"Sure, I think we need to discuss what we're going to tell my parents when we get to Buffalo."
He looked confused. "Tell your parents about what?"
"Well, first about me being a Sensay, of course and then about us and you being a vampire."
Roberto stopped the swing and turned to look at me. "Your parents also have been marked by the Guardians. They will need to be relocated as quickly as possible. I think it best to tell them as little as possible until they are safe." I thought about what he said and it made sense. I surely didn't want to put my parents in any more danger. Roberto put the swing in motion once again,
"I really want to talk about Alexander."
I started to say that Alex and I were just friends but instead looked at the ground in shame.
"Olivia I know you felt something with Alexander. Remember I witnessed it. It's absolutely normal if you're attracted to someone to have a physical reaction to certain stimulating circumstances.
"Of course, with you being a Sensay, those reactions are magnified a thousand times. I don't think you will have these reactions to every man. Alexander is a charismatic man. I've seen women melt at a glance from him. So you see it's only natural for you to feel the way you do." I couldn't help but ask, "Why don't I feel an attraction to Leeds. God know he's a sexy, attractive man. And he has an.... errr ... abundance of male assets." Roberto frowned, "Well despite his
"assets" you aren't really attracted to him. No chemistry, as they say. I think you and Alexander have chemistry, but I think you and I have a stronger chemistry."
He took my hand in his, "Olivia, I know that we just recently met and the situation we find ourselves in is rather bizarre but you are important to me. When I said a few days ago that you will forever be in my protection, it is the truth. I will always protect you."
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heading. I leaned into him and said, "Kiss me Roberto, I feel so...." His eyes darkened. "I know when you are feeling the heat run through your veins, it shows in your eyes. They glow with gold specks. It is sexy as hell. It shows your need and"
"Shut up and kiss me. Now." I implored. Roberto kissed me. The electrical currents ran through my body to every nerve ending. I needed to learn control myself soon or I would send the both of us up in flames. His tongue slipped into my mouth and started a wild dance with mine. I was breathless and on fire. I could feel the wetness gathering between my legs.
Roberto moaned, "Dio Olivia, I can smell your arousal. I want to lick every drop from you.
Mmmm" He kissed a trail down the side of my neck. "Your passion makes me lose control. We should go to our room. We are not private out here."
I stood up on shaky legs and forgot I had those damn shoes on and nearly fell. Thankfully Roberto reached out to steady me.
I did have one question that I had been wondering about,
"Roberto, can I ask you a question about Alex?" Roberto sighed but nodded in the affirmative.
"Back at the Platza you and Alex looked like you were arguing. What were you guys arguing about?" He looked surprised by the question but answered easily enough, "Politics to be more specific, vampire politics." I couldn't help but laugh. "You're pulling my leg right?
Vampire politics? Do you have elections and campaigns and things like that? Ohhh, I bet I know what slogan you guys use I'll take a bite out of crime, literally."
"Ha ha, a comedian you are not. Actually, it's more traditions than politics. There are some of us, myself included, that don't want to change the way things are. In the world of vampires, hierarchy is how we rule; the oldest vampires have the most power.
"But there are some like Alexander who wants change, who would like to see changes in the traditions that we have followed for a thousand years."
I put my hands on his hard chest and said, "Ohhh, I didn't know that I was sleeping with such an old stodgy vampire."
"You are going to pay for that Ms. Sherman."
"Ohhh, now I'm scared. What are you going to do me Mr. Valente?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my body close.
He whispered in my ear. "I am going to make you come so hot and so hard that you will scream with your release." His words made me melt. I grabbed his hand and started to drag him inside.
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Olivia! You look so good. I knew you would look hot in those clothes." Alex came in from outside, took one look at me and knelt in front of me and said, "Ohhhh Sandy! Let me guess.
Leeds bought you the outfit."
I laughed. "Yeah. I feel ridiculous." Alex stood up and spun me around. "You look great. Maybe we can do a number together later. I can be Danny." Roberto looked annoyed at everyone and turned to Leeds,
"Did you say, oh for heaven’s sakes." Alex and I turned to look at Leeds who was rubbing the front of his pants. We both erupted in a fit of laughter. Roberto looked like he wanted to murder someone so I took pity on him and said, "Leeds, the food smells great. Let's go eat"
I grabbed a hold of Leeds arm and led him into the kitchen. We talked as we ate.
"We won't have enough time to drive straight through now. How far will we get if we leave at midnight?" I asked. Roberto glanced at his watch. "It will probably be more like one am. We will need to get to the car, which is a couple of miles away from here. Luckily Leeds stocked it with some supplies so we won't have to waste time on that."
"Leeds, please tell me you got some other clothes for me in that car."
Leeds looked sheepish, "Yeah, they are even sexier than these though."
I groaned. Roberto sighed and Alex wagged his eyebrows.
"Leeds, it's a good thing that I like you or you would be so dead."
Leeds smiled and I was once again struck by his gorgeous face. "You like me. Would you like to go for a ride?" I laughed. "No thanks Leeds I have to get ready to leave. Will you be coming with us to the car?"
"Yes, I want to make sure these vampires get you safely there."
A half hour later we were in Leeds boat traversing the murky swamp. It was really dark as clouds were obscuring the moon. For some reason I had an uneasy feeling. I shrugged it away.
Why wouldn't I be uneasy? Crossing a swamp with two vampires and the Jersey Devil would be enough for Ann Rice to feel uneasy.
When we came to the shore, Leeds jumped out and tied up the boat. Before Roberto had a chance, Alex scooped me up and jumped from the boat landing in the tall grass with ease.
Roberto growled and made a move to take me when a shot rang out. All hell broke loose.
Roberto shouted, "Alexander, go! Get her out of here!" As Alex began to run I glanced back and saw Leeds peeling his shirt off and his wings unfurling, he leapt into the air and took to the sky.
Roberto's face was a mask of fury. His fangs were out and his long dark hair was blowing in the wind.
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He glanced my way and I'm sure that he saw the shiver that went through my body at his appearance. This was a vampire in his natural state and it scared the crap out of me. Alex was running at full speed. Everything had happened so fast. Now things seemed to turn in slow motion when I felt a warm wetness against my chest. I looked down to see a stain of blood spreading on my blouse.
Chapter 15
I braced myself to feel the pain of being shot. There was nothing. It took me a minute to realize the blood wasn't mine. It was coming from Alex. I reached up to cup his face. He glanced down at me and I saw his face pinched with pain.
"Put me down. I can walk. I don't want you to hurt yourself any further."
"No, I'm all righ
t. We can move faster with me carrying you." He managed to get out.
"Do you know which way to go?"
"Yeah, Leeds told Roberto and me where the car was. He hid the keys under the wheel. We should be there in a few minutes." His words were clipped.
"I hope Roberto and Leeds are okay. Do you think Roberto will meet us at the car?" I asked worriedly.
"No, I know Roberto. He will take care of the Guardians first."
I didn't ask any more questions because I saw how hard it was getting for Alex to speak. After about ten minutes we reached a rough road. It was so dark I almost missed the black car sitting beside the road. Thank God. Alex's breathing was labored. He set me down and reached under the rear tire. He pulled out keys but dropped them.
"Alex let me help you into the car. You're in no shape to drive." I stooped and picked up the keys and turned to grab Alex by the arm. I could tell he was hurting pretty bad by the way he leaned on me.
"Just help me into the car and get us out of here." He said as he collapsed against me.
I managed to unlock the door and open it and had to more or less push him inside.
"Sorry." I said anxiously as I heard him groan. I tucked his legs up into the car, shut the door and jumped in the drivers' seat. My hands were shaking a little as I started the car and put it in gear.
I stepped on the gas and we took off. The road was rather bumpy and every rut we hit I heard Alex moan.
"Sorry." I kept repeating.
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I had no idea which way to go so I just followed the road in the direction the car had been pointing. I finally came to a better road but didn't know which direction to take. Right or left? I knew I wanted to eventually go north. But I had no sense of direction. I decided to take a right.
Heck I had a fifty-fifty chance I was going the right way. Fifteen minutes later I passed a sign that said the expressway was up ahead in fifty miles. Thank God I hadn't gone the wrong way. I looked in my rearview mirror at Alex in the backseat. He wasn't moving. Please, please let him just be unconscious. I tried not driving too fast because I didn't want to get stopped by a cop with a man in the backseat bleeding from a gunshot wound. When I saw a sign that the expressway was ten miles ahead I pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Before we got on the interstate I wanted to check on Alex. I got out on the passenger side so that traffic would be less likely to see me. I opened the car door and saw that Alex's face was pale. Well, more pale than usual since he was a vampire and didn't go to the tanning beds and all. It was encouraging to see that the bleeding had slowed if it hadn't stopped all together. I wiped the hair from his eyes and was relieved to hear his groan.
"Don't worry Alex. I'll take care of you. I'll get us on the expressway and then get us to a hotel where I can see if I can get that bullet out." I promised. As I started getting back into the car, a car pulled up behind us. Oh crap, I didn't want them coming up to the car and possibly spying Alex laying on the backseat so I quickly walked over to the driver's side. It was a nice older couple. Probably coming back from a trip to the casinos and indeed when the man rolled the window down I saw on the seat between them a bag from The Scandinavian. Maniacal laughter started to rise in me. I felt like telling them, "Hey I got the owner of the hotel you stayed at bleeding to death in the backseat of the car over there." The man gave me a disapproving look, no doubt for the getup I was wearing, thanks again Leeds, "Do you need any help Miss?" he asked.
"Ummm no, thank you. I just had too much water and couldn't wait until the next rest stop." I said with real mortification.
The lady next to him said in a kindly voice. "That happens to me all the time. Ralph here is always saying that if he had a dollar for every time we had to stop for my bladder he'd be rich."
I smiled a genuine smile at the lady. A sudden wave of homesickness hit me. This couple reminded me of my parents. I missed them so much. God I needed to get home and make sure they were okay. I thanked them for their concern and told them that I only had a few miles to go and that I would be fine. I got back in the car after another quick glance to make sure Alex was still breathing and headed back down the road. Fifteen minutes later we made our way onto the expressway. Looking at the signs along the way, it looked like we would be in Philadelphia in about a half hour. I tried to figure out where we should stop. I figured that a hotel right off the interstate in the city would probably be more anonymous.
We were almost to the city when I realized that I would have to cross a bridge with a toll. I didn't have any money. Freaking A. What was I going to do? I reached over to the glove compartment opened it and started pulling papers out. Yes! I found a plain white envelope with money in. Okay. I wouldn't kill Leeds just yet over my attire since he came through for us once Scent of a Vampire – Jude Stephens
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again. After getting through the toll without incident, I started looking for a hotel. Most of the ones I spotted looked pretty seedy. Well there was no hope for it. I couldn't be choosey about accommodations when Alex needed my help. I turned off an exit and pulled the car into the parking lot of a hotel simply named Highway Hotel. I got out of the car and went into the dingy office. The man behind the desk took a look at me and said, "We don't rent by the hour. You'll have to pay for a whole day." Thanks to Leeds I was once again humiliated. I had just been mistaken for a cheap prostitute. I vowed to myself Leeds would one day pay for this. Somehow, someway I would find my way back to that swamp and make him pay for this. I paid for the room with cash and the clerk gave me a key and directions to the room, which was thankfully around the back.
I asked him if I could please not be disturbed, especially during the daylight because I would most likely be sleeping all day. He snickered and put out his hand. I looked at it blankly for a minute before realizing he was asking for money so I gave him a twenty. With my face flaming I walked out and got back in the car and drove around back. I got a spot close to the door that had the room number on the key on it. This was going to be fun trying to drag a six-foot something man into a room. Well, it had to be done. I would just have to do it somehow. I went and opened the door to the room first then went back to the car and opened the rear door.
"It could be worse, Leeds could have gotten us a two door." I muttered to myself.
I bent down and checked the wound on Alex. It actually looked pretty good. It looked like it was healing nicely with pink skin stretching over it.
"Crap!" I said out loud. How was I going to get the bullet out if it was healing? There was no way I was going to slice him open. No way.
Hoping he could be roused I said, "Alex, Alex can you hear me?"
He moaned a little and thankfully said, "Olivia? Where are we?"
Halleluiah! He was awake!
"Alex we're at a hotel. I got us a room."
"Ahhh babe, I'm not at my best right now but I'm sure that with a little persuasion from your sexy mouth I'll be able to get the job done." He said in an unsteady voice.
"Alex! I'm going to leave you out here to watch the sunrise if you don't get serious and help me get you in the room." With an expletive, he grabbed hold of the back of the front seat and hauled himself upright. As with my patients I knew that a swift motion would be in Alex's best interest so as he pulled himself up, I grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the car. He let out an even louder curse I'm pretty sure was directed at me. But he was up at least. I draped his arm around my shoulder and let him put most of his weight on me. Thankfully it wasn't too far from the door. I got him in the room and since it was a small room we were only a few steps from the bed. He weakly sat himself on the bed as I went to find a light switch.
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"I'll be right back. I'm going to check what Leeds put in the car and lock it up. Will you be all right?" He grimaced, "Yeah, be careful. Damn. I should be taking care of you."
"Sto
p being Mr. Macho Vampire and let the lowly woman take care of you."
Alex stared at me intently. "Olivia you have never been or ever will be a "lowly" woman. I wish I could show you the passionate and fierce woman I see." That comment made me laugh.
"Fierce? You do not know me at all Alex. I am anything but fierce. I can't even squish a bug without feeling guilty."
He continued to stare at me with those sea green eyes.
"You have the blood of the earth flowing through your veins Olivia. You have just begun to scratch the surface of your powers. In time, you will learn to mold and control them into a powerful force."
His eyes mesmerized me. I didn't want to look away but forced myself too. "Well, you and Roberto keep telling me all of this stuff but I still feel like the same girl who doesn't want to squish a bug."
Since I didn't want to hear anymore about my so-called superpowers I went outside to the car. I opened the trunk and saw that there was a suitcase and backpack inside. I grabbed them and went to the front seat to check the glove compartment again and almost had a heart attack when I saw that there was a gun in there. I stood there debating if I should leave it there or take it in with me. I didn't want to even touch the thing, so I left it where it was. I grabbed the envelope filled with cash and went back to the room. Alex looked as if he had passed out again, so I set everything down and went over to him. He was so still and pale that my heart started beating fast in panic. When I touched his forehead, his eyes fluttered open. His eyes were glazed with pain.
"What can I do?" I asked.
He closed his eyes again but said in a quiet voice, "I need blood."
"I ... I." I stammered.
I closed my eyes, knowing that I was on the edge of a precipice. If I took this step there was no going back. And I wasn't going to kid myself; somewhere deep inside me I had a glimmer of hope I could go back. That I'd get home to my parents and my life would go back to normal.
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