Carmen sighs. “There is so much to tell, Holly. I’m not sure where to start.”
“That woman thought I was a witch. She kept calling me ‘witch’ and telling me that if she killed me somebody would love her. That somebody was Tristan, wasn’t it?” Holly whispers, her throat raw from sobbing for so long.
“Yes. That was Kendra, the vampire who turned Tristan. I went to New Orleans and found her nest. They had disavowed her a little more than a year ago and she’s been tracking Tristan ever since. She followed him here and discovered that he returned for you. Everything bad that has happened to you since then can be traced back to her.”
Carmen sums up. “I ran into some trouble on my way back here but I thought you would be safe in your house. Kendra was prepared though; must have watched you for months before even trying to make a move. She killed Petey and the sprites then waited for you to leave the house.”
“Oh no!” Holly nearly starts crying again. “I’m so sorry. I did not want anybody to die on my account.”
“I know, Holly. But they knew what they were getting into, knew all of the risks in protecting you. They all died with honor,” Carmen assures her. “You would have died too if not for Tristan and Dasher.”
“Wait, that’s Dasher?” Holly feels that sense of missing pieces falling into place again. She remembers being close to figuring something out before she went outside. “Is his name Gavin Dashiel?”
It’s Carmen’s turn to look surprised. “How did you know? I didn’t think you knew him.”
“I don’t, but my mom did.” Holly never believed in fate or destiny but it’s hard to refute either when so many coincidences have appeared in her life lately. “He was the love of my mom’s life.”
“And she was the love of mine.” Dasher, or Gavin, stepped into the room once more.
“She thought you died,” Holly accuses.
“I did,.” he replies. “I died in that accident thirty years ago just like the papers said. But I came back as something I hated for a very long time. I never forgot your mother, though. It took a long time for me to control my new abilities and by the time I could return without fear of hurting your mother, well, she was already married to your father and expecting your brother. I could never give her that life, could not bring myself to destroy the happiness she’d found.”
Holly understands this, even agrees with it. She cannot imagine how hard it was for Gavin to walk away and appreciates how honorable his actions were.
“She never stopped loving you. There is a box in her closet that is full of her memories of you. I would like to give it to you.”
“I will cherish it forever.” Gavin places a hand over his chest and bows respectfully
“Can I ask you a question, though?” Holly pushes off the ground, feeling her strength returning.
“Of course, child.” Gavin smiles as though he knows what she’s going to ask.
“How did you find Tristan?” Holly tilts her head just a little, wondering if Tristan is hiding in the darkness of the hallway.
“He found me, actually,” Gavin explains. “He was lost and confused and with no real idea of how to be a vampire. We shared a drink and he told his sad story, imagine my surprise when I realized that the love of his life was you, daughter of the love of my own life. I hoped that if I could help Tristan find his way back to you, that it would be a way of doing right by Carrie.”
“I see.” Holly begins to pace the room, uncomfortably building to her big question, the one she’s been avoiding. “So am I a vampire now?”
Carmen and Gavin exchange a long, meaningful look as if neither knows how to answer. Holly looks from one to the other waiting for an answer. She doesn’t feel the need to drink blood or anything but it’s not like she’s ever been a vampire so how would she know what’s normal?
“No, you are still human,” Tristan answers from the doorway. “Your friend saved you with her elven magic but only for a time. She wished you to have the choice between human death and life with me.”
“Come again?” Holly knew she didn’t want the answer, not really.
Carmen frowns. “We were trying to figure out how to tell you.”
“Tell me what? That I’m walking, talking, and drinking coffee on borrowed time?” Holly asks dryly.
“Hol,” Carmen pleads, “please don’t be angry. I wanted you to have the choice. At the very least, be able to get your things in order, say good-bye to your family, and maybe even finish school. Hell, I wanted to be able to say good-bye to you.”
“So I’m really dead already?” Holly slides into a chair, her knees suddenly weak. “How does that work?”
“No, you weren’t dead. You were close but not dead,” Carmen explains. “Cody and Cassidy were more than happy to help you cross over, well, not so much Cassidy but what did you expect. But Tristan wanted to turn you. You weren’t coherent enough to make the choice, not really. I wanted to give you a chance to consider your options. I think we can keep you alive, as a human, for a long while still. It is your choice, Holly.”
Holly rubs her temples. “I don’t feel like there’s really any choice to make at all. It seems pretty simple to me.”
“It does?” Carmen gapes. “You haven’t even thought about it.”
“Because there isn’t anything to think about. My mom is gone; my family will be just fine without me. I don’t have any other friends I would miss. Apparently, I can still go to school and learn all of the things I want to learn,” Holly points out. She looks directly at Tristan as she continues, “So, I choose Tristan. I will always choose him.”
“Then, I will do whatever I can to help you,” Carmen promises.
“I really appreciate the extra time, Carmen, I do. But it’s always been Tristan,” Holly explains. “And now it always will be.”
Epilogue
“Do I really have to do this?” Holly adjusts the sash again. “It’s ridiculous.”
“No it isn’t,” Carmen chides. “Do this for your family. Give them closure.”
“Can’t I just have a party with them and ‘die’ on the way home from that?” Holly begs.
“Absolutely not.” Carmen glowers at her. “You need to go through the ceremony. You’ll thank me later.”
“No, I won’t,” Holly insists. They’ve spent the past two months getting things in order for her 'death' and graduation ceremony was not on Holly’s personal to-do list. The house has been signed over to her brother, Beau, since he actually cares about it, and she’s said her farewells, more than enough times for her satisfaction.
Gavin, or Dasher as he prefers to be called, has stayed in town to help with the arrangements. After her 'death,' they will return to London with Dasher even though Tristan insisted on keeping his family house for future use. He couldn’t bear to lose it again but how could they possibly live there, next to her family, after she dies?
“That gown is so hot on you,” Tristan remarks from the doorway. “I can’t wait to get you out of it.”
“Seriously?” Holly frowns. “It’s like a potato sack.”
“See, you even look amazing in a potato sack,” Tristan teases.
“Not cool.” Holly sizes her reflection up, not at all pleased.
“I’ll just step out and check on Gavin.” Carmen slips out the door.
Tristan glides across the room and wraps his arms about Holly’s waist from behind. She can feel him pressing against her, confirming how he feels about her in the graduation gown.
“I think we can find a few minutes, don’t you?”
“So this graduation gown really does it for you, huh?” Holly tilts her head to the side allowing him access to her neck. He peppers her with baby kisses, his fangs grazing her skin and sending chills down her spine.
“It really does.” Tristan’s voice is husky. “It could be your last time as a human.”
Holly stills, she hadn’t considered that. “Will it feel different after?”
Tristan slides down the
length of her body and disappears beneath her gown.
“Does it matter?”
His voice is muffled but his fingers are very clear about their intentions as they climb up her thigh to her remove her panties. Tristan re-emerges, tosses his treasure to the side and moves her toward the bed. He pulls her graduation gown free to expose the simple shift dress beneath.
“I will always want you, Holly.”
Tristan slides the hemline of her dress up to her waist and over her head. With a flick of his finger, Tristan frees Holly’s breasts, shredding yet another bra. He dips his head to take her nipple in his mouth while his fingers work toward her sex, deftly probing and exploring as he penetrates deeper. She shivers and reaches for his belt buckle but he pulls away, just out of her reach.
“No, no, mon cheri,” Tristan flirts.
In a whirlwind of speed, Tristan disrobes. Starting at her feet, he kisses his way up her body, hands leading the way as they rove over her form. Tristan moves strategically, targeting every sensitive spot until she’s writing with need.
“Tristan,” Holly moans and reaches for his head, grabbing handfuls of hair to guide him up, up her body so that his sex hits the vee of her legs, hovering just above her. Tristan kisses her, traces his tongue up her neck, fangs grazing her neck again. Her body aches for him, to feel him inside her again. Holly pleads, “Tristan, please.”
He presses into her. Holly arches into him, adjusting her body so he can penetrate deeper, pulls him closer, digs her nails into his back as he rocks, establishing a rhythm she can match. They move in sync. Again, Holly loses herself in Tristan, a tangle of limbs. Tristan slows the pace, looks into her eyes and pulls out until only the tip remains inside her.
Holly’s eyes flare as he presses back in, driving deeper only to slide out once more, teasing her with the snails pace. She wants more, harder, faster but he continues slowly, bringing her to the very brink of explosion as every nerve in her body is on fire with want, desperate for release.
“Tristan.” She drags his name out, a breathy plea for release. Tristan presses in, as deep as he can and grabs her hips, positioning her just so and then picks up the pace, steadily increasing his rhythm until she can no longer breathe, no longer feel anything other than Tristan. Holly explodes with one last pump, accentuated by a long, low growl from Tristan as he releases his own frustration. Tristan falls on her, cradling his weight as he kisses her sweetly and rolls to the side so Holly can catch her breath.
“Damn.” Holly exhales. “Now I really don’t want to leave.”
“It only gets better from here, Hol.” Tristan rolls to his side, props his head on his hand, and toys with her nipples. “But you aren’t getting out of this graduation ceremony.”
Holly groans. “Can’t I call in dead?”
“Not tonight,” Tristan kisses her lightly on the tip of the nose, “but tomorrow you can call in dead for anything you want.”
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