Crave

by Teresa Mummert

“I know, Elijah. Don’t worry. I’m the last person who would want anything to do with them.” I smiled, trying to lighten his mood. His expression remained hard.

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise.” Whatever the vampires had done to Elijah had to have been terrible. My thoughts drifted to my brother. I contemplated telling him my story to make him understand how serious I was about avoiding them, but it was too soon. I didn’t want to scare him off with my baggage. Besides, he didn’t seem ready to talk about whatever his issue was with them either. He kissed me on the forehead softly, ceasing my rambling thoughts.

  “So, what now?” I asked, hoping our night wasn’t over.

  “I have an idea.” He leaned in to kiss me again and I let my lips part, wanting to pick up where we left off last night. I wrapped my arms around him just as my phone rang from the bedroom.

  “Shit.” I pulled away from him. “I should get that. They will just keep calling if I don’t.” I stalked off to my bedroom to answer, ready to release a string of curse words on the caller.

  “What?” I asked into my phone.

  “Jesus, Eva! Where have you been?” Grayson asked angrily.

  “None of your business, Grayson.”

  “Wait, wait! Eva! I have some… bad news.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “There was a big fight out at the pool hall after you left. Christ, Eva. I don’t… Madelyn is dead.” The line went quiet as I tried to process what he’d just told me. “I’m coming over.”

  “No.” I rubbed my hand over my face, praying this was some sort of sick joke. “I think I just want to be alone.” The last thing I needed was Grayson and Elijah face to face in my house and I didn’t want Grayson running to my rescue anytime things went wrong.

  “Fine… just call me if you need me. Eva, I love you,” he said as he hung up, not giving me the chance to respond. I was relieved he didn’t.

  I tossed my phone on my bed, collapsing next to it as the weight of his words crushed me. Burying my face in my hands, I tried to absorb the news I had just received. This is what happened when you cared about someone and even though I attempted to keep everyone at arms length, they still found their way into my heart.

  Elijah knocked on my open bedroom door to announce his presence.

  “You alright?” he asked as he bent down beside me and lifted my chin to look at my face. I sniffled as the tears that blurred my vision fell from my lashes, rolling down over the apples of my cheeks. He held my face in his hands and wiped my tears with the pad of his thumb.

  “My friend… died tonight.” A small sob escaped me as the reality of the situation set in. Wrapping his strong arms around me, he pulled me against his chest.

  “It was those vampires. I know it. It had to be them,” I rambled in between sniffles.

  “Calm down, Eva. How do you know it was vampires?” he asked, pulling me away from his body to look at my face.

  “They were there. It had to be them. They came in just to cause trouble. I left right after they had showed up. I should have stayed… or… done something.”

  “There’s nothing you could have done. If you would have stayed it could have been you that they hurt.”

  “We have to do something about it. We have to stop them from hurting anyone else.” Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my gun out of my dresser drawer.

  “Whoa, Eva. What the hell?” He raised his arms as if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.

  “It’s okay. It’s for protection. I know how to use it.” I slid it into the back of my jean shorts, my body shaking from being overcome with grief. He walked up to me slowly, putting his hands on my waist and looking me in the eye.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Reaching his arm behind me, he pulled the gun out of the band of my shorts. He released the clip and emptied the bullet from the chamber. Sitting the contents on my dresser, he turned back to face me. “I promise you, no one will hurt you, but you can’t just go after them by yourself.” Kissing me on the forehead, he searched my eyes for understanding. I let out a sigh, feeling overwhelmed and defeated. I just wanted to be held. I was surprised he hadn’t run out the door yet. I thought about my stint on the ledge. I can’t believe I almost missed out on this.

  “I understand if you wanna go,” I murmured into his chest. His arms gripped me tighter.

  “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he reassured me. I slipped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his musky cologne mixed with the lingering smell his body wash had left behind on his skin. He kissed me on top of my head as his hand ran over the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair.

  “We have to kill them,” I whispered as I glanced up to look him in the eye. His body stiffened, pulling me back against him. My eyelids grew heavy as tears silently fell from my lashes to his shirt.

  “You should rest,” he said.

  “No,” I replied quietly, grasping a man that was nearly a stranger as if he held my sanity.

  “Sshh...” He breathed in my ear as he picked me up into his arms and swung around laying me gently on my bed. “I’m not going anywhere.” He took off his shoes and walked to the far side of the bed. I slid under the covers as he lifted his shirt off and removed his pants. Even in the darkness, it was hard to miss the ripple of muscles down his stomach and I hated that even grief-stricken, my stomach still fluttered at the sight of him. He slid under the blanket and wrapped his arms around me. I turned my back toward him and adjusted myself to fit perfectly against him, cocooning myself in my newfound sense of security. He kissed my neck, exhaling deeply before resting his head on the pillow behind mine. I pushed out a heavy breath of my own and let my eyes fall closed, feeling safer than I had in years.

  Chapter five

  Intruder

  I awoke cloaked in darkness but for the first time in as long as I could remember, it didn’t cause my heart to stutter. I glanced toward the window that had thick, chocolate-colored drapes, blocking out any hint of time. I reached over to my alarm clock and turned it toward me. It read 7:34 am. I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes, not wanting the night to end. Elijah’s arm reached across me, taking his fingers and turning my head to face him, he kissed me softly.

  “Good Morning, Beautiful,” he whispered as he brushed the hair from my face. I couldn’t stop my smile from spreading and I thought for sure it would light up the room.

  “You stayed.”

  “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. I thought we could spend the day together,” he replied with a wink that caused goose bumps to erupt over my flesh. He pulled my face closer to his and kissed me again, this time, more passionately. I pressed the length of my body against him, wrapping my arm around his torso, relishing in this small moment of normalcy. I felt like I was in high school again, back when the world was less complicated.

  He slid his arm under my body and positioned me on top of him.

  “I’m not going to be such a gentleman this morning if you keep that up,” he warned as his hands glided down my back. I let a quiet moan escape into his mouth, unable to hide how much I was enjoying myself. He quickly flipped us over and pushed his body hard against me, entangling his hands in my hair as his mouth moved roughly over mine.

  I matched his intensity, not wanting this moment to end. His hand traced down my side and he looped his finger in my shorts just as my phone began to ring and I waved my hand for him to ignore it.

  His mouth left mine as he peppered kisses down my jaw line toward my neck. I turned my head to the side and pressed it against the pillow, my lips falling open with a contented sigh.

  A loud banging on the front door startled me. Elijah raised his eyes to meet mine, the muscles under his jaw flexing in frustration. I placed my hands over my face as I groaned, unable to hide my disappointment.

  “You should get that. It might be important,” he said as he rolled off me and gestured for me to get up. He sank his head
in his hands as if resisting this moment was physically painful. I knew the feeling.

  “You’re kidding,” I groaned as I rolled up to a sitting position and pushed myself off of the bed.

  “Coming,” I yelled as the knocking continued in rapid succession. Elijah sighed and lay back on the bed putting his arm over his eyes. “I’ll be right back,” I whispered and closed the bedroom door quietly behind me. I walked down the hallway to the door and held the chain lock in my hand. “Who is it?”

  “You would know if you ever answered your phone,” Grayson said half-seriously. I quickly undid the lock and opened the door partially, positioning myself between it and the wall.

  “What’s up?” I asked, noticing the somber expression on his face. I remembered Madelyn and I was once again consumed by guilt. I let my weight fall against the wall and dropped my eyes to the floor.

  “How are you?” He asked trying to catch my gaze as he held out a Styrofoam coffee cup. I took it and finally looked back up at him.

  “These are bad for the planet you know.” Holding the cup up, I blew into the hole to cool the cappuccino before sipping.

  “Vampires are bad for our planet,” he shot back as his face suddenly turned hard. I looked down at the cup and nodded my head in agreement. A moment had passed without us exchanging words. “I know you didn’t want any company but can we talk?”

  “Now's not the time,” I said thinking of Elijah in my bedroom. Grayson put his palm against the door forcing it open.

  “It’s never gonna be a good time.” He was inches from my face as he walked by me into my place. He reeked of booze and cigarettes. Peeling off his jacket, he threw it over one of my kitchen chairs as he walked toward the living room. I glanced nervously at my bedroom door as I followed him to the couch and hesitantly sat down next to him.

  “What’s on your mind?” I asked blowing into the hole in my coffee cup again. He sat his drink on the coffee table and turned his body toward mine.

  “I want another chance,” he confessed, placing his hand on my knee. I didn’t know how to respond. I moved my leg from under his hand as the many faceless women I’d seen him with flashed in my memory.

  “I can’t do this.” I stood up and took a step back. He stood and stepped toward me and I raised my hands keeping the space between us while his face twisted with confusion.

  “Please, Eva. I need you,” he begged quietly. I didn’t meet his gaze because my guilt wouldn’t allow it. I had no right to say anything with Elijah lying in my bed. But where I pushed people away when things got bad, Grayson clung to any seemingly happy memories.

  “Madelyn’s dead and you’re trying to bring this up now?” I had no idea what had come over me. As much as I hated Grayson at times, I knew he was hurting over Madelyn’s death also. He shot me a look of disgust and my stomach rolled.

  “I can’t believe…” his voice trailed off and he turned to leave.

  “Grayson,” I called after him. He raised his hand to signal he was done talking and slammed the door on his way out.

  “Shit,” I muttered under my breath and leaned onto my kitchen table before burying my face in my hands. I took a couple deep breaths and headed back toward my bedroom. I turned the knob slowly and peeked inside. Elijah laid in the same position I had left him. He appeared to be fast asleep. I was hoping some miracle he hadn’t heard the exchange between Grayson and I. I tiptoed across the room and crawled into bed next to him. I snuggled closer and put my hand on his chest. His arm never uncovered his face as his other hand shot up and grabbed my wrist.

  “It seems like I have some competition.” His tone was unreadable. I nervously laughed at the idea of Grayson ever being able to compete with someone like Elijah.

  “He’s nothing you have to worry about,” I replied. His grip on my wrist tightened momentarily before he released it, rubbing his thumb softly over my skin.

  “I know. You couldn’t lie to me if you wanted to.” He said peeking out from under his arm and grinning. “You turn an adorable shade of pink when you get nervous.”

  I shot him a half smile.

  “…or excited.”

  He rolled onto his side and put his hand on the side of my face, stroking it softly with his thumb. I stared into his deep brown eyes trying to read them, but it was too dark. He slowly dipped his head down and kissed me gently. I relaxed below him and completely forgot about my difficult conversation with Grayson. He rested his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes as he spoke.

  “I have no idea what I’m doing here, Eva,” he whispered. His eyes shot open and he studied my face, his unspoken past plaguing him. It was more than obvious that he had some skeletons in his closet. Literally.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said with a heavy breath and pressed his forehead back against mine. I slid my hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth closer. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to let that happen.”

  My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I thought about laying on top of him. I knew he was trying to be a gentleman.

  “What did I ever do to deserve you?” I asked with a grin as I kissed him, letting him know he had no reason to apologize. He ran his head through his hair and was seemingly lost on that question. He lay back onto the pillow. We were silent for several minutes until he finally spoke.

  “What do you want to do tonight?” he asked staring up at the ceiling.

  “No work?” I questioned back, glancing over at him. He shook his head no. “Hmmm,” I said as the possibilities ran through my head. “We could check out some clubs,” I said knowing full well the last thing I would consider fun is dancing in public but I wanted to get out of the house.

  “We could do that,” he responded with a nod. “In the meantime...” He turned on his side a kissed me passionately, picking up where we’d left off. My hands roamed over his muscular back as his fingers entangled in my hair, pulling me deeper into him. I moaned against his lips as his grip tightened in my hair. I felt a smirk spread across his mouth as his hand slid over my hip.

  “I thought you didn’t want to do this,” I teased with a giggle.

  “I never said I didn’t want to.”

  I was completely lost in the moment. I never heard the door open. In a flash, glass rained down on me. I grasped at air were Elijah had been just seconds before as I sat up and scanned the darkness as the small shards bit into the palms of my hands but didn’t break the skin. I began to panic, gasping for breath. I could make out shadows in the corner and hear the grunts and groans of an intense struggle. I curled up into a tight ball and hugged my knees as my breaths came in rapid pants. My heart was hammering so loudly I could hear the blood whooshing in my ears, obscuring the sounds of the struggle. Suddenly, the room was silent aside the labored breaths of someone else and I had no idea who it was.

  “Elijah?” I asked, searching the darkness for him, my voice cracking from the weight of the fear that sat heavily on my chest. I backed myself against my headboard and began crawling to the side of my bed. I slowly stepped off and kept my back pressed tightly against the wall as I felt for the light switch. It clicked loudly in the quiet space and light flooded the room. I covered my eyes at the sudden intrusion before blinking them open and hoping the nightmare had ended in our favor.

  Elijah was hunched over someone with his back toward me, unmoving aside from the steady rising and dropping of his shoulders as he caught his breath. “Elijah?” I whispered as I stepped toward him, petrified that he may have been injured in the fight.

  “Don’t,” He hissed angrily. I stopped walking, frozen by the tone of his voice. I’d never seen a hunter in action but I’ve been told they are every bit as dangerous as the bloodsuckers they hunted. They had to be.

  “Who is it?” I asked, terrified to hear the answer. The body lay motionless below him and I couldn’t see his face, only his legs. After several excruciatingly long seconds, he turned slowly to face me. His hands were shaking as he h
eld them in front of him. “Who?” I asked again.

  “I don’t know. It’s just a burglar,” he finally replied. He pulled something from the guys pocket. “He has an employee ID for Pizza Place.”

  “Oh my God,” I choked out and rushed toward him. He grabbed around the waist and squeezed me tightly. “Why?” I sobbed into his shoulder.

  “Shhh…” he whispered, stroking my hair until I relaxed against him. I hugged him tighter trying to match his grip on me. I knew he was the strong one of the two of us, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need to be comforted.

  “We have to call someone… the police,” I concluded and he nodded his head in agreement. He grabbed his clothes, pulling them on as I reached for my cell phone, fumbling to unlock it. I finally got an operator on the line and frantically tried to explain the situation. I covered my other ear as Elijah’s cell began to ring in his pocket. He mumbled something quietly and walked into the living room so I could finish explaining what had happened, even though I still wasn’t quite sure.

  I hung up the phone after giving all of my information and grabbed the dresser to steady myself. I took several deep breaths and glanced to my left. The body of the intruder still lay motionless and half concealed behind my bed. I took a slow step toward him.

  “Aargh,” I screamed in terror as an arm gripped me around my waist and spun me around. “Grayson!” I threw my arms around him and squeezed as if he was holding me to the Earth.

  “Eva! What happened?” He brushed my hair back from my face and glanced at the body behind me. “Are you hurt?”

  “I'm okay. I’m safe.”

  “A burglar attacked us,” Elijah’s voice said flatly from behind us. Grayson spun around with the sudden intrusion, studying Elijah, then looking back at me for answers.

  Grayson’s face was gripped in confusion as he stood silently putting all of the pieces together. The intruder was killed in my bedroom, where he had tried to attack Elijah and me. I could feel the second Grayson put all of this information together when his look turned to disgust and my heart clenched in my chest. He swallowed hard and his hands fell free from my waist.