Reluctant Storm

by P. A. Warren

  “What kind of puppy is that?” I ask her, pretending to be fully engrossed in petting the puppy.

  The girl turns around, and I can tell I startled her. “Oh gosh, you scared me. I thought I was alone, and I about jumped out of my skin when I heard your voice!”

  She picks up the puppy and lifts it towards me. “This is a Yorkiepoo. It’s part Yorkie and part Poodle.”

  Nodding while feigning interest in the dog, I continue petting her. She squirms in my arms as I let her soft fur run through my fingers before setting her gently onto the ground. The need for blood is so overwhelming. Just listening to the girl’s heartbeat makes me imagine the ways I could get her blood, only I’ve never actually bitten anyone before. I have seen movies, and I imagine it can’t be that hard. I stand up and look toward the girl who stupidly has her back to me, and in a flash I’m behind her holding her head in my hands and tilting it. I can see her heartbeat through her skin. It beckons to me as I watch it race against her skin.

  “What are you doing?” the girl asks terrified.

  What am I doing? That’s a really good question. I am horrified at my actions, and yet I can’t seem to stop. Still staring at her neck, I’m fighting an inner battle with myself. The craving for blood is strong, and it’s literally right under my nose. Then there is the Claire who would never even hurt a fly, unfortunately for this girl, that Claire’s been turned into a hunter. When a breeze brushes her scent into my nose, I give up the fight and bite into her neck, allowing her blood to flow warmly into my mouth. It’s like nectar of the gods and chocolate all rolled into one. I feel my body practically humming as it continues to flood my mouth. My senses are so over stimulated that I fail to hear Riley race up behind me and pull me away from the girl until I’m lying on the grass with my mouth covered in blood.

  “What happened to you staying near the van?” he bursts out, running his hands through his hair before moving over to where the girl fell. I watch as he puts his fingers to her neck and lifts his wrist, biting into it and puts his wrist to her mouth. This makes me feel something I haven’t ever really had to deal with, jealously. Noticing the way her lips cover his wrist is almost more than I can bear. I’m struggling with my inner being not to jump up and attack her and simply snap her neck.

  This is Riley were talking about, the one keeping me prisoner. You have got to stop having these feelings for him, it’s not right, I think, having an inner fight with my hormones. I keep my eyes on Riley and watch as he wipes her neck and lays her on the grass. He stares into her eyes, telling her she was walking her dog and her dog got loose, causing her to trip and fall, and that she needs to get back in her car and drive to where ever she is going. He releases her gaze, and I watch her stand up and brush her clothes off, looking around in confusion. She gives us another quick odd look and grabs her puppy and runs to her car, slamming the door shut and peeling out of the gas station.

  I glance at the car as it quickly drives away and fail to see Riley as he walks towards me, hauling me up over his shoulder and carrying me into the van and tossing me in the back.

  “You stay here and don’t get out again until I tell you to.” He walks around the van to get in. He slams the door and jams his key into the ignition, and then he starts going off on me.

  “What the hell were you thinking, Claire? You can’t just go feeding on someone whenever you get the urge. I told you to tell me when you started craving blood. I have what you need, but no, you had to go do your own thing,” he scolded me in the same tone he used when I was in the cell.

  “I wasn’t thinking!” I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air as I move to the front seat of the van. I heard the heartbeat and craved what I knew I would find. Okay? I’m human; I make mistakes…oh wait. You made me into a vampire, so technically I’m not a human anymore, so don’t go all high and mighty on me, like you’ve never drank blood from a human before!”

  I glance toward his hands, and nervousness fills me as I see how strongly they are gripping the steering wheel; they grip it so tightly that I’m unsure as to how he hasn’t broken it in two. I’m starting to feel fearful of what he’s going to do to me once we stop. All of a sudden, he turns the wheel sharply, pulling the van onto an old dirt road that looks like it hasn’t been used in years. He slams on the breaks so hard that if I hadn’t grabbed the dashboard I’d have gone straight through the window. I feel the anger radiating from him and know the mean Riley’s back in action as he silently seethes in the driver’s seat.

  He shuts the van off and opens the door forcefully. He jumps out and slams it so hard that I jump. He walks over to my side, and before I even have time to contemplate what he’s doing, he yanks the door open and pulls me out. Pushing me against the white side of the vehicle, he slams his mouth down on mine, instantly filling me with his taste and turning my mind to mush. His hands are on both sides of my head, pressing against me and pushing me closer to the van. He lifts his head from mine, and we are both breathing heavily. He slams his fist into the van and claims my mouth again. His hands move to my waist, lifting my shirt over my head as his mouth moves to my breasts. He pulls my bra down and tugs one of my nipples into his warm mouth while he palms the other one tweaking it back and forth. Moving back up to my mouth, he presses himself against me. I feel the rock hardness of him through his jeans and pressing against my stomach. A giddy feeling moves throughout my body. I smile inwardly knowing the nice Riley is back.

  I feel my panties getting damp as his mouth continues its assault on mine. I move my hands to the front of his jeans and work the button and zipper down, pulling out his warm shaft into my waiting hands. Gripping him, I trace his length and hear him let out a sigh of relief. As he continues to kiss me and nip at my neck, I continue to mold him in my hands, playing with the wetness that’s on the tip of him. Hearing Riley groan makes me wetter knowing I’m the reason he’s making these noises.

  In a flash, he has me standing in front of him. He is taking off his shirt and pulling the rest of my clothes down in one smooth move. Kneeling down, he presses his nose against me and inhales softly. He pushes me back against the van again, which seems to be his favorite thing to do. He lifts one leg allowing it to rest on his shoulder so I am open to him. He gazes into my eyes and keeps them locked on me as I watch him place his mouth on me. I feel his tongue tasting me. He licks me over and over, and just when I don’t think I can take anymore, he slips his finger into me causing sparks to explode in front of my eyes. I would have collapsed if not for Riley holding me against the van. He lets me go once he’s sure I can stand.

  I drop down in front of him and pull his pants off, placing my hands on his erection again. I can’t seem to help myself. I look at it and eagerly place my right hand at the base and circle the crown with my tongue, tasting the salty liquid on the top. Hungrily, I take him fully in my mouth and feel him pushing further into me, grabbing my hair as he does. Letting my tongue flick the head, the salty sweet taste invades my mouth. I lick the liquid that beads on the tip before circling the head and take him in deeper letting him almost hit the back of my throat. As I really start to get into having him fully in my mouth, he pulls away from me.

  “I don’t want to come in your mouth; I want inside of you. Now,” he says in that commanding tone of his. The way he says it sends shivers down my body as he turns me so my back is to him.

  He pushes himself in, giving me only seconds to adjust before he is slamming into me again. It feels euphoric each time he does it, and I feel myself clenching around him, trying to keep him inside me.

  Leaning his head down, he tilts my neck, licking the base of it. He grabs my breast, twisting my nipple as he bites down, drawing blood that he greedily inhales. Seconds later, he licks my puncture wounds and has us switch positions with him against the van and I am now riding him. I tilt his head to the side and glance at the blood running down his mouth. I lean over and lick the blood off. My instincts go into overdrive and take over, causing me to sink my teeth into hi
s neck. This pushes me over the edge as he continues to slam into me until I feel myself at the hilt of another orgasm. Still enjoying the sweet taste of his blood, he reaches down for my wrist and pulls it to his mouth, biting down hard as he starts pushing madly against me. His own orgasm goes off inside of me. Panting hotly in my ear, he drops my wrist and leans his head against mine.

  Once my legs feel like they’ve stopped shaking, I push away from him and he lets me go, pulling out of me. He’s still breathing heavily as he zips up his pants before bending over and grabbing his shirt off the ground. He opens the door to the van pulling out a towel and kneels down cleaning me up. I shift away in embarrassment.

  “Claire, there is no part of you I haven’t seen. Don’t be embarrassed.”

  I tug on my panties while looking around for my pants and see Riley there holding them for me. Taking them from him, I slide them on and pull up my bra. I search frantically for my shirt and see it on a bush and quickly grab it and hop into the van.

  Noting I’m dressed, Riley looks at me chagrined from the driver’s seat. “I couldn’t help it, Claire. Something about you being angry at me really messed with my head. I couldn’t seem to clear my thoughts of you being naked and fucking.”

  “Does this mean I’m forgiven for the incident?” I ask him, fixing my hair in the mirror.

  “No, but it means I’m not mad any longer. If you need blood you tell me and I will find you some, okay?”

  “Couldn’t we just feed off each other?”

  “That would be nice, wouldn’t it? We do feed from each other, but you still need human blood to get your strength. “

  “Oh, okay.”

  Pulling out his phone, he calls the number he’s been trying to get a hold of all day while we’ve been driving. He puts the van in motion and we head down the road. The clearing opens up to a huge log cabin where an expensive black car sits.

  Chapter 23

  Jason

  Mikail’s phone rings for about the tenth time while he’s out hunting for dinner. He’s always attached to it, so I’m not sure how he forgot it. We’ve already used our donor blood, so now we have to eat off the land. Not that I mind, fresh blood is better than donated blood. Staring off into space, thinking about blood, my daydreaming is cut short by an insignificant gnat that won’t leave me alone.

  “How can you not have Wi-Fi up here? Seriously? This place is so ghetto,” Anya groans, flipping back onto the couch.

  I arch my eyebrow at her antics. God, if I could somehow get rid of this girl I would in a hot second. There is no possible way she is related to Claire, no way. Anya is the word annoying wrapped up in a small five foot package. She reacted better to her father’s death than I thought she would. Apparently, she was just biding her time, playing the dutiful daughter, until she could get away from him. Glancing outside, I watch as a white van pulls up next to our car. I run over to Anya, putting myself in front of her, instantly on high alert.

  “Be quiet and stay here while I go see who it is,” I order, not paying attention to her and keeping my eyes on the approaching van. Unsure of who’s in it, I grab a gun that Mikail left on the table and walk out the front door, careful not to draw any unnecessary attention to myself.

  I move toward the porch stairs and see two figures getting out of the van. I stop short, when I notice the guy getting out of the van is my brother Riley. Closing my eyes, I re-open them and confirm that yes, he is in fact here. I study him as he walks around to the other side of the van. I feel no familial loyalty towards him or our father. I haven’t seen him in years and really don’t know how he will react to seeing me. The last time we saw each other we were at each other’s throats, literally. Riley was becoming my father’s clone, and I tried to get him to see that, but he was blind to it. I continue observing silently from the porch with the cold weight of the gun hanging from my hand as he leads someone from behind the van. My eyes almost pop out of my head when I register who is with him. He has Claire, and he has his arm around her shoulders. They are both looking disheveled. Riley never lets himself get disheveled. Ever.

  They stop at the stairs, and Claire stares at me with her mouth wide open.

  “Jason!” she says hugging me. Pulling back, she looks at me and hugs me again. I’m not sure why she is so excited to see me as I awkwardly hug her back, setting her back on her feet, but it doesn’t matter to me, she’s here and alive. Something is different about her. I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s changed. Staring at Riley, I look to see any type of reaction and all I see is an emotionless face.

  “What are you doing here?” Riley asks, looking at me.

  “Good to see you to, Riley. It’s been a while.” Holding out my hand not expecting him to take it, and he proves me right and doesn’t.

  Glancing around at the surroundings, he tilts his head toward the house. “Is Mikail in there?”

  “What do you want Mikail for?”

  “I have business with him, not that it’s any of your business.” He looks over at Claire and smiles the barest of smiles.

  I stare at Claire and can’t get over the changes that have taken place. Still pondering about what’s different, it finally clicks, she has no heartbeat. She’s full vampire and has completed the change. Which means she’s bonded with someone, but who? I zero in on Riley, who’s making a phone call. I suddenly put two and two together. That can only mean one thing; she’s been bonded to someone, and I have a feeling Riley had something to do with it.

  “What the fuck happened to her when she was captured?” I yell in Riley’s face. “Did you hurt her? Because if you did I will freaking hurt you,” I yell getting up in his face. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” I growl at him. It’s taking everything in me not to punch him in the face. “You let her bond to someone so she would become a vampire, didn’t you?”

  “Back off little brother.”

  Claire steps between us, putting her hand on my heaving chest. “Jason, the bond happened completely by accident. If there is anyone to blame, then blame your father. If it wasn’t for Riley I’d still be in there dealing with who knows what,” she says quietly, shaking her head and unable to look at me. “It wasn’t a good place to be, and you should know that first hand, Jason.”

  Once again I’ve jumped to conclusions and made an ass out of myself.

  Behind Claire, I hear my brother murmur “asshole” under his breath, and suddenly I’m transported back to the night before I left and our fight that we never got to finish. Not even thinking, I push Claire out of the way and punch Riley in the face. His head knocks back. He glares up at me and wipes his mouth as blood is trickling out. “What the hell was that for?”

  “We never finished our last fight, and that was me finishing it.”

  Before I can even contemplate what’s happened, he picks me up and throws me across the yard. I land on my back and lay there and lift my middle finger in the air towards him.

  “Are we done brother?” he asks, walking towards me. “Or do I need to actually kick your ass? That lick you got in was your one free hit. Don’t ever touch Claire again, or so help me God I will kill you and make what father does look like child’s play,” he hisses emotion playing all over his face.

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get like that before, and then it dawns on me. He’s bonded to Claire.

  Chapter 24

  Riley

  Staring at my brother is a surreal experience. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again, and yet here he is with Mikail, who is nowhere to be found. Blinking, I hold my eye where he hit me and stand there staring at him. I can tell he isn’t the same person as when he lived at home. He has a fighter’s physique that he never used to have. I shake my head at my brother. What the hell are him and Mikail doing together, and how did this come about? I don’t like being left out, bad things happen when I’m out of the loop.

  Why didn’t he mention this to me on the phone? The last person I want to see is Jason. That asshole
abandoned me without a second thought, and I find out it’s to go work for frigging Antony. Walking back to where he is lying and with his middle finger in the air, I stand over him, looking down at him.

  “What the fuck are you doing here working with Mikail?” I ask him point blank as I look down at him. He refuses to look at me, so I put my foot on his chest. “What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” I repeat through clenched teeth.

  “Get the hell off me,” he says, knocking me off him and to the ground.

  We lie next to each other, not talking and staring up at the sky. This is how Mikail finds us. He drops two cooler containers and lays down next to us and whispers, “What exactly are we doing on the ground?”

  “Bonding the Dumont way,” I murmur looking at Mikail.

  “Oh, this is strange.” He chuckles as he crosses his arms behind his head.

  “What, I would like to know, Mikail, is why you never told me, in all the times we talked, that you were working with my brother.”

  “You know I work with lots of people, it’s why I contract out.”

  “Working for Antony though? Seriously?”

  “Worked for him, and your dad.”

  “What do you mean worked with him?”

  Mikail raises his eyebrows haughtily at me. “That’s right, you don’t know…I killed Antony, the King.

  “Bull! He never mentioned that.”

  “There’s a lot Griffin doesn’t tell you that you have absolutely no clue about,” Mikail says standing up and walking towards the containers I assume hold blood. Opening the red container, he pulls out several bags of blood and throws them at us.

  Sitting up, Jason pipes in, “Yep, he’s working for everyone nowadays at the same time apparently.”

  I’d forgotten Jason was even there with my mind so focused on Mikail. Grabbing one of the coolers, I flip the lid open and without a second thought grab a bag of blood. Tearing the top of the bag off, I end up draining the bag dry within seconds and grab a second bag. No one says a word as we drink our fill of blood. Jason breaks the silence as he watches me drinking the bagged blood.