mouth, Calla grazed her tongue against his. A growl sounded from the back of his throat, Jared’s grip tightening on her. In a swift motion, he pulled Calla into his lap. He pressed her pelvis down against his, his growing erection grinding against her.
Arousal jolted through Calla, her body on fire with desire. She had never had such an intense and primal attraction to anyone. Hell, romance and sex had been out of her life for years. Something in the back of her mind tried to tell her that it was because she had been waiting for Jared to come into her life. It was a fleeting thought, her senses too focused on his touch to harbor on such speculations.
Being bold, Calla began to swivel her pelvis, dragging herself along his groin. Jared’s hands tore her shirt up the back and peeled it from her body before moving her to lay flat on the bed. His large hands glided over her exposed skin, groping her breasts and rubbing her sides. His lips left hers, trailing down her neck and covering her chest. She felt his cold fingers hook underneath the center of her bra. With a single tug, the fabric ripped.
“I borrowed these clothes,” Calla giggled to him, her cheeks flushed from arousal.
His piercing blues peered up at her, a smirk on his lips, “Don’t worry. I’ll replace them.” Jared ripped her jeans, tossing the fabric to the floor before doing the same with her panties. Then, in just more than a blink of an eye, Jared stripped his clothes as well, revealing his flawless dark skin and perfectly toned muscles.
Calla’s lips caught his as soon as he moved back down to her, giving him feverish kisses. Her hands explored his broad frame and firm muscles as Jared pulled her knees apart. She bit down on his lip rather hard as he entered her. Another guttural growl sounded from Jared, one hand leaving her to grip the headboard as he thrust into her. Her legs locked around him and her hands gripped the back of his neck. Somewhere in the back of her mind Calla thought sex with a vampire would feel clinical with how cold their skin was. It was far from it. Her body craved more of his touch.
Jared cradled the back of her head, kissing her breathless as he quickened his pace. Calla’s nails dug into his skin, her moans vibrating into his mouth. His grip tightened on her, struggling to lose his ability to control his instincts. With a single roll, Jared had her on top, hugging her body tightly. Calla’s cheek rested on his shoulder as she moved her hips. Ecstasy was gradually building in her core, captivated by the pleasure his body provided.
One of Jared’s hands rested on her tailbone, helping push her pelvis into his. The other brushed her wild red hair over her shoulder. The tip of Jared’s nose rubbed against the skin of her neck, his tongue lightly grazing it. Before she understood what was happening, there was a sharp pain before it suddenly twisted into a feeling of pure pleasure. Calla could feel the suction of his lips around the wound as he drank down her blood. To muffle her moans, she bit down on his shoulder, her hands clutching the pillow underneath his head as she climaxed. Her thigh muscles quivered as he pumped into her rapidly before pulling himself out and covering his member with his hand.
The cool flesh of his tongue licked the droplets of blood coming from her neck before finally pulling his mouth away. Jared let Calla lay on top of him while she caught her breath, and then carefully removed himself from the bed to go to the restroom. Calla laid flat on the bed, tossing an arm over her eyes. She couldn’t believe that had happened.
Part 2
Jared’s cold fingertips trailed up and down Calla’s spine slowly, his lips pecking her shoulder with light kisses. He held her from behind, Calla playing with his fingers of the arm that was wrapped under her. She placed her hand flat against his, taking note of how much larger his hand was, the tips of her fingers not even going to the top knuckle of his. Calla loved seeing her skin against his rich cocoa brown complexion. He had long since forgotten he was cold to the touch, being acclimated to his body temperature.
Glancing up at him, Jared gave her
a sheepish smile. Calla craned her neck up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, which he happily returned. She searched his eyes when she pulled back from the kiss, lost in the icy seas. “How are your eyes so blue?” she asked, lifting a fingertip to trace under his eye.
He kissed the palm of her hand as she touched his face, his fingers gliding down her forearm. “As a human, I was born blind. My eyes were just cloudy and blue. Becoming a vampire fixed them somehow. Cleared up the cloudiness and left them blue.”
Calla’s jaw dropped, not having expected that to be the answer at all. “Really? That’s crazy… It must have been weird seeing the world for the first time as a grown man.”
“It definitely was. Nothing was the way I had thought it would look. Especially skin color,” Jared admitted, his eyes taking a look at her creamy skin.
Taking a moment to think about everything he had told her about his transformation, Calla did math in her head and gasped, “Were you born in America?”
Jared knew what she was hinting at, and nodded at her. “Yes, I was born a slave. Not a very useful one, considering I was blind.” Her look pleaded for more information, though she would never ask him to indulge her in his past. It was his business to share when he wanted to. Jared didn’t seem to mind, though. “I didn’t stay one for long. My mother ran away with my siblings and me. She knew her master would want me killed since I wouldn’t have been helpful in the fields. We went north, and the family was hired to another plantation, one that would let me live. My family suffered for me, though. My brothers or mother taking beatings for me when I would accidentally break something because I couldn’t see.”
Calla’s senses were attacked by strong feelings of pain, grief, and regret as he told his story. She could see the sorrow swimming in his eyes, his expression pinched by agony. He relived it like it was yesterday. “That’s why it was so hard not to go back to them. They had done so much for you,” Calla breathed, her hand still gingerly stroking his cheek.
He leaned into her touch, his eyes fluttering closed. “Yes. I found peace, though. Well, as much peace as I can get.”
“Really? How?” Calla asked.
“Back then, we hunted humans since there wasn’t a black market that we knew of. So, I hunted down the people who had hurt my family and made sure there wasn’t a drop of blood left in their veins.”
His voice was void of emotion as he explained it, a shiver running through Calla. She couldn’t begin to imagine all that he had been through. In comparison, she felt like a baby for crying about not wanting to face her family again. However, Jared clearly didn’t feel that way. He wouldn’t have tried to comfort her at all, but rather would have rolled his eyes and told her to suck it up. Even if Jared had hurt in a much more severe way, it hadn’t made him cold-hearted. Jared knew the pain she was feeling was real, and didn’t want her to be alone in dealing with it.
“You’re so strong,” Calla breathed. She was genuinely amazed he had been through all of that, and so much more, and continued to go on rather than throw in the towel and walk into the sunlight.
Jared smiled weakly at her compliment, “I know. Thank you.”
She gave him yet another kiss, unable to contain herself. He didn’t seem to mind, kissing her back without hesitation and pulling her ever closer to him. Calla found herself wondering if anything would ever come of them. Was having sex a one-time thing? Would Jared only be interested in being so close while he was forced to watch her? Calla didn’t know but tried not to let those kinds of thoughts take over her mind. Even if it was only temporary, Calla wanted to enjoy it.
Then, the door opened without warning. Jared and Calla ripped away from the kiss and glanced over to Tessa with wide eyes. Tessa gasped and then averted her eyes, looking directly up to the ceiling. “Sorry, I figured you guys were actually asleep…”
Calla made sure the blankets were pulled up around her chest as she sat up, Jared moving with her. “What did you need?” she called over to Tessa in a soft tone. It wasn’t like Calla was embarrassed to have been seen in bed with Jared, but she knew it could potentially make things complicated. They could decide they didn’t trust Jared to watch her anymore and assign some other vampire to babysit her. Not to mention, Jared might not have wanted anyone to know he was sleeping with a witch. He could get distant from her just because they were caught.
“We were hoping you could go ahead and reach out to the Firehavens. Ally called to say they were still on route and didn’t seem to be stopping. Time is of the essence…”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll call them now,” Calla assured Tessa, if not for anything other than to get her out of the room.
“Let us know as soon as you find out what they say. We need to know as quickly as possible,” Tessa said. Before closing the door, she looked to Jared, letting out a sigh, “And don’t worry. I won’t tell Kristian about… this,” she gestured to the both of them. “I’ll let you decide if you want to.”
“Thank you, Tessa,” Jared called to her.
Once the door closed, Calla put her head in her hands. “That was terrible,” she muttered.
“At least she isn’t going to run to Kristian and tattle. I’d rather tell him myself.”
Calla immediately lifted her face, looking at him with a raised brow, “You’re actually going to tell him?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, an arm wrapping around her waist.
Her eyes fell to the bedspread, shrugging, “I don’t know how you view what is going on. If it was like a one-night-stand to you, or just a fling, or…”
Jared lifted her chin, tilting her face to get her to make eye contact with him, “Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on between us. You drive me crazy with that smart mouth of yours, but not exactly in a bad way. And… I don’t know. There’s something about you I can’t shake. I want to try and figure it out, and I don’t want to have to sneak around to do it.”
Calla beamed at his words, unable to believe that he had said them. It felt like a dream. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” she admitted. “I really can’t believe you warmed up to me so fast… Just a few days ago, I was pretty convinced that you hated me.”
“As I’ve said before, I never hated you. I found you attractive and knew I was going to be around you constantly. It was just easiest to keep myself at a distance and not risk getting attached. You had to sink your claws into me, wretched witch,” Jared teased, nipping at her neck.
Calla was grinning ear to ear then, “So you kept chanting those thoughts in your head because you worried I was going to find out you think I’m attractive?” He nodded. “My, my. That’s some serious dedication, Jared. You’re sheer will-power, aren’t you?”
“Pretty much. You definitely made my will-power buckle, though,” he purred to her. Jared gave her a gentle kiss before pulling back and looking her in the eye, “You need to go ahead and make that call, Calla.”
“Way to kill the mood,” she grumbled.
“Tessa already did that for me,” Jared joked, reaching to the floor and finding his pants. When he sat back up, he handed her his cell phone. Calla’s stomach plummeted just holding it. Making that call was the last thing she wanted to do. Chilly fingertips glided down her spine, “I’ll be right here while you call,” he promised her.
Groaning, she buried her face in his shoulder. Her stomach was churning from the anxiety. Calla knew she needed to just hurry up and get it over with. The faster she called, the faster it would be over with. Sucking in a deep breath, she moved her face a bit to be able to peer down at the screen as she dialed Flora’s number. When she lifted the phone to her ear, both of Jared’s arms wrapped around her.
The phone rang, and rang. Calla found herself hoping that maybe Flora wouldn’t pick up, just so that she wouldn’t have to deal with it right at that moment. When she contemplated hanging up, the other end of the call picked up. “Hello?” her sister said.
Tears instantly filled Calla’s eyes, having the worst time trying to
get a single syllable out of her mouth. “Hey, Flora…” she whispered, trying her best to keep her emotions from showing in her voice.
“Calla?” Flora breathed. “Is that really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me…”
“Where have you been?” her sister asked. Calla could hear as her sister already started to fight back her own tears.
“It’s a long story… Deidre had asked me to go on a mission with her. She said the Calder were closing in on Theresa,” she explained, calling Tessa by the name the clan knew her by, “But Deidre was an imposter, Flora. She… She tricked all of us and landed me right in the middle of it. She was Calder, and she tried to kill Theresa…”
“Wh… what? Deidre did all that? Oh, Calla… Why didn’t you reach out to me? I’ve been trying to get you to talk to me for weeks…”
Calla nibbled her lip, “Because… Because I’m no longer apart of Firehaven.”
“What are you talking about?”
She rubbed her face against Jared’s shoulder, trying her best not to get overwhelmed by her emotions. “Theresa, who by the way goes by Tessa now, is dating a vampire. When Deidre tracked her down, she was in a house filled with them. Of course, they weren’t going to just let me go…”
“What did you do, Calla?” her sister demanded of her. Flora knew what was coming, and the fear of it strained her voice.
“I did what I had to, Flora,” Calla croaked. “It was either take an oath with Tessa, or spend God knows how long being tortured before finally being put out of my misery. I spent hours on a fucking iron table. You think I wanted to risk anything else?”
Flora was dead silent, the empty air paining Calla. Even though Tessa was the daughter of a High Priestess, she wasn’t trained to be one. Taking a blood oath with someone of Tessa’s skill level was blasphemy in the witch realm. She could never rejoin the Firehavens, or any other clan for that matter. “Is there a reason you called?” she asked calmly.