He looked from me to Aries and shook his head while smiling, like he knew this would happen. His plan he thought, must have worked. He finished giving change to a customer and walked back over to join us, ignoring the multitude of orders.
“He asked if I’d seen you. I told him you felt sick, and that you left him a message that you would call him tomorrow. He said okay and left.”
Frank was a middle-aged man around thirty or thirty-five and was average height and build. He had shaggy dark blond, almost dirt brown hair and had a bit of a goatee that made him look tough. His usual attire was black cowboy dress shirts and black jeans. His military boots threw it off making him look more like an undercover officer. I could just picture a silver star on his chest, and a cowboy hat perched on his head.
When he spoke he had a southern lazy accent. His you twanged like yah. So when he said you three or more times then he sounded really hillbilly.
“Thank you Frank, I owe you,” I replied grateful.
“Ten percent off my next shipment?” he asked mischievously. His smile was contagious.
“I’ll do the math and see; I got to make a living too you know.” We laughed, and he went back to work.
“Want me to walk you to your car?” Aries asked his arm at the small of my back. Shivers dancing deliciously down my spine…
“I walked here from home.”
“Want me to walk you home?” he asked again, raising one eyebrow to see if I’d make more excuses.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked. He saw my smirk and smiled. Aries turned and went back to his band. It was midnight so the club was winding down. Regular music played now. They must have finished up without him. I think his lead guitarist could also sing.
I waited rather impatiently for him by the door next to the bouncer who waved at me. I forgot his name again, but obviously, he knew who I was.
I smoothed my hair and checked the club out a bit more noticing the little Gothic gargoyles in the corners with red beady eyes. They seemed to follow you no matter where you stood. I was betting there was a camera in them.
Ten minutes later Aries came back with an irritated expression. He was carrying his trench coat in one hand, and the other was clenched.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“The guys think I’m making a mistake. I kept you from your date, and now you have to walk home alone. My place is to escort you, I'd think.”
“I'm tough; I'd make it home alone,” even if I didn’t want to go.
“Not dressed like that you wouldn’t. I'm not giving you a choice, whether you are her reincarnation or not. She will need guards around the clock when we figure out who she is.”
“Hmm,” I replied. I would not argue with that until I knew for sure if it was me.
He shook his black leather jacket out and held it out for me to slip my arms in, it whispered against the ground. Good thing I wore three inch heeled boots. It was expensive as hell, I knew because I read about it when I researched the band. It was like his trademark or something. No one touched the jacket, yet he was letting me wear it.
I walked a little ahead, paying little attention to my surroundings. He didn’t seem to mind in the least, lost as we were in our own minds.
When he saw where I stopped he laughed.
I whipped around to see what his deal was. My place was the best looking on the block. I had cleaned the outside thoroughly after the last major rainstorm. My windows were spotless and the sidewalks litter free.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded.
“I pictured you rich.” Um was that a put down? Seriously, I was offended.
“I own this, and I have a little money. What’s that supposed to mean anyway?" I asked, feeling a little defensive. What the hell was his problem anyway? He didn’t own anything except this jacket and a twenty-five thousand dollar motorcycle, according to his website.
“Nothing really, I remember now you said antique dealer, but not an occult book store.” He glanced away.
“Actually both, I sell Wiccan supplies; it's cheaper than buying my own.” Why was I explaining myself to him? He knew I was a Wiccan, which he pointedly reminded me.
“Yes witch, I’m sorry. I've been caught up with how mesmerizing you are. You put a spell on me didn’t you?” Oh what a corny line. He was old.
“I don’t call men, or glamour them. So why are you attracted to me? It’s Wiccan, by the way, not witch.” My good looks were not the only reason he liked me. I’m not conceited, but I know hot when I see it. I was happy I’d been blessed with looks, as much of a pain as they sometimes were, hours of upkeep a week. Hundreds of dollars of beautifying equipment and to think I was au natural. Yeah I wore makeup but everything on me was real, and I was proud of it.
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t like dark hair, or weird eyes, or witches.” He danced out of the way as I tried to kick him, playfully. Weird eyes, when was the last time he looked in the mirror?
“I'm not serious. You’re one beautiful woman. I’d be shocked if men did not flock to you. You must beat them off with those cute kicks.”
“About twice a week, at least. I got a separate line just for when my admirers call. “
“And not one man has caught your attention?” He was fishing again; I was sure of it.
“Well a few have, but I’m an evil weird eyed succubus. I eat them when I’m done getting mine.”
Aries gave me a peculiar look than laughed. He must not have got the joke right off.
We stared at each other for a few more minutes, and then I started to give him his jacket back.
“No I'd rather have a reason to see you again. Keep it.”
“I was going to invite you up; I live above the shop.” I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but I didn’t want him to go. I felt antsy thinking of him leaving. When would I get to talk to him again? There was just so much left unsaid after that little conversation in his car.
Aries began to panic. I felt the fear roll off him, and his need to feed was just as strong. I forgot about him being a vampire. He was just such a gentleman, which made sense because those were bred back in the day. Parents today were not inclined to instill manners anymore. We had technology for sure, but you had to give it up to them for their child-raising skills. More people had a job back in the day too, which was not society’s problem alone; I knew, but still.
“The succubus thing was just a joke. You’re safe. I won’t eat you or strip you naked, yet.”
“How do you do it, by the way?” he asked, once more confusing me.
I checked my mail and turned to the door waiting on him.
“Do what?” I asked as I let him in, locked the door and reset the alarm. Too late realizing I didn’t really invite him in… another myth I guess.
“Keep your hands off me.”
Oh he was funny. Well, he had a point I guess, it was taking all my control not to hump his leg. Okay, not his leg, but yeah I couldn’t stay focused on anything for long, that was definitely true.
“It isn't that hard. You say that like millions of women beg you for attention. You seemed okay at the club.” Hell yeah he was hot, and I was having touchy-feely thoughts, but they were somewhat controllable. I still couldn’t fathom why the other women didn’t seem as affected by him as me.
“My ability works both ways. I can be invisible to people if I choose, or rather just a randomly normal guy.”
He followed me through the store, focused on nothing but my back, or rather what was below that. Smiling, I admitted to myself that I’d have jiggled my hips a little, but I didn’t want to overdo it. When you had it, you didn’t need to flaunt it, or so I heard.
Upstairs he hesitated. Maybe it was a humans sleeping abode that required the owners approval.
“Do I have to invite you in?” I asked, turning to him.
He kept looking back the way we’d come and back at me. He was nervous and something else…
“I'm hungry, and this may not be a great time to eat.
” Belatedly I realized he did not answer my question.
I started to say I have food but I think he meant something a little more red and hot and not a rare steak either.
“I should go.”
Yet he only stood there torn, like I felt. Was this how other people felt? I had an errant thought about the crystals and wondered if they were repelling him. I needed to see him cross the threshold to be sure.
“Part of me screams to feed, the other demands that I don’t leave you alone.”
That was what I felt from him, his honor and protectiveness.
I stood just out of arms reach, unable to move myself. I stepped two steps back, I don‘t know if I wanted him to follow or not. I couldn’t think straight. I think he was trying to call me. I wanted to go to him, and yet the hair on the nape of my neck suggested otherwise, he was causing me to feel as if I was prey, to be hunted. I was just as torn as he was, if not more, because I was feeling his indecision as well as my own and it was simply too much, instinct took over. Maybe not instinct, but his will to make me his.
Slowly I let his expensive jacket slip to the floor, not even aware of its personal value to him at the moment. I moved my hair with my right hand to the side of my head and tilted my neck the same direction to give him a perfect view. He stepped forward with one foot held above the threshold. I was not paying that any attention and would remember it later while alone.
I wanted to give myself to him. It would pleasure us both. I felt that, but my mind was broken. All I could do was obey his silent directives. How much I wanted him. How much he wanted me. Like a zombie I offered myself up to the mystifying god before me.
“NO!” He wrenched himself down my stairs. And then he was gone. I felt him leave and wondered idly how he avoided the alarm. I finally came back to myself and realized what he’d done. I shook my head clearing the last of the induced fog.
Aries, vampire, had seduced me into letting him drink my blood. My head was clear finally and I was irritated now that I realized I’d almost done something I’d normally never do, at least not without asking me maybe. At the same time I felt as if my heart was breaking. Something wailed up in my chest and escaped verbally. What the hell was wrong with me? One minute I wanted to screw him senseless, the next I wanted to give myself to him in another just as deadly, albeit different way, then I was mad at him and now… I felt like I was dying without him.
I realized I’d just cried out for a strange man who could make me do anything. Ah hell.
I also realized I needed a change of clothing. Embarrassed by my body’s reaction to the stranger who had unrepentantly flown into my life, I decided to shower. I’d never been turned on by a man this much. He turned me inside out. Grunting in frustration I took that shower cold, ice cold. I was goose bumped and shivering by the time I was done and turned off the water.
When I got out I couldn’t sense him anymore, he was gone. I went shaking and miserable to my bed and unsuccessfully tried to sleep. I never asked him if he could be out in the daylight and it would be dawn in a few hours. I still felt lost without him. Misery was like a second skin that I could not peel away. His eyes flashed through my mind, haunting me while mine were shut.
It was then I remembered the crystals. Did they stop him from biting me or was it his own code of ethics? How would I ever know unless he returned? If I took the jacket to the club tomorrow when I went back, he would not have a good reason to return, unless I asked him. Did I want to? Would he come back if I got up the guts to ask? Did I still want him to? Man I was so conflicted. Someone should put me out of my miserable existence.
It might have been a mere few hours until dawn but it felt like days to me. I could feel somehow that he was hurting too, which was odd. He hungered for me the same way I did for him. I tossed and turned, as my body played tricks on me. I rode an emotional roller coaster up and down, left and right. One minute I grabbed the sheets hungry with desire, the next my heart cried for his touch, his voice, or the sight of him. I was going totally insane. I felt as if I was being ripped open. My mind, heart, and body could take no more. I thrashed back and forth fighting what I knew we both wanted. Each a stranger to the other, but no one else knew us this intimately, this boldly.
I was swamped with emotions, not all my own. Something was heavy in my chest and weighed it down, making it very difficult to breath. The feelings raging storm-like inside my body were of obsession, desire, hunger, and pain so sharp it cut through me to places I didn’t even know existed. The chemistry sizzling within me was boiling and building to nuclear levels and would detonate if something didn’t happen soon. My sheets were ruined and soaked with sweat. I felt raw and sensitive. I was starving for something I could not name.
I threw my pillows and ripped the sheets off, changed clothes twice, and just when I thought I might jump out the window, I felt myself finally succumb to the darkness.
It was about dawn when I realized that. I don’t know what happened, but it was like the inky blackness had enveloped me. I did not even dream. I was dead to the world until the phone rang right at my ear.
I screamed and nearly threw it across the room. The only thing saving the poor thing was the instant worry and fear that overtook me. Raven.
“Hey, it’s me hon. Hate to wake you, but Michael's here. He said you weren’t feeling good last night and wanted to check on you. I haven’t heard anything moving around either so I thought maybe you wouldn’t kill me for being so nice...” she said laughing. She knew not to wake me unless the store was robbed, or there was a fire. Even through the phone I could sense she was nervous, worried, and a tad bit scared. Hmm… I’d have to ask her why she felt that way. I was a bitch, but I would not take her head off.
“Ha-ha. I’m fine, just tired. Ask him to meet me here tonight around seven,” I mumbled, barely there with her on the phone.
“Alright chick, I’m sorry to bother you.”
“It’s fine. I won’t bite your head off,” I said chuckling as we hung up the phone. My words may have been distorted with sleep. At least I think I said that.
I decided a hot bath in my ginormous garden tub was in order. I wasn’t in panic mode like I was last night, but it still hurt for some reason. There was utter void-like blackness. I couldn’t even feel him anymore at all. The hole in my chest was burning, and making me choke. It was smothering me. Yet still not quite as bad as last night. What in the hell was going on? I threw the covers aside angrily and stomped to my pretty bathroom.
I'd had it redone so it was relaxing, open, and completely me. It was of course purple. The only other color was black window curtains, mats, and shower curtain. The towels, wash cloths, and bath accessories were purple, silver and black. Stars twinkled above me on the ceiling.
I was in way over my head. What was I going to do? All the nonsense he'd spouted, I felt had truth to some degree, I just didn’t know how much.
I must’ve fell asleep after adding the fragrant lavender bath salts, because next thing I knew I was choking. Cold, soapy water had started gushing in my mouth. I had never come close to drowning in my tub before, and was shocked to realize I was out cold. Like I was in a coma. The enveloping blackness was still reaching for me, and that scared the elfin shit out of me. I finished my bath in a hurry and slipped into some panties and a black silk robe. The water was cold, so I must have been out for an hour or more.
I ate a banana and made my way back to my room. I opened my window and let the cool breeze distract me. Cold or not, I figured a breeze would shock my senses. My blanket was very thick and warm. Before I knew it I was snoring, unable to remember the last few steps, and the climb into my king size bed.
Sometime near dusk I awoke from my lethargy and gasped for air. The shakes had returned, as well as the engulfing panic. No empty void to buffer it anymore. I jerked the covers out of my way and went to the window, where I could sense him much better. He was out there, somewhere nearby, suffering the same as me. I was so done with this seriously,
inconvenient load of bull.
I called to him. I’d never felt like this before and my defenses were up. I reacted to threats in different ways, but usually with controlled anger. This was different. I was being swamped in this, and unable to be myself, unable to live my life.
“Get in here now!” I called into the night, feeling a wave of dizziness as the air rushed back into my body. The floor tilted at such an odd angle. Oops…
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aries swept his arms under her neck and legs, pointedly ignoring the way the silk robe rose high on her thighs. Distracted by her loss of consciousness. He gently laid her in her massive bed and wrapped himself around her. Being close to her caused all the distress he’d felt last night, and since he woke, to dissipate. He could breathe and think now. Aries was starving, and the pain of not feeding was nearly worse than when he’d first changed.
He’d agonized all night about the woman who had come out of nowhere. The moment he had laid eyes on this elf sized beauty, he’d known she was meant for him. He’d put himself into a deep sleep so the pain would be less for them both, until he woke again. He didn’t like sleeping, because there was nothing there. No dreams or anything. It was too much like death for his taste. It was merely a way to pass the time. He didn’t have a choice today. It was to stop her suffering. He knew she had been, it had chilled him to the bone. Aries didn’t know how to stop it; or how to reverse the damage done.
He’d have never wished these immobilizing feelings on anyone. Especially this dark haired exotic creature. She called to him and disrupted his senses. He’d never met anyone who could affect him this way. Even the gods and goddesses didn’t make him feel so much anguish. When she woke he’d have a lot to explain, to apologize for. She was innocent and deserved an answer. He shouldn't have told her all of this, but if his goddess was right then all of this was irrevocable. It would also be a thousand times worse, otherwise.
No man would touch her, hurt her, or claim her.
Her pain had magnified Aries own, and he thought he’d have gone mad if she had not summoned him tonight. He had this intense feeling of protection for her. Like he’d die for her, a complete stranger. No, not true, he felt he knew her; he’d always known her. Like they’d been mates in every lifetime, and finally found each other again. It scared him on a level he’d never known before. This was beyond anything he’d ever imagined.
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