Soulshift

by Arizona Tape

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Soulshift

  Arizona Tape

  Laura Greenwood

  Contents

  Soulshift

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Can’t Get Enough?

  About Laura Greenwood

  About Arizona Tape

  What You Wish For by Gina Wynn

  TWIN SOULS #2

  Arizona Tape & Laura Greenwood

  For Ari, who made such an amazing story possible. Now please stop stealing my words.

  Copyright © 2017 by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication or cover may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to Laura Greenwood or Arizona Tape.

  Just don't steal stuff. Seriously. It's mean.

  Chapter 1

  Have you ever felt like you're stuck in the wrong body, but only by a little bit?

  That was how I felt every morning as I watched Sian run a brush through her long blonde hair. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with her, just not quite right. For me, I meant. And yet, I didn't want to go away. It was almost as if the thought of leaving Sian was physically painful, like not drinking blood in too long. But every now and again, I got this off feeling around her.

  My mother kept telling me to ignore it. That it had nothing to do with Sian herself, that it was just my bloodlust peeping through, but I wasn’t sure I believed her.

  My parents had what could only be called a not-quite-forced marriage. As far as I knew, about six hundred years ago, my father really pissed off a higher vampire, and his choice was marry my mother or be staked out in the sun. Apparently they didn’t realise the sun wasn’t a problem for us at that point, and they were married before sunrise. Romantic, right? Which was probably why they waited five hundred and seventy-seven years to have me. They likely got bored and decided a kid was the way to solve that. Whatever the reason, I was the result.

  “Arya, are you alright?” Sian asked, her musical voice lighting up the room. She turned to look at me, her dark eyes boring into me. That was how vampire eyes were supposed to look like, not like the sea green ones I’d been born with. Well that technically wasn’t true. There was the odd vampire born with blue eyes, but green was just unheard of. I remembered my mother reassuring me as a small child, telling me I was special and my eyes actually meant something. Then it all stopped. Probably about the time I revealed I didn’t like blood much. I wasn’t very good at hiding that as a child.

  “Hmm, sorry, I’m good,” I replied, giving her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. It probably fell flat knowing me.

  “Have you fed recently?” she asked, her matter-of-fact tone sending chills through me. Though I knew feeding didn’t cause any problems for humans, we didn’t take enough for that, I still found it kind of repulsive. Not that Sian knew. As I’d grown older, I learned to hide my distaste. Now only my parents knew the truth, and they probably didn’t even remember.

  “Yes,” I lied. It’d actually been something like a week, but I wasn’t about to admit that. Sian would just worry. It wasn’t like we couldn’t survive without blood, it was more that we weren’t at optimal health without it. But I wouldn’t be throwing anyone across a room, or breaking down doors, anytime soon.

  “Maybe you should top up,” she said slowly, leaning in so we were closer together. Huh. That was odd. When did she get so close? Maybe I zoned out more than I thought I had.

  “Yeah,” I muttered. Sian brushed a strand of my dark brown hair behind my ear, and I tried not to notice how dry it looked. Not drinking really was bad for me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it unless I had to. The taste was just not good.

  “I wish I didn’t have to go to work today,” Sian whispered, moving even closer, the smell of a warm sea breeze drifting over me. Odd smell for a vampire to have, but maybe it was because it was something I liked. Who knew.

  “Me too.”

  She leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine in an affectionate kiss I didn’t mind returning. It was times like this, with Sian’s smell surrounding me, and our bodies touching that I didn’t have the slight off feeling. In fact, it was probably the only time I really stopped having it. But we kissed and touched enough to allay most of my doubts, most of the time. Plus the biting bit was fun, even if the blood drinking wasn’t.

  Sian nipped my bottom lip playfully, and I wanted to growl, but restrained myself. She really did need to go to work, and I guessed I did too. Though the long men’s t-shirt I’d slept in didn’t make it seem like I was nearly ready to go. Sian pulled away, her dark eyes meeting mine, and a smile on her lips. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to have them pressed against my skin right now.

  “I’ll see you at dinner,” she said, trailing her hand down my arm as she stepped away. I nodded, and watched as she picked up the rest of her things, throwing them into one of the countless hand bags she had scattered around the room. Secretly, I hated the untidiness, but I’d never tell Sian that. I was too worried she’d sense the slight wrongness in our relationship and run away. And despite it all, I didn’t want to lose her. “And don’t forget to feed Ayra,” she reminded me as she left through the front door of our flat. I nodded again, despite the fact she couldn’t see me. I did need to feed, I just didn’t want to admit that quite yet.

  I stared at myself in the mirror, already looking better. And already hating it. I wiped a stray speck of blood from the corner of my mouth and grimaced. I hadn’t even drunk from a vein and yet, it was disgusting. But the colour was back in my face at least, and my eyes sparkled their unique shade of green, which meant Sian would be happy at least. And a happy Sian would mean a happy Ayra later, especially if this morning’s kiss was anything to go by.

  Kisses like that were the reason I was sure she was my one. I almost wanted to say mate, but I was a vampire, not a shifter. Mate felt like it should be the wrong word, even if it was the one my mind reached for first. Something felt so right about them, so pure. Well, not that kind of pure. Really they just led to thoughts that made me kind of glad I couldn’t set foot in a church anyway. I’d probably give the poor priest a heart attack even before he discovered I was a vampire. Sometimes I wished Sian would indulge some of my fantasies though. Not the really secret ones, just the tamer ones. I didn’t always want sweet and loving in be
d, and that was what Sian was. Not that I should be complaining, it was still good between us.

  “Stop it, Ayra,” I chided, making my eyes meet my reflection’s in the mirror. I was perfectly happy with Sian, I had been since we met four years ago. There was nothing wrong with our relationship except for my odd moments of doubt.

  I turned away, no longer wanting to see the lingering guilt on my face. Maybe I should buy Sian some of her favourite chocolates. She liked the dark chocolate ones with the cherry liqueur filling. Personally, I hated them, but I did love seeing the look of joy on her face as she ate them. Yes, that would probably stop me feeling bad about doubting her. I loved seeing Sian happy. Her smile really lit up her face. That thing you hear sometimes about vampires being dead? Absolute rubbish. We were as alive as anything else. We lived a long time admittedly, and we didn’t tend to age once we hit twenty-ish, but we were certainly alive. I was pretty sure the only real difference was that most vampires only ever had one child. But that had probably more to do with choice than anything else. My friend Marcus claimed he had seven siblings, though I never met any of them, so I wasn’t sure how true that really was.

  I should probably go back to work. I might not have any client meetings booked today, but I did have a ballroom to design. I was still in a little disbelief about that one, and I was sure my boss had given it to me because he didn’t fully believe the client was serious. But this was the first time I’d been trusted with a project of my own since graduating so I really didn’t want to mess it up. Plus, it would be pretty cool to be able to say I designed something like that. How many living people could actually say they designed a ballroom?

  Which was pretty much how I spent my day. I didn’t really have many work friends. After all, it was kind of hard to when I was craving their neck water all the time. Yes, I was that much in denial. Just because I didn’t like drinking blood didn’t mean that I didn’t crave it. Especially when I refused to drink as much as I should.

  So that was how I spent the rest of my day. Alone with my thoughts and the elegant arches of the ballroom taking shape on my pad. I’d have to transfer it onto the web-based program we normally used later, but I often found that sketching something by hand first helped my creative process. Most people didn’t accept that architecture was an art form. Those people were fools. There were so many skills and talents needed to create a room or a building, it could never be anything but an art. Which was why an architect was what I’d wanted to be, ever since I was old enough to understand what it was. I still had a fair way to go, but I was getting there. And I’d have a long time to be able to perfect my craft. Hundreds of years in fact. It almost sounded good, until I remembered I’d have to drink blood for that long too. Though at least I’d have Sian. There was always that silver lining.

  Sian was already home from work when I got in. Not really surprising, school did tend to finish before work. She wasn’t actually finished though, in fact, she sat on our faded blue sofa, papers spread around her. She had twisted her hair into a messy bun, and the top few buttons of her blouse were undone. That, plus the way her skirt had risen up her thigh, made her the perfect image of most people’s teacher fantasies. I was just lucky enough to actually be able to live that out. Or semi-lucky. Sometimes I wished she’d be that bit stricter with me.

  I moved to behind the sofa, and leaned over, bringing my lips to the shell of her ear.

  “Evening,” I whispered, feeling her shiver slightly as my breath touched her skin.

  “Evening.” She turned her head and kissed me chastely. Not disappointing in the slightest. Not. At. All. I’d just have to see what I could do about that. Softly, I kissed the side of her neck, and she leaned into me.

  See, Ayra gets what she wants sometimes.

  I trailed kisses along her jawline until I captured her lips in mine, feeling her give into me, and feeling a little bit like Spiderman in that infamous kiss of his.

  Sian broke the kiss, leaving me a little disappointed until she turned around and cupped my face in her hands. She leaned forward and reignited it, threading her hands into my long dark hair. If only she’d pull it. Not hard, just a little bit. Just to show the same passion that was stirring in me at the smell of a sea breeze, was stirring in her too. But she didn’t. She never did. It was always just this side of what I wanted.

  Not that I was about to give up. She’d started something with her teacher look, and now it was time to do something about it. I deepened the kiss, letting my fangs descend too so I could nip her bottom lip. She liked that. It always got her going. But this time, she pulled back. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and her lips had that just kissed look, but as her hands untangled themselves from my hair, I knew this was as far as we were going tonight.

  “I’m sorry Ayra,” she said, probably having seen the disappointment that I wasn’t very good at hiding. “I’ve got a load of marking that needs doing and…”

  “I know,” I said once she’d trailed off. I didn’t think there really was an ‘and’. Sometimes, Sian just didn’t want sex as much as I did. It was one of those things. Every relationship probably had these moments. Or maybe it was me? Maybe I wasn’t giving Sian what she really wanted in bed? Gods knew I wanted to, but she never actually told me exactly what she wanted.

  “I’ll make dinner.” I stepped back and away from her, leaving her to do her marking. She hadn’t said anything about a big test coming up, so I assumed it was some kind of assessment for the younger kids. In the four years we’d been together, I’d seen what the older kids’ history projects looked like, and it was nothing like the slim pile of papers Sian had in front of her. She really wasn’t in the right kind of mood then.

  “How was work?” she asked after I’d started clattering about in the kitchen.

  “Fine.” I threw the onions I chopped into the pan, hearing the satisfying sizzle as they started to fry. Cooking was a happy place of mine, but tonight it wasn’t quite working. But I couldn’t be a bad girlfriend. “How was school?”

  “It was good.”

  “Hmm.” I didn’t know what to say, so I concentrated on my cooking, adding peppers and chicken to the onions. Fajitas was one of Sian’s favourite meals, so she would be happy I made them. After all, I didn’t want her thinking I was just looking for sex.

  Arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back into her soft body. I relaxed into her, enjoying the feel of her pressed against me. Warmth wasn’t quite right, she wasn’t warm. That wouldn’t be right for a vampire. We weren’t cold, but we didn’t run hot. A natural phenomenon that had no explanation.

  “I love you, Ayra,” she whispered, kissing my neck.

  “I love you too,” I responded instantly, laying one of my hands over hers.

  “You look better. Did you feed?” Her voice was soft, almost caressing. It was no wonder I’d fallen hard and fast for her. But that didn’t stop the lump rising in my throat at the thought of drinking.

  “Yes, earlier.”

  “Good. You really should drink more often.” She let her arms fall from me, and I felt their loss immediately. I sighed, and turned around to make dinner as she sauntered back to her marking. So my chances of more were definitely gone for the night. I glanced over at the blonde curled up on the sofa.

  She was still worth it.

  Chapter 2

  I stretched awake, feeling the sleep fall away from me. Feeding yesterday really did make a difference. I hadn't felt this good in what seemed like years. I reached over for Sian next to me, hoping it was still early enough for a little fun before work. But it wasn't Sian's soft, supple body I found next to me. No, this was someone different.

  This person was hard, and muscled, nothing like the girlfriend I’d definitely climbed into bed with the night before. My hand rested on his chest. I wasn’t sure how I knew it was a man, I hadn’t opened my eyes yet, but something told me it was. Maybe it was the smell. But no, the smell was the same sea breeze I smelled whenever I was close to Sian, comfo
rting and recognisable. As well as a smell that made me want to press up against her, no him, and rub my body up against smooth hot skin.

  Wait...hot skin? That wasn’t right. Vampires weren’t hot. Then again, this certainly wasn’t Sian I was encountering in dreamland.

  A large hand rested on my clothed hem, scalding me through the fabric. Why was I wearing clothing? I never slept in anything other than a large t-shirt. And that was if I wore anything at all. I had last night though. Sian had made it clear sex wasn’t on the cards, so I’d done the sensible thing and given my body a clear signal it wasn’t possible.

  “Morning, beautiful,” a deep voice murmured, sending shivers down my spine. Definitely, definitely not Sian I was in my dreams with then.

  “Morning,” I replied. It wasn’t cheating if it was in my dreams, right? I mean I didn’t even need to dream-sleep with him. Just a kiss would be enough. Well, maybe a little more…

  Strong hands against the soft skin of my legs. Tangling in my hair, firm lips pressed against mine. Taking. Plundering. Wanting.

  I shuddered. I really hoped Sian would be up for some fun when I actually woke up, otherwise I was going to be incredibly frustrated for the entire day. I supposed I could do something about it once she was gone for the day, but I’d still prefer to do it with her. Sex was never quite so fun solo.

  The dream man pressed his body against mine, and I could feel the hard bulge pressing against me through his own clothes. Why was he wearing any clothing at all? Why was either of us. It was like my dream brain didn’t want me to get any either. It made no sense.