I took a step inside. Rayce was right behind me. I turned and I could see that Shy was right behind him, bearing her teeth.
“The kitchen is that way,” I whispered and Shy moved forward. I was still burning with fever and the house had a thick scent of cinnamon and butterscotch. It was too sweet but it wasn’t unbearable. Rayce put his hand on my shoulder and I looked back at him. He leaned in and whispered into my ear, “They are close, be careful.”
The sound of his voice and his breath on my ear gave me a shiver of fear and pleasure. I wiped the sweat from my forehead. The fever was burning and I wanted to barf. I tried to clear my head. Fear crawled up my spine. I have always been afraid, but nothing like I was now. Something awful was going to happen.
“I have to get out of here,” I expressed to Rayce.
“Are you alright?”
“I don’t feel well,” I said and wiped my forehead again.
“Go outside and get some air,” he said.
I took a few steps back and kept going. My feet made their way onto the porch. The cool night air chilled the sweat on my forehead. Before I knew what happened, Mrs. Scott jumped out at me and was coming for my throat. I didn’t see where she came from but she was on me.
I fell to the ground and we rolled. She was snapping at my face with her fangs extended. She didn’t have any teeth, two fangs and gums. She wasn’t as strong as a younger vampire. Her frail arms tried to hold me but they couldn’t. I still had my gun in my hand. I aimed it right at her temple and fired. Her blood splattered on my face and I could taste it in my mouth.
Surprisingly, I didn’t gag. It didn’t taste like normal blood. Normal blood tastes salty and hot with a metallic lingering scent. This blood tasted good. It was sweet and delicious and in a disgusting way, I wanted more of it. It was like melted butterscotch, it was wonderful.
I pushed her off me and I got up on my knees. I looked down at her and I could see where the blood had come from. The bullet I had fired into her head had exited her neck and the blood was flowing out of her, hitting the dirty ground. It seemed so wasteful.
Something happened to me at that moment and I couldn’t control it. I bent down to her still moving body and wrapped my lips around the seeping hole and started to drink from her. I couldn’t stop. I could feel a heat building inside my body. It wasn’t the heat from the fever. It was a pleasurable heat.
She tried to move away from me, so I pinned her body down with my hands. I also let my sharp teeth sink into her flesh and kept drinking the sweet nectar.
Hands grabbed my arms and they were pulling me, but I fought hard against them. I didn’t want to stop. Then I heard Rayce’s voice in the back of my mind. “Babe, what are you doing? Stop now,” he demanded.
His voice sounded distant like he was calling me from a long dark tunnel. His arms wrapped around me. He was pulling me away from the dying vampire that lie in front of me.
I knew what I was doing but I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to stop but then again, I didn’t. Rayce used all his strength and pulled his hardest, jerking me away from my kill. It was my kill and I wasn’t going to give it up easily. I turned to him, pushed him hard in the chest and showed him my teeth. I could feel the rage on my face but I couldn’t control it. He stood in front of me with his hands up in front of him. My head cleared when I realized what I was doing and what had happened, I covered my mouth in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It will be okay, babe. No harm done but, I think we should leave,” he said. I shook my head no and turned toward the house with my gun ready in my hand. I knew I was on a mission to find myself another vampire to drain. I wanted to stop but my instincts took over and I found my feet moving. Rayce grabbed me again, I turned to him. “Babe, we took care of them all while you were…feeding.”
I was shocked and looked down at Mrs. Scott and her lifeless vampire body lying on the dirt ground. It couldn’t have possibly taken that long for me to drink her. I was disgusted in myself and what I had done. I turned for the work truck I had arrived in, climbed in and closed the door behind me. I closed my eyes in the quiet cab and took a deep breath. I could still smell the sweet blood. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. I was covered in dark red. The knees of my jeans were filthy from the blood-soaked dirt I was kneeling down in.
I felt awful for what I had done but I also felt wonderful, my body felt strong. I rubbed my hand down my arm and my skin felt as soft as silk and warm.
There was a knock on the driver side window. It was Marie. I unlocked the door for her and she climbed in. I hated the feeling of her eyes on me but I knew she was as shocked as I was. I could hear her breathing and I could also feel the heat coming off her body.
“Jessica, what happened?”
I licked the remaining blood from my lips, “I’m not too sure what happened. Something inside me took over. I couldn’t control it.”
She looked at me with her mouth hanging open. I felt ashamed for what I had done and the way my friend was looking at me. I wished I could understand what had happened and why it happened to me. All I knew was that I wanted more and I didn’t have to stop. I looked up and out of the windshield and I could see the fire was already started in the home. Jay took the body of Mrs. Scott, aka my vampire snack, and he was carrying her to the already burning farm house.
“Marie, please take me home?”
She started the truck and turned us around and headed toward Devils Bend. I didn’t care about anyone else. I wanted to find out why this had happened to me. My mind was buzzing with questions that didn’t have any answers. Bless her, Marie didn’t say a word as she drove me home.
My house was dark, but I could see everything, like a cat in the night. I felt no need to switch on the light. My friend didn’t follow me in and that was a good thing. I needed to be alone so I could think. I heard her start the truck and back away.
I walked up the stairs and entered my bathroom. I turned on the light and my reflection in my bathroom mirror showed a woman whose throat had been slashed. At least, that’s how I looked. I was covered in vampire blood. It was starting to dry and crust to my skin. I opened my mouth and my teeth had blood in between them. I had dried blood on my chin and some on my cheeks. I turned on the water to the shower and jumped in before it was warm enough for my liking. I had to get the blood off my body. A lot of thoughts raced through my head while I washed myself.
When I looked at my reflection again, I was shocked at the goddess staring back at me. Her hair was thick and her lashes were curled up in a perfect way. Her buttermilk skin seemed to glow, her lips plump and red, and her teeth were whiter than ever.
I didn’t recognize myself. I wasn’t the same person I was before. I was a goddess. I finally saw myself as beautiful when before, I was ordinary. The blood I had consumed made me beautiful. It made me more.
I was sitting in the middle of my bed in only my panties in the dark. I heard Rayce enter the house. I was waiting for him. Every step he took was audible to my ears. He walked in the room with caution. When he turned the light on, my eyes adjusted to it, it felt so weird. I could see clearly in either setting. It was a little scary being high on vampire blood.
“Jessica, are you okay?” he asked. His voice pulled me out of my funk and I focused on him. His body looked delicious.
“I would be better with your cock inside me,” I purred as I stroked my thigh. My body was on edge, waiting for him. I watched as his cock grew beneath his jeans. “Get over here.”
He literally strolled over to me and looked hot as hell doing it. His jeans were fighting against the tight fit. I licked my lips and grabbed him quickly. He fell down to the bed. I straddled him and kissed his delicious mouth. He tried to take over but I wouldn’t allow it. I pinned him down and ravaged his mouth and thrust my pussy against the bulge in his jeans. A low rumble sounded deep in his chest.
I kissed and licked my way down to his neck and grazed my teeth against his skin.
He hissed in pleasure when I did this and grabbed me by my ass to flip me over. I was quickly on my back and while he kissed me, he thrust hard against my middle.
He moved down with his whip of a tongue, pushed my breasts together and suck both of my nipples into his mouth. I gasped at the sensation. I grew even wetter. My body ached for him.
“Fuck me, Rayce,” I begged.
He sat up and ripped my soaked panties from my body. He unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants quickly. With one quick thrust, he invaded me and my body came alive all over again. Every touch, every shift, every breath was like riding a wave. My body pulsed and my mind was floating. Every hair on my body tingled as he thrust again and again.
I grabbed him and pulled him down to my mouth. I tasted him and moved back to his neck. I gripped his hair and nipped at his neck. This seemed to drive him wild as his thrusts grew even more frantic. My body was immobile as he drove me into the bed. All I could do was release pleasurable moans into the air.
“Yes!” I moaned. Don’t stop!”
He was growling deeply as his climax grew inside him. He was absolutely wild and I couldn’t get enough. He took total control over my body and had me in positions I had never even thought of.
Hours later he was pushing my hair behind my ear, looking at me in a peculiar way. I knew he wanted to ask me what had happened but he never did. I couldn’t even explain what had happened to me.
My mind was in such shambles. I couldn’t think straight. I smiled at him, turned over, and went to sleep in hopes I would be back to normal by morning.
CHAPTER
19
The heat from the sun was almost blinding. I covered my face with the blanket and tried to go back to sleep. A wave of nausea hit me and I ran for the bathroom. I got down on my knees and threw up in the toilet. The bowl was full of blood by the time I was finished. After flushing it down the toilet, I brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror expecting me to look like hammered shit but no, I looked amazing. My hair still had the thickness and shine. My teeth looked whiter and sharper.
I took a step back and looked at myself more closely in the mirror. Not only did I look different, but I stood differently, and my eyes seemed to change but stayed the same. I looked like a hunter, a predator. I scared myself and I wasn’t sure how other people would react to the change in appearance.
As I peeked out of the bathroom door, I saw Rayce sleeping. I made my way out quietly, making sure not to make too much noise and headed for the door. I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. I made my coffee robotically. My mind was running a hundred miles a minute with questions of how and why this happened, or what it even was for that matter.
I looked down at the brown liquid in my cup. Not all of the cream had mixed in as little chunks of the powder were floating at the surface. I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip. A little piece of cream hit my lip and a wave of nausea washed over me, I ran for the sink. I vomited so violently, I couldn’t breathe and my back cramped. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath, but all I saw was Mrs. Scott and the delicious blood pouring out of her. I wanted more and my stomach growled at the thought of the wonderful liquid going down my throat.
I heard movement upstairs. Rayce was awake and would be down soon. I washed my mouth and the sink clean. The thought of pouring another cup made my stomach turn. I poured the whole pot down the sink and washed the decanter out. I also cleaned out the filter basket and I felt much better once I had gotten rid of it all. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Good morning, babe. Did you sleep well?” The tone of his voice told me he was still concerned. All I could do was nod but I didn’t look up at him. I was afraid of what I might see. I felt enough like a freak and didn’t need to see it on someone else’s face. He walked over to me and placed his hand on the back of my neck, smoothing down my hair and kissed me on the top of my head.
“No coffee?” he asked. His voice held surprise and I could understand why. I haven’t gone without a pot of coffee since I was sixteen.
“I’m sorry, hun. It tasted funny so I poured it out. I wasn’t thinking,” I said embarrassed. I shouldn’t have dumped it out. I knew Rayce liked coffee in the morning.
“Well, that’s alright. I will get some from the convenience store on my way to the office. I plan on talking to Jay about what has happened to you,” he came over and sat down across from me. “How are you feeling?”
I shrugged my shoulders. He wanted more of an answer from me but I couldn’t muster up a logical one. I didn’t want to worry him about me getting sick.
“Talk to me,” he said softly. His eyebrows went up in question.
“I’m fine, really.” He watched my face for a second until I began to become uncomfortable by his stare. I bit my bottom lip and sighed.
“Ok, I’m going to head up to the office. Will you be okay…alone?”
“I’ll lock the doors and keep my gun out. I’ll be fine,” I assured him. He was still nervous about leaving me with Gage out there somewhere.
“You can always come with me,” he said.
“Maybe I’ll show up later,” I smiled.
When he left the house, I headed upstairs and found myself in the bathroom looking at my gorgeous reflection in the mirror. I was still in awe over the fact of how good I looked. I didn’t have bags under my eyes anymore and my skin literally gleamed.
I turned from my new self in the mirror and entered my closet to get some clothes on. I needed to get the things on my list and plus I desperately needed to get out of the house. I hoped my truck would make it the eleven miles to the store. I felt a little sick but it was bearable.
Downstairs, I picked up my list of needs I had made after Rayce left. I sighed as I looked down at the food products. I didn’t want to get any of it. Nothing but the thought of blood made me hungry.
I climbed into my old beat up truck and started the engine. I expected it to groan to life but it purred like a kitten. I turned off the key and wondered what was wrong with it. It had always been loud and annoying. I turned the key again and it started right up but it was quiet as if it were a brand-new truck.
The memory of Gage walking into my room, wiping his hands on a mechanics rag with his jeans covered in grease popped into my head. He had fixed my truck.
The trip to the store wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped, I wanted to find something I couldn’t live without but it didn’t happen that way. I did look for some new shoes and hit up the clothes rack. I bit down on my lip and reluctantly headed back to the house. I drove passed the office on the way and I could see that Rayce was there. I quickly turned around. I pulled into the parking lot of the office and turned off my truck.
As I sat in front of the office, I couldn’t help but wonder if everyone could be inside talking about what a freak I was. I finally stepped down out of my truck. As I walked into the office, the scent of what the building used to be hit me. My stomach flipped to the scent of old oily engines.
I quickly typed my key code in and entered the gym. My nose instantly filled with all the amazing scents of the large room. I could smell sweat and different colognes, the plastic mats, and the metallic smell of the weights on the wall. I closed my eyes, the wood paneling on the walls hit me next. Behind that was where a tiny mouse chewed a cracker.
Rayce was inside the firing range. I could even hear that coming from the soundproof room. I tried to open it but it was locked. I flipped the switch on the wall, letting him know I was there. I could even smell his cologne through the door. All of these new senses were a little much to take in.
I had come to the conclusion that something along the lines of transformation was happening. I definitely felt different. My body was changing. I tried to think back on my life and remember if anything like this had happened to me before, but nothing came to mind. Only the thought of blood made me sick before but now that was all I wanted.
When Rayce finally emerged from the range, he smelled of gunfire and
man. I wanted him at that moment. He was right. I was insatiable. I couldn’t get enough of him.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said and kissed me.
“Hey,” I sighed happily. “Jay isn’t here, is he?”
“No. He is running some errands for me,” he explained.
“What sort of errands?”
“Just work stuff,” he said smiling slyly. It was clear that he was hiding something. I didn’t have time or the thought process to try and figure out what he was talking about.
“Did you talk with him?”
“I did, but…”
“But, what?”
“There is no logical reason why you would…do what you did.”
“No answers then?” I sighed.
“Nothing yet,” he confessed.
I took his hand with a smile on my face and I looked up into his confused eyes. “I need to tell you something.”
He pushed my red hair behind my ear, “You can tell me anything.”
“You can obviously tell a change in my body,” I stated.
“I can,” he said with another grin. This time his eyes screamed desire. I almost faltered but kept my cool.
“I think it best we go outside for some air.”
He took my hand and lead me to a door in the back of the gym. He pushed it open and we were outside. I had never used that door before. Out behind the office sat several old cars in pieces. I looked up at Rayce in question.
“When we purchased this property, the cars came with it,” he explained.
“Ah, right,” I said nodding. “Listen, I need to talk to you about what happened, but I’m not sure how to explain it.”
“I’m listening,” he said.
“Well,” I paused. My voice shook. My mind has been racing since last night. “All I can think is that I’m…turning into a hellhound.”
Hunting Jessica Page 21