“…so I recommend a game.” He turns to look at me, a smile on his face, but it’s empty of happiness and full to the brim of hate. “How about we have a little wager?” He raises an eyebrow at me. My voice is stuck in my throat. It’s pulsing and burning for release, but I can’t speak. If I do, I don’t think that I will control myself.
“A wager with something important, not money… I have plenty of that. How about with her life?”
My arms fall to my sides, my hands balling into fists.
“Careful now, boy.” He looks to the freak next to me. She’s smiling intently and licking her lips and I flinch away from her.
“Yes, a wager with both your lives. If she chooses me, then I get to kill you, painfully, and she becomes one of us,” he laughs dryly. “If she chooses you, I’ll let you both live.” His laugh stops abruptly. “Let’s be honest with one another, it’s not like you have a choice.”
I swallow repeatedly as bile rises up from my throat. I can’t catch my breath. I’m dizzy and hot, and panic rips through me. I bend at the knees and try to slow my breathing down. This can’t be happening.
I look up at the freak. Her mouth is open in a wide grin, two sharp teeth hanging down. I retch again loudly. Footsteps come towards me and I stand upright, meeting Mr Breckt’s stare.
“What do you say then? Is it a deal?”
What do I say? What can I say? I have to protect her.
“What if I just say no?” My voice doesn’t sound like my own. It’s hollow, tinny almost, echoing in my head. “What if I just say I’ll go to the police and get your arse thrown in jail?”
The arrogant bastard tips the drink into the back of his mouth, and throws the glass to the floor. “I’ll just kill you both for fun.” His words are far too threatening not to believe.
But if I do believe him then that makes the freak next to me…
“You’re vampires?”
“It does not matter what we are, Oliver. It only matters what you decide to do. Stay away from Mia and let me win her heart and she lives, but you die. If she chooses you over me, you both live. It’s simple enough to understand.”
“But she will be dead…if she’s one of you.”
He waves his hand in the air. “A technicality, boy. She will still live, just forever instead of growing old.”
“But…” What can I say to that? This has to be a nightmare I’m going to wake up any minute.
He walks back to his desk and takes a seat again, casually looking through some papers as if he hasn’t just asked me to give up the most important person in my life. As if vampires don’t exist. I look at her again…but they do.
“What you have to consider, Oliver, is do you love her enough to give her up.” He continues to flip through the papers on his desk, and without looking up, adds, “I’ll give you the weekend to say your goodbyes, but remember, come Monday morning,”
A blur, and a stir of the air, and a hand is around my throat. I close my eyes in confusion, opening them up to see the greens of his.
“And she is mine, boy!” Two sharp, bright white fangs shoot down from his mouth, and I nod weakly.
There is no choice. I’ve lost her.
Fifteen
Mia
Day three…dun dun duuuuu…So, he’s been gone for a few days. What’s the big deal? Why am I stressing so much? It’s just work.
Then why do I have this ominous and foreboding feeling?
He’s fine. It’s fine, we’re fine. I repeat this mantra over and over again as I drive home, the tears blurring my vision, and I continuously wipe at them. So what if he hasn’t phoned me? He only said he would try.
I look ahead to the dark road stretched out in front of me like the long black tail of a cat. It curls around a bend far up ahead as the trees bear down on me from either side. I hate driving home through the forest when the days grow shorter. You never get a signal on your phone, and the roads are long and dark. The smallest slit of a moon shines overhead, casting an eerie glow on the unlit road. I turn my headlights up to full beam, clearing the path of darkness from my way.
I wonder where Oliver is now, what he’s doing, and again I question his motives for leaving. Tears begin to roll down my cheeks. I’ve had to take this heartache all on my own since Rachael has been no help to me. She’s so wrapped up in Chris, all the other people in her life seem to be nonexistent. They are constantly together, cuddling on the sofa, cooking in the kitchen. He barely leaves the apartment from what I can tell. Even when Rachael goes to work, he stays behind. It dawns on me that I haven’t seen him at work yet, but then my head hasn’t been with it for a couple of days now.
My Toyota shudders under my hands and I look down to the petrol line, puzzled; I have more than half a tank left. It shudders again and I check my mirrors and groan as I realise there is no one else out here but me.
The engine splutters once more as the car lurches forward, giving yet another shudder. I stare at the dashboard hoping that all the dials and lights will give me some clue as to what is happening, or at least what to do, but my knowledge of car repairs adds up to zero. I speed up, hoping to get into town before the car quits on me completely, but the car stutters in response to my eagerness and cuts out. I curse under my breath and cruise silently to side of the road.
I hit the steering wheel in temper, tears still trailing down my cheeks. All I want to do is go home and curl up in bed. Instead, I’m stuck on this stupid road, in the middle of nowhere. I shove my things into my bag and climb out, slamming the door behind me in temper and frustration.
I look around; the night seems darker now I am out in it. Despite being alone, it’s noisy: the wind in the trees, the call of an owl. I shudder and walk round to the boot of the car, my footsteps seeming out of place in the night. I fumble around for the torch I know is in here—somewhere. Oliver made me put it in here a while back.
I find it and try the switch, but it flicks uselessly back and forth under my thumb. I huff and slam the boot shut and lean against it, weighing up my options. I could walk, but it’s a couple of miles and these woods are rife with wolves and god knows what else.
The breeze stirs in the trees above me, and I look up to watch the leaves rustling around. My skirt shimmies around my legs and I sigh out my frustrations and look back towards the road.
A car pulls around a bend, its headlights growing brighter as the gap between us closes. My heart leaps at the thought of getting a lift into town and ringing for a tow truck.
A black car pulls up behind mine and I groan when the recognition hits me. The car looks expensive and sleek. There’s only one person I know that could afford such a luxury: Mr Breckt.
His headlights shine across my face, and I lift a hand to shield my eyes. He makes no move to get out, and I wonder if he is going to drive off. Perhaps that would be better. I must look a mess right now. I mentally kick myself for being concerned what I look like. It’s happening again; I can feel him under my skin already and he’s not even out of the car yet. The engine continues to purr seductively at me and my stomach does a little flip.
I push away from the boot of my car and step out from the glare of his lights just as the driver’s door opens and Mr Breckt steps out, pushing his hair from his forehead. I groan, and a shadow spreads across his handsome face. He peers at me through his long lashes and grins.
“Having car problems or are you just enjoying the view?” he chuckles, moving towards me with a confidence.
“Ha ha,” I sound the words out sarcastically and glower at my car. “It’s this stupid thing.” I kick the tyre.
“Well, I can give you a lift to wherever you want to go, if you’d like.”
I look at his car and then at him. He’s dressed in loose fitting jeans and a long-sleeved white top instead of his usual sharp suit and tie. He’s watching me, waiting for me to make my mind up. I want to get in his car, I know I do, but I think of Oliver and know he would hate me for going with Mr Breckt.
I
reluctantly shake my head, knowing it is the right thing to do.
“No, thank you. I, erm, I’m just going to walk into town. Thank you anyway.” I smile.
He frowns and looks down at me. “No?” he asks, looking puzzled and unsure of himself for a second.
I blush and look away. He must know why I won’t go with him. “No, thank you.”
He is abruptly in front of me, my breath catching in my throat at the suddenness of his movements. Nervous, I shift from foot to foot and take a step back, bumping into the side of my car. He closes the gap between us once more, and looks into my eyes. He’s close—too close, I realise, too late.
“Would you like to come in my car, Mia?” his words are like silk. They pour from his mouth, snaking over my body.
Heat creeps through me and my stomach does a somersault. Here is a guy who as a rule I can’t stand to be around, but for some reason my body hasn’t received that memo and is now raging. Begging for his touch.
Breathe, Mia. “Umm, no, it’s fine. I can walk, it’s not far.” I say the words but the force isn’t behind them. My heart is galloping at a hundred miles an hour in my chest and my skin screams for him to touch me.
I grope blindly behind me, finding only the cool metal of my car for support. I need to get away from him, and now. I knew that this moment would come sooner or later. My body has been waiting for it since I first met him, but I know that it is make-or-break time with me and Oliver. This is make-or-break time. I am about to destroy everything I hold dear, and forever, if I do this.
“It is not a problem, Mia; I’m going that way anyway.” He gives me his crooked smile and moves closer still, his sweet breath washing over my face. A haze is looming in my peripheral vision, and I take deep breaths to clear my head. The action has the opposite effect and seems to pull the haze further in around me, making my body tingle all over.
I laugh nervously. “You don’t even know where I’m going.” His gaze holds me in place; his eyes are so beautiful, so green and vivid. My thoughts begin to mush together, confusing me more. I see green eyes, then brown eyes. Oliver, then him.
“Where are you going?” he asks, although it seems more of a statement than a question. His body is practically pressed against mine now, making my thoughts swim at his proximity. I groan when he reaches out to brush the hair back from my shoulders, sending cool shivers down my spine and raising goose bumps on my arms.
“I’m err . . .” I laugh. “I don’t know.” I feel so confused. I want to go, need to go. I need him to move, but the words won’t process for me to say them out loud. Heat pours across my chest where he lays his hands on each of my shoulders. My eyes blur and I blink furiously against it.
He leans his face closer; his lips kissing my neck, his tongue licking on the soft lobe of my ear. I murmur something even I don’t understand, trying to regain some control of myself. A thick cloud is enveloping me and I can’t hear anything but the rush of my own blood in my ears and my heart beating.
He looks up from my neck, looking into my eyes again and I am lost.
There is nothing.
Just this road, this car, these trees, and us. I can’t concentrate on anything. I am completely blinded by his stare. I relinquish control of myself, the pressure of fighting it all too much. Clouds cover me, blocking everything out. He whispers things to me that are gone the second he has spoken them, stolen into the wind, poisoned words to silence my protests as my mind fights against him. My breasts heave whilst I try to steady my breathing, and yet I remain breathless.
He grabs my thigh and lifts it up to his waist, the hem of my dress sliding away. He strokes the outside of it, gripping it hard, his nails digging into my soft flesh. I cry out in feeble protest and hear a rumble from his chest. It grows louder as my own breaths come in quick succession until I am practically panting.
He continues to stare deep into my eyes. His presence and the dark night sky press down upon me. A groan escapes me when he crushes his body against me, his cool, hard chest pressed against my own heated body. He finally releases me from his stare and my head lolls back on my shoulders and looks up to the trees.
I watch the rustling branches and the heavy moon, which peeps through the leaves and glints at me. The clouds that surround me are pushing down all my thoughts; I can barely swallow, feeling as though my mouth is full of cotton candy. His face is busy against my neck, licking and biting, one hand still holding my thigh up to his waist, the other cupping my breast and squeezing it roughly as our bodies twine together. I hear another rumble as I watch the trees above and then a swoosh of tyres and a horn blare as a car speeds past. The occupants shout out hoots and cheers as they pass.
The fog in my head lifts and I catch my breath. Like a cold glass of water after brushing your teeth, it stings when it goes down. I suck in another deep lungful of air and then another, each one clearing my head more and more until I am choking on them, thoughts of Oliver coming back to me and dragging me to the present.
Mr Breckt pushes harder against me and I think I hear him growl.
“I . . . I . . .” My words stumble out of my mouth, but the force of his body on mine is overwhelming. He grips my face in his hands and attempts to catch my gaze, pressing his forehead to mine, his eyes boring into me until I close my lids and block him out. His warm breath fills my nose, the smell overpowering and sickly, making me gag. His hand moves from my thigh and tries to pull my underwear to one side. His cool fingers brush against me, and I shudder against the wanted intrusion. My ears are ringing as if an electric current is running through them.
His hands grip me by the shoulders and shake me. “Mia, open your eyes. Look at me.” His voice is angry, and I’m frightened. I don’t want to open my eyes. I don’t want to see his face.
My eyes roll in my head whilst I gather my thoughts. Questions flash ahead of me and I steady myself and open my eyes, coming face to face with his beautiful green eyes once more. He smiles, his teeth flashing purposefully, and then he snaps at me, a hunger in his eyes I can’t seem to comprehend. I shudder and push against him weakly, fear running wicked currents through me. He laughs quietly when I take in another lungful of air, and all I taste is him.
I tear my eyes from his, the power burning through them so much that I let out a sharp squeal of pain. He pushes his mouth to mine, trying to force his tongue inside, but I push back against him, snatching my leg from his grip.
Mr Breckt snarls at me fiercely and rips the front of my dress in a movement so quick that I don’t see, but feel and terror grips me. I submit to him when he lifts my leg again, rubbing his soft palm up my leg and moving my dress out of the way. My heart continues to thunder, galloping ahead of me as a hot tear slides down my cheek. He smiles, wiping it away with his thumb.
“My Mia,” he says huskily in my ear.
He nuzzles into me, his hands rough on my skin, my body moulding to his touch. The car behind me feels like fire on my back, burning the rest of my dress away from me, scorching into my skin, until I am his. My body reacts to him, wanting him to touch me, to make me his. Sweat trickles down my brow as I try and fight against whatever is happening. Just when I think I might faint with the confliction within me, I hear another rumble in the distance. My head makes the connection of another car coming closer.
His hands paw at me, pushing my dress up around my waist. My chest heaves when he lifts my body up to meet his, the car rounding the bend at the same time. I think he knows what is going to happen before it does.
He knows that he has lost me.
He rumbles a long, deep growl in sexual protest before I have even tried to move away from him. The car pulls around the bend and slows, the people inside looking out of their windows, gawping at us with big smiles on their faces. Then their smiles fade and vanish as I look to them pleadingly.
The haze in my eyes instantly clears. The fog holding me in place releases me. I shudder and clutch my arms about myself and fall to the ground with a thud. The girl in the
passenger side of the car jumps out and hurries over to me.
“Hey, you okay?”
I curl into a foetal position on the ground, cutting my knees on the rough asphalt as I sob relentlessly. Her arms circle me, trying to pull me to my feet. “Hey, hey, calm down. Oh God, don’t cry, it’s okay. How long have you been out here?”
Another door opens and footsteps run towards me. I flinch when another set of hands touch me, finally dragging me to my feet. My sobs stop and I look into the girl’s concerned face.
“You okay now?” Her brow furrows in the middle and she exchanges a worried look with her friend. “Come on, come and sit down.”
They pull me to their car and I sit on the back seat with the door open, my breaths coming in short spasms until I calm down enough for them to slow to a steady pace. I clutch my torn dress around myself and look up at them, and then my eyes fall to my car.
My car—just mine.
There is no other car there. There is no one else. No Mr Breckt. I groan and clutch my stomach, leaning over, I heave on to the floor.
Sixteen
Mr Breckt
Watching from the trees, I am invisible to them, my car hidden under an illusion in their minds. My stomach burns with my animal instinct to feed. Her blood had been so close to my lips that the frenzy had started within me, like fire ants under my skin—moving, burning, biting, desperate for her blood.
I had been so close. Hell, she had been so close. I could sense that she was ready to give in to me, to let me take her. Oh, how I would have taken her! So many ways…
A growl emanates from deep within me as I consider the ways in which I would have tasted her. I want her so much. It is a desperate and constant hunger that claws away at my insides, shredding away my dignity. My need for her is all-consuming.
I need to feel her giving herself to me, both body and mind. I need to know that she is thinking of me and me alone when I take her, when I devour her body. I crave the feel of her soft, plump breasts pushed up against my hard chest, her soft skin warm against mine.
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