by Gayla Twist
I was immediately on all fours and crab-walking backward across the bed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I said while covertly taking note that the door Vagnar had kicked was still open.
“That’s right,” he said, undoing his pants, “run, scream, fight me, try to stab me with a piece of wood. Let’s make things spicy!” Then he dropped his pants to the floor and stood before me, completely naked, his eyes glowing like coals. “The more you resist, the sweeter the pleasure will be when you finally submit to my charms.”
His words pulled me up short. Lord Vagnar had made it clear that he wasn’t going to stop until I submitted. And if his pleasure was increased by my resistance, then the best thing I could do was not resist. “Okay,” I told him, moving to the center of the bed and lying flat on my back. “I’m ready,” I said, closing my eyes. “If this is something that you have to do, then go ahead.”
There was a short pause as Vagnar just stood there, looking at me. “But,” he began, “don’t you want to run? Don’t you want to try to flee my clutches?”
“Not particularly,” I said, with my eyes still closed. That way it was easier not to look at his naked, eager body. I folded my hands on my stomach and I tried to lie perfectly still.
There was a longer pause. “Won’t Jessie be upset?” he asked. “Won’t he always wonder, every time that you close your eyes and moan with pleasure while the two of you are making love, if you are thinking of me?”
“No.”
“But he will,” Lord Vagnar insisted. “I know men, and he will. It will plague his thoughts. Even if he thinks he’s fine with it, the whole idea of us being together will slowly eat away at him.”
“Well, even if he does, that’s something we’ll have to work out between us. It has nothing to do with you,” I told him. “So, if you wouldn’t mind getting this whole things over with, I’d like to get on with spending eternity with my husband.”
“You…” Vagnar stammered. “You want me to begin?”
“Please,” I said. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to stop talking now. I’m trying to enter a meditative state. But you do what you have to do.”
“Alright,” Vagnar said before clearing his throat. “I’ll begin.”
I tried to make my thoughts go blank. Vagnar could have my body, but he couldn’t have my mind; he couldn’t have my soul. There was more to Jessie and my relationship than sex. Our love had survived decades; our love had survived reincarnation. There was no way one perverted vampire was going to ruin what Jessie and I shared. I just wished Lord Vagnar would hurry up and get it the hell over with.
I felt Vagnar place his hands on both my ankles. I didn’t react. I tried imagining that I was a cold fish that he’d purchased at the market and was intending to consume for dinner. It didn’t matter what a person did to a fish after it was dead; the fish as a living being was no longer part of the equation.
Vagnar grasped what was left of my gown and began to tear it. I could feel the fabric parting, inch-by-inch, as the vampire slowly exposed my legs. But I kept telling myself there was no reason for me to care; I was a cold fish being unwrapped from brown paper.
The tearing continued, exposing my panties, my belly, and then my breasts. But I didn’t care. I wouldn’t not cringe with embarrassment, I would not recoil with horror; I was limp, I was numb, I was a cold fish.
“I am going to make love to you now,” Vagnar announced and I was only vaguely aware of his body moving onto the bed. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Lord Vagnar was on top of me, his naked flesh pressing against mine. He said something. It was probably something about how he was going to pleasure me, or another one of his delusional fantasies, but none of it mattered. I didn’t even bother to listen.
I was limp; I was lifeless. I was a cold, dead fish unwrapped from its paper. Lord Vagnar couldn’t touch me.
*****
“Get up,” Lord Vagnar said, giving my body a shove.
I didn’t move. Lord Vagnar hadn’t accomplished what he wanted to accomplish, so I saw no reason to accommodate him.
“Get up, already,” he said, shoving me again. “I’ve changed my mind.”
I still didn’t move, but his words had penetrated through the mist of my meditation. I was listening.
“I changed my mind,” he said again. I realized that he wasn’t on top of me anymore; he was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to me.
“Why?” I asked, still not moving or opening my eyes.
“Your story of love touched me,” he said, not bothering to look in my direction.
“My story?” I opened my eyes.
“Yes,” he said, still not looking at me. “About how you and Jessie met, and got together, and all that.”
“But I never told you,” I said, rolling on my side and looking at his back. “You wouldn’t let me.”
“Yes, but it’s a very touching story, nonetheless,” he said, passing me a robe while still keeping his eyes averted from looking at my naked body. “So I’ve decided to call the whole thing off.”
“You have?” I asked while quickly slipping on the robe. If Lord Vagnar had suddenly grown a conscience, then I wasn’t going to argue with him.
“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “You know the whole ‘Right of the first night,’ thing is nonsense anyway. An old urban myth. Strictly the stuff of male power fantasies.” Vagnar shook his head, as if the whole idea thoroughly disgusted him. “I blame Mozart for its continued popularity in Western culture.”
“Mozart?” He’d lost me there.
“The Marriage of Figaro,” he said, as if that made everything clear.
“Oh.” I had no idea what an opera had to do with Vagnar trying to jump my bones, but I could always look it up later. “If you knew that the whole thing is an old urban legend, then why did you try to go through with it?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Vagnar shrugged. “I have to do something. People expect it of me.”
His answer really threw me. “People expect you to be a pervert?”
“They expect me to be a rogue,” he stated, correcting me.
“Well why don’t you do something unexpected?” I asked as I scooted to the side of the bed, doing my best to keep my distance from Lord Vagnar, just in case he changed his mind.
“Like what?” He sighed again. “And then there’s always my talent; my influence over other vampires, I mean. Am I not supposed to use it?”
“Just because you can have power over someone, doesn’t mean you have to use it,” I told him. Vagnar had to be at least a hundred years old, you’d think he’d have figured that out on his own by now. “And why don’t you try using your undead influence for good, for a change?”
Vagnar slouched a little. “Like how?”
“I don’t know, start a charity,” I suggested.
“Boring.”
“Build something great, then.”
“There’s this house,” he pointed out. But when I didn’t reply right away, he added, “I suppose it didn’t turn out as elegant as I would like.”
“Think bigger,” I told him. “Grander. Something beautiful, like the Taj Mahal. Something like that could be your legacy.”
“I don’t need a legacy,” Vagnar sniffed. “I’m going to live forever.”
“Not the mortal you,” I pointed out.
“You have a point,” Lord Vagnar said, getting to his feet. “And I’ll definitely give it some thought.”
I was relieved to see that he had on his pants. That must have happened while I was still being a cold fish.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to get dressed,” he said. “Come out when you’re ready and we’ll go find your fiancé.”
“Okay.” I then had to repress the urge to add, “Thank you.” I blamed the impulse on my solid Mid-western upbringing.
The door closed and I was suddenly alone in the room. Much to my relief, I was still an undead virgin.
Chapter 25
&nb
sp; “Aurora,” Jessie shouted as Lord Vagnar and I entered the dungeon. He clutched the bars of his cage, even though his hands immediately started to burn.
“I’m alright,” I told him. “I’m fine. Lord Vagnar didn’t do anything. He changed his mind.”
“Yes, I’ve had a change of heart.” Vagnar chimed in, signaling one of the guards to unlock the cell door. “Your fiancée told me your whole story. It was just too touching; I couldn’t go through with my diabolical plan.”
The cell door swung open and I was in Jessie’s arms. “You’re alright?” he whispered after kissing me.
“Yes,” I managed to nod, even though tears were rolling down my face.
“I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” Jessie whispered in my ear. “About how I couldn’t stand the thought of him touching you.”
“It’s okay,” I tried to assure him.
It’s been tearing me apart,” Jessie went on. “I want you to know that, even if he’d done what he planned to do, I would still love you just as much as ever. Even more, because you are so brave.” He kissed each tear that rolled down my cheek. “I need you to understand that. I need you to know it in your heart.”
“I know it,” I assured him. “I understand. I really do. And I think that our love is something Lord Vagnar has finally begun to understand. I think that’s why he decided he wasn’t going to… I think that’s why he’s letting you go.”
“I can’t believe all he’s put you through.” Jessie glared over my shoulder at Vagnar. “I should stake him where he stands.”
“Really, Jessie,” Lord Vagnar said, having obviously overheard his last comment. “Haven’t you killed enough of the undead already? There were only six good vampires in all of America and you’ve staked half of them.”
“Jessie!” Alice shouted, bursting into the dungeon with a dozen uniformed vampires soldiers behind her. “I’ll do everything I can to get you out.”
“But he’s let me out,” Jessie said, turning to face her. “We don’t need the soldiers. Lord Vagnar’s had a change of heart about Aurora, too. Everything’s fine, Mother.”
“Jessie Vanderlind,” the captain of the soldiers said, stepping forward. “You are under arrest for the death of your brother and grandfather.” He shook his head in disgust. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bishops ruled that you face the sun for your crimes.”
“No!” I shrieked as they locked Jessie in handcuffs. “You can’t! He’s not guilty. He didn’t…”
“Aurora, no!” Jessie shouted, cutting me off. “I’m sure the Bishops will give me a fair trial,” he said as the guards started dragging him out of the dungeon. “I’ll be able to stand it; I’ll be able to face anything they throw at me, just as long as I know that you are safe.” And then he was gone.
Oh, God. I wanted to scream. I wanted to fall down on the floor, bawling and ripping my hair out. But that wouldn’t do me any good; that wouldn’t do Jessie any good. “Lord Vagnar,” I said, swinging around to face the enemy. “You said you’d help us.”
“No. He shook his head. “I said that I wouldn’t claim the right of first night. And I haven’t. Now, if I had slept with you, then I probably would have helped your fiancé. I would have felt a certain obligation. As it is now, there’s nothing in it for me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. For a moment, back in my room, I had thought there was hope for Vagnar as a human being. I had obviously been fooled. “He’s my husband,” I hissed at him, barely able to stop myself from clawing his face off. “At least I can thank you for that.”
“Oh, well… You’re not really married,” Vagnar said with a small laugh.
“What?”
“The man who performed the ceremony wasn’t a priest, you understand.” Lord Vagnar gave an amused shake of his head. “Or a holy man of any kind. He was just one of my guests that we stuffed in a frock.”
I stared at him, open mouthed. “Why would you do that?”
“Do you know how hard it is to find a vampire priest last minute?” he asked. “It’s a pity, too. Because if you were married, then you would have so many more rights for seeing Jessie than you do as just the fiancée. I have to admit, I am a bit sorry about that. But you made your choices.”
And then I saw red. All the anger and frustration and fear that I had been feeling since first hearing from the Bishops welled up in me and became centered in my fist. I knew that busting Vagnar’s nose would only cause him pain for a few moments, but at least I would have the pleasure of briefly wiping the damn smirk off his face.
I lashed out before weighing the consequences, directing a punch at Vagnar’s nose, with all of my weight behind it.
“No!” Alice shouted, shoving me fiercely aside so that my blow missed him.
I fell to the ground with Vagnar’s amused laughter ringing in my ears. “Why not?” I demanded, looking up at the woman who wasn’t actually my mother-in-law.
“Don’t let your foolish emotions cause you to burn an important bridge,” she hissed in my ear as she hauled me to my feet. “Do you even have half a brain in that stupid head of yours? Or have you been made an idiot by your foolish notions of romance?”
“But…” I began to protest.
“There’s a chance we can still get him out of this, if you can keep your mouth shut.” Alice growled.
“I really must go now, ladies,” Vagnar said, heading for the door. “I’m afraid there’s no longer any spare bedrooms to accommodate you, so you’ll have to clear out in the next hour or two. I hope you understand.” He gave me a parting glance over his shoulder. “I wish things had turned out differently, my dear,” he said. “You are really quite enticing. I’m beginning to understand why Jessie Vanderlind is so obsessed with you.”
Alice kept shaking her head back and forth as we watched Lord Vagnar depart. “We’ll get him out,” she said, mostly to herself. “Even if we have to throw you to the dogs, my son will go free.”
On that point, we agreed. I couldn’t allow someone as wonderful and noble as Jessie to die. Especially not for the crime of loving me. I would join forces with Alice and fight as hard as I could to get him released. But, if for some reason that was impossible, then I would tell the truth and bring the wrath of the Bishops crashing down on my own head. I couldn’t bear the thought of Jessie facing the sun. And, if he were to die, then I wouldn’t want to live.
“Yes,” I said with conviction as Alice and I both started heading for the door. “That will be our plan. This all happened because Jessie fell in love with me and I won’t let him die for it.”
THE END
I hope you enjoyed Bride of the Vampire, Book 5 in the Vanderlind Castle series. If you have a spare minute, and are reading on a Kindle device, please flip to the end and you will be presented with the opportunity to create an Amazon review. Good reviews are crucial to indie authors and your efforts would be appreciated. XO ~ G.T.
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